This qualitative study explores how a group of preservice teachers make sense of task-based language teaching principles and characteristics, especially amidst remote instruction. We draw on the analysis of 13 preservice teachers' lesson plans and teaching guides as they transitioned from in-person to remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. An analysis of the lesson plans using task-based language teaching principles as a framework revealed that preservice teachers implemented principles differently during in-person and remote teaching. Interestingly, the use of the principles sometimes contrasts with what the participants report in their reflections. We discuss the challenges English as a foreign language teachers face when adapting methods such as task-based language teaching to the demands of new teaching contexts.