Investigating the feasibility of adopting task-based language teachingin a university setting in Cambodia

Abstract

As Carless (2007) and Johnson (2001) have pointed out, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has been a subject of immense interest within contemporary English language teaching. However, little is known about TBLT in the context of English as a foreign language such as Cambodia. Recognizing this gap, this study was initiated in order to investigate the feasibility of adopting TBLT in a university setting in Cambodia. The research method for this study involved semi-structured interviews with six university lecturers and a questionnaire survey with 143 third-year students at that same university. It also analyzed the current textbook and some supplementary teaching materials the six teachers used. The study found that a genuine task-based approach was not viable in this particular context due to several such constraints as students’ demands for direct grammar instruction; teachers’ insufficient knowledge of TBLT; teachers’ overriding use of an analytical P-P-P approach; the nature of the textbook; norm-referenced, knowledge-based examinations; etc. Rather, the findings suggested that task-supported language teaching might be more likely to be feasible in this setting. Based on these findings, pedagogic implications and the future research are discussed in the Cambodian context.