Teachers perceptions of the task based approach to speaking skills a case of grade 11, nguyen hue gifted high school, ha dong, hanoi

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURESTable 1: Participants' profileTable 2: Participants' perceptions of task Table 3: Participants' perception of TBLT to speaking skills Table 4: Participants' pe

HOÀNG THÙY HƯƠNG

TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE TASK-BASED APPROACH TO SPEAKING SKILLS: A CASE OF GRADE 11, NGUYEN HUE GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL,

HA DONG, HANOI (NHẬN THỨC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VỀ ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG DẠY HỌC THEO NHIỆM VỤ ĐỐI VỚI KỸ NĂNG NÓI: NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP LỚP 11, TRƯỜNG PTTH

CHUYÊN NGUYỄN HUỆ, HÀ ĐÔNG, HÀ NỘI)

M.A Thesis (Minor Thesis)

Field: TEFL Methodology Course Code: 60.14.10

HANOI - 2010

HOÀNG THÙY HƯƠNG

TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE TASK-BASED APPROACH TO SPEAKING SKILLS: A CASE OF GRADE 11, NGUYEN HUE GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL,

HA DONG, HANOI (NHẬN THỨC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VỀ ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG DẠY HỌC THEO NHIỆM VỤ ĐỐI VỚI KỸ NĂNG NÓI: NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP LỚP 11, TRƯỜNG PTTH

CHUYÊN NGUYỄN HUỆ, HÀ ĐÔNG, HÀ NỘI)

M.A Thesis (Minor Thesis)

Field: TEFL Methodology Course Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Lê Văn Canh, M.A

HANOI - 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration i

Acknowledgement ii

Abstract iii

Table of contents iv

List of vii abbreviations

List of tables and figures viii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 The background of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 2

1.3 Research questions 2

1.4 Scope of the study 2

1.5 Organization of the study 2

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Task-based approach 4

2.1.1 The development of task-based approach 4

2.1.2 The nature of task-based language teaching 5

2.1.3 Task definition 6

2.1.4 Task types 8

2.2 Task-based teaching framework 9

2.3 Task-based teaching vs other types of teaching instruction models 11

2.4 Advantages and disadvantages of task-based language teaching 12

2.4.1 Advantages 12

2.4.2 Disadvantages 13

2.5 Implementing tasks in teaching the skills of speaking 14

2.6 The importance of understanding teacher perception of teaching 15 methodology

2.7 Definition of teacher perception 16

2.8 Relation between teacher perception and practice 17

2.9 Previous studies on teacher perception of TBLT 17

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 20

3.1 The fitness of case study to research purpose 20

3.2 Restatement of research questions 20

3.3 Case description & context of the study 20

3.3.1 The setting of the study 20

3.3.2 Participants 21

3.4 Instrument 23

3.4.1 Interviews 23

3.4.2 Observation 24

3.5 Procedure 25

3.5.1 Interviews 25

3.5.2 Class observation 26

3.6 Data analysis 27

CHAPTER 4 DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 28

4.1 General overview of the findings 28

4.1.1 Teacher perception of tasks 28

4.1.2 Teacher perception of TBLT to speaking skills 30

4.1.3 Teacher perception of advantages and disadvantages in TBLT 31 implementation to speaking skills

4.1.4 The reality of teachers' class teaching 33

4.2 Discussions of the findings 36

4.2.1 Congruence and incongruence between teachers' perceptions of TBLT 37 and its theory

4.2.2 Consistence and inconsistence between their perceptions and their 38 classroom behaviours

4.2.3 Consistence and inconsistence between teacher perceptions of 38 advantages and disadvantages and their teaching practice

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS 40

5.1 Summary of the study major points 40

5.1.1 Summary of the study 40

5.1.2 Conclusions 40

5.1.3 Implications 41

5.2 Limitation of the study 41

REFERENCES I APPENDICES III

APEENDIX A III

APPENDIX B III

APPENDIX C VII

LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT: Communicative language teaching

ELT: English language teaching

PPP: Presentation - Practice - Production TBA: Task-based approachTBLT: Task-based language teaching

TST: Task-supported teaching

TTT: Test - Teach - Test (=): Neutral

(-): Non-conceptual, negative, not mentioned

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURESTable 1: Participants' profile

Table 2: Participants' perceptions of task

Table 3: Participants' perception of TBLT to speaking skills

Table 4: Participants' perceptions of TBLT advantages and disadvantages Table 5: Participants' class teaching practice

Figure 1: Teacher-student perceptions and the quality of learning outcomes

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 The background of the study

In the long history of linguistics, changes and shifts in teaching methodology isobvious as there is never satisfaction with on-going methods and procedures It leads toresearchers and scholars' having been trying and seeking better ways of teaching andlearning languages Each new methodology born out is the result of the feedback toweaknesses of the previous prevailing one All of these methodologies are possiblycategorized into the grammatical and conversational approaches which are always in theopposite trends They advocate different ways and formats: written vs oral language,learning grammar vs learning speaking, formal vs informal language use With these twoscales, the second one - the conversational approach dominates in the twentieth century Inthe second half of the century, the need for communication between people of differentcultures and languages creates a flood of learning language more quickly and effectively.People are in the need of communicating orally and engaging in real communication There

is a movement of learning language seen everywhere within society all over the world.New and more efficient methods appear to meet the demand of the whole societies In thelast part of the twentieth century, there is a contrariety between what is called focus onform and focus on content, or in other words, they are shifting to teaching language foraccuracy vs teaching language for meaning The task-based approach (TBA) was born out

in this context at the end of the twentieth century It has been evolving as the response tolimitations of the traditional approach PPP represented by the procedure of presentation,practice and performance First known as in 'Bangalore Project' of Prabhu in 1979, task-based approach has gained its popularity in the field of language teaching since then Manyresearchers, teachers have been using it for their own rights in the teaching contexts.American Government Language Institutions switched to task-based instruction for foreignlanguages for adults in the early 1980s (as cited in Corony Edwards, Jane Willis, 2005,p.13) Current research are also focusing on task-based language teaching and learning, forexample, Rod Ellis (2003) wrote "task-based language teaching and learning", DavidNunan (1989) 'Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom', etc Other teachers andinstitutions are following suit However, there is no common consent in discussion andresearch TBA is seen from different views and perspectives The explanation for this

