the impacts of task based instruction on grammatical performance of pre intermediate non english majors at van lang university

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY ĐỖ THỊ HUYỀN THE IMPACTS OF TASK-BASED INSTRUCTION ON GRAMMATICAL PERFORMANCE OF PRE-INTERMEDIATE NON-ENGLISH MAJOR

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

ĐỖ THỊ HUYỀN

THE IMPACTS OF TASK-BASED INSTRUCTION ON GRAMMATICAL PERFORMANCE OF PRE-INTERMEDIATE NON-ENGLISH MAJORS

AT VAN LANG UNIVERSITY

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

ĐỖ THỊ HUYỀN

THE IMPACTS OF TASK-BASED INSTRUCTION ON GRAMMATICAL PERFORMANCE OF PRE-INTERMEDIATE NON-ENGLISH MAJORS

AT VAN LANG UNIVERSITY

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “The impacts of Task-based Instruction on grammatical performance of pre-intermediate non-English majors at Van Lang University” is my own work

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains any material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh City, September 2019

DO THI HUYEN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Ass Prof., Dr Pham Vu Phi Ho, who spent his valuable time on giving me instructions, advice, constructive comments, and encouragement This thesis would not have been completed if it had not been for his great support

Secondly, I would like to thank my colleagues and classmates who encouraged

me and shared with me much experience in thesis writing

Thirdly, I am also grateful for all lecturers and staff at the Open University,

Ho Chi Minh City, who instructed me and equipped me with relevant information and shared knowledge

Finally, thanks to all my beloved first-year students at Van Lang University, the data collection and teaching procedures could be finished on time

ABSTRACT

The quasi-experimental research was conducted to investigate the impacts of Task based Instruction on Pre-intermediate non-English majors at Van Lang Univerisity Mixed method was employed using Pre-test, post-test and interview to respond to the three research questions The research lasted eight weeks on two groups of students (1) the control group studying grammar through PPP (2) the experimental group studying grammar through TBI with five grammatical points The findings indicate that TBI approach has a significant impact on the pre-intermediate non-English majors’ grammatical performance The students’ attitudes towards TBI group is more positive than that towards PPP group However, in terms

of grammatical performance in writing and speaking, TBI model is not superior to PPP model

Key words: Task based Instruction, grammatical performance, PPP,

attitudes, speaking, and writing

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP… ……… i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS… ……… ii

ABSTRACT……… iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS……… iv

LIST OF TABLES……….ix

LIST OF FIGURES……….viii

ABBREVIATIONS……… xi

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problems 5

1.3 Aims of the study 8

1.4 Research questions 8

1.5 Significance of the study 9

1.6 Structure of the study 9

CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW 12

2.1 Theoretical framework 12

2.1.1 Definition of grammar 13

2.1.2 Grammatical performance 13

2.1.3 How to teach grammar 14

2.2 Previous studies 28

2.3 Research gaps 34

2.4 Chapter summary 36

CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 37

3.1 Research design 37

3.2 Research setting and participants 38

3.2.2 Participants 39

3.3 Instruments 41

3.3.1 Pre-test and Post-test 42

3.3.2 Interview 45

3.4 Research procedure 47

3.5 Training procedure 50

3.5.1 Traditional PPP lessons 50

3.5.2 TBI lessons 51

3.6 Data Collection and Analysis 55

3.7 Chapter summary 56

CHAPTER 4– RESULTS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 57

4.1 Reliability of the marking of speaking and writing 57

4.2 Grammatical performance of the two groups before the treatment 58

4.2.1 Pre-grammar paper test 58

4.2.2 Pre-writing test 59

4.2.3 Pre-speaking test 59

4.3 Research question 1 60

4.3.1 Comparison of the pre-grammar test & post-grammar test 61

4.3.2 Comparison of the post-grammar test 62

4.4 Research question 2 63

4.4.2 Comparison of the post-speaking tests of the TBI group and PPP group 64

4.4.3 Comparison of the pre-writing test & post-writing test 65

4.4.4 Comparison of the post-writing test 66

4.5 Research question 3 67

4.5.1 Interviews after each lesson 67

4.5.2 Interviews after the whole treatment 75

4.6 Discussion 79

4.6.1 The impacts of on the pre-intermediate non-English-majors' grammatical performance in the grammar-paper test at Van Lang University 79

4.6.2 The impacts of on the pre-intermediate non-English-majors' grammatical performance in speaking and writing test Vat an Lang University 81

4.6.3 The attitudes of learners towards the teaching grammar through TBI and PPP 81

CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 85

5.1 Summary of the research findings 85

5.2 Conclusion 86

5.3 Pedagogical implications 87

5.4 Limitations and recommendations 88

References 90

APPENDIX A – LESSON PLAN 97

LESSON 1 – PRESENT CONTINUOUS FOR FUTURE USE 97

LESSON 2 – MUST/MUSN’T/HAVE/DON’T HAVE TO/CAN/CAN’T 101

LESSON 4 – ZERO CONDITIONAL 110 LESSON 5 – FIRST CONDITIONAL 112 APPENDIX B- TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW AFTER EACH LESSON 114 APPENDIX C –TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW AFTER THE WHOLE

