Introduction
Task‐based instruction is characterized by activities that engage language learners in meaningful, goal‐oriented communication to solve problems, complete projects, and reach decisions. Tasks have been used for a broad range of instructional purposes, serving, for example, as units of course syllabi, activities for structure or function practice, and language focusing enhancements to content‐based curricula. Although the language used to carry out a task need not be prespecified, a task can be designed so that attaining its goal depends on linguistic and communicative precision, or requires the use of specific grammatical forms (e.g., Ellis, 2003; Loschky and Bley‐Vroman, 1993). The communication strategies and learning processes that emerge during task goal attainment are consistent with those advanced in second language acquisition (SLA) theory and found in SLA research. Demands on the learners' attention, comprehension, and production as they carry out a task that can...
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Pica, T. (2008). Task‐Based Instruction. In: Hornberger, N.H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30424-3_90
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