variety lies in the difficulty in implementing TBA in the classroom, in designing materialsfollowing TBA and many other reasons In Vietnam, English is being taught as a foreignlanguage with the aim of enhancing international communication However, theexamination systems focus on formal accuracy As a result, teachers often prioritize theteaching of grammar which is often taught with PPP approach (presentation, practice,performance) In its tenets, students are expected to respond using a word or pattern thathas been presented before rather than to convey the meaning or message Therefore, moststudents when leaving school are unable to communicate effectively in English Thissituation has prompted ELT professionals to find a new method more suitable and TBAhas attracted their attention Nevertheless, the fact is that research on TBA in Vietnam islittle There exist different views about it Above all, it is unknown that if TBA is reallyapplied in classrooms or not and how teachers who partially have direct effects onlanguage teaching quality understand and apply it in the classroom For these reasons, the

author is inspired to conduct 'Teachers' perceptions of the task-based approach to speaking

skills: A case of Grade 11, Nguyen Hue gifted high school, Ha Dong, Hanoi'.

1.2 Aims of the study

The study is conducted to investigate teachers' perceptions of the task-basedapproach to speaking skills The author desires to find out what and how they think andapply TBA in the classroom Especially, the research tries to explore their views on theadvantages and disadvantages of using the task-based approach to teach speaking in theircontext

1.3 Research questions

The above aims can be realized through the following research questions:

1 What are teachers' understandings of the Task-Based Approach to speaking

skills?

2 What do they perceive of the advantages and disadvantages of using TBA approach to speaking skills in their context?

1.4 Scope of the study

Though TBA is believed to be used for four skills, however, the researcher has chosen

to focus on speaking for the fact that TBA initially emphasizes meaning whereas speaking

is closely connected to communication Moreover, she only researches teacher perceptions

of advantages and disadvantages of using TBA in the classrooms of non-English majorstudents but English major ones as they use two different course books.

The study of teacher's perceptions of the task-based approach to other skills would bebeyond the scope of the study Also, due to the author's limited ability, time constraints andnarrow-scaled study, the subjects in the research only involves a small number of teacherswho are teaching non-English major students of Grade 11, Nguyen Hue gifted high school

1.5 Organization of the study

Chapter 1 introduced the study exploring potential of TBLT within the context ofNguyen Hue gifted high school The chapter included an overview of the issues, aims andscope of the study, the research questions and the research organization Chapter 2provides a review of the literature, including a theoretical framework focusing on learningand teaching theory Chapter 2 also provides research of issues related to teacherperceptions of tasks and TBLT Chapter 3 describes the methodology through a description

of the case study and research design It included the study participants, instruments, theprocedure and data analysis In addition, the role of the researcher, the role of the teacherare mentioned too Chapter 4 presents the results of the study Finally, chapter 5summarizes the findings and discusses educational implications and limitation of the study

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter briefly covers the theories related to the study relating to nature of based approach and the skill of speaking

task-2.1 Task-based Approach

2.1.1 The development of task-based approach

Task-based approach was first used by Prabhu in his Communicational TeachingProject in 1979 American Government Language Institutes hired task-based instruction toresearch adults' foreign languages in the early 1980s Many researchers such as LittleWoods, Rod Ellis, David Nunan, etc have been using it as an innovation in methodology.The reason for this change to task-based approach lies in those innovators' realization.They see that most language learners under the methods emphasizing mastery of grammar

do not achieve an acceptable level of proficiency in the target language (Corony Edward &Jane Willis, 2005) Many years ago, along with the belief that language is a system ofwordings governed by a grammar and a lexicon, structural syllabuses were widely used inschools to teach the target language for students However, most of them within astructure-based approach failed to attain a usable level of fluency and proficiency evenafter years of instruction Moreover, the approach established to teach second language atthe time was PPP known as 'Presentation, Practice and Production' Presentation oftenfocuses on an item of grammar and usually presented explicitly in a context This stage isbelieved to develop learners' understanding of the language point Following Presentation

is controlled Practice It aims to enable learners to use and grasp the new rule or pattern Atthe production stage, the learner is expected to reproduce what has been taught before morespontaneously and flexibly Nevertheless, Willis (1996, p.135) points out: 'The ironing isthat the goal of the final production - free production - is often not achieved How canproduction be free if students are required to produce forms that have been specified inadvance?' Students, at the production stage, often focus primarily on form, makingsentence with the new item or they focus on meaning and complete the task withoutincorporating the new item Last but not least, PPP approach is also criticized when it isbased on the assumption that students will learn what is taught in the same order in which

it was taught, but there is no evidence to prove it (Skehan, 1996, p.18) In fact,

research has shown that teaching does not determine the way that learners' languagedevelops Instead, it is mainly determined by learner-internal factors.

From above reasons, it is essential to have an approach activating acquisitionprocess in learners and teaching that provides a context to activate these processes.Consequently, task-based approach is born out as a dispensable result It is said toovercome weakness of PPP and that tasks (which is the central component of task-basedapproach) 'foster processes of negotiation, modification, rephrasing, and experimentationthat are at the heart of second language learning.' (Richards and Rodgers, 2001, p.228)

2.1.2 The nature of task-based language teaching

TBLT, realized as a strong version of communicative approach, is an effectiveteaching method of goal orientation in enhancing students’ motivation In TBA,methodologists 'have treated tasks as units of teaching in their own right and have designedwhole courses around them' (Ellis, 2003, p.27)

TBLT offers learners exposure to authentic materials, opportunities to use the targetlanguage, and motivation to learn, which are all considered as essential conditions forlanguage learning (Willis, 1996)