TREATMENT 128 APPENDIX E – POST-TEST 142

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 3.1 English training program at Van Lang University according to CEFR

……… 38

Figure 3.2 Demographics of participants ……… 39

Figure 3.3 Correspondence between the research questions and the

research instruments ………46

Figure 3.4 Training procedure for PPP lessons ……… 52

Figure 3.5 Training procedure for TBI lessons ………53

LIST OF TABLES

Page Table 3.1 The participants of the study………40

Table 3.2 Specifications of the pre-test and post-test (Adapted from A2 Key exam forma KET – Cambridge English) ……… 43

Table 3.3 Assessment scales for grammatical performance in writing and speaking ……… 44

Table 3.4 Time allocation for the study ……… 48

Table 3.5 Production activities ………49

Table 3.6 Types of task used in the treatment ……….50

Table 4.1 Reliability Statistics of the test scores marked by the interraters ………57

Table 4.2 Summary of pre-grammar test result ……… 57

Table 4.3 Independent samples t-test of pre-wiring test……… 58

Table 4.4 Independent samples t-test of pre-speaking test……… 59

Table 4.5 Paired samples t-test of grammar-paper test (PPP)……… 60

Table 4.6 Paired samples t-test of pre-test & post-test of grammar paper test (TBI)……… 61

Table 4.7 Independent samples t test of post-grammar test ………62

Table 4.8 Paired samples t-test of pre-speaking and post-speaking tests

of TBI & PPP group ……….63

Table 4.9 Paired Samples t-tests of post-speaking tests between TBI group and PPP

group ………64

Table 4.10 Paired Samples t-tests of pre-writing test and post- writing test ……… 64

Table 4.11 Paired samples t-test of post-writing test ……… 66

Table 4.12 Students’ understanding of the lesson ………69

Table 4.13 Students’ preferences ……….72

Table 4.14 Difficulties ………74

Table 4.15 Expectations ……… 74

Table 4.16 Findings of the interviews after the whole treatment ………78

ABBREVIATIONS

CEFR : Common European Framework of References for Languages EFL : English as a Foreign Language

ELT : English Language Teaching

ESL : English as a Second Language

PPP : Presentation, Practice, Production

TBI : Task Based Instruction

L1 : First language or mother tongue

L2 : Second language

SLA : Second Language Acquisition

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 includes six sections to provide an overview of the research

Firstly, it provides a background of the study which states the current teaching of grammar and language teaching and learning in Section 1.1 It is followed by

Section 1.2 to address the problems in the TEFL in general and in the researcher’ teaching practice The next section reveals the research rationale In the fourth section, research questions are presented as the guidance to carry out the research Section 1.5 discusses the significance of the study The last section summarizes the structure of the study

1.1 Background of the study

As can be seen from the history of teaching and learning English as a foreign language, grammar has received much attention among the ELT experts Crystal (2004) highlighted the importance of grammar that it was the skeleton or even the nervous system of a language It helps to express ourselves as a structural basis, increase precision and decrease ambiguity Over the centuries of ELT research, experts have acknowledged the importance of teaching grammar in any courses Without grammar, words can become chaotic and meaningless Therefore, teaching and learning grammar is also vital in the language learning process

However, grammar has become the central controversy on the teaching methods along with the trends towards language teaching approaches It was once the utmost factor in Grammar Translation Method while experts in Direct Method believed that grammar had no significant role to play in the FL learning process (Klapper, 2006)

Despite of that, in recent research, many researchers agreed that learners who have exposure to linguistic form during communicative interaction are more

successful than those who have never been awarded of form or who are only

exposed to decontextualized grammar lessons (Larsen-Freeman, 2003) Ellis (2006) argued that “Grammar Teaching involves any instructional technique that draws learners’ attention to some specific grammatical form in such a way that it helps them either to understand it metalinguistically and / or process it in comprehension and / or production so that they can internalize it.” (p 84) Also, Azar (2007)

mentioned that those who were exposed to grammar instruction had better language comprehension than those who had not The mentioned findings can highlight the significance of grammar teaching in the second language acquisition

Despite the importance of grammar in the process of language learning, grammar has appeared to be the most difficult aspect for learners to learn (Sawir, 2005) Accordingly, it has become one of the problems that EFL learners normally face Shatz and Wilkinson (2010) highlighted that second language (L2) learners usually cannot express their complex thoughts because they are unable to produce complex sentences Azimi (2016) found out that many learners had difficulties in applying grammar in real-life situations They couldn’t express themselves clearly

