General Editor: Christopher N. Candlin,
>Since it was first established in the 1970's the Applied Linguistics and Language Study Series has become a major force in the study of practical problems in human communication and language education. Drawing extensively on empirical research and theoretical work in linguistics, sociology, psychology and education, the series explores key issues in language acquisition and language use.

>The volume starts with an introduction to the background and key issues in the topic area and is then organised into three sections:

* the first section focuses on the language and learning of students on tasks
* the second on the use of tasks in the language classroom
>Each section begins with a succinct section introduction, and the volume concludes with an afterword relating the theme of the volume to issues in curriculum development. The chapters include both experimental and qualitative approaches to the topic, some providing original accounts of specific studies, others offering overviews of linked series of studies. The book will be of interest to graduate students in Applied Linguistics, teacher educators, testers, materials writers, senior teachers, and researchers.

Martin Bygate is a Senior Lecturer in TESOL at the School of Education, University of Leeds. He has written extensively in the past, including the volumes Speaking (1987) and Grammar and the Language Classroom (1994). Peter Skehan is Professor of Applied Linguistics in the School of Education, King's College, London. His previous publications are in the areas of individual differences in second language learning, second language acquisition, and language testing. Merrill Swain is a Professor in the Second Language Education Program of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. She is a Past President of the American Association for Applied
Linguistics, and is currently a Vice-President of the International Association of Applied Linguistics.

1. IntroductionMartin Bygate, Peter Skehan and Merrill Swain PART 1: TASKS AND LANGUAGE PROCESSING2. Effects of task repetition on the structure and control of oral languageMartin Bygate 3. Non-reciprocal tasks, comprehension and second language acquisitionRod Ellis 4. Rules and routines: A consideration of their role in the task-based language production of native and non-native speakersPauline Foster PART 2: STUDIES OF TASKS IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS5. Focus on form through collaborative dialogue: Exploring task effectsMerrill Swain and Sharon Lapkin 6. Guiding relationships between form and meaning during task performance: The role of the teacherVirginia Samuda 7. 'A case of exercising': Effects of immediate task repetition on learners performanceTony Lynch and Joan Maclean PART 3: TASK-BASED APPROACHES TO TESTING8. Tasks and language performance assessmentPeter Skehan 9. Influences on performance in task-based oral assessmentsGillian Wigglesworth 10. Task-based assessments: Charactersitics and validity evidenceMicheline Chalhoub-Deville Afterword: Taking the Curriculum to TaskChristopher N. Candlin

Martin Bygate is a Senior Lecturer in TESOL at the School of Education, University of Leeds. He has written extensively in the past, including the volumes Speaking (1987) and Grammar and the Language Classroom (1994). Peter Skehan is Professor of Applied Linguistics in the School of Education, King's College, London. His previous publications are in the areas of individual differences in second language learning, second language acquisition, and language testing.
Merrill Swain is a Professor in the Second Language Education Program of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. She is a Past President of the American Association for Applied
Linguistics, and is currently a Vice-President of the International Association of Applied Linguistics.