TBLT embodies the functional and interactional view of language theories,concentrates primarily on meaning and learners' communicative competence to completetasks (Nunan, 1989; Ellis, 2003) Learners are engaged in truly meaningful and effectivecommunication such as negotiation of meaning for the task completion It emphasizes theinteraction between learners to handle learning problems and to enrich their knowledge,skills by doing and discovering Learners are more independent of their teachers They caninteract with one another to share experience, knowledge and even error correction Theyare encouraged to learn by discovering various things rather than transmission In TBLT,therefore, teachers have different positions in the class They can take the role as instructor(in the pre-task phase), a monitor and encourager (in the task stage), a language adviser (inthe planning stage) and a chairperson (in the report stage) (Willis, 1996, p.52)

Moreover, the nature of TBLT can be realized in the discussion on the model forTBLT of Willis (1996) as below:

1) Goals and outcomes

Teachers, in task-based classes, have a duty of selecting topics and tasks that should

be appropriately challenging to motivate learners, to engage their attention, and to promotetheir language development most effectively

Obviously, all tasks are “goal-oriented” as each all has its own specific objective thatmust be achieved, often in a given time Therefore, the focus is on understanding andconveying meanings in order to complete the task successfully; learners use the language

in a meaningful way while they carry out the tasks With a little bit challenging outcomes,

it is the way that makes TBL a motivating procedure in classroom

2) Meaning before form

One important feature of tasks is tasks implementation, which implies that learnerscan freely use whatever language they want so as to fulfill the goals Learners must beprimarily concerned with achieving the outcome, not with displaying language

Viewed this way, teachers then obtain the role of a facilitator who encourages allattempts to communicate in target language, but not an intruder to learners’ producedlanguage Learners will experiment with the language on their own, and even take risk.That helps to create an appropriate level of challenge, boosting the effectiveness of TBLT.3) Tasks and skills practice

The four language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – are singled out

to be developed separately, in some approaches on language teaching; while in others, theyare talked in terms of integrated skills In a task-based cycle, teachers naturally foster skillscombination The skills form an integral part of the process to achieve the task goals; theyare practiced integratedly

Being aware of learners’ needs, teachers can select or adapt tasks that help learners topractice relevant skills Tasks integrating the skills of reading and listening, note-takingand summarizing are bound to be helpful for learners who may need English for academicpurposes For those who not only need to pass a written examination, but also want tosocialize in the target language, text-based tasks with written outcomes and/or discussion atvarious points in the task cycle could be used

2.1.3 Task definition

The study and description of task has been approached from different perspectivesand for different purposes Various definitions offered are different in scope andformulation where almost anything related to educational activity can be called 'a task'.Therefore, it is necessary to give clear definitions of what the authors mean when they usethe term 'task'.

Prabhu (1987), one of the first methodologist raising interest and support for based language, considers a task 'an activity which required learners to arrive at anoutcome from given information through some process of thought, and which allowedteachers to control and regulate that process' (p.12) According to him, effective learningoccurs when students are engaged in a language task rather than learning about language.Whereas, Long (1985) perceives tasks differently He argues that a task is 'a piece of workundertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward Thus examples of tasksinclude painting a fence, dressing a child, filling out a form, buying a pain of shoes,making an airline reservation, borrowing a library book, taking a driving test, typing aletter, weighing a patient, sorting letters, taking a hotel reservation, writing a cheque,finding a street destination and helping someone across a road In other words, by 'task' ismeant the hundred and one things people do in everyday life, at work, at play, and inbetween.' (p.89) Long (1985)'s definition is a non-technical, non-linguistic one Itdescribes tasks as sorts of things that do not involve language and tasks may be subsidiarycomponents of a larger task Proposing rather quite different opinions, however, Richards,Platt and Weber (1985) defines tasks in more detail A task is 'an activity or action which iscarried out the result of processing or understanding language, i.e as a response Forexample, drawing a map while listening to a tape, and listening to an instruction andperforming a command, may be refereed to as tasks Tasks may or may not involve theproduction of language A task usually requires the teacher to specify what will beregarded as successful completion of the task The use of a variety of different kinds oftasks in language teaching is said to make teaching more communicative since it provides

task-a purpose for cltask-assroom task-activity which goes beyond prtask-actice of ltask-angutask-age for its own stask-ake'(as cited in Ellis, 2004, p.4) In these definitions, the authors take a pedagogicalperspective In other words, tasks here are regarded as what learners do in the classroombut in the outside world Nunan (1989) also agrees that the communicative task is 'a piece

of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or

interacting in the target language', and express ideas that while doing tasks, learners'attention is focused on meaning rather than form and that the task must be completed and isable to 'stand alone as a communicative act in its own right' (p.10) Other authors share thesame opinion with Nunan about tasks' focus on meaning Skehan (1998) defines a task as

an activity in which:

- there is some communication problem to solve

- there is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities

- task completion has some priority

- the assessment of the task is in terms of outcome

Or Bygate, Skehan, and Swain (2001) propose ' a task is an activity which requires learners

to use language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective' (as cited in Ellis, 2004,p.4)

From what mentioned above, we have gone through many viewpoints about taskdefinitions Though they vary in some ways, all emphasize the fact that tasks involvecommunicative language use in which users' attention is focused on meaning rather thangrammatical form

In this study, my own view of tasks is a unit which is goal-oriented, focused first and form-focused then, contextualized and implemented as the basis forteaching and learning

meaning-2.1.4 Task types

It is important to distinguish different task types as it helps teachers to investigatewhich types is the most effective in promoting learning In addition, syllabus designers canalso refer to the classification to ensure that a range of task types are incorporated into thecourse However, tasks are identified in numerous ways since people who have written ontask-based language teaching and learning stand on different viewpoints

According to Nunan (1989, p.44), communicative tasks can be categorized into twomain types: pedagogic tasks, i.e tasks practised in the classroom and real world tasks thatare used for the purpose of rehearsing future needs Prabhu (1987) distinguishes threegeneral types of tasks based on the kind of cognitive activity involved: Information-gap,reasoning-gap, opinion-gap activities