To investigate the causes of grammar difficulties, in a study conducted in Saudi Arabia, Alhaysony & Alhaisoni (2017) pointed out that learners’ motivation

is one of the main factors that is involved The researchers stated that many learners lack of motivation to use the grammar appropriately and even to learn grammar

In addition to learners’ motivation, teaching methodology is the leading feature that affects the learning outcome Widdowson (1979) argued that learners

‘success to use the language could be traced back to teaching and learning

approach As can be seen in the history of EFL learning and teaching, different approaches have been introduced and practiced EFL practitioners and learners have experienced Grammar Translation Method (GTM), Direct Method (DM), Audio

Lingual Method (ALM) and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Due to their drawbacks, nowadays, GTM, DM and ALM are rarely used in the classrooms

In DM (or sometimes called Natural Method), the theory underlying is that

FL should be acquired through experience (Klapper, 2006) Therefore, there was no room for L1 or explicit grammar instruction However, the majority of scholars criticised DM because of it shortcomings including inadequate lengths to avoid L while the learning process would be a lot better facilitated by brief and immediate use of learners’ first language Furthermore, the fact is that there is still a number of tutors who are not fully proficiency in FL This appears to affect the learners’

learning outcome when they are dependent on the ability of the tutor and his or her

communication

GTM used to be the popular method implemented in the course books and classrooms It was a traditional and long-standing method which was emerged in the eighteen century It promotes the notion of learning a language through grammar (Banerjee, 2016) As presented by Harmer (2007), GTM provides learners with explanations of grammatical points and exemplifying sentences Typically,

according to Klapper (2006), the rules of grammars are deductively presented and practiced through translation of sentences The role of L1 is vital since the sentences

were translated from the target language to the students’ first language and vice versa Although GTM was once the standard method in most schools, it revealed a lot of defects that prevents learners from using the language in meaningful contexts

Firstly, GTM features the complex level of grammar with a wide range of grammar points According to Klapper (2006), the language knowledge taught is complicated and does not serve fluent, natural use of the FL In fact, in many GTM classrooms, the students are provided with a highly complicated structures and forms accompanied with a plenty of mechanical exercises that they cannot use in real communication

Secondly, written translation is mainly conducted to serve the sole deductive process of language learning; meanwhile, meaningful aural input and the teaching

of FL reading skills have a little position in the teaching In reality, the learners are exposed to and acquire the language through listening and reading They also need

to produce the language without spending time to translate exactly one language to another In other words, it does not reflect the actual learning process and reserves that procedure (Khan & Mansoor, 2016)

Last but not least, oral and written strategies for meaningful communication are taken into little consideration As mentioned earlier, the main activities in a GTM lesson is reading, doing mechanical exercise and translation Therefore, there seems to be no room for meaningful communication

In the recent years, due to a lot of problems, the GTM method was replaced

by CLT approach it seems that the most widely known and used methodology in the current course books and classrooms is CLT In this approach, the PPP

(Presentation-Practice-Production) model is the paradigm to teach grammar

Although PPP has been widely used since 1960s (Harmer, 2007) as a useful

problematic Willis (1996) demonstrated that learners who are taught with the PPP model are not successful in communicating outside the classroom, particularly with native speakers It means that the aim of the production stage is not fully achieved Other scholars rejected this framework according to psychological viewpoint

(Skehan, 1996; Harmer, 2001; Ellis, 2003) They asserted that learners do not

acquire the language in the order in which they need previous practice before

production In fact, learners take the learning process with transitional stages,

known as interlanguage The PPP model, accordingly, is too behavourist and linear (Ellis, 2003)

1.2 Statement of the problems

As mentioned earlier, teaching grammar seems to receive much attention due

to many issues and difficulties faced by both teachers and learners The major problem includes the fact that a number of learners cannot apply the grammatical structures in communication such as writing and speaking As claimed by Rodgers and Richards (2014), although PPP lessons incorporate skills into lessons, most students were not able to communicate effectively in English Moreover, many learners demonstrated that they are unwilling to learn grammar and that grammar is

a demotivating factor of learning

As for the first issue, a lot of studies pointed out that communication of a great number of learners is still not effective since they don’t know what grammar

to use and how to use it appropriately Effendi et al (2017) carried out a study in Indonesia to find out the approaches applied by the teachers, difficulties of the students in their grammar learning and their grammar ability The findings showed that there is a variety of methods applied Although CLT is used with the focus of communication, the students revealed their difficulties in learning grammar They also showed their lack of motivation to study grammar

The second major problem that critically affects the grammar learning

outcome is the students’ lack of motivation for learning grammar As stated by Burner (2005), many students in his study showed their low level of grammatical knowledge when they write a lot of incorrect English In addition, the learners regarded learning grammar as boring, out-of-date with too many rules They even wish to exclude grammar out of the curriculum

In Vietnamese context, the researcher also noted that a number of learners find difficulties in their real-life communication According to a statistics by

