From Reflection to Action: Adapting the Idiodynamic Method to Improve English-as-a-Foreign-Language Teachers’ Task-Based Language Teaching Implementation

Abstract

Despite task-based language teaching being a widely recognized and effective approach for developing learners’ language skills, many English-as-a-foreign-language teachers face challenges in implementing task-based language teaching in their classrooms. This article describes how a reflection activity was used to enhance a teacher's self-confidence and strategies for implementing language tasks in lessons. Over a three-week period, the teacher consistently applied a task-based language teaching lesson framework in a university English-as-a-foreign-language classroom. After each lesson, the teacher uploaded video recordings to a computer program and rated their teaching self-confidence on a per-second basis. The teacher then wrote reflections to explain broad changes in ratings during the pre-task, task performance and post-task stages, and set goals for improvement. Analyses of the ratings and written reflections indicate that the reflection activity facilitated improvements in task design, task implementation and assessment practices, as well as increased self-confidence across all stages of the task-based language teaching lesson cycle.