Tasks and Communicating in Language Classrooms

"Tasks and Communicating in Language Classrooms" is a significant new work in the area of classroom communication. This text takes a principled approach to how one can take the basic question-and-answer paradigm found in many, if not most, language textbooks and reformulate it into interactive tasks that place communication in the hands of the student-learners. This text is practical in terms of task development and task-based test design and development, and simultaneously well-grounded in theory and research. Continuing in the tradition of bringing theory, research, and practice together into one volume, Lee's work is a welcome addition to the "McGraw-Hill Second Language Professional" series.

James F. Lee is the Head of the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. His research interests are in the areas of second language reading comprehension, input processing, and exploring the relationship between the two. His research has appeared in a number of scholarly journals and publications, including the co-authored books with Alessandro Benati Second Language Processing: Theory, Problems and Possible Solutions (2007, Continuum) and Delivering Processing Instruction in Classrooms and Virtual Contexts (2007, Equinox). Other publications include the book Tasks and Communicating in Language Classrooms (2000, McGraw-Hill) and the co-authored book Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen, Second Edition (2003, McGraw-Hill). He has also co-authored secveral textbooks, including 'Sabias que...? Beginning Spanish, Vistazos, 'Que te parece?, and Ideas: Lecturas, estrategias, actividades y composiciones. He and Bill VanPatten are series editors for the McGraw-Hill Second Language Professional Series.