Ministry of Education and Training, in 2018, 78 percent of high school students got below the average score on the English test, and the average score was 3.91 on the 10-score scale (Chi, 2018) Another report by Chi (2018) showed that almost

employers complained that the university graduates cannot communicate

effectively Another problem is that, although more and more teachers applied CLT with communicative activities, many learners seem to show their demotivation in the grammar lessons

In the researcher’s teaching practice at Van Lang University, there is a number of students who have difficulties in their grammatical knowledge and use although they have studied English for seven years or more Their performance in the placement test generally indicates their average level is at elementary The current course book (American Jetstream) used is an integrated one with the

grammar focus incorporated in listening or reading sections in which the underlying procedure is PPP However, teaching the grammar through listening and reading emerges some drawbacks Firstly, the presentation of the grammar rules does not quite engages the students in the lesson Also, the students often reveal that they are not quite eager to take the grammar lessons with many practice exercises The tests might be the trigger for them to study the grammar points

To resolve the problems, Pham (2015) suggested that the Presentation-

Practice-Production should be maintained but need further improvement by

teaching them in contexts through communicative tasks In PPP teaching model, leaners study grammar through 3 stages namely Presentation, Practice and

Production Accuracy and fluency are expected to achieved through Practice and Production However, interactive and communicative tasks should be embedded so that leaners can explore grammar while using their existing grammatical

knowledge This technique will not only help leaners learn more actively but also develop their autonomy in languge learning (Pham, 2015)

Following the notion that language learning needs to be involved in real communication in which learners use the language in a meaningful way, Task-based Instruction (TBI) has been the increasing interest among ELT experts as well as teachers (Nunan, 2004) It can be seen as a development of CLT, in which fluency activities through tasks should be lead gradually to accuracy-focused activities (Klapper, 2006) According to Richards and Rogers (2001), “Tasks are believed to foster a process of negotiation, modification, rephrasing and experimentation that are at the heart of second language learning” (p 228) Furthermore, Bahrami (2010) claimed that Task-based Instruction helped boost learners’ intrinsic motivation

Last but not least, despite the fact that TBI has received much attention these days, from the researcher’s experience, in Vietnamese context, it appears that many teachers are vague about this new teaching approach Especially, many of them are familiar with traditional methods such as GTM or CLT with PPP model and

unwilling to take the new approach Furthermore, up till now, there is little research

in the field of TBI conducted in Vietnamese context Especially there is a gap in grammar teaching through TBI and its impact on the students’ grammatical use in communication

1.3 Aims of the study

In view of the above current shortcomings of grammar teaching and an interest in a new teaching approach, the researcher was motivated to carry out a study on the impacts of Task-based Instruction on grammar performance of pre-intermediate non-English majors at Van Lang University First and foremost, the study is aimed to investigate if TBI has a significant effect on the learners’

grammatical performance in their speaking and writing s./kills As a result, it could help the stakeholders in finding ways to improve the current teaching and learning

of grammar in order to help the leaners communicate effectively with appropriate grammar use

Secondly, the research attempted to find out the learners’ attitudes towards the implementation of the new approach since motivation has a significant influence

on the learning process and learning outcome as one of the affective factor Through the results, the research can propose further significant implications for the English language teaching at Van Lang University as well as other educational institutions

1.4 Research questions

The above mentioned problems motivated the researcher to perform an experiment on TBI in grammar teaching in her own pre-intermediate non-English majors at Van Lang University and investigate its impacts on their grammar

performance The study was performed to answer the following research questions:

1 To what extent does TBI impact on the pre-intermediate non-English-majors' grammatical performance in the grammar paper test at Van Lang University?

2 To what extent does TBI impact on the pre-intermediate non-English-majors' grammatical performance in the speaking and writing test at Van Lang University?

3 What are the attitudes of the pre-intermediate non-English-majors towards

teaching grammar through TBI and PPP?

1.5 Significance of the study

The current language teaching and learning appears to remain the problems

in the learners’ effective communication skills in which grammar is still

controversial debate among the practitioners and an obstacle for many learners The research and its findings will suggest how to tackle this remaining issue

As can be seen in the research field, although there is a number of studies on the implementation of TBI, there is little research on its impact on the learners’ grammar performance, the study will shed the light on this gap, particularly in the setting of higher education It also may suggest ways to improve the teaching and learning of speaking and writing skills or other related research fields

The research will contribute to raise the teachers’ awareness of considering unceasing learning of new methods as well as adapting the materials The findings and the how the TBI approach was implemented are expected to inspire the teachers

to apply this new method in teaching grammar as well as other language skills and areas

Last but not least, the researcher hopes to provoke the curriculum designers

to take this method into consideration in their planning process so that more

meaningful tasks can be integrated into the syllabus

1.6 Structure of the study

The study is constituted by five chapters:

Chapter 1 – Introduction

The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the teaching and

learning grammar and the problems in the associated field as well as in the

researcher’ teaching practice Accordingly, it clearly states the rationale of the study

to solve the mentioned problems with the research questions as the guidance to implement the necessary instruments It also highlights the significance of the research in the field of language teaching and learning

