Researching L2 Task Performance and Pedagogy

This volume honours Peter Skehan’s landmark contributions to research in Task-Based Language Teaching. It offers state-of-the-art reviews as well as cutting-edge new research studies, all reflective of key theoretical and methodological issues in current research, such as the role and nature of task complexity and the distinct dimensions of L2 task performance. Collectively, these chapters celebrate Professor Skehan’s seminal influence on TBLT and second language acquisition research, and they bear witness to the sustained academic mentoring and collaboration that have characterised his career. Contributed both by senior academics and more recent participants in SLA and TBLT research, the chapters variously explore conceptual frameworks and methodological insights on central issues in TBLT research, theoretical debates, innovative research paradigms and methodologies, as well as practical pedagogical proposals. The book provides a wide-ranging and balanced account of Skehan’s work and its impact on other researchers, serving as an introduction as well as a critical review for both seasoned and novice researchers and for interested practitioners.

Pauline Foster, St Mary's University and Gillian Wigglesworth, The University of Melbourne:
Anyone with a scholarly or practical interest in second language learning and teaching will surely have come across the work of Peter Skehan, either by reading his books, chapters and articles, or by attending his classes and conference papers. Through his eloquent presentations, his engaging teaching and outstanding research, Peter has inspired a generation of applied linguists to construct a rich empirical understanding of how second languages are processed, performed and, sometimes, perfected. This volume is a testament to his lasting inspiration. The contributors here build upon Peter's seminal work in a variety of topics within TBLT: the effects of motivation, the limits of selective attention, the subtle interaction of task design and performance dimensions of complexity, accuracy, lexis and fluency. We find here the latest cutting edges of the lines of investigation pioneered by Peter over the last thirty years.