Besides Prabhy and Nunan's classifications, Long (1983, p.213) groups tasks intotwo types: one-way and two-way tasks In one-way tasks, only one participant distributesinformation, for example, giving instruction and narrative In a two-way task, eachparticipant keeps some information or knowledge which is not shared and they have tomatch or exchange information to complete the task Other researchers also present theirown tasks classification Puff (1986) offers convergent and divergent tasks Tasks thatrequire learners to exchange information such as role plays, discussions, problem solving,etc to reach a consensus are called 'convergent tasks' One the contrary, tasks requiringlearners to exchange information but not to reach the consensus are known as divergentones The difference between convergent and divergent tasks lies in their goal Participants

in convergent tasks need to have a mutual solution whereas participants in divergent ones

do not They can have independent goals and defend their given positions

In 1898, Long proposes new labels for tasks namely 'open' and 'closed' tasks.According to him, open task refers to a task in which participants know there is nopredetermined correct solution Closed task refers to a task which requires the participants

to attempt to reach a single correct solution or some solutions determined beforehand bythe designer of the task Ellis (2001) has his own classification He offers two kinds oftasks: reciprocal and non-reciprocal tasks The first one requires a two-way flow ofinformation between interlocutors, whereas the other is a one-way communication from aspeaker to a hearer (p.49)

Though being given different labels, a task is a mean to enable learners to use thetarget languages It provides chances for learners to comprehend and manipulate the targetlanguage in different social contexts It can be said that any tasks that encourage theexchange of ideas from one learner to another, in groups or with the text, through language

in any context, could be described as communicative

2.2 Task-based teaching framework

A precise model for task-based teaching designed by Willis (1996) and thensupported by Frost (2006) is briefly figured out in the table below:

Phase

Willis’s model for task-based instruction (Willis, 1996, p.52)

As access to a clear framework for a task-based lesson is obviously advantageous toboth teachers and learners, a thorough and detailed discussion on these phases is of crucialpoint

In the pre-task phase, the topic to be covered and the tasks to be accomplished in the

lesson are introduced It is usually the shortest stage in the framework and could lastbetween two or twenty minutes, depending on the level of learners’ being familiar with thetopic and the task types This phase may involve the use of texts or the recordings of nativespeakers’ carrying out parallel forms of the tasks Pre-task activities, as supported bySkehan (1998), should be engaged into introduce new elements into the interlanguagesystem; to mobilize and recycle language; to ease processing load and to push learners tointerpret task in more demanding ways

The task cycle phase can be subdivided into three stages of task, planning and report,

all of which comprise a task cycle itself In this key phase, students use the target languagethe most for the task implementation; fluency and focus on meaning are mainly attended.Learners are offered chances to use whatever language they already know to complete thetask, and then, with assistance from teachers, while planning their task report, to improvethat language At the task stage, students are usually required to work in pairs or in smallgroups to get the tasks accomplished; teachers’ role here is to monitor and to facilitate butnot to intrude into learners’ production of language The planning stage, in Willis’s view,attaches teachers to the role of linguistic advisers, being responsible for feedback and helpwhen needed; meanwhile, students are encouraged to prepare themselves for the report bydrafting, editing and/or rehearsing the content they are going to present In the last stage ofreporting, students possess occasions to report on the tasks to the class while teachers work

as a chairperson to judge their performance and give comments and feedback on thecontent and form if needed.

The last phase in the framework is language focus, which, including analysis and

practice, is used for consolidation and reflection As learners have already worked with thelanguage and processed it for meaning by this point, they now in this final phase willclosely study some specific features naturally occurring in the language used during thetask cycle under teachers’ guidance

2.3 Task-based teaching vs other types of teaching instruction models

Task-based teaching model proposed by Willis (1996) can be easily distinguishedfrom other types of teaching instruction models

For a start, TBLT strongly opposes the traditional PPP (Presentation – Practice –Production) teaching/learning cycle in which, the presentation of grammar or languageitems by teachers comes first, followed by controlled and less controlled practice (in theform of exercises) and then by actual production of the sentences TBLT also differs fromthe more communicative and learner-centered alternative to the PPP model – the TTT (Test– Teach – Test) model which begins with the production stage and require learners toperform a particular task

Next, TBLT is different from three stage ESA (Engage, Study, and Activate) modelproposed by Jeremy Harmer (1998) During the engage phase, teachers try to arouse thestudents’ interest and engage their emotions through perhaps a game, a picture, a record orvideo, a dramatic story, an amusing anecdote, etc Activities in the study phase focus onlanguage and the way it is constructed, which could vary from the pronunciation of oneparticular sound to an examination of a verb tense or to the techniques an author uses tocreate excitement in a longer reading text In the activate phase, exercises and activities aredesigned to encourage students to use their full language knowledge in the selectedsituation or task as communicatively as they can

In addition, TBLT should be clearly differentiated from TSI (Task-supportedinstruction) which was mentioned by Ellis (2003) when he tried to clarify betweenunfocused and focused tasks TSI means incorporating tasks as a part of the curriculum,beside other types of activities It is, thus, completely versus TBLT because in the pureform of TBLT, task is the only unit of the curriculum, the basis for teaching, and even the

assessment In a word, TSI has the maxim of “learning to use” while the maxim of TBI is

“using to learn” or “learning by doing”