Chapter 2 – Literature review

The related theoretical framework for grammar, grammar teaching and

learning was provided to give an overall and sufficient view related theories as a foundation for the researcher to implement the new approach

Previous studies related to the topic were critically reviewed and discussed in

an attempt to find out what else the research can do to contribute to the field

Chapter 3 – Research methodology

This chapter gives details of the research design the researcher employed, the research setting, research participants and the data collection procedure including the instruments, research procedure and detailed training procedure

Chapter 4 – Data analysis

The analysis of the study was arranged according to the research questions with detailed discussion for the findings

Chapter 5 – Conclusion

This chapter summarizes the process of the research with major findings and provides implications to the various stakeholders Limitations of research are also discussed for further improvement and research

CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents the theoretical framework with the definition of

grammar and the importance of teaching grammar It also defines the notion of grammatical performance as the key words in this research to clarify the scope of work The chapter also examines the popular PPP model which is employed as the control method together with the highlight of experimental TBI model and its

principles Advantages and disadvantages of each method are also taken into

2.1 Theoretical framework

Of all language components, grammar can be considered as the foundation in communication and language learning Meanings can be conveyed more easily, if grammatically correct sentences are used In the past, teaching grammar was the most essential part of language instruction to the extent that other aspects were somehow ignored It was believed that by knowing grammatical rules, learners could use the language for communication However, with the rise of the notion of communicative competence, knowing the rules of grammar was associated with knowing how to use these rules in the real communication (Richards and Renandya 2002) Oliveria (2018) states that the inclusion of grammar is essential as a part of classroom instruction Teaching grammar and how to apply it in communication can limit the risk of early fossilization

2.1.1 Definition of grammar

Over the history of linguistic research, grammar has been defined in various ways by different scholars In general, almost scholars define grammar as a set of rules which govern the words in sentence level and how words form Ur (1996) stated that grammar “ is a set of rules that defines how words or parts of words are combined or changed to form acceptable units of meaning within a language” (p 75) Another definition by Brown (2001) elaborate grammar in sentence level as

“The system of rules governing the conventional arrangement and relationship of words in a sentence…Technically grammar refers to sentence-level rules only, and not to rules governing the relationship among sentences, which it refers to as

discourse rules” (p 362) Harmer (cited in Nunan, 2005) also suggested a definition

of grammar in which sentence is highlighted as a key factor It is formed by the way words change themselves and combine with one another For example, when the words change their forms, they become plural or negative or the order of the words

in questions As simply and clearly defined by Oxford Advanced Learner’s

Dictionary (2010), grammar is the “study or science of, rules for, the words into sentences (syntax), and the forms of words (morphology)”

Despite the fact that there is a variety of grammar definitions, it can be seen that grammar deals with the rules that regulate how words and sentences form to make meaningful communication Most of the definitions address the relation

between the linguistic function and communicative function of grammar They also highlight the importance of grammar as a skeleton of language Without grammar, there are no meaningful sentences with chaotic words

2.1.2 Grammatical performance

As we can see, in the past, grammar knowledge used to be assessed mainly through reciting rules in single sentences without any context, particularly in the

GTM However, nowadays, grammar is measured not only through the learners’ surface knowledge but only through their production of language in communication According to Salem (2003), grammatical performance is defined as the students' ability to use, apply, and produce the target structure in real life situations

appropriately Hudson (2010) refers grammatical performance as patterning in written or spoken texts Purpura (2004) asserted that knowledge of grammar can be evaluate by the ability to choose the correct answer in the mechanical tests such as multiple choice, filling the blanks with the correct word, or construct sentences with appropriate grammar Moreover, it can be determined by the ability to use grammar accurately in the communication skills including speaking, writing, listening and writing

In the present study, grammatical performance is defined as the ability of the students to show their knowledge of the structures and their functions and in

expressive speaking and writing forms It means that grammar can be assessed through mechanical tests and speaking and writing

2.1.3 How to teach grammar

The issue of grammar teaching method has become one of the most central debates among the ELT practitioners following the development of teaching

approaches as aforementioned Over the history of ESL, a number of approaches has been introduced and implemented in course books and classrooms such as DM, ALM, GTM, CLT As discussed earlier, each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses However, the CLT approach appears to be the most widely employed

in the current ESL practice

Nowadays, most researchers agree that language should be learnt in context because, as argued by Thornbury (1999), language is context sensitive and without context, the intended meaning of a single word or phrase is difficult to understand CLT approach was invented as the result of such theoretical insights The fact is

that, according to Klapper (2006), there are variations in how CLT has been

implemented because of the flexibility with principles However, in the nutshell, the theorists proposed two versions of CLT namely the strong one and the weak one The latter is considered as the mainstream version of CLT as it has been adopted in many course books and curriculum As identified by Ellis (2009) the Presentation-practice-production model (PPP) worked as a classic lesson framework for the weak version Meanwhile, the Task-based Instruction can be considered as an evolution

of the strong version of CLT

CLT approach suggested a sequence from “pre-communicative” with

structural and quasi-communicative activities to “communicative” where functional and social interaction activities (Littlewood, 1981, cited in Klapper) are featured As

a result, the typical lesson structure of “Presentation-Practice-Production” or “PPP” (Littlewood, as cited in Klapper, 2006) was invented

