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YouJin Kim

Georgia State University/KAIST

Engagement and Motivation in Task-Based Language Teaching: Bringing Research to the Classroom

Over the last three decades, tasks have been perceived as one of the major pedagogical tools in diverse instructional contexts (Ellis, 2017; Kim, 2018; Long, 2016). Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a teaching approach with a clear theory-practice connection that uses tasks as the basis of pedagogical units. As noted by Ellis (2017) and Long (2016), noticeable theoretical and methodological development has undoubtedly advanced the field of TBLT, often in conjunction with second language acquisition research. In this invited presentation, I will focus on two important, yet less widely examined, constructs: engagement in tasks and task motivation. According to Philip and Duchesne (2016, p. 51), engagement refers to, “a state of heightened attention and involvement, in which participation is reflected not only in the cognitive dimension, but in social, behavioral, and affective dimensions as well.” Dörnyei (2019) recently discussed task motivation in terms of four motivational conglomerates (i.e., interest, productive learner roles, motivational flow, and vision), as well as from an engagement-specific perspective. Accordingly, the constructs of engagement and motivation are closely related in TBLT, yet they have not been discussed widely.

The goal of my presentation is to discuss engagement in tasks and task motivation in order to help the audience understand the theoretical underpinnings of these two constructs and their relevant research findings, as well as to guide the audience to think about what we, as language teachers, can do to help our students to be engaged and motivated while performing tasks. My presentation consists of the following four sections: (1) A brief overview of the development of TBLT research; (2) Introduction to the two focal constructs (task engagement and task motivation) and associated research; (3) Future directions of task engagement and motivation research, and (4) Practical suggestions for ways to improve engagement and task motivation in classroom contexts.

Dr. YouJin Kim specializes in second language acquisition, task-based language teaching and assessment, and classroom-based research. She is the co-author of Pedagogical Grammar (2014), and the co-editor of Task-Based Approaches to Teaching and Assessing Pragmatics (2018). Her research has particularly focused on the role of interaction during task performance in language development involving two target languages: English and Korean. Dr. Kim is an Associate Editor of Journal of Second Language Writing.

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