2.4 Advantages and disadvantages of task-based language teaching

Few people would question the pedagogical value of employing tasks as a vehiclefor promoting communication and authentic language use in second language classrooms.Task-based language teaching, however, has its own drawbacks It is, therefore, necessary

to weigh the pros and cons of TBLT thoroughly hereafter

2.4.1 Advantages

Task-Based Language Teaching is an application of second language teaching formed by the most recent research findings on second language acquisition As such, itplays an important role in current language pedagogy (Solares, 2006)

in-TBLT is advantageous to the students because it is more student-centered, allows formore meaningful communication, and often provides for practical extra-linguistic skillbuilding Although teachers may present language in the pre-task, students are ultimatelyfree to use what grammar constructs and vocabulary they want This allows them to use allthe language they know and are learning, rather than just the 'target language' of the lesson.Furthermore, as the tasks are likely to be familiar to the students (e.g.: visiting the doctor),students are more likely to be engaged, which may further motivate them in their languagelearning Task-based lessons usually provide learners with an active role in participatingand creating the activities, and offer more opportunities for learners to display theirthinking through their actions Willis (1996, p.137) reports the advantages of TBLT afterhis survey to learners:

 they gain confidence in speaking and interacting quite soon after a based course;

task- they enjoy the challenge of doing tasks and find many of them fun;

 they are able to talk about language itself in addition to other topics;

 they can cope with natural spontaneous speech much more easily, and tackle quite tough reading texts in appropriate way;

 they become far more independent learners

In TBLT classes, teachers can be more open to the needs of the students TBLT allows students to use the knowledge they have learnt and apply it productively in the task

context (procedural knowledge) This practical experience helps learners to appreciate whycertain academic questions are important and provide an experiential substrate for thedevelopment of a further academic discourse.

Naturally, tasks usually require the selection of some objects as an outcome This canprovide a shared focus for which learners can work together In the process, differentparticipants, peer learners of the group, can project different views on the same situationand develop meaningful discussion on the matter The task will usually generate objectsthat are also open to cross group evaluation Learners can present their own products andevaluate others Everyone can take part in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of thework generated within the classroom community This will induce reflection as well as thedevelopment of critical awareness in the students (Ki, 2000)

Besides benefits it brings to learners, TBLT also facilitates language teaching Willis(1996, p.137-138) gives out the opinions of teachers and trainers who have justexperimented with TBLT:

 with mixed-level classes, a TBLT approach works far better than a PPP one

 learners bring their own experiences to lessons and often come up with interesting and original ideas;

 by the end of the course they are often surprised at how much their learners have achieved

2.4.2 Disadvantages

According to Richards and Rogers (2001), Task-Based Language Teaching provides

a more effective basis for teaching than other language teaching approaches, howevermany aspects of TBLT like proposed schemes for task types, task sequencing, andevaluation of task performance, etc have not been justified, this basic assumption stillremains in ideology rather than fact Swan (2005) even claims the statement, firmly based

on the findings of current theory and research, that TBLT is an advanced teachingapproach can not be continuous Supported neither by convincing theoretical argument nor

by experimental evidence, the closely related to TBLT hypotheses, to the effect thatsecond-language acquisition, being controlled by inflexible developmental sequences,

completely occurs as a result of noticing during communicative activity, are opposed by

common language-learning experience

While Task-Based Instruction may fruitfully develops learners’ authority of what isknown, it is significantly less effective for the systematic teaching of new language.Depending on tasks as a primary source of pedagogical input in teaching, TBLT iscriticized to be inappropriate in foundation classes for beginning learners Centering ontasks implementation, TBLT raises an implication of learners’ being able to interact in thetarget language, while in fact they lack this proficiency This drags on the risk that learnerswill overuse their L1 or engage in off-task talks Furthermore, learner-learner interactionmay result in pidginized use of the L2 and concomitant interlanguage fossilization (Prabhu,1987)

Skehan (1996) notices that TBLT holds some dangers if implemented carelessly.Especially, it is likely to create pressure for instant communication rather thaninterlanguage change and growth Speakers may resort to use some communicationstrategies such as paraphrase, repetition, word coinage, etc The elicited performances,moreover, may depend on abilities or knowledge rather than language itself As Norris,Brown, Hudson, and Bonk (2002) argue, TBLT does not provide any basis for makinginterpretations beyond the particular task context and it cannot simulate all of the factorsthat define actual language use situations

It should also be said that task-based interaction is mainly narrow and learners putgreat emphasis on communicating meanings, without necessary worry about the exact formthey use Therefore, the whole organization of interaction is equipped for establishing atight and selected focus on the achievement of the task There are, nonetheless, a largenumber of different varieties of interaction in the world outside the L2 classrooms, wherethere is certainly a lot more to communication than performing tasks (Seedhouse, 1999)

2.5 Implementing tasks in teaching the skill of speaking

As mentioned in 2.1.2, skills combination is naturally fostered and the four skills oflistening, reading, writing and speaking are practiced intergratedly in task-based lessons Inteaching speaking, teachers should also be aware of this while selecting or adapting tasksthat boost learners’ oral communication

In traditional drilling forms for classroom speaking practice, one person asks aquestion and another gives an answer The question and the answer are structured andoften there is only one correct, predetermined answer Participants then could predict what

their partners would say In real communication (such as conveying a telephone message,obtaining information, or expressing an opinion), however, everything happens contrarilyand participants must manage uncertainty about what the other person will say Authenticcommunication involves an information gap; each participant has information that theother does not have and they interact to achieve their purpose In addition, participants mayhave to clarify their meaning, ask for confirmation of their own understanding or negotiatefor agreement.

Teachers (as task designers) need to incorporate a purpose and an information gapand allow for multiple forms of expression However, quantity alone will not necessarilyproduce competent speakers Teachers need to combine structured output activities, whichallow for error correction and increased accuracy, with communicative output activitiesthat give students opportunities to practice language use more freely

Besides, classroom speaking tasks that will develop communicative competenceneeds the thorough support of authentic materials Here teachers must consider three issues

of authenticity First is the text authenticity of how natural the language sample is Second

is the task authenticity showing what learners are supposed to do with that language for learning or practice opportunities (Nunan, 1989) And third is the response authenticity –

that is, how natural the speech produced by learners may be (McNamara, 2000, p.27 – 29).Authentic materials must be relevant to the learners’ lives

Shortly, all these points, together, should be kept in teachers’ mind as the orientationfor tasks design and adaptation

