Luận văn thạc sĩ applicability of tasked based language teaching to the teaching context in thai hoa upper secondary school

LE MINH QUY APPLICABILITY OF TASK — BASED LANGUAGE ‘TEACHING TO THE TEACHING CONTEXT IN THAI HOA UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL KHA NANG AP DUNG PHUONG PHAP DAY HỌC NGÔN NGỮ DỰA VAO NITEM VU

UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

(KHẢ NẴNG ÁP DỰNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC NGÔN NGỮ DỰA

VÀO NHIỆM VỤ TRÔNG BÓI CẢNH TRƯỜNG THPT THÁI HÒA)

.A MINOR PROGRAMME TIIESIS

Ficld: English Language T'caching Mcthodology Code: 60.14.10

Hanoi, 2013

LE MINH QUY

APPLICABILITY OF TASK — BASED LANGUAGE

‘TEACHING TO THE TEACHING CONTEXT IN THAI HOA

UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

(KHA NANG AP DUNG PHUONG PHAP DAY HỌC NGÔN NGỮ DỰA

VAO NITEM VU TRONG BO! CẢNH TRƯỜNG THPT THÁI HÒA)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: Nguyễn Việt Hùng, MA

TIanơi , 2013

CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT

I certificate that the minor thesis entitled “Applicability of task-based language teaching to the teaching context in Thai Ioa secondary school” is submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts is the result of my own work This mminor thesis or any part of this one has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other

university or instilution

Hanoi, 28" June, 2013

Secondly, T would like lo express my great gratitude to all the teachers and students at Thai Hea secondary school for their participation and cooperation during the data collection process

Thirdly, il is my pleasure to acknowledge my fricnds, aspecially Pui Van Hau, , from whom I have received a lot of help, support and encouragement,

Finally, my sincere thanks go to my family whose support has been of great

siggtificance lo the succoss of my thesis

ii

ABSTRACT Reeenlly lask-bescd language teaching (TRET) evolving from communicative Janguage instruction has drawn the attention of many researchers towards itself To date, there have not had many studies an applicability of TBLY in a particular context, This sludy has intended to explore the altiludes of students? towards TBLT 1talso seeks the understanding of teachers’ of TBLT A sample of five teachers and three hundred students

participated in this study A questionnaire was used to examine students’ attitudes towards

the Gicndliness of theorstical issues af TRLT Thon, intervicws and observations arc employed to find out how teachers understand and implement task-based language learning,

in their classroom ‘t'he data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively ‘The results of the study showed that while students in general bad positive altitudes towards TBLT, teachers Jacked conceptualizations of TBLT and their teaching practice did not match TBLT model, Therefore, these findings led to the conclusion that it is impossible to

apply TBLT to the teaching context in THISS successfully Finally, suggestions were made

in order to solve those problems mentioned above: tcachers should attend scminars on ELT; they should train themselves through books and articles; there should have had competitions for bolh teachers and students to enhance teaching and learning Fagtish

"m5

LIST OF APPENDICES

QUESTIONNAIRES FOR SFUDENTS

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS OBSERVATION SHEETS

QUANTITATIVE STATISTICAL DATA

» INTERVIEW DATA

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1 | Willis and Skehan’s views of principles of BLT

Table 2 | Ellis und Nunan’s views of principles of TRE.T

Table 3 | Teachers” background information

Table 4 | Students’ background information

Tahle 5 | Summary of Statistical Models

Tahle 6 | Unreliable Items that nced being left out the analysis

Table 7 | Correlation between domains in the whole questionnaire

Tahle 8 | Reliability of each domam in the questionnaire

Table 9 | Factor Analysis of domains in the Questionnaire

Table 10 | Factor Analysis of Students’ attitudes towards TBLT

‘Table 11 | Descriptive stalisties of dotuains and the whole questionnaire

Table 12 | Frequency and Percentage of Students’ Attitude towards domains and TBLT

‘Table 13, | Descriplive statistics of Terns with unconfinnative answers

Table 14 | Descriptive statistics of Items with highly contirmative answers

Descriptive statistics of each item/question in Attitude towards Principles of

Table 15, Teaching domain

Table 16 | Descriptive statistics of the ilzms in Attitude towards Features of Teaching Table 17 | Descriptive statistics of the items in dstitude towards Stages of Teaching

Descriptive statistios of the itams in Attitude towards Techniques of

Table 18 Teaching

Table 19 | Summary of Mcan difference of domains between groups according to age

Summary of T-Test Values of Mean difference of domains between

Table 20 groups according to age ;

Table 21, | Sumunary of Mcan difference of domains betwen groups according to scx

1 Table 22 Summary of T-Test Values of Mean difference of domains between groups -

according to sex

H Table 23 Mean difference in Attitude towards Task-Dased Language Teaching -

according to Econamic condition Table 24, | Multi linsar regression analysis of Altitude towards Task-Based Lamguage

‘Table 25 Teaching

Coefficients of mulli linear regression analysis of Attilute towards Task-

alle “7 | Stages of Teaching

Table 28 | Teachers’ conecptualizations of TBLT

Table 29 | Pros and Cons of Task-based language teaching

Table 30 | Factors affecting the TBLT implementation

‘Table 31 | Summary of teachers’ classroom practice

Summary of the results in the questionnaire, semi-stractured

Table 32 interview, and classroom observation è

TBLT _ Task-Based Langmge Teaching

MOET Ministry of Education and Training

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

TEFL Teaching English as Forcign Language

FL Foreign Language

L2 _ Second Language

DT Definition of Task

ET _Examples of Task

TRITM Task - Based Languag: Teaching Model

TGTBLT Teaching Granunar in Task — Based Language Teaching

TBLT vs Task —Tbased Language Teaching versus Other Teaching Methods

1.4 Scope of the study

1.5 Significance of the study

1.6 Method of the study

1.7 Design of the study

1.1.2 Input and learning interactionist heOEY con esses

1.1.3 Communicative language teaching,

1.1.4 Reszarch on communicative tasks

Task-hased language teaching

2.1 The fitness of research method

2.2 Context of the sturly

2.2.2, ‘the setting of the study

2.6, Reliability and validity of the research

Chapter 3 DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

3.1 Students’ attitudes towards theoretical issues of TBLT

3.1.1 Students’ attitudes towards TBLT

3.1.2 Students’ attitudes towards cach domain of TBLT

3.1.3, Difference of Students’ attitudes towards theoretical issues of ! BLT in

3.1.4, Main faclors which affeet students? attitudes towards TBLT

3.2, Findings from semi-structured interviews and classroom observations

41 46

3.2.4, Teachers’ practice in language classrooms

3.3 Matches and Mismatches

Part A: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

Task-based teaclnng is an Anglo American invention (Fltis, 2003) designed mamly for adult intermediate Iearners TL opens new polentinl orientations and hopes to the EFT Jeamers and teachers in some aspeots of leaming and teaching The task-based language syllatms, unlike other Linguistic and structural syllabuses, takes learners’ needs into

account Rygate (1999) indicates how one can use tasks systematically as a context to

develop learners’ knowledge about language, their ability to use it, and the teachers’ ability

to teach it He asserts that tasks are needed to improve leamers’ fluency, accuracy, and

complexity in communication, Due to many benefits of TBLT, the set of lexthooks for sceorary schools was passed by MOET in 2006 in which communicative learner-centred approaches and task-based language teaching are adopted Students can participate in activities through individual, pair, and group work, and they can interact with each other

