The Implementation Of TBLT In Secondary Schools Of Changsha:Limitations,Possibilities,and Adaptation

As the Chinese government aims to increase the number of people in its population who can speak English language effectively, national policies and syllabuses have moved increasingly towards the implementation of Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT). The New English Curriculum Standards (NECS) for high schools proposed teaching English language using TBLT approach that advocates learning by means of experience, practice, communication, and cooperation. In China, much has been written about the theoretical issues of TBLT as the definitions of task, the role of task in second language acquisition, task types, and the different stages in task-based lessons, while few discussions have been offered about how tasks were actually implemented in high school settings. Hence, more discussions should be offered about how tasks are actually carried out in high school settings in China, particularly where conditions might not be ideal.To this end, the aim of this study was to investigate and evaluate the real implementation of TBLT in high schools of Changsha, bridging the gap between the government policy and the reality of teaching practice. To achieve this aim, the researcher explored secondary school teachers’understanding of TBLT and their perspectives on the efficacy of TBLT in English foreign language (EFL) teaching classes, investigated the extent to which TBLT was carried out by EFL teachers in high schools, delineated the obstacles that limited the appropriate implementation of TBLT, offered solutions for making the implementation of this approach more possible, and explored the ways of how to adapt TBLT to make it suitable for the context of English language teaching in secondary schools of Changsha.This study utilized quantitative and qualitative research methods to provide data about high school English teachers’ understandings and opinions of TBLT, about how TBLT has been implemented, what constraints limited its appropriate implementation, and what strategies and solutions should be done for making its implementation possible. One hundred and five EFL teachers in high schools of Changsha were asked to complete the questionnaire, and six of them participated in the succeeding interview. The study used as well classroom observations for data collection. Over a period of two months, lessons of English classes were observed, video recorded and analyzed.Results of the study revealed that most of the EFL teachers in high schools agreed that TBLT is an effective approach for English teaching. However, some respondents have got a sort of misunderstanding about TBLT concepts. Therefore, it was not easy for teachers to put theories into practice. It has been found that teachers implemented TBLT to a very limited extent because their classroom practices were much influenced by traditional methods of teaching. In addition, the results of study showed that EFL teachers met many difficulties in implementing TBLT in their classrooms. These difficulties stemmed from three directions, namely, the teachers, the students, and the educational system. The EFL teachers were not optimistic about the complete adoption of TBLT, and felt that only by offering solutions to these difficulties and by adapting TBLT approach to the local context of Changsha can they make an advantage of TBLT approach in their English classrooms.