2.6 The importance of understanding teachers' perceptions of teaching methodology

As Stern (1983) has asserted “no language teacher – however strenuously he maydeny his interest in theory – can teach a language without a theory of language teaching”(p.27), in order to understand teaching, it is of necessity to understand teachers’interpretation of teaching methodology Of all things affecting the result of teaching, thefactor of teachers themselves cannot be ignored Understanding teachers’ interpretation ofteaching methodology, educators and researchers, who intend to propose necessarychanges, can help answer the question: “Why the interaction between teacher and classhappens that way?” (Canh, 2004, p.109) while interpreting the reality of major classteaching Teaching can empower learner-driven experiences and promote cognitive

processing if pedagogical considerations are taken into account, and if what applicationsrelated to the teaching can originate to the method teachers chose and how they were aware

of it is shown

In discussing the appropriateness of teaching and learning: “… language learning,and therefore language teaching, does not occur in vacuum, the larger context is the societywithin which the language or languages are to be learned and used” (p.108), however,Canh (2004) believed that to a teacher, having the right conceptualization of teachingmethods and approaches is really important but insufficient to the success of teaching Heargued:

… those approaches or methods share the same shortcomings: (1) “They themselves aredecontextualized, dealing with what to teach, how to teach it, and why to teach it that way,but saying nothing about who teaches it and to whom; when and where it is taught (to useLarsen Freeman’s words, 2000a), and (2) they are intuitively prescriptive and ideological,rather than being based on empirical data collected from diverse classroom realities Tosum up, all language teaching methods make the oversimplified assumption that whatteachers “do” in the classroom can be conventionalized into a set of procedures that fits allcontexts We are now all aware that such is clearly not the case (to use Brown’s words,1994b)

Apparently, everything happening in the classroom reflects beliefs about the nature

of language, the nature of the learning process and the nature of the teaching act Here thenthe issue does not lie in which method is the best or whether or not a new method issuperior to its predecessor but in how teachers learn to vary their method and approach,and how they rationalize the method or approach they use In other words, teachers should

be encouraged to move “from ideology to inquiry” (Canh, 2004, p.116)

In short, I would like to regard Canh’s argumentation as a conclusion: “for overthirty years, the consensus in foreign language teaching community has been shiftingtowards the realization that what is used in the classroom is the individual teacher’sinterpretation of any given method” (2004, p.108)

2.7 Definition of teacher perception

In Oxford dictionary, perception is defined as 'an idea, a belief or an image youhave as a result of how you see or understand something' In the field of psychology,

perception is one of the main issues which gets much attention as it plays important roles.According to Feldman (1990) a psychologist, perception is 'the process by which we sortout, interpret, analyze, and integrate stimuli to which our senses are exposed.'(p.149) Inthe paper, teachers' perception means the process of determining the meaning of what aresensed Perception occurs when teachers interpret a given meaning to stimuli in theirclassroom environment or in the students' classroom behaviour.

2.8 Relation between teacher perception and practice

Teachers' perception is closely related to their practice It is shown in figure below:

Figure 1 Teacher-student perceptions and the quality of learning outcomes (Trigwell,

Prosser & Waterhouse, 1999, p.57)According to these researchers, teachers who perceive learning as the accumulation

of information tend to view learning as the transfer of information Such teachers are morelikely to use a teacher centre approach where the teacher plays the central role and impartsinformation to students In contrast, teachers who view learning as conceptual change viewteaching as facilitating conceptual change In other words, those regard learning aschanging a learner's original ideas favour a student centred teaching approach whereindependence in learning is encouraged through discussion, debate and questioning amongstudents (Prosser & Trigwell, 1999, p.57-70) Teachers are facilitators and advisers inlearners' studies

The figure also points out the close relation between teachers' perception oflearning and teaching and their approaches They are important elements in deciding thequality of students' learning outcomes Therefore, it is said that teachers with differentapproaches produce different students

2.9 Previous studies on teacher perceptions of TBLT

TBLT is arising as a useful approach in developing learners' communication inlanguage learning It leads to a trend of researching TBA principles and its implementation

in practice Yet, there are few studies on teacher perception of the field Bob & Annie(2008) spent two years doing research on the process of implementing a curriculum reform

- the task-based learning (TBL) innovation in Hong Kong in three secondary schools Theyfound out that TBL was being implemented by teachers in ways that diverged from the intendedcurriculum One of the reasons was due to teacher perception All of them lacked ormisunderstood the concepts of TBL though they participated in workshop, team work, trainingcourse on TBL Some teachers view tasks as activities to make class learning atmosphere lessboring Even teachers in school 3 were reluctant to implement TBL as they believed that'students learn from teacher instruction' and ' tasks were for 'practising', 'revising', and ' cateringfor individual differences' Teachers in school 2 agreed that TBL took too much time to prepareand implement Generally, teachers in the research did not have the right and basicunderstanding of TBL and met much difficulty in implementation

Like Bob and Annie, Gulden, Julie & Huly were also interested in TBLT, however,their study investigated 4th grade primary school teachers' and students' perception of task-based language learning in order to find out the similarities and differences that existbetween the understanding of tasks by two parties The findings indicated that teachers had

a sound understanding of task-based teaching and they had touched some key elementssuch as 'focus on meaning' and 'learner involvement' However, the implementation of TBLwas limited to language practice activities focusing mainly on form It also came out thatthe students perceive the tasks as a means of revision or prize at the end of a lesson

Another research which is also related to task-based approach is In-Jae Jeon &Jung-Won Hahn (2006)'s It explored EFL teachers' perceptions of TBLT in 38 differentKorean secondary school contexts The study showed that teachers had a comparativelyclear understanding of the linguistic features of task and the key concepts of TBLTregardless of their teaching levels Yet, many of them hesitated to adopt TBLT as aninstructional method in classroom practice as they feared of being confronted withproblems of a lack of knowledge and confidence The result indicated that teachers'conceptual understandings of TBLT did not necessarily lead to the actual use of task in theclassroom The authors found out reasons that teachers used and did not use TBLT in theclassroom

In short, it is clear that TBA attracts much attention from researchers, but there are still some of their studies concerning teachers' perception on the approach.

