Task-based language teaching (TBLT) has attracted a great deal of interest since its inception, as reflected in a large body of relevant literature; most of the literature deals with TBLT in in-person (IP) settings and a small number of TBLT applications in online settings. The shift from the traditional IP mode to the virtual classroom caused by COVID-19 has made the effective application of TBLT a concern. However, most of the past studies have been conducted from the researcher’s perspective, which cannot meet the urgent needs of language teachers from a practical standpoint. This study examined TBLT in virtual Chinese classroom from the perspectives of teachers and students. The action research was conducted to observe the challenges students encountered in online TBLT sessions. Surveys and interviews were conducted to collect data from participants to understand the students’ viewpoints towards online TBLT. The data were analyzed to determine how teachers made actions to improve the TBLT learning and whether these actions were effective. After six weeks of research, the data from the participants revealed that students encountered many problems in online TBLT session, such as difficulties of applying online TBLT including student’s lack of media literacy and the limitedness of Zoom affordance; the challenges of designing tasks for online L2 TBLT class such as teacher’s lack of attention on taking students’ task preferences, grouping methods and targeted prompts into consideration; as well as the challenges of peer collaboration in virtual TBLT for example the dis-connectivity, peer communication, and response distribution issues. In response to challenges that I observed in my study, I integrated and analyzed the following teacher actions to help improve students’ performance and the effectiveness of online TBLT sessions. I rewrote the prompts to provide students with multiple perspectives on the context and appropriate vocabulary in terms of the pre-task materials. Also, I selected relevant grouping patterns for each task type and grouped them appropriately. Moreover, I reduced the power imbalance between the teacher and students, intervened in the in-task discussions appropriately, provided students with guidance on specific Zoom classroom functions, and effectively managed the time spent on each cycle of the TBLT. Last but not least, I enhanced student meta-cognition, provided students with complete information about the TBLT process, explained the benefits and purpose of the assignment, encouraged interaction and collaboration among the students, and attempted to provide a safe and comfortable learning environment for students. To conclude, both students and teachers encounter challenges in this new online learning model environment; thus, we all need to adapt and learn how to learn and teach in this new situation. In this study, I tried different approaches to improve the observed problems and promote the effectiveness of teaching and the learning experience of students through a teacher action research approach. Feedback from participants indicated that the actions were effective. The study revealed that teacher should take the students’ needs into consideration when designing and implementing online TBLT in the future and make a difference through teacher actions. It is hoped that this study can offer some implications on applying TBLT in the virtual setting.

For several years, the use of translation and specifically Machine Translation - including Free Online Machine Translation (FOMT) tools - in L2 curricula has been the subject of ongoing debate. Even though the use of such tools is commonly discouraged in L2 classrooms by educators, the persistence of English as a second language (ESL) students in utilizing the tools has inspired many scholars to investigate whether it is helpful to develop effective strategies that transform FOMT into a teaching/learning tool in the ESL/English for specific purposes (ESP) classroom. Specifically, scholars have examined how FOMT can impact or enhance the writing quality of ESL students' compositions in terms of coherence and cohesion. In line with the same research interests, this project examined ESL students' typical coherence/cohesion challenges in academic writing at an Ontario post-secondary institution offering courses in French. The study explored the writing behaviours, such as the use of technologies including FOMT, that influence these challenges. In addition, this project sought to ascertain whether ESL students can be trained to better achieve coherence/cohesion in academic writing and how this training affects their writing behaviours, with particular attention to the use of technologies such as FOMT. In doing so, the study employed a mixed-methods research design and collected survey data, writing samples and screen recordings from 6 high-intermediate-level ESL students. Survey data was also collected from 23 ESL instructors about ESL students' practices, including tool use. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students and 3 instructors who evaluated the writing samples. Based on the survey results, all the students demonstrated a positive attitude toward FOMT tools, and 5 students used the tools during the writing process in this project. In contrast, the instructors reported divided opinions about such tools for ESL writing purposes. The results showed that instructions can assist students with improving their text quality in terms of coherence and cohesion. As well, based on the results, FOMT can assist the students in constructing their texts during the writing process. The results demonstrated that this assistance can also have a subsequent positive impact on the coherence and cohesion levels in the produced texts.

