Doing Task-Based Teaching * Tasks in Second Language Learning

What are we to make of task-based learning and task-based teaching (TBL/TBT)? Its advocates promote its efficacy with fervour, but not everyone shares their enthusiasm for, as Samuda and Bygate point out, ‘Tasks have been an element in second language teaching and research for over 30 years, and yet their use continues to invite controversy’ (p. 1). Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that despite some of the dramatic claims for the superiority of TBL over more traditional form-focused teaching, there is little classroom-based research evidence to prove or disprove such claims. Will the two books under review help to resolve the controversy in any way and, speaking personally, will they help this reviewer to arrive at a more informed evaluation of TBL's efficacy? Before trying to answer these two questions, it is worth describing what these two books contain and what, if anything should command a reader's attention.