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter is to present the research methodology that I choose to achieve theaims and objectives of the study It gives out thorough explanations of reasons for choosingthe research instruments and clarifies specific ways to get information through theseinstruments

3.1 The fitness of case study to the research purpose

Case study is a study of one case It is defined in terms of the unit analysis (JohnsonD.M., 1992, p.75) The unit analysis might be a teacher, a classroom, a school or acommunity (p.76) The important feature that case study is hired to do research is itspurpose to describe the case in its context It means that people or events cannot be fullyunderstood if they are removed from the environmental circumstances

Moreover, 'case studies are appropriate for exploratory and discovery-orientedresearch' (James & Schumacher, 1993, p.376) Their data analysis focuses on the onephenomenon, which the researcher selects to understand in depth regardless of the number

of sites, participants or documents for a study (p.375) Then, it helps to research for variouskinds of evidence in the case setting to get the best possible answer to the researchquestions

This study aims to get the teachers' understanding of TBA in speaking skills andexplore their perceptions on its advantages and disadvantages It is the purpose of the studythat stimulates the author to conduct the case study as it will helps to answer the researchquestions, enhance her own understanding which might be shared with other researcherswho may then carry out parallel work of their own

3.2 Restatement of research questions

1 What are teachers' understandings of the Task-Based Approach to speaking skills?

2 What do they perceive of the advantages and disadvantages of using TBA

approach to speaking skills in their context?

The answers to these questions will provide the reality of Nguyen Hue gifted high school teachers' teaching and their perceptions on TBA

3.3 Case description and context of the study

3.3.1 The setting of the study

Nguyen Hue gifted high school, one of the best schools in Ha Dong, is famous forthe good quality of teaching Every year the rate of students who pass entranceexaminations to universities is higher than other schools in the area Its students who takepart in national competitions of different subjects such as Maths, Physics, Sciences,Biology, French, English, etc have won many prizes This becomes the traditional feature

in teaching and learning at the school as the principal ever said However, it is one of thedifficulties that English language teachers face in teaching speaking when the nationalEnglish tests are designed in written tests without speaking, therefore, the school trend is toconcentrate on teaching and learning writing, speaking is a little neglected

Teachers at Nguyen Hue school are experienced The teachers of English have beenteaching for from 5 to 26 years Most of them graduated from university, some have adouble-degree The number of English teacher is 11 who have been in charge of teaching 3classes majoring in English and other 36 classes of non-English major students Amongthose only 5 teachers are teaching grade 11 One is in charge of an English major class andthe others of 16 non-English major ones All of them are female

With regard to 11th grade students, there are from 23 to 35 students in each class.Most of them are from rural places where English learning and teaching do not get muchattention Therefore, their English levels are different Those who studied secondary school

at Ha Dong town learn English better than the ones in other regions In addition, the onlyresources from which students can get knowledge are the textbook and teachers Althoughsome of them have computers connected to the internet at home, these machines are notused for their studies because it is not their habit

As far as the teaching of English is concerned, methodological innovation is alwaysthe primary focus of the school to raise the quality of English language teaching Therecent renovation is the advocacy of TBLT When the Ministry of Education and Traininghas been changing the systems of textbooks and teaching methodologies towards TBA, theschool board and teachers use the most official update textbook 'Tiếng Anh 11' Manyteachers are also facilitated to take part in training courses of TBLT In reality, they areencouraged and asked to use this method in practice However, because teachers joineddifferent training programs, and their major are various (some major in English, some inFrench), their knowledge is different, there is variation in their perception of TBLT

3.3.2 Participants

4 of 5 teachers who are teaching grade 11 at the school joint the research The one whocould not participate in the study was due to her teaching the 11th English major class using

a different textbook Therefore, the investigation was conducted with 4 other teachers whovolunteering and were willing to take part in the research Table 1 below provides a briefcontextual background about teachers involved in the research

Teachers Gender English Qualifications / training Present

Cam Female 8 years She finished the bachelor course 2 classes

majoring in French at Hanoi majoring inuniversity She also had a Geography anddouble degree of English History

teaching methodology at the respectively.same university and is now

taking part in a workshop about

Department of Education andTraining She began teaching

English at the school in 2001.

in 1986 Her major is French majoring inteaching methodology She Maths,

taught French for a long time Sciences,before starting teaching English Informatic

at the school in 2001 Technology,

Biologyrespectively.Nho Female 14 years She had the bachelor degree 11 PT1 - the

majoring in English teaching class do notmethodology in 1986 and has major in anybeen teaching English since subject

university in 1989 majoring in majoring inEnglish teaching methodology Physics

She became English teacherright after the time Now she istaking an extra course ofteaching methodology in 6months

Table 1: Participants' Profile

To get the trustable data, the researcher spent 2 months at the school In the firstmonth, she asked the teachers to join their classes as an observer Every week, she attendedEnglish periods regularly so that the students and teachers got used to her presence Thenext month, the teachers were interviewed about the perceptions of tasks and task-basedapproach They felt free to answer all the questions and even some of them added muchmore useful information because they were ensured that their answers were used for aMaster thesis and would be kept anonymous and transcribed honestly and accurately Atthe same time, the author continued the class observation which is for the researcher to getinformation about the reality of their teaching The classes observed are non-English majorones as they study the same course book 'Tieng Anh lop 11" whereas there is only oneEnglish major class working with an advanced English book

3.4 Instruments

This part discusses the reasons why the research tools fit the purpose of the study It

is about the advantages and disadvantages of these instruments

3.4.1 Interviews

Interview is a kind of conversation which has a clear purpose (Robson, 1993, p.228)

It is commonly used in education research because of its outstanding features incomparison with other instruments, especially survey questionnaires James & Schumacher(1993, p.250) stated that response rates from interviews can be quite high and in aninterview, respondents often answer all the questions presented because of their personalinvolvement with the interviewer Moreover, the interviewer can get useful information,

even in case of unclear answers, he / she can paraphrases the questions and re-ask therespondents In most of the situations, the interviewer probes for additional relevantinformation (Johnson, 1992, p.114-115) Mc Donough (1997) showed 3 applications ofinterviews in classroom research:

 to focus on a specific aspect of classroom life in detail

 teacher-pupil discussion > diagnostic information

(as cited in Jo Mc & Stevi, 1997, p.181)This study fits well with the uses of interviews It investigates a specific aspect ofclassroom life, i.e teachers' perceptions of TBA to speaking skills and explores teacher-pupil discussion in class to help the researcher have more information about their teachingpractice Therefore, interviews are essential as a lot of information can be obtained throughthem