 Presentation: the teacher introduces a specific form of structure through contexts If the grammatical point is taught explicitly, leaners are encouraged

to identify the rules and their associated uses by themselves The aim of this stage is to help learners to “acquire new linguistic knowledge to restructure knowledge that has been wrongly represented” (Ellis, 1988)

 Practice: learners are given initially controlled practice The activities

include mechanical production such as substitution tables, gap-filling tasks, mini-dialogues with a partner, etc These tasks are followed by freer

exchanges such as using pictures and other visual and verbal stimuli The principle of this stage is that although learners understand the forms, they need practice to “internalize the structure” (Evan, 1999, p.2) This notion embraces the behaviorism theory in which leaners need practice to reinforce habits and gradually leads to mastery of language

 Production: in this stage, learners participate in open practice without tutor control The activities focus on meaning to consolidate what have been learnt the previous stages and apply the grammatical points in other contexts

Firstly, PPP provides a clear role of the teachers in a classroom Classrooms with PPP have a teacher-centered sense where the teacher presents the grammatical point with examples and explanation The teacher is also the one who conducts the practice with controlled activities and facilitates the production activities It can be seen that the teacher is at the center of the stage to do presentation and

orchestration

Another advantage of PPP is that it helps the teacher to easily plan the

content and control the pace of the lessons, especially to the novice teachers

(Thornbury,1999).The three-stage procedure is set clearly with the clear role of the teacher and the students What the students do is under the teacher’s control,

particularly in the presentation and practice stages In the production stage, the

students use their existing language and the structure of the lesson Therefore, the teacher can anticipate any possible difficulties

Lastly, PPP can be beneficial to beginning learners and teaching

pronunciation (Maftoon & Sarem, 2012) Regarding teaching grammar, this

technique is considered to be clear to teach the grammatical points easily

Particularly, those who are not good at grammar can improve their accuracy through the activities in PPP

interlanguage process in which errors occur as a part of language learning Ellis claimed that PPP model with the linear and behaviorist nature of learning prevent the readiness-to-learn Harmer (2001) also claimed that such straight procedure which begins with no knowledge through sentenced-based practice to production do not reflect human learning in reality In fact, it is more random, complex and

affected by many factors

Another problem of PPP model identified is that it might not be able to help learners to acquire the language successfully Wong and Van Pattern (2003)

claimed that this model provides too many decontextualized and meaningless drills

As argued by Klapper (2006), in CLT, learners exposed to idealized dialogues might be never involved in truly meaningful interaction

Furthermore, PPP, as argued by Harmer (2007), is more like teacher-centered and seems unlikely to fit learner-centered frameworks The role of the teacher

seems to dominate all the three stages of the lesson, particularly in the presentation and practice stages On the other hand, the students receive the knowledge and repeat the teacher

Due to the teacher-centered model and the fact that learners are exposed to too many decontextualized practice, it might affect the learner’s attitudes

negatively Regarding learners’ perception, in a study conducted in Hong Kong, Carless (2009) stated that the students who are less self-motivated tend to be

uninterested in grammar lessons

In a nut shell, according to Klapper (2003), although PPP offers a clear and easy procedure for the teachers to plan a lesson, it can be undeniable that the

grammatical items that was taught earlier “still not entered learner’s interlanguage and is not being used correctly” (p.5) It means that learning grammar through PPP does not achieve effective communication

language acquisition process According to Skehan (2003), the notion of task-based approaches was first proposed by Prabhu (1987) in state secondary school classes in Bangalore Prabhu claimed that learners might learn more effectively they focus on achieving the outcome of task rather than on the language they are using The

emergence of this pedagogy was at the same time with the new research area in second language acquisition in which it claimed that development of language requires naturalistic exposure to and use of language (Skehan, p.1)

Klapper also highlighted that, different from traditional standard

communicative teaching framework where learners are supposed to use the

linguistic elements taught previously, in Task-based Instruction, learners are

expected to use their existing language to fulfill the task Later, they will explore the language form presented in the task Simlarly, Willis (2007), who developed the framework for TBI, argued that learners acquired the language following exposure

to teacher’s talk or texts with the target language In order to negotiate the meaning

in real-life communication, the learners need to use their interlanguage

Accordingly, the language structures will be comprehensible through contexts

In line with Klapper’s viewpoint, Somawati et el (2018) claimed that in TBI, language is considered as a tool to communicate rather than an object of learning Therefore, the outcome of the lesson involves specific meaningful communication whilst language is employed to achieve the success of outcome