‘actively, creatively and cooperatively’ (Van et al, 2006, p.10) Along the ine with the

iimovative trend, departments of education and training in provinces and cities have declared that lower and upper secondary schools need follow the communicative approach

and TBLT suggested by authars of texthooks and MORT Tn order to pul this policy into

different contexts Thus, the question “Is Task-bascd Language Teaching (TBLT) applicable the teaching context in ‘thai Hoa secondary school?” is worth being investigated before any decisions of TBLT implementation

‘The applicability of a teaching method into a specific teaching context is feasible in case three major factors are met: (1) There exist the textbooks or teaching materials

fitendly to that teaching method; (2) students have positive attitudes towards features of that method, and (3) Leachors are sware of that, teaching method The first factor is rac

‘because the textbooks of English for sccondary schools are declared to adopt TBLT (Van,

2011, pp.96-106; Hung, 2011, pp.124-131)

Therefore, in order to decide whether the two other factors are met or not, the

sary 1o have muy rescarches about the applivabl

research has to investigate students’ attitudes towards theoretical issues of TBLT and the teachers’ perception of TBLT in Thai Hoa Secondary school,

1.2 Aim and Objectives of the study

The main aim of the study is to find out how applicable tsk-bascd menage jeamning (TBLL) is in the teaching context of Thai Hoa Secondary School (THSS), this aim

is subdivided into following objectives to be easier to manage:

1.3, Research questions

In order to meet the objective of the study, the following research questions are raised:

1 What are students’ attitudes towards theoretical issues of task-based langnage

leaning?

2 What are teachers’ perceptions of task-based language leaming?

1.4, Scope of the study

In order Ip find out the applicability of TBLT in the teaching context of Thai Hoa secondary school, the study is only focused the attitudes of students’ towards TBLT and

the understanding of teachers’ of BL In addition, the study is only carried out in ‘THSS

15, Significance of the study

The findings of the research will help teachers have a more comprehensible understanding of students’ attitudes and teacher’s perceptions towards TBLT Also, they

will know benefils of TRLT but challenges facing them and their students when

implementing TBLT Finally, some suggestions will be made in order to help then apply

TELT at THSS successfully

1.6 Method of the study

To achieve the aims of the study, both quantitative and qualitative methods are

employed and the following steps are involved:

© Collecting data by survey questionnaires for students

* Conducting an interview and a class observation with teachers for firther

information of the study All comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusion are based on the data analysis ‘This data hoped to confirm and support the results obtained fom other sources

1.7 Destgn of the study

‘This study is organized into three main parts as follows:

Part A: Introduction

“rhis part presents the rationale, the aims and objectives, research questions, scope,

significance, method, and design of the study

Part B: Development

This part is divided into 3 chapters.

Chapter 1 Literature review: it serves as the theoretical background for the study,

presenting the concepts and relevant theories

Chapter 2 Methodology: it discusses the context of the study, the dala collection

instruments, {he data collection procedure, and the data amalysis

Chapter 3— Results and Discussion: it presents significant findings of the study, a

discussion of the major findings

Part C: Conclusion

It summarizes the main issues addressed in the study, discusses limitations and some pedagogical implications In addition, it also offers suggestions for further researches

Prabhu It was in Bangalore of southem Indian in 1979 that Prabhu began his bold

experiments to put his theories into practice which seemed radical at that time According

to Prabhn students may leam more effectively when their minds are focused on the task,

sather than on the language they are using (Prabhu, 1987) Therefore, Prabhu is thought to

‘be the originator of TBLT

The theoretical basis of TRLT dates back to cognilive psychology ‘the Learning theory” that has deeply affected the elementary education Allwright (1977) put thal “Tf the language activities involve the learners in solving communicative problems in the target Janguage, language leaming will take care of itselP” Also, the other theoretical foundations

of TBLT are Krashen’s “Input and Interactionist Theory” and “Communicative Language Teaching”

1.1.1 The Learning Theory

Tn Lask-based language ‘eaching, sytlabus content and instructional processes are

selected with reference to the conmmunicative Lasks which learners will (cither actually or

potentially) need to cngage in outside the classroom and also with refercnes to theoretical and empirical insights into those social and psycholinguistic (cognitive) processes which facilitate language acquisition This approach to language teaching commonly includes the

ideas of earning theories of Piaget’s cognitive theory and Vygetsky's social constructivist theory

“Piaget described overall development as the result of children’s interaction with

thelr cavironment, with a comptemantary trcraetion between their davetoping porecplual cognitive capacitics and their linguistic cxparienec” (Brown 2002, p.29)

Piaget emphasized the constructive nature of the leaning processes ‘That is,

individuals are actively involved right from birth in constructing personal meaning, which

is their personal understanding, fiom their experiences

‘Vygotsky (1987) claims that cognitive development and learning originates in a social context Vygotsky believed that higher psychological functions, such as learning, develop in inlmaction between individuals, He hypolhosived the oxistence of a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), where functions learnt in a social dimension arc transferred

to a cognitive dimension An implication of this theory is that a learner learns under the

guidance of an expert, who provides assistance and support by adjusting the đifficdlfy of the task Since a language classroom can also be considered as a social environment, the phenomena of inlzraction winch take place there can be analyzed in the light of this Iheory Vygotsky's th

Sane of proximal development” is probably his best-known concept TL argues that students can, with the help from adults or children who are more advanced, master concepts and ideas that they camot understand on their own, No one ever achieves the full extent of their learning potential, but people can continus to develop their cognitive capacity throughout their lives and their social interaction,