Beside the above advantages of interviews, there are some minor disadvantages.Interviews are time-consuming (James & Schumacher, 1993; Gillham, 2000) Respondents'answers are quite long and they do not focus on the main points So it requires theinterviewers to be sensitive, active and tactful in asking questions and eliciting answers.Interviews also take much effort of the research in dealing with the data, especially in theinterpreting phase

However, with the advantages outweighing the disadvantages, interviewing isprofitable to this case study

However, observation can be difficult If the observer tries to do more than what he

or she exactly sees, the conclusion might be subjective because of his or her prejudices andbias So observing requires much effort and skill in the observer Additionally, observationtends to be time-consuming (Robson, 1993, p.191) It takes long hours for the observer toget the necessary data

Yet, this case study is suitable to use classroom observation First, it is helpful toinvestigate the teachers' responses in the interviews if what they do in practice is congruentwith what they say Second, through observation, the researcher actually knows the way ofcooperations and interactions between students and students and between teacher andstudents, then to have a complete picture of teaching and learning language at the school.Therefore, classroom observation was conducted to help doing the study

1997, p.184) It was conducted in Vietnamese and carried out from 8 November 2009 to 8January 2010 Before the interview was really used, the researcher had sent it to the head oflanguage department who is also teaching English for an 11th-form class majoring inEnglish for advice and comments

4 teachers took part in the interview They are the ones who are teaching English forgrade 11 and voluntary and willing to answer all the 8 survey questions (see Appendix A).They did the interview in about 15 to 30 minutes during the periods that they did not havelessons Therefore, there was no time-constraint Additionally, the purpose of the interviewwas to get firsthand information and it took place in an informal atmosphere (at the schoolbase or in the teacher room), so they felt free and comfortable to express themselves Someminutes before the interview started, the teachers were told about the general issues theywould talk about, i.e how they perceived of tasks and task-based approach They wereguaranteed that their answers were recorded on tape and kept secretly by the researcher

All of the teachers stated they were happy to help and even they did not hesitate toreveal private information such as names, ages They thought that their main objective ofdoing the interview was to help the researcher have a good and true investigation.

As being asked about perception of tasks and task-based approach, 4 teachers agreedthat TBA was a good method in teaching English, especially teaching speaking Theyconfessed that they had ever heard of it before and were implementing it in practice.However, 2 out of 4 teachers did not catch the main points of the questions, their answerwere rather long which made the interview longer

3.5.2 Class observation

The second month the researcher spent at the school, she actually began to observeteaching speaking at classes This time, after the teachers and students got used to herpresence, she prepared a plan, a guide to follow The researcher acted as a non-participantobserver and made notes of the classroom procedures These notes were then transcribedand analyzed to assess teachers' teaching in the classroom in terms of task involvement ofstudents and teachers and the way tasks are exploited and carried out by the teachers.The researcher constructed an observation form as follow:

OBJECTIVES OF THE OBSERVATION:

3.6 Data analysis

Data analysis was accomplished by using a personal computer and many hours ofcareful reading and exploring all written materials The interview tapes were transcribedand coded with appropriate ways to get the data of teachers' perceptions of TBA tospeaking skills in theory The observation sheets were discovered to find out the reality ofteaching English speaking of the teachers at the school as well as the actual advantages anddisadvantages that they met in practice The observation data also help the researcher to see

if what the teachers said matched to the teaching practice or not All of these procedure aim

to find out the answers to the research questions

CHAPTER 4 DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the findings and to give outrecommendations concerning the results of the study The chapter begins with a summary

of findings and then a discussion of central issues emerging from the findings orientedafter following research questions:

1 What are teachers' understandings of the Task-Based Approach to speaking skills?

2 What do they perceive of the advantages and disadvantages of using TBA

approach to speaking skills in their context?

4.1 General overview of the findings

Owing to the research instruments, the writer presents the findings in terms of 3themes which emerged from the data: teacher perceptions of tasks, teacher perceptions oftask-based approach, the reality of teachers' class teaching, advantages and disadvantages

of the TBLT implementation

4.1.1 Teacher perception of tasks

Teacher perceptions of tasks were revealed principally in the interview data InRQ2, the teachers were asked 'What do you understand of the term 'task' in the course book'Tieng Anh 11'? Do you employ tasks in your teaching? If so, what kinds, how effective arethey? How do you assess the students' task completion?

The overview of answers for these questions is in table 2 below:

Teachers Different perceptions of tasks Types of Task assessment

tasksCam Tasks are learning activities Matching 1 Fluency

which are designed to develop Role play 2 Students' confidencecommunicative ability They

Discussion 3 Task outcomefollow the content of the

lesson

Quyt Tasks are those which students Not Fluency

have to do in the course book, mentioned

for example, task 1, task 2, task3

Dao Tasks are learning activities Mostly gap- Fluency

They are put in a simple to filling Focus on taskmore difficult order Tasks are Matching Pronunciationclearly arranged to be suitable

Expressingfor PPP approach Task 1

ideasusually gives the sample,guidelines about the topic

Students practise in task 2basing the sample In task 3,students are freer in productionand are allowed to go further toimprove their speaking skills

Nho Tasks are learning activities Matching Outcome

which are designed in the Role playprocedure: Pre, While, and

DiscussionPost speaking All the topics

are based on reading section Inspeaking section, the teacher

communication skills butgrammar and vocabulary aswell

Table 2: Participants' perceptions of task

It can be seen that all of the teachers were uncertain about task definition Theykept a vague notion that tasks are learning activities that students often did in the coursebook, i.e task 1, task 2, task 3 and these tasks were arranged in the order suitable for theteaching procedure like PPP or Pre-While-Post speaking The definitions of tasks like that

it was simply translated from English into Vietnamese The only two key features of tasks