Supporting a task-based approach to Asian language teaching and learning in one Asia-Pacific context: does teacher education make a difference?

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a learner-centred and experiential approach which contrasts with more traditional teacher-led models. However, the interface between learner-centred and teacher-led has emerged as a tension for TBLT in practice. In Languages Other than English (LOTE) programmes, this tension can appear more acute for Asian languages than for European languages where the former are seen as comparatively harder to learn, potentially requiring greater teacher input. Asian languages are also often taught by teachers from Confucian Heritage Culture backgrounds, arguably influencing beliefs about what is pedagogically effective. This article explores how one teacher professional development initiative in one Asia Pacific Anglophone context supported teachers of Chinese, Japanese and Korean with putting TBLT ideas into practice in school classrooms. The programme utilised a small-group experiential and learner-focused model where teachers worked in partnership with each other and course facilitators. Findings indicated that, by the end of the programme, the task construct was more clearly understood by participants and more firmly embedded in their practices. There were also shifts in practice from more teacher-led to more learner-centred. Participants recognised, however, that developing expertise takes time. Comparative implications are drawn for teacher education initiatives targeting a range of languages.