‘Vygotsky (1978) shared many of Piaget’s assumptions about how children learn,

‘bat he placed more emphasis on the sociat context of learning Piagel’s coguilive theories

have been used as the foundation for the discovery of Icarning ntodels in which the Weacher

an active involved teacher, For Vygotsky, the culture gives the child the cognitive tools (they are features of our minds that shape the ways we make sense of the world around us;

oulture provides to a child include cultural history, social context, and language Today

‘they also include electronic forms of information access

Supported by social-interactive and constructive theory, a social constructive model

of the tcaching-loarning process cacs into being, 1 emphasizes the dynamic mature of the

intorplay between teachers, learners and tasks, and provides a view of Icarning as arising from interactions with others In this model, a leamer is an active meaning-maker and problem-solver and tasks involve input in the form of a piece of text or language They involve activities, which are what the learners are required to do, and they involve cognitive operations, which are the cognitive process needed in order to carry out the activities Together with the other two key factors, teachers and context, they interact as

part of a dynamic, ongoing proc

1.1.2 Input and Interactionist Theory

language leaming comes about through using language communicatively, rather than through practicing language skills ‘hat is to say, we acquire a language mostly is the result of using language in the process of commmmicative activities, not the result of conscious language drilling

According to Krashen (1982), we acquire a language through our subconscious acquisition process nol our conscigus leaming process Language acquisilion is a

subeous

ious process nol unlike the way a child lcwrns language Language acquirers are not consciously aware of the grammatical rules of the language, but rather develop a “feal” for correctness, in non-technical language, acquisition is “picking-up” a language Language leaming, on the other hand refers to the conscious knowledge of a foreign language, knowing the rules, being aware of them, and being able to talk about them, Thus language learning, can be compared to Jearning about a language

Krashen also points oul the students to acquire a language must receive

comprehensible input The input hypothesis statzs thal a language acquirer who is al level

“4” nmust reecive comprehensible input that is at level “i+1” We acquire, in other wards, only when we understand language that contains structures that is ‘a little beyond’ where

we are now This understanding is possible due to using the cultural background of the

language we are hearing or reading and our knowledge of the world, Interactionist sritics pointed to some insufficiencies of Krashen’s comprehensible input theory (Long, 1985)

'they doubted that mere exposure to input, even 1f comprehensible, could promote Janguage leaning Whon reading a book, walching 4 TV program, of lislening to a tadio

‘broadcast Icarncrs do not interact with the source of language: the communication is unidirectional ‘Chey do not have the oppartunity to show that they have not understood the message, to ask for clarifications ar repetitions On the basis of these considerations Long,

although accepting the comprehensible input theory, decided to study how input is made comprehensible His researches showed that native speakers consistently modify their

speech when they interact with non-native speakers

Most mative spake am to adjust naturally their specch to the non-native: speakers needs, in order to facilitate communication (Long, 1983), Long (1983, pp.177-

193) suggests that language acquisition can be gained only through the ‘conversational

interaction’ Meanwhile, he also thinks that the necessary language acquisition device is

“modified interaction” , which concerns (1) the modified interaction may make the input

conyrehensible, (2) the comprehensible input is good for language acquisition; Œ) qnodi fied inlzraction benefits language sequisition

Therefore, in ELT we should design the activity with the modified interaction

(task) so that leamers can naturally acquire language through the conversational interaction Task-based language teaching can make language learning in classrooms

closer to the natural route and may seach a higher rate of language acquisition because it provides learners with a clear communicative goal, interaction is needed to reach the goal,

and comprehensive inpul can occur, and then language acquisition is facilitated Nowadays, more and more designers of communicative syllabuses allempls to organize communicative language teaching around a specification of communicative tasks Some classroom activities are offen designed to focus on completing tasks that are mediated through language or involve interaction or negotiation of information and information

sharing,

1.1.3 Communicative Language Teaching

Task-based language leaching can be regarded as one particular development within the broadcr “communicative approach” (Littlewnad 2004, p.1) Communicative language teaching (CLT) has become the accepted orthodoxy theory of Tcaching English

as a Foreign Language (TK#L) over the past ten years or more, and many, but not all,

general courses inchide commmmnicative goals, cammumicative practice or communicative

aethodology Sts theoretical base, according to Richards and Rodgers (2001, p.71),

includes these characteristics:

1 Language is a gystom for the expression of meaning

2 The primary fimction of Tanguage ig for interaction and communication

3 The stuclurc of language reflects its finetional and communicative uses

4 The primary units af language are not merely its grammatical and structural features,

‘but categories of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in discourse

Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitatz

communication The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real

life, Unlike the Andiolingual method of languags leaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses, The real-life simulations change from day lo day Students? motivation lo leam comes from their desirs {o communivats in meaningfil ways about meaningful topies

piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak) ” (Berns 1984, p.5}

1.1.4 Research on Communicative Tasks

There have been several researches about tasks for over two decades (for example Shavelson & Stern, 1981; Candlin, 1987; Long, 1989), The researchers try to characterize elements around tasks

Shavelson and Stern (1981, p.478) suggests that tasks design should take into

consideration the following elements:

}) Content-the subject matter fo be taught

2) Materials-ihe things that leamers can observe/manipulate

3) Activitios~the things the lcamers and feachor will be doing during the Iceson

4) Goals-the teacher's general aim far the task (they are mnch more general and vague than objectives)

5) Stadents—their abilities, needs and interests are important

6) Social commmnity—the class as a whole and its sense of “groupness”

‘Wright (1987) suggests that tasks minimally contain just two elements: input data

which may be provided by materials, teachers or leamers, and an initiating question which

instrucls learners on whal ta do with the data

Candlin (1987) characterizes that tasks should contain input, roles, scttings, actions, amonitoring, outcomes and feedback Input refers to the data presented for leamers to work

on Roles specify the relationship between participants in a task Setting refers to the classroom and out-of-class amangements cntailed in the task Actions arc the procedures

andl sub-tasks to be performed by the leamers Monitoring refers to the supervision of the

task in progress Outcomes are the goals of the task and feedback refers to the evaluation

of the lask,

Long (1989) discussed two commonly aspects of communication tasks-the distribution of task-essential information and the goal orientation of learners Regarding information distribution, Long discusses “ons-way” tasks in which one leamer holds all

task- essential information and must communicate il lo the others, and “iwa-way” Lasks in

which task-essential infonnation is distributed between learners, enquiring them to share

and integrate it Regarding goal orientation, Long discusses “open” task in which leamers

now that there is no “correct” solution to the task, and “closed” tasks in which learners

know ‘hat there is only one or a sumall range of solutions Pica, Kanagy, and Falodt (1993) combine these conditions to produce a typology of tasks based on the opportunities for iuleractiơn thal they provide

