Exploring Iranian EFL Teachers’ Perspectives on Task-based Language Teaching

By the advent of communicative language teaching, the view of language researchers has altered from focusing on grammatical form towards meaning–based approaches to second language acquisition. But, less inclination is found in researchers to investigate into teachers’ attitudes regarding the implementation of such an approach to classroom instruction. The purpose of this study is to investigate Iranian high school and private institute teachers’ knowledge and attitude toward Task and Task-based Language Teaching. Furthermore, the reasons for choosing or avoiding implementing TBLT in the classrooms are investigated. So, a questionnaire consisting of four main parts was administered to 117 high school and institute teachers in Shiraz. Descriptive analysis indicated that the high school and institute teachers had good knowledge of TBLT principles. Moreover, they had positive attitudes toward TBLT, indicating a welcoming atmosphere toward the implementation of TBLT. Generally, no significant difference was found between the two groups of teacher. The findings revealed that the basic reason for implementing TBLT was the fact that it integrates the four language skills. Large classroom size and unfamiliarity of learners with TBLT were the basic reasons for avoiding the implementation of TBLT. The results suggested that EFL teachers can be hopeful to successfully apply TBLT in their classes, in both contexts.