1.2.2.2 Definition of Task

Tasks in pedagogical context are defined in different ways Breen (1987), described tasks as “any structured language learning endeavor which has a

particular objective, appropriate content, a specified working procedure, and a range

of outcomes for those who undertake the task “Task” is therefore assumed to refer

to a range of work plans which have the overall purposes of facilitating language

learning-from the simple and brief exercise type, to more complex and lengthy activities such as group problem-solving or simulations and decision-

making”(p.23) It can be seen that Tasks by Breen include all kinds of activities related to learning

In relation to Task-based language teaching, most of the theorists defined Tasks in terms of communication and interaction activities Willis (1996), the

scholar who introduced Task-Based Instruction, introduced a more specific

definition whereby it drew the importance of negotiation to acquire the language Tasks are “always activities where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome” (p.23) Another definition by Skehan (2003) points out “A task is an activity which requires learners

to use language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective” (p 3) This definition seems to focus on the process in which learners use language However, it does not address the relation to the real world

Klapper (2006), mentioned tasks in the a more specific way with a sense of real world relationship Accordingly, Klapper, “tasks are meaning-based activities closely related to learners’ actual communicative needs and with some real-world relationship, in which learners have to achieve a genuine outcome (solve a problem, reach a consensus, complete a puzzle, play a game, etc ) and in which effective completion of the task is accorded priority.” (p.113)

Nunan (2015) interpreted Tasks as “A piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on mobilizing their grammatical

knowledge in order to express meaning, and in which the intention is to convey meaning rather than to manipulate form The task should also have a sense of

completeness, being able to stand alone as a communicative act in its own right with

a beginning”

As can be seen in the aforementioned definitions, language is not the target but the means to achieve the meaningful communication Therefore, it can be seen that process in which how the learners perform to complete the tasks is more

important than is focused rather than the product However, language is essential to successfully perform the task

2.1.3.3 Characteristics of task

As a new offshoot method from CLT, it is critical to discuss the principles underlying task Based on the principles, the detailed procedure and framework of a Task-based Instruction lesson can be developed In general, there are some

characteristics of task including focus on meaning, having clearly defined outcome,

in relation with real world, learner-centered (Nunan, 2004; Richards & Rodgers, 2001)

The feature of focus on meaning differentiates TBI with PPP and other

traditional methods When performing the task, the learners use their existing

language in an attempt to negotiate the meaning to complete the meaningful task During this stage, there is no form is provided It is obvious that it is different from PPP model in which the presentation and practice stages focus on form Moreover, through doing the task, learners can practice the language they already have in their own way (Willis, 1996;Ellis, 1997; Ellis, 2003)

The task should be real world related so that it can provide learners with the experience such as the skills they may function in the real world (Nunan, 1993; Ellis, 2003; Skehan, 1996; Long, 2014) However, according to Widdowson (2003), real-world doesn’t require the task to be situationally authentic It can be authentic

in terms of provoking interaction and leading to language behaviour in the real world

Another significant feature of task is having clearly defined outcome Willis (1996) claimed that setting the outcome for the task can help involve the learners in the task When the involvement of the learners increases, their language

performance will be enhanced accordingly (Ellis, 2003)

Last but not least, leaner-centeredness is one of the key features of task This characteristic is acknowledged to highlight the important role of task in pair work and group work (Ellis, 2014) Task is considered as a tool to implementing tasks among the learners As can be seen in the task cycle, learners do the task with their existing language under the teacher’s monitor This feature is shared by many scholars (Willis, 1996; Skehan, 1998; Long, 2014)

1.2.2.4 Framework for a Task-based learning lesson

In his review on TBI, Klapper suggested a three-part framework for a based learning lesson developed by Willis (1998) since this is one of the most highly developed and easy for the teacher to apply

Task-PRE-TASK PHASE

INTRODUCTION TO TOPIC AND TASK Teacher explores the topic with the class, highlights useful words and phrases, and helps learners understand task instructions and prepare Learners may hear a recording of others doing a similar task, or read part of a text as a lead in to a

task

TASK CYCLE

TASK

Students do the task, in

pairs or small groups

Teacher monitors from a

distance, encouraging all

attempts at

communication, not

correcting Since this

situation has a "private"

feel, students feel free to

experiment Mistakes

don't matter

PLANNING Students prepare to report

to the whole class (orally or

in writing) how they did the task, what they decided or discovered Since the report stage is public, students will naturally want to be

accurate, so the teacher stands by to give language advice

REPORT Some groups present their reports to the class, or exchange written reports, and compare results Teacher acts

as a chairperson, and then comments on the content of the reports

LANGUAGE FOCUS ANALYSIS

Students examine and then discuss

specific features of the text or

transcript of the recording They can

enter new words, phrases and patterns

in vocabulary books

PRACTICE Teacher conducts practice of new words, phrases, and patterns occurring in the data, either during

or after the Analysis

Figure 2.1: Task-Based Learning Framework (Willis, 1998)

