Bangladeshi EAP teachers’ perspectives on task-based language teaching

Abstract

Abstract We explored the extent to which academic English teachers from an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) context held beliefs that aligned with Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) principles, as well as their levels of receptiveness to using tasks in the classroom. In this mixed methods study, 41 tertiary-level EFL teachers from Bangladesh were invited to take a survey on TBLT and participate in follow-up interviews. We used convergent mixed methods analysis to triangulate the data and verify the findings. Results showed that participants agreed with TBLT principles from a moderate to high level, and consistently favored use of tasks over traditional activities, which included audio-lingual and form-based instruction. Moreover, teacher beliefs and practices seemed to have become further aligned with TBLT tenets in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequential shift to online teaching.