@article{Caruso_Hofmann_Rohde_2021, title={Get ‘em While They’re Young: Complex Digitally-Mediated Tasks for EFL Learners in Primary Schools}, volume={24}, url={https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/CJAL/article/view/31340}, DOI={10.37213/cjal.2021.31340}, abstractNote={<p>We suggest that complex tasks can be introduced to learners as early as primary school level with the help of digital media in the form of different apps. As a theoretical basis, we will first outline the principles of teaching English in (German) primary schools. Secondly, we will look at the framework of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) according to Nunan (2004) and explore how digitally-mediated tasks can be connected to this framework. Then, we will look at complex tasks as outlined by Hallet (2011) and present an example of a complex digital task for young English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners that we developed and tested in a German primary school classroom. It is suggested that TBLT at the primary level is a motivating alternative to playful teaching techniques traditionally championed at the primary level. Moreover, it may be a way of bridging the problematic gap between the primary and secondary levels as tasks can prepare young learners for the challenges they will face at the secondary level.</p>}, number={2}, journal={Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics}, author={Caruso, Celestine and Hofmann, Judith and Rohde, Andreas}, year={2021}, month={May}, pages={187–207} }