Technology-Mediated Tasks in English for Specific Purposes (ESP): Design, Implementation and Learner Perception

Introduction

Despite the amount of published research on Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in recent years, very little attention has been paid to TBLT in technology-mediated contexts in the English literature (Ellis, 2010, p. xvi), especially when it comes to TBLT in online settings (Hampel, 2010, p. 132), and to how such tasks should be designed and implemented in these new – often complex – virtual learning environments. The situation is, however, slightly different when examining the French literature which often remains confidential and still needs to be more widely disseminated, which is a secondary objective of this paper. In addition, little research has been carried out to assess learner perception of task-based language learning in online settings as opposed to more traditional face-to-face approaches to language learning and teaching. This article aims at bridging these gaps as it reports on the design and implementation of English For Biologists (EFB), an online module for French biology students at Master’s level whose main objective was to give learners opportunities to interact with each other in English about subject-specific topics outside the English classroom in an attempt to help them develop their interactional competence (Kramsch, 1986; Young, 2010) in L2 through computer-mediated collaborative work.

EFB is the centerpiece of a wider action-research project but only part of it will be reported on in this article. Indeed, the central questions underpinning the discussion are the following ones:

• 1.

  How should an online module of ESP be designed with a view to helping learners develop their interactional competence?

• 2.

  Once designed, what principles should guide its implementation?

• 3.

  What is the learners’ perception of the module?

The general approach adopted in this paper is Hampel’s (2006) three-level model of task development, based on Richards & Rogers (1986) and consisting of approach, design and procedure, where approach refers to the theoretical framework (language learning and affordances of the technological tools), design deals with the syllabus, tasks and learners’ and teacher’s roles, and procedure refers to task implementation and learners’ use of tasks (Hampel, 2010, p. 135). It seemed, however, that the model could greatly benefit from the addition of an extra level, as task development is an iterative process that does not stop with the implementation of the task. Indeed, as is the case in the methodology of research and development (Guichon, 2006) for the design of complex language learning systems, the task should be tested in situ in order to check whether the objectives have been reached as well as to get feedback from the learners in an attempt to improve the task itself. I have therefore added a fourth level to Hampel’s model, namely that of evaluation.

Following this basic model for task development, I first present the theoretical approach to language learning that served as a guideline for the development of EFB, before focusing on the design process of the different tasks included in EFB; I then examine EFB’s implementation process, with an emphasis on the choices made in terms of tutor mediation; Finally, I offer insight in learner perception of TBLT through the analysis of the answers they gave to a post-course questionnaire.