Yule (1997) provided a sccond lypology of communication tasks, Yule proposes three task types (descriptive, instructional, and narrative) and argues that the discourse skills necessary for descriptive task are entailed in instructional task, and that the skills for

‘both ara entailed in narrative tasks Whereas the typology of Pica et al (1993) helps to understand how learners need to interact on individual tasks, Yule’s (1997) typology provides a basis for sequencing tasks developmentally Although new approach is

emerging (Skehan:1998), the typology of Pica el al (1993) and Yule (1997) provids a

basis for organizing foreign language instruction, and are relatively representative of

current practice

Lambert (2004) introduced an approach to planning sequences of communication

tasks that require becoming personally involved in their learning By drawing on their own ideas and experisnee, as a product of earher tasks in a given sequence, leamers generate the content and resource material on which subsequent tasks operate Lambert’s idea is

intended lo increase understanding of the potential of tasks as a planning tool in FIVL2

education, and to provide practical sxamplos for teach

1.2 Task-based language teaching

1.2.1 Definition of a task

Tow to define what a task is, which has attracted a considerable amount of concer

s and materials design

of researchers and educators for decades, It seems that the continuum of definitions of task

is longer and longer, Therefore, the term task has been defined from different perspectives

In terms of real world task, Long (L985) states that a task is:

A piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward Thus examples of lacks include painting a fence, dressing a duld, Gilling out a form, buying a pair of shoes, making an airline reservation, borrowing a brary book, taking a driving

lost, typing a Iciler, weighing a palicnt, sorting Ielterz, tulking a hiotcl reservation,

writing a cheque, finding a street destination and helping someone acrosr a toad In other words, by ‘lask’ is meant the hundred and onc things people do in everyday life,

ai work, at play, and in between (p89)

‘The prominent feature of the task in this definition 1s that a task can be either linguistic or non linguistic one When a task is converted from outside world inta

classroom, it becomes pedagogical task Breen (1987, p.23) defines a task is:

Any structured tuuguage loaning cudcavow which has a particular objective,

appropriaie cantent, a specified working procednre, and a range of outcomes for those

who wnderlake the task, “Task” is therefore avsumed to refer lo w range of workplans

which have the overall nurposes of faeiliiating language learning — from the simple and brief exercise type, to more complex and Jongthy activitice such as group problen- solving ar simulations and decision-making,

‘This definition is very large, implying as it does, that just about anything the leamer does in the classroom qualifies as a task, It could, in fact, be used to justify any procedure

at all as ‘task-based’, and, as such, is not particularly helpful Also, Nunan (1989, p.10) argues that a task is “a piece of classroom work which involves leamers in comprehending, producing or interacting in the largel language while their attention is principally focused

on meaning rather than form”,

One of the definitions of task advocated much among researchers is Willis’s definition (1996) indicates that ‘tasks are always activities where the target language is used by the leaner for a communicative puzpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome’ (p.23) Drawing on Breen’s (1987) definition, Littlejohn (1998) proposed a broader definition: *A task refers to any proposal contained within the materials for action to be undorluken by the Ieamers, which has the diracl aim of bringing about the learning of the forcign language’ (p 198)

With this definition, each three aspects of task: process, participation and content [Process means what teachers and leamers go through; classroom participation concerns whom learners work with in the process, Content is something (hit leamers focus on (Littlejohn, 1998)f

‘Skehan (1998) generalizes features of a task as follows:

1) Meaning is primary,

(2) Leamers are nol given other people’s meaning lo repeat,

(3) A task has some connection to the real-world;

(4) Task completion has some priority,

(5) The assessment of the task is in terms of outcome (p.95)

Finally, stressing, both meaning and fonn, Ellis (2003), drawing on the research, also

defines task in a pedagogical way:

‘A work plan that requires learners to process language pragmatically in order to achieve an outcome that can be evaluated in terms of whether the correct or appropriate propositional content has been conveyed ‘To this end, it requires them to give primary allention fo meaning and (u make use of their own Linguistic resources, although the design of the task may predispose them to choose particular foums A task is intended

lo result in language use dual beary a resemblance dizcel or indireet lo the way language

is used in the real world Like other language activities, a task can engage productive or receptive, and oral or waitten skille and also various cognitive processes (p.16)

11

Ellis’s (2003) definition is very pedapogical because it includes attention to meaning and engagement with grammar in addition to other major points in language leaching, such as inclusion of pragialic yroperties, use of aulhentic language and

cognitive process,

in summazy, while these definitions vary somewhat, they all exuphasize the fact that tasks involve communicative language use in which the user’s attention is focused on meaning rather than grammatical form Tiut this does not mean that form is not important” (Nunan, 2006, p.17) 1 totally agree with Hung (2012c) detining that a task as

the basis for leaching and learning, is goal - oriented, meaning — focused fast and forma

— focused then, and is implemented by students with a clear procedure or mechanism in

combination with enough authentic and comprohensible inpul The lusk doing is

through interactions (in pairs or in small groups) in which their own experiences of

largel language are exploited, and lasily access the completeness through the oulome

| Information — gap activity, which involves a transfer of given information from one person to another — or from one form to another, or from one place to another — generally calling for the decoding or encoding of information fiom or into language

+ Reasoning — gap activity, which invalves deriving some new information from given information through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a perception of relationships or patterns,

The activity necessarily involves comprehending and conveying information, as an information — gap activity, bot the information to be conveyed is not identical with that

initiatly comprehended Thera is a pices of reasoning which conmects the two

+ Opinion gap activity, which involves identifying and articulating a personal

preference, feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation One example is story

completion: another is taking part in the discussion of a social issue The activity may involve using factual information and formulating arguments to justify one’s opinion, but there is no objective procedure for demonstrating outcomes as right or wrong, and no

reason to expect the same outcome from different individuals or on different occasions

Anothor classification of task lypes, proposed by Richards, ciled in Numan (2004, p.58),

spceifving 5 kinds of task:

+ Jigsaw tasks: These tasks involve leamers in combining different pieces of information to form a whole

1 Tnfmmation — gáp tasks: these are tasks in which one student or group af sludenis has one scl on information and another student ar group bas a complementary scl af information They must negotiate and find out what the other party’s information is in

order to complete an activity

| Problem — solving tasks: stndents ars given a problem and a set of information They nmust amtive at a solution to the problem There is generally a single resolution of the

outcome

| Decision — making tasks: Students are given a protitem for which there are a number of possible outcomes amd they must choose one through negotiation and discussion

+ Opinion exchange tasks: Learners engage in discussion and exchange of ideas

‘They don’t need to reach agreement,

Willis (1996) classifies tasks into six types and they are introduced brieily below:

The first task type is listing which involves such processes such as brainstorming and fact- finding and the outcome would be # list or a dbafL mind map The second one is ordering

depends in the complexity and type of the problem The fifth type of task is sharing personal experiences encouraging leamers to talk more freely about themselves and share

their experiences with others ‘The last task type is oreative tasks involving leamers in some

‘kinds of freer creative work These

3 including the combination of other task types isting, ordering and sorting, comparing and probicm solving, The outcome can often be appreciated by wider audience than the students who produced it It seems that Will’s classification of task types is more specific in comparison to Prahu’s classification and Richard’s classification of tasks

Overall, the purpose of classitving tasks is to generate a variety of tasks on whatever topic is selected Simple tasks may consist of one type such as listing while complex types of tasks may incorporate Iwo or more typos like ercative tasks

1.2.3, Teacher’s roles in I BLT

13

Teachers and learners are considered as the key element in pedagogical researches Roles of teacher are an important factor for the success of a method, and in some teaching methods, such as TRLT, teachers’ role changes # lot when compared with traditional icaching methods, As Willis and Wiltis (2007, pp.148-151) points oul, leachers do play

‘various roles in task-based classroom; these ones will be discussed in turn as follows:

lœađer mmđ orguniver of discussion: The teacher leads students 10 work individually on questionnaires Then the teacher and students discuss the questionnaires and students summarize their ideas in each stage ‘They can also share their ideas with others However, a teacher-led class needs a lot of preparations For example, you should

predict di fcullics facing learner im managing them

Manager of group/pair woti: One of the ađvanfages of pair work and group work

is that it creates opportunities to use spoken language ‘The teacher carefully organizes the work fo make sure that students arc on track when they work in groups Problzras need Lo

‘be dealt with before continuing Changing groups arc sometimes a good way to repeat the

task, New members of the groups can share they what they have from previous groups

Facilitator: Teacher, in this role, involves balancing the amount of exposure and

use of language, and ensuring they arc both of suilable quality

Motivator: Encouragements help to enhance students’ motivation They should be

done in two ways The first way is that you should be be as positive as you can in that fecdback For instance, you should give oul some cormments on useful phrases int studenls? group work or you can pick out something positive fo say about their peformance

Encouragement is unportant but you should not ignore students’ mistakes they make, The

important thing is that you should put a postitive gloss on things whenever you can Another way lo motivate students is encourage then regularly Por example, useful words

they can acquire or new topics are available for discussion You help them to identify their

achievements and to take a pride in them

Language knower and adviser: You should be the one with higher language knowledge and cxpericnee participates in leamer discourse You can paraphrase students” sentences to highlight their contribution and do not try to correct their mistakes if they

don’t really need It is useful to think of yourself as a conversing with a group of friends yather than heing a teacher

Language teacher: At the end of a task sequence, teacher acts as a language teacher

who explains, demonstrates, and elicits appropriate forms However, preparation and thought should be carefully considered

In short, teachers have many roles in the task-based classroom Richards & Rodgers (2001) has pointed out that ‘the success of a method may depend on the degree to which the teacher can provide the cantenl or create the conditions for successful language

Jearning (p 24)’ Therefore, there should be a careful consideration before enabling

students to work on tasks

1.1.4, Some problems in Implementing TBLT in Astan context

Much of research on TRI.T has been in an EST context, but it has recsived an increase in interest from EFL Asian countries However, the implementation of TBLT in EFL contexts has not been without its difficulties

Although educational policy in Asia heavily favours TBLT and other communicative, holistic approaches to language Leaching, a large body of classroom-based research on cwrent teaching in Asia indicates that these policies have not always been implemented consistently Research conducted across Asian contexts has overwhelmingly suggested that curricular policies have had limited overall impact on English language

teaching, which remains traditional with an explicit grammar teaching focus (Carless, 2007; Hu, 2005; Zhang, 2007) Because the size of this section, only few of factors that are

commonly reporied as difficulties in implementing TBIT and other communicative language teaching approaches: [aelors connected lo the institutional culture, the classroom

It

‘The first factor, the institutional culture, includes a non supportive environment for

‘teachers to experiment TBLT, grammar and vocabulary — focused exams (Chow and Mok-

Cheung, 2004; Hu, 2002; Shim and Biak, 2000; Zhang, 2007) According to Hu (2002) has pointed out grammar and vocabulary knowledge _ focnsed national examinations are the amost influential factors preventing teaching innovation in China Also, Chow and Mo-

Cheung (2004) indicale that the summative, knowledge-based high slakes oxams uscd in

teaching, and the teacher devclopm:

Hong Kong to be the main barricrs to implementing TBLT Similarly, curricular

communicative objectives are not reflected in the Korean national exams, so washback

from tests pressurss teachers to revert to traditional, rote-leaming approaches to teach to

The test (Shim and Biak, 2000) It is clear that the national exams and the cwriculums

adopting TBLT are inconsistent in many countries Therefore, at the government level,

there should be appropriate education policies implementing I BLT suceessfilly

engaged in tasks, noise cannot be avoided, and teachers almost loose his/her control over

them As Carless (2004) inserted that ‘concerns over noise and discipline inhibited task-

‘based teaching’ (—p.656) Tlowever, these are nol as constrained ax with olher interactions such as in pairs or small group works and the tasks fargeled at listening wnd reading comprehension, of written production mentioned by Littlewood (2007)

One more issue is multi-level classes in which students do not have the same

proficiency levels This makes it difficult for teachers to select appropriate tasks for their

class (Chao and Wu, 2008) In order to deal with this problem, cooperative learning proposed as a solution by which high-level students can help low ones (Sachs, 2007)

Cortarvi & Tin (2001) indicated thal good class room management is oflen defined in lerns

of volume, with studerts individually working quictly and causing no disruption 1 is, however, teachers who are challenged by participatory structures of TBLT in a way that they have to struggle with noise from pair and group works (Carless, 2004: Ellis, 2003) Students are also unwilling to use English in classes because they get used to using

traditional methods promoting accuracy over fluency Theretore, traditional methods are in preferences to TBLT there, or even in oral classes where speaking is mainly fooused, such

motivated students only use a very simple form of language to commumicale in order to avoid waking mistakes Harough speaking and save their fices (Chang, 2004: Fguehi and

Eguchi, 2006)

Another concem related fo YBLT in Asia is that teachers do not have enough

understanding of tasks and task-based teaching ta implement TBLT in their own

classrooms successfully Because TBLT requires teachers to understand the nature of tasks

and the ways they can promote learning (Ellis, 2003) Some findings have also shown that