The study highlights English teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching of creative writing in the English subject in Swedish compulsory school years 7-9 and upper secondary school. The data in this study was collected through a quantitative web survey answered by 13 respondents and qualitative, semi-structured interviews with four teachers selected from the survey respondents. The findings show that the teachers’ attitudes to creative writing as a part of English teaching are influenced partly by how important they think writing in English is but also by external factors, such as the school’s steering documents and the social environment.

Studien utforskade användningen av den Artificiell Intelligens chatbot, ChatGPT, i undervisningen av engelska (ELT) och hur elever och lärare på svenska gymnasieskolor uppfattade användningen av ChatGPT i engelskundervisningen. Studien har samlat båda kvantitativa data från 63 gymnasieelever genom en online-enkät och kvalitativa data från intervjuer med två engelsklärare på gymnasienivå. Forskningen undersökte i vilken utsträckning och för vilka syften elever använde ChatGPT, förändringarna i undervisningsmetoder inom ELT, samt fördelar och utmaningar med ChatGPT ur lärarnas perspektiv. Studien använde teoretiska ramverk som The Unified Technology Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Language teacher cognition och Learner Autonomy. Resultaten indikerar att elever huvudsakligen använder ChatGPT för idegenerering och inspiration. Dock har anvädningen av ChatGPT för engelskinlärning inte blivit populär bland eleverna. Förändringar i undervisningsmetoder märks främst i klassrum bedömningar, aktiviteter, och hjälp med lektionsplanering och materialförberedelse. Fördelar med ChatGPT inkluderar idegenerering, främjande av Learner Autonomy, medan utmaningar inkluderar oro för tillförlitlighet, begränsad inlärning, och frågor om akademisk ohederlighet. Detta understryker behovet av noggrant övervägande vid inkluderingen av ChatGPT i pedagogiska sammanhang. / The study explored the application of artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, in English language teaching (ELT) and learning, exploring how Swedish upper secondary school students’ and teachers’ perceived ChatGPT in English class. The study collected quantitative data consisting of 63 upper secondary school students’ through an online questionnaire, and qualitative data from interviews with two upper-secondary ELT Teachers. The research explores the extent and purposes of students’ use of ChatGPT, the changes in ELT instructional practices, and the affordances and challenges of ChatGPT from teacher’s perspectives. This study adopts the unified technology acceptance and use of technology theory (UTAUT), Language teacher cognition and Learning autonomy as theoretical frameworks. The results indicate that students primarily use ChatGPT for brainstorming and inspiration, however, using ChatGPT for English learning has not become popular among students. Changes in instructional practices are noticeable in in-class assessments, activities, and assistance with lesson planning and material preparation. The affordances of ChatGPT are brainstorming, promoting learner autonomy, and the challenges include reliability concerns, limited learning, and issues of academic dishonesty. This emphasises the need for careful consideration when including ChatGPT in pedagogical implications.

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Listening comprehension is considered one of the more difficult language skills to teach, which has caused a debate regarding what impact English varieties have on the learners of English. Previous research is divided, with researchers stating that English varieties influence intelligibility and comprehensibility of speech in listening comprehension, while others claim it has no effect. This study aims to investigate Swedish teachers’ attitudes to English varieties in listening comprehension and what affects their choice of teaching material used in listening comprehension contexts. A survey was conducted alongside semi-structured interviews with teachers from upper secondary schools in Sweden. Four counties in Sweden were randomly selected, and all the teachers from each county were contacted with requests to participate in the study. In total, 35 teachers answered the survey, and six participated in the interviews. The results show that teachers are united in that learners of English should be exposed to different English varieties in listening comprehension. However, they are divided on its importance in other contexts, such as if the content of the teaching material used in listening comprehension is more important than the English variety used. They are also divided on if the English varieties affected their choice of teaching material to use in listening comprehension at all.