PRE-TASK PHASE

The purpose of this phase is first to introduce the task topic and what and how to do the task This phase is significantly important since it clarifies and give guidance to learners Furthermore, informing the outcome of the task and its

importance will help to increase the learners’ involvement in the task

Following the introduction of the task, the teacher can provide necessary input such as vocabulary nut not grammar to help them do the task without

TASK CYCLE

In this phase, learners do the task in pairs or groups They may prepare an oral or written plan of how and what they have done to achieve the task, and then present it to the whole class (Willis, 1996a) During this phase, the learners use their own language or with the language input provided in the pre-task phase It is

notable that errors doesn’t matter as mentioned above Therefore, the teacher works from distance and give encouragement only Regarding the time limitation on task completion, there are two different positions

Yuan and Ellis (2003) argued that if learners can use the time they want, they can produce more complex and accurate language On the other hand, Willis (1996a) claimed that time limitation is a way to promote fluency which is one of the key

principles of Task Based Instruction In addition, given limited time, learners can produce language in a natural way and this point serves the real-world sense

In the report section, some groups or pairs present their oral or written

reports The role of the teacher is to provide feedback only on the strengths of the report However corrective feedback in terms of language is not encouraged in this stage

LANGUAGE FOCUS

In this phase, learners focus on the language they used to complete the task

in the Task Cycle The learners and the teacher can make comments on the task (Ellis, 2003)

The role of the learners is to explore and analyze the structures The teacher plays a role as a facilitator to notify the learners’ errors and give correctness They may give presentation if needed These activities are aimed to incorporate accuracy besides fluency

1.2.2.5 Types of teaching and learning activities

Nunan (1989) suggested two kinds of tasks including pedagogic and real world tasks Real-world tasks involve authentic activities that are situational and interactional These tasks should have the form of the actual task that learners might perform in their real life such as giving direction, etc As for the second type, the tasks do not need to be real life events It means that situations are not required However, interactional authenticity is the key to ensure the natural language use

Willis (1996) proposed six types of tasks which are widely accepted

including Listing, Ordering and sorting, Comparing, Problem solving, Sharing personal experiences and Creative tasks

One of the most typical types of task is Listing The activities include

brainstorming and fact finding In this activity, learners shared with each other or

look up books to find the information they need The outcome would be a

completed task or a drafted mind map

The second type is Ordering and sorting These tasks involve sequencing items, actions and events in logical or chronological order; ranking items according

to personal values or specified criteria; categorizing items in given headings; and classifying items or events in different ways

In Comparing task, the processes include matching, finding similarities and differences

The fourth task type is Problem solving The students are given real-life problems and are required to work together to work out the solution These kinds of activities require intellectual and reasoning power, thus they are considered

demanding and challenging

Sharing personal experiences is the firth type of task that can be employed These tasks encourage learners to talk more freely about themselves and interact with others to share their experiences In fact, this kind of task appears to have no specific goal but a daily conversation

The last kind of task is Creative tasks These are often called projects and require pair works or group works in freer creative work They might combine the above task types One interesting element of this type is that it may need out-of-class research The outcome of the task might be assessed by many audiences

As can be seen, tasks can be categorized in different ways However, in this study, the classification of tasks proposed by Willis (1996) was employed since it provides a comprehensive and detailed guidance Therefore, the tasks can be easily designed to fulfill the typical features of task

1.2.2.5 Merits and defects of Task Based Instruction

As TBI is a new method and not really widely implemented in many

language institutions, it is significant to take its merits and defects into critical consideration Having an insight into those viewpoints can provide the researcher with cautious design and evaluation of the whole treatment

1.2.2.5.1 Merits

In response to the problems encountered with the traditional PPP teaching model, Task Based Instruction is believed to provide a lot of benefits in terms of linking language classroom lessons to the real world communication Ellis (2009, as cited in Hismanoglu, 2011) indicated numerous benefits of TBI

Fist, In TBI, learners are given the chances of natural learning with the related-real world tasks This one of the major strengths of TBI that helps boost leaners communicative competence outside the classroom (Willis, 2016; Houghton, 2018) In addition, according to Willis (1996), some of the objectives of TBI are (1)

to give learners opportunity to use the language meaningfully and purposefully, (2)

to enable learners to use their existing language including vocabulary and grammar, (3) to facilitate learners to learn from how the similar language is used, etc

Consequently, learners can develop their productive skills including speaking and writing during their meaningful negotiation

Second, Meaning-focused learning is promoted while form is also

incorporated in the tasks Skehan (1996b) identified the three core objectives of language teaching including accuracy, complexity and fluency TBI seeks to help learners to achieve fluency over the form when expressing meaning under time pressure to complete the tasks To aware the leaners their accuracy, the language focus phase tries to analyze the forms