Justifying course and task design in language teaching

We often neglect to justify course and task design in language teaching in terms of current insight. This article articulates a number of general considerations that influence course design in communicative language teaching, as well as one specific condition: that the task or course must make language learning possible in the classroom. It concludes with a consideration of three essential criteria: that the task or course design embody a broad (communicative) perspective on language, that it provide learners with opportunities for focusing on the learning process itself, and that it use learners’ personal experience as a starting point for tasks.