Task-based language teaching in the portuguese primary education: teachers’ perceptions and practices

Nassa, Susana Isabel Brazuna

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/12352

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Authors

Nassa, Susana Isabel Brazuna

Advisor(s)

Lopes, António Manuel Bernardo

Abstract(s)

Portugal has followed the example of several countries all over the world as far as multilingualism is concerned. The path to introduce English as a compulsory subject in Primary Education has been a long one, but now that third and fourth graders in Portugal have already got English as a Foreign Language (EFL), it is significant to analyse how this language is being taught in these levels. This study aims at presenting the main practices of teachers in primary schools and their understandings of Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT), which is considered as a holistic language teaching approach. To verify the level of acquaintance and use of TBLT in the teaching of English in Portuguese Primary Education, the methodology of this study is based on a simple quantitative analysis. Thus, a questionnaire was delivered to teachers through mailing lists and closed groups of social networks, throughout a period of one month. Despite the limited number of teachers who participated in the study, the fact that they are from different parts of the country contributes for having an overall representation of the teachers’ practices within English language teaching in the primary level in Portugal. The results reveal that teachers tend to adhere to different teaching methods and approaches, such as the Communicative Method and the Audio-lingual Method. Furthermore, although teachers recognize the value of TBLT, the results demonstrate that are constraints that discourage them to apply it more frequently. This study displays similar outcomes to other international studies, mentioned in the literature review, which lead us to reflect on the relevance of adopting TBLT in EFL settings with young learners. As English was recently implemented as a compulsory subject in Primary school in Portugal and given the limitations of this study, the development of more research on EFL teaching techniques with young learners in Portugal is suggested. The same study could be complemented with variance tests and action-research could also be developed.