Task-based language teaching (TBLT) emerged in the 1980s as a learner-centred and experiential alternative to more established and teacher-led approaches to acquiring an additional language (L2). Two decades ago, a paper published in "The Language Learning Journal" discussed the advantages and drawbacks of TBLT that had become apparent…

The idea of offering all children and youth an education that is experiential, student centered, engaging, and relevant to life is not a new concept (Dewey, 1938; Kolb, 1981). Preparing students with the competencies, skills, and character for full participation in the 21st century has become the vision of schools, educators, and organizations…

Recent literature suggests that communicative language tasks widely used by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers to try and improve Japanese students' learning have had little effect on improving their language ability and their intrinsic motivation to improve. Consequently, a number of teachers are now using interactive technology in the…

The learner-centred and experiential pedagogical approach encouraged by the revised "New Zealand Curriculum" can be problematic for teachers who are used to delivering courses in teacher-fronted ways. Using the Learning Languages learning area as the context, this article presents the case of one New Zealand teacher who completed an…

Almost everyone is talking about the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). The 4IR wave is so strong that change is inevitable, including within the education setting, making Education 4.0 the famous buzzword among educationists today. What is Education 4.0? Do educators really understand it or they simply follow what others are doing. Education 4.0 is…

In a classical instructed language classroom setting, the practicing of communication situations is too often limited to producing isolated phrases and sentences without actually testing their relevance for the intended action. An example is describing and finding a route. In this paper, results of the early pilots with a collaborative virtual…

Many educators have created successful innovative models but have had difficulty sustaining, re-creating, and scaling these models. Classrooms and schools characterized by student-centered learning practices typically deviate from the norms of transmission teaching and the many structures and procedures that David Tyack and Larry Cuban called the…

One of the mysteries of education reform is how leaders and educators can successfully instantiate, sustain, and spread student-centered pedagogical practices from a few schools to many others. Advocates for "deeper learning" grapple with this mystery as they seek to transform teaching and learning to prepare students to meet the demands…