Written by leading international experts, this handbook provides an accessible resource to task-based language teaching for teachers, as well as academic researchers. Chapters in the volume are presented in a reader-friendly style, with ideas made accessible through case studies, questions for discussion, and suggested further readings.

Preface; Part I. The Rationale for TBLT: 1. The (unsatisfactory) status quo in language teaching: a psycholinguistic rationale for TBLT; 2. A pedagogic rationale for TBLT; Part II. Tasks and Needs Analysis: 3. Why tasks? Task as the unit of analysis in language education; 4. Adapting and advancing task-based needs analysis (NA) methodology across diverse language learning contexts; 4A. Developing a task-based approach: a case study of Australian Aboriginal VET students; 4B. A needs analysis for Syrian refugees in Turkey; 4C. TBLT in a Japanese university: from needs analysis to evaluation; 4D. The implementation of a task-based Spanish language program in Qingdao, China: a case study; 5. The L in TBLT: analyzing target discourse; 5A. Blustery with an occasional downpour: an analysis of target discourse in media weather forecasts; 5B. 'I have a question': A corpus-based analysis of target discourse in office hour interactions; Part III. The Task Syllabus and Materials: 6. The Cognition Hypothesis, the Triadic Componential Framework and the SSARC Model: an instructional design theory of pedagogic task sequencing; 7. From needs analysis to task selection, design, and sequencing; 7A. Task-based telecollaborative exchanges between US and Italian students: a case study in program design and implementation; 8. Exploring the nuts and bolts of task design; 8A. Designing pedagogic tasks for refugees learning English to enter universities in the Netherlands; Part IV. Methodology and Pedagogy: 9. A psycholinguistically motivated methodology for TBLT; 10. Technology-mediated TBLT; 10A. Task-based simulations for diplomatic security agents; 10B. Delivering TBLT at scale: a case study of a needs-based, technology-mediated workplace English program; 10C. TBLT and Indigenous Language Revitalisation; Part V. TBLT with School-age Children: 11. Children interacting in task-supported EFL/CLIL contexts; 11A. Tasks for children: using mainstream content to learn a language; 11B. A case study of a task-based approach for school-age learners in China; Part VI. The Teacher in TBLT: 12. Teacher preparation and support for TBLT; 12A. Connecting teacher training to TBLT implementation: a case study of pre-service teachers in Honduran bilingual schools; 12B. Training for tasks the cooperative way: an online tutored TBLT course for teachers, managers and course designers; Part VII. Task-Based Assessment and Program Evaluation: 13. Task-based, criterion-referenced performance testing; 14. TBLT program evaluation: why and how; 14A. Comparing the effectiveness of TBLT and PPP on L2 grammar learning: a pilot study with Chinese students of Italian L2; 14B. Evaluating the pilot year of a task-based Spanish immersion camp for high schoolers: examining learners' experience of task motivation and difficulty within and following tasks; 14C. Designing a classroom-based TBLA framework for primary schools: blurring the lines between teaching, learning and assessment; Part VIII. Research Needs and Future Prospects: 15. Methodological issues in (cognitively-oriented) TBLT research: advances and challenges; 16. Innovation in language education: a task-based perspective; 17. The adoption of TBLT in diverse contexts: challenges and opportunities; Conclusion.