‘uncertainty about the tasks and vague understanding of ‘BLT are considered as the principal factor thal Hitnited teachers implementing the curticuhum (Buller, 2005; Clark ct

al., 1999; Jcon, 2006; Zhang, 2007) Besides, some rcscarchers argue that teacher roles in

‘TBLI have put on some kinds of pressure on teachers to response to leamer

communication and needs As Jeon (2006) concluded that the role of facilitator in TBLT

constitutes a psychological burden Furthermore, although some teachers aware and

‘understand tasks and TBLT, they are unwilling to implement TBLT in their classrooms

‘Tasks are regarded as something motivating students, but not a way of promoting

They avoid the implementation of TBLT as a result of their lacking language proficiency (Bulter, 2005; Jeon, 2006), Overall, many researchers ave pointed out challenges facing, Janguage educators when they implement TBLT in Asian context, so they will have a grealcr insight into TRLT in practice

According to Skehan (1996), task-based leaming holds some dangers if implemented carelessly Hspecially, it is likely to create pressure for instant communication rather than interlanguage change and growth Speakers may resort to use

some communication strategies such as paraphrase, repetition, word coinage, ete

1.3 Theoretical Framework

1.3.1 Working terminology

‘The purpose of this part is (o provide terminologies, the framework, and domains of language teaching used in this research before moving to specific parts

‘The deiinition of task from Willis

Moving along the continuum, many definitions of task are created by researchers and educators (for example, Long, 1985, Breen, 1987, Prabu, 1987, Nunan, 1989, 2003; Crooks & Gass, 1993; Willis, 1996, Skehan, 1998; Ellis, 2003), This result shows that it is iol easy to reach an agreement due to the complexity of task, Tlowever, Willis’ definition

of task makes an exception in that “lisks arc always activities wi

outcome’ (Willis, 1996, p.23) Ellis (2000, p.195) states that this task definition represents

‘a broad consensus among researchers and educators’ Also this is the chosen definition

for secondary textbooks, which is mentioned in researches (see Hung, 2011; Van, 2011)

The framework of TBL by Willis

‘The literature proposes a mmber of frameworks for task-based language instruction

(for cxample Nunan 1985, Pra 1987, Skchan 1996, Willis 1996, Numan 2003) These

frameworks consist of three stage: pre-task, task, and post-task stages For cxample,

Willis’s task-based framework instruction is shown in the figure | below

‘Task epelz 'lajk Hlamming Report

Language focus

Analysis Practice

Figuret TBI Framework by Willis

1.5.2 Principtes of EBL

Many rescarchers (for cxample W ‘lis, 1996; Skchan, 1998, Ellis, 2003, Nurean

2003) gencralize principles of task-based teaching, All these principles relate to not only the design of task-based course but also methodology issues Some of the typical

composite view points are put as follows:

‘Table 1 Willis and Skehan's views of principles of U'31:!' (Adapted from Hillis, 2003, p.276)

Willis (1996)

1 There should be exposure to worthwhile

and authentic langnage

2 ‘There should be use of language

3 Tasks should motivate leamers to engage

in language use

4 There should be a focus om language at

some points in a task cycle

5 The focns an language should he more or

Jess prominent at different timos

Skehan (1998)

1 Choose a range of tuget structures, Le

ensure systematically in langnage development without adhering rigidly to a structural sytlabus,

2 Choose tasks which movt the uliity ctitetion, i.e make it ‘useful’ for students to

perform the target strictures

3 Sequence tasks to achieve balanced goal development, i.e prioritize fluency, accuracy, and coruplexily al different times

4, Maximize the chances of a focus on form through international manipulation

5 Use cycles of accountabilily, i.c mobilize

students, metacognitive resources to keep

tack of what bas becu learned

‘Teachers ensures thal the task in only a little

above students’ level and their students can

‘possvss the necessary siralcgics lo engage in

task-hased interaction

2, Establish clear goals for each task-

lesson

Skehan states that it is not sufficient to engage

Jeamers with tasks on the basis that they will

develop (heir interkanguages simply as a result

of using the second language

ased

Differont aspects of language can be

prioritized by choosing methodological

Nunan (2003)

1 Scaffolding

Lessons and materials should provide supporting famoworks within which the learning takes place

2 Task dependency Within alosson, onc tusk should grow oul of, and build upon, the ones that have gone

bofore

3 Recycling Recycling language maximizes opportunities for learning and uctivates the ‘organic’

options

3 Develop a appropriate orientation to

performing the task in the students

Stndents need to be aware of the goals of

performing tasks They need to know that it is

not fin, but serious

4 Ensure that students adopt an active

role in (ask-based lessons

One of the main goals of task-based teaching

is to provide leamers with an opportunity to

participate fully by playing an initiating as

well as a responding role in classroom

discouse A key clement of being ‘active’ is

‘negotiating meaning when communicative

problems arise

5 Encourage students to lake risks

Methodological choices thal encourage the

‘use of private speech when performing a task,

which creates opportunities for ‘pushed

outpat’ and helps to create an appropriate

Jevel of challenge in an affective clismate thal

is supporting of risk-taking will assist this

6 Ensure that students are primary

focused on meaning when they perform a

task

Language is used as a mean, not as an object

when students perform a lask Thus, when

students perform a task they must be primarily

concemed with achieving an outcome, not

with displaying language

7 Provide opportunities for focusing on

form

"The need to attend to form is emphasized in a

tack-based lesson It has been emphasized that

altention lo form is both possible and

‘Deueticial in the during-task phase and need

not conilict with 6

8 Require students to evaluate their

performance and progress

Students ced Wo be made accountable for how

they perform a task and for their progress

(pp.276-278)

Tearing

4, Active learning Leamers learn hest by actively using the language they are leaming

5 Integrativn Leamers should be (aught in ways that make clear the relationships between lingnistic fona, comnmunicalive function and soruanti meaning

All principles above have put the emphasis on the language used as a mean to

achieve the outcome of the task Besides, meaning focused is more important than form- focused, and Ellis and Nunan share a view that students’ performance should be evaluated

19

1.3.3, Features of TBLT

An important feature which Willis (1996) states is that ‘leamers are free to choose whatever laryguage forms they wish Lo convey whal they mean, in order lo fulfil, as well as thoy can, the task geal"(p.24) Some foalures arc mentioned in TBL by Willis:

= The class activities have a perceived purpose and clear ouleome

in TBLI, the learning must go through three stages: pre-task, task implemeniation! cycle, and post-task

