In the chapter in this final part of the book I look back at the chapters in the previous three parts of the book to consider the interface between research and pedagogy in the development of task-based language teaching. There is now a substantial body of research that has investigated tasks and also a number of commentaries about the pedagogy of task based teaching. Pica (1997) emphasized the compatibility between the fields of research and language teaching as both were concerned with tasks. Clearly, research has had an impact on pedagogy. However, to a considerable extent there has been a disconnection, with much of the research focusing narrowly on tasks and pedagogy concerned more broadly with complete task-based lessons and courses.

This suggests a need for an applied research agenda in the future – one that is driven less by the need to test or build a theory of task performance and more by how best to address the practical issues that teachers face when introducing task-based language teaching (TBLT) into their classrooms – including how to handle ‘grammar’. In other words, rather than taking ‘task’ as the starting point for research, I propose a research programme built on identifying key issues relating to the implementation of task-based teaching. I argue, too, that more thought needs to be given to the design of teacher-education programmes and to investigating whether such programmes are effective in supporting teachers when they introduce TBLT into their classrooms.