From Learner to (Change) Maker · 2006–2026

Twenty years
of task-based
language teaching.

Two decades of TBLT work — distilled from empirical research, pedagogical innovation, and first-hand experience as a classroom learner, teacher, and community builder. Skin in the game, every step.

Huy Phung — TBLT Specialist

20 Years of TBLT Practice

Each role below grew out of and alongside the previous — not in sequence, but in layers. The Learner never disappears; it shapes everything that follows.

200620102014201820222026
Learner
Teacher ▶
Researcher ▶
Educator ▶
Designer ▶
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As a Learner

2006–2010

Real tasks with real audiences — study-abroad agency, TV production, travel writing. This is where task-based intuition was formed before the theory had a name.

lightbulb The origin of task intuition
school

As a Teacher

2010–ongoing

From student-run game shows in Vietnam to fully redesigned task-based Vietnamese courses at UH. Founded the Community English Club (2011), still running today.

campaign Club-based TBLT (2012) book_4 TBLT → PBLL (2017)
biotech

As a Researcher

2016–ongoing

Doctoral research at UH Mānoa on metacognitive instruction and task-based interaction. Published in ITL, TESL Canada Journal, Innovation in LLT, and more.

article Modality & interaction (2019) article Metacognition (2020) school PhD dissertation (2025)
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As an Educator

2019–ongoing

Translating TBLT research into teacher practice. Courses at UH Mānoa, invited lectures at Columbia, Illinois, HPU, ULIS Hanoi, and more.

menu_book TBLT in Action course mic HPU talk (2021) mic Learner-First (2023)
draw

As a Designer

2021–ongoing

Research and teaching alone don't change practice. Open textbooks teachers can actually use, PLCs that outlast the grant, frameworks that translate theory into design. The Taskbook OER (Mellon Foundation) is used at universities across the US and internationally.

book Taskbook OER (2024) groups VietTBLT (2025) public Open Vietnamese (2024) slideshow OER workshop (2024)

Resource Library

Publications, talks, courses, and projects — two levels of filtering.