© The students complete a task in pairs or groups

© Students prepare a short oral or written report to tell the olase what happened

during their tusk

‘Teacher reviews language and possible prablematic areas

© Tasks more representative of the real world can then be inlegraled into the

classroom,

© ‘Tasks engage leamers in problem-solving matters as arposefil activities

# Tasks should then be systematically linked to the things leamers need to do in the real world

© Taske encourage participants lo constanlly negotiate micaning Ghrough era

interaction routines

© ‘The problem-solving matter shonld be a little beyond the current level of sindents

in order to avoid the cognitive overload

To sum up, all fvaturcs of TBLT show that Gistly they can usc the language as a ican (o allain an outcome Secondly, real life tasks are put into pedagogical lasks and students engage in negotiate meaning through interaction activities Kinally, students participate in three stages of learning to complete tasks

1.3.4 Stages of TBLT

According to Hung (2012c), TBLT tiamework is in fact the favorable way to sequence elements within tasks proposed by researchers and methodologists There are many TBLT frameworks found in the Eleralure (for example Willis, 1996, Skehan, 1996;

‘Wuman, 2003), und they generally suggest that lask implotnentation or completion involves three stages: pre-task, task, and post-task stages However, only the TBL framework from Willis chosen for English text book for secondary school is mentioned below:

The framework consists of three phases: pre — task, task cycle and language focus (Willis, 1996, p.40)

‘The first phase in the fiamework, the pre — task, is usually the shortest stage in the framework Depending in the leamers’ degree of farnliarity wilh the topic and the type af

task, il could Jast between two and lwenly roinules First of ull the teacher will need to help

Jearers detine the topic area so that they do not find it difficult to uaderstand The second step is to help students recall and active words and phrases that will be usefull both during the (ask and outside the classroom The teachers may also need to introduce a few vital topic — related words and phrases thal stadenls are unlikely Ip know Usually these arc introduced and illustrated in the textbook (Willis, 1996, p.42-43)

“The next phase, task cycle, includes three components: task, planning and report In moving from ons component to the next, we are placing different linguistic demands on students, but they are demands which reflect natural language use

In the ‘task stage students gain fluency and confidence in themselves as

communicators Bul because

The report stage gives students a natural stimulus to upgrade and improve their language TL encourages them to thirds abont form as well as meaning, accuracy as well (iuency and to usc their prestigs version of the targel language TL allows other studenls ta

hear or read what they have done, which provides uscful exposure

We saw how the teacher's role changes with each stage of the cycle By monitoring the task, teachers encourage leamers to work independently to achieve the set goals By

giving language support at the planning stage, teachers help learners organize their conclusions into a form suitable for presentation in public And by chairing the reports, teachers facilitate public use of language (Willis, 1996, pp.53-59)

The last phase of the TRI framework, Imguage foo

, follows the report stage of the task cycle and adds an opportunity for cxplicit language instruction, A range of analysis and practice activities are illustrated focusing the leamer on different aspects of languags form and use The aim of such activities is not to perfect leamers’ production of

the target Janguage and make it automatic, but to draw their attention to the surface forms

realizing the meanings they have already become familiar with during the task cycle and so

‘hetp them to systematize their knowledge and broaden their understanding

ludents as much focused

21

inference Duting the teacher led review stage, students Listen to and benefit fiom each other’s ideas on classification It is then that the teacher can add any points you feel students have Gailed lo nolice, or perhaps redress an imbalance by adding a few examples He/she might! then tead the class in two or three practice activities

Finally the teacher can choose whether to end the teaching cycle on a quiet, reflective note, perhaps with students writing their personal selection of useful words and phrases in their notebooks, or on lively one, perhaps a choral practice activity Rither way should give learners a sense of security and consolidation (Willis, 1996, p.114)

The most noticeable feature of this fiamework is that it moves learners from

Quency tasks to accualz production rather than fromm accurale production of larget

structures to Mueney tasks (Ivattpanah, 2010, p 51)

1.3.5 Techniques of TBLT

‘The differences between teaching techniques for ‘BL and other methods, as Willis (1996) said, ‘lie in ths ordering and weighting of activities and in the fact that there is a greater amount of student activity, and less direct, up-front teaching’ (p.40) These techniques are used in 6 types of tasks and are discussed in tum below:

The listing task is the first one in which teacher can use techniques, for example, he/she brainstorms to complete the list or to draft the mind map, ‘The second task type is the ordering and sorting tasks As the name given, techniques such as soqucncing, ranking, categorizing, and classifying are used to scl of information or data thal has been ordered and sorted according to specified criterra, An example, found in English grade 11, is task 1 (Linglish grade 11, p 83) Some techniques like matching and finding similarities are very common in matching tasks being the next task type In English grade 11, onc typical example of matching task is task 1 (English grade 11, p 68), The fourth and fifth task types are problem-sclving and sharing personal experiences, respectively While the former facuses mainly om techniques such as analysing real or hypothetical situations, reasoning and decision making, the latter’s techniyucs are narrating, describing, exploring and explaining attitudes, opinions, reactions ‘The sixth task type is creative tasks reffered

to as ‘projects’ ‘hese include many techniques stich as brainstorming, fact-finding, ordering and sorting, comparing, problem solving and tany others, In adiition, there are amany techniques that can be applied during stages of TBL such as scaffolding, memory challenge games, etc

In short, techniques are imbedded info tasks and stages of TBL Most techniques are also found in other methods, but as Willis mentioned that the weight and the order of activities are different

1.4, Summary

This chapler reviews the Hiterature on TRLT Firsl, thoorics underlying TRLT arc provided This is followed by the task definitions and concciing issues, Finally, ths theoretical framework underpinning BLT are reviewed

23

Chapter 2 METHODOLOGY 2.1 The fitness of research method

The reason for chaosing he mixed research method is that survey research is used

to explore students’ attitnds towards factors relaled to TBLT while case study helps to investigate teachers’ perception of TBLT Besides, Hung (2612b) states that ‘neither quantitative nor qualitative methods are sufficient, by themselves, to capture the trends and details of a situation’ (p 166) Me adds

Mixed approaches observations and inlerviews (qualitative dala) we combined with traditional questionnaixe surveys (quantitative data) with the hope of reducing limitations of approaches and methods if they are used alone; the biases inherent in any single method can neutralize the biases af other methads (p 166)

