Title: Reactions and perceptions of teachers to the implementation of a task-based survey and presentation course

Authors: James Bury; Anthony Sellick

Addresses: Faculty of Tourism and Business Management, Shumei University, Yachiyo City, Chiba, Japan ' Faculty of Education, Shumei University, Yachiyo City, Chiba, Japan

Abstract: The authors introduced a task-based language teaching survey and a peer-assessed presentation course at a Japanese senior high school. When assessing the success of newly introduced courses, reflection is most commonly limited to the thoughts and perceptions of the students. This paper investigates the reactions of the teachers involved in teaching and assessing the new course. The participating teachers were surveyed, and their responses to (i) the survey activity, (ii) the presentations, and (iii) the peer assessments are reported in this article. The authors found that, while there are some valid concerns regarding the introduction of task-based activities into the classroom, the participating teachers generally found the activity to be rewarding and worthwhile. Furthermore, teachers generally responded positively to the idea of student peer assessment as part of the task-based activity. The authors suggest that other teachers may find value in introducing similar activities to their students.

Keywords: course development; presentations; surveys; task-based activities; task-based teaching; language teaching; teacher perceptions; teacher reactions; Japan; senior high schools; student peer assessment; secondary education; language learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIE.2015.074702

International Journal of Innovation in Education, 2015 Vol.3 No.1, pp.15 - 33

Received: 07 Jan 2015
Accepted: 22 Sep 2015
Published online: 14 Feb 2016 *

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