Therefore, the mixed method is the best choice for the purpose of the study

2.2, Context of the study

2.2.1 The setting of the study

Thai Hoa secondary school is in the North of Tuyen Quang provinve, 30 Jan from the centre Tuyen Quang city The school has 30 classrooms and a large school yard Resides, it has 3 experiential rooms for chemistry, biology and physics, and six projectors

are cquipped for students to leam power pair lessons Also, wireless internet is available

in the school arca, which is comfortable for both tcachzrs and students to access uscfill

information on the intemet The school had more than 940 students and an average of 36

students per class for the 2012-2013 academic year There are seven teachers of English

and forty nine other teachers teach different subjects at school Most of teachers at THSS

are young and enthusiastic, so they are always willing to adapt with new things such as

applying informatics technology in secondary schools Moreover, a problem facing most of therm is thal thoy are lack of teaching experience

2.2.2, Informants

2.1 ‘The teachers

Tive teachers participate in the research All of them have been teaching English

snore than 5 years, of which two teachers have been teaching English more than 10 years

‘They all graduated from English department Moreover, they are female teachers and their

ages ranged between 29 and 38 Table 3 summarizes teacher’s background information

XÓS, tia ching experience

ichers’ background information (N=3i

education ‘Master degrce 0 0

s who

a result, it was nol surprising thal the majority of students (95.6%) had their par

were peasants and only 4.3% of the

dealers, state officers About 3.4% of the respondents were omitted by the SPSS

Interestingly, most of them (71%) leat English more than 9 years, another (24.7%) jeamt English fiom 7 to 9 years The rest of respondents (4.3%) learnt Linglish less than 6

students’ parenis did other jobs such as workers,

year Table 4 summarizes the background information of sludunts such ws sexes, ages, living

arcas, cvunomic conditions of Gunilies, jobs of students’ parcnls, number of years of leaming English,

2.3 Data collection instruments

2.3.1 Questionnaires

McDonough,J & MeDough,$ (1999) suggest that questionnaires are commonly

‘used in educational research in general and in ELT research in particular Some advantages

of questionnaires are shown as follows:

+ Questionnaires do not take Gime lo prepare and administer, + The collected data is standard and accurate sinec the same questionnaire is given to all the subjects

+ In terms of time, questionnaires are economical

Quesliomnaires, however, have sume disadvantages:

+ Respondents may answer superficially especially if the questionnaire takes

along time to complete

+ They may not be willing (o answer the questions They might nol wish lo reveal

the information or they might think that they will not benefit from responding perhaps

even be penalised by giving their real opinion

To sum up, Smith & Brows (1995, p.50) point out f

are to find out the facts, the respondents’ opinions or attitudes, to ratc their abilitics cte, and to evalnate various aspects ‘Thus, these purposes meet the need of the study that explores students’ attitudes toward TBLT at TIISS The questionnaire was adapted from

Hung’s (2012c) study The reason [ have chosen to adapt this questionnaire is that domains

in the questionnaire applied TBLT in accordance with Willis’ perspective, which is one of the core approaches used by the authors of the current set of textbooks in secondary schools The gt

slionmaire consisted of two main scetions The first section composed of 6 open-ended questions to collect students’ background information The second scetion contained 47 Likert-type items using a S-point scale ranging from ‘strongly dislike’ to

“strongly like’, and both English and Vietnamese were used to make sure students understood items clearly Four parts constitutes the second section: the first part asked questions to gain students’ attitudes toward language teaching The second part included questions to collect students’ attitudes toward features of teaching ‘he third and fourth

The main reason for choosing the interview was that it has some obvious

advantages The first advantage its flexibility If the interviewee has a problem with

questions, they can be explained Another advantage is thal it allows a deep exploration af

issues Resides, according ty Cohen, Manion, & Morrison (2007) an interview has sor

purposes as follows:

+ to evaluate and access a person in same respect

| to select or promote an employee

+ to offect therapeutic change, as in psychiatsic interview

+ to test or develop hypothesis

| to gather data, ag in surveys ar experimental situation

+ to sample respondents” opinions, as in doorstep interviews

Some disadvantages can be found in an interview The first one is its time- consuming, particularly if it is recorded and fully transcribed In addition, the sample size, for example in an unstructured interview, is generally small and may not be representative

of a particular population

In spite of advantages and disadvantages of an interview, this tool is suitable for the

purpose of the research Thal is, find out students’ attitudes toward TBLT in ISS

2.3.3 Class oliservation

Cohen ef af (2007, p.397) features the classroom obscrvation is that “it offers an

investigator the opportunity to gather ‘live’ data from naturally occurring sovial situation”

Observation has some advantages The first advantage is that data gathered can be highly

seliable Another advantage is that observation is less expensive compared to other techniques According to Cohen et af (2007) describes some drawbacks of classroom

observation as follows:

+ It may take a long time to catch the required behavior

+ H may be coslly in time and effort

+ It is prone to difficulties of interpreting or inferring what the data mean

Whatever disadvantages of class observation are mentioned, classroom observation fits

well to the research since the advantages of classroom observation fits the purpose of the

research

2.4, Data collection procedure

2.4.1 Interviews

The rescarcher conducted a scmi-structured interview with five teachers of English

to explore in-depth information about their perceptions of TBLT Semi-structured

interviews of 15 to 25 minutes were administered in Vietnamese with each participant in a friendly atmosphere to minimize their anxiety The interviewer asked 12 questions to invesligala teachers? perceptions of TRLT All interviews will be recorded and kept

Qualitative leachers’ perception composite views of TEL

Techniques Teachers Observations Teachers? implementation af their

classroom practice views of TBLT into teaching

2.6 The Reliability and Vali

First, the questionnaire was piloted in 35 students to check the reliability Next, 300 students were chosen to engage in answering questionnaire items Also, another test was

of Research

done lo cheek tha reliability again, and ten umvctiable itctns were tell ont of the analysis

The omitted itcms did not affect the analysis of results since there were more than five

items in each demain

Table 6 Unrcliabic Items that need being left out the analysia

‘Cronbach's

Aipha

O08 11 008 O11 021 035 049 O31 0.30 0.22 -033 -013

Normal Distribution of the whole questionnaire

Aude towards Tash-Sased Language Teaching

Figure 2 Attitude towards Task-Based Language Teaching

As can be seen from the figure, the distribution has a normal curve, so questionnaire items

have significant reliability and validity Therefore, we can safely use some tests to compare mean, standard deviation, regression, ete

Table 7, Correlation between domains in the whole questionnaire

“Attitude ‘Attitude Attitude Attitude - Atiudetowards towards towards towards towards Task-Based Principles of Features of Stages of Techniques of Language Teaching Teachg _—Teaching _—‘Teaching Teaching Attitude towards Principles

As shown in table 7 all the domains concemed correlated to each other, so the

questionnaire items are significant reliability Therefore, they can measure exactly

students’ attitudes toward TBLT

Table 8 Reliability of each domain in the questionnaire