Enhancing high school students english speaking skills through task based learning

ABSTRACT The main objective of the study was to investigate how the use of tasks changed Vinh Thanh high school students' attitudes towards speaking English in the classroom and how that

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN VIỆT SỬ

ENHANCING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS‟ ENGLISH

SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH TASK-BASED LEARNING

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

ABSTRACT

The main objective of the study was to investigate how the use of tasks changed Vinh Thanh high school students' attitudes towards speaking English in the classroom and how that attitudinal change enhanced their participation in speaking tasks based on students‟ new textbook (Tieng Anh 11 – Volume II) that is currently

in use with the tasks designed in light of current theories of communicative tasks

To achieve the aims of the study, experimental class data were gathered through questionnaires, oral tests, students‟ diaries and the researcher‟s teaching journals The speaking pre- and post-tests were administered to class 11A9 (academic year of 2016-2017) comprising 43 students The students‟ diaries and the teaching journals were written to reflect how the tasks were being implemented In addition, in order to see the attitudes of students about the speaking tasks, the attitudinal questionnaires before and after the study were also used as instruments Data from the speaking pre- and post-tests and questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively while qualitative data of the students‟ diaries and the teaching journals were also discussed

The study demonstrated that students‟ general perceptions of task-based instruction were positive, and the questionnaire results demonstrated that students had positive reactions to the treatment tasks and found these helpful in developing their speaking skills The results of the study showed that the use of tasks had positively changed the students' attitudes towards speaking English in the classroom As a result, that attitudinal change enhanced their participation in speaking tasks It could be concluded that there were positive effects of Task-Based Learning on high school students

From the findings, some implications for teaching speaking skills were proposed Limitations of the study were pointed out and further research was suggested

Key words: Tasks, Task-Based Learning, Speaking

Furthermore, I would like to thank the students of class 11A9 at Vinh Thanh high school for their kind cooperation in order to gather data for my study

I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to my friends for their friendship and proofreading in the preparation of my thesis

Lastly, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my parents and my wife for being around and helping me to carry on through all my difficulties

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF CHARTS ix

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 The aims of the study 4

1.3 Research questions 4

1.4 Scope of the study 4

1.5 Design of the thesis 4

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Speaking skills 6

2.1.1 Aspects of speaking skills 8

2.1.2 Speaking problems 10

2.2 Task-based language teaching 11

2.2.1 Definition of TBLT 12

2.2.2 Definition of „Tasks‟ 12

2.2.3 Differences between “exercise” and “task” 14

2.2.4 Differences between “activity” and “task” 15

2.2.5 Characteristics of TBLT 20

2.2.6 Benefits of TBLT 23

2.2.7 Challenges of TBLT 26

2.3 Task-based Learning in the classroom 29

2.3.1 Task-Based Learning Framework 29

2.3.2 Types of Tasks 34

2.3.3 Criteria Features of a Task and Process 38

2.4 Attitude and Language Learning 41

2.4.1 Definition of Attitude and Language Attitude 41

2.4.2 Aspects of Language Attitude 43

2.4.3 Measuring (language) attitudes 44

2.4.4 The importance of language attitude 45

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 49

3.1 Research questions 49

3.2 Participants 49

3.3 Materials 50

3.4 Procedure 51

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 55

4.1 Results 55

4.1.1 The English speaking Pre- and Post-Test 55

4.1.2 The questionnaire on the students‟ speaking problems and students‟ attitudes towards speaking skills through TBL 58

4.1.3 Students‟ diaries and teaching journals 73

4.2 Discussions 80

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 83

5.1 Conclusion 83

5.2 Pedagogical implications 84

5.3 Limitations 85

5.4 Suggestions for further research 85

REFERENCES 86

APPENDICES 95

APPENDIX A 95

APPENDIX B 99

APPENDIX C 103

APPENDIX D 105

APPENDIX E 108

APPENDIX F 109

APPENDIX G 115

APPENDIX H 117

APPENDIX I 120

APPENDIX J 121

APPENDIX K 122

APPENDIX L 124

5 TBLT: Task-based Language Teaching

6 VTHS: Vinh Thanh High School

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Distinguishing a Task from Exercise 15

Table 2.2 Tasks that did and did not meet criteria 17

Table 2.3 Willis‟ (1996a) Task-Based Learning Framework 29

Table 2.4 Task types 35

Table 2.5 Willis‟ (1996a) Task Types and Their Outcomes 36

Table 2.6 Ellis‟ (2003) Task Types 37

Table 2.7 Features of a Task 39

Table 3.1 The speaking topics of five units and speaking sections 51

Table 3.2 The speaking task in the speaking pre-test and post-test 52

Table 4.1 The comparison between the speaking pre- and post-test scores 56

Table 4.2 The comparison between speaking assessment criteria of the pre-test and post-test scores 57

Table 4.3 Problems the students encountered in learning speaking skills 60

Table 4.4 Students‟ highest perception of TBL 63

Table 4.5 Students‟ high perception of TBL 64

Table 4.6 Students‟ slightly more neutral perception of TBL 65

Table 4.7 Students‟ highly positive attitudes towards task-based speaking lessons 67 Table 4.8 Students‟ positive attitudes toward Task-based speaking lessons 68

Table 4.9 Students‟ interests in 3 types of tasks before and after the treatment 76

LIST OF CHARTS

Figure 4.1 The factors affecting the students‟ speaking performances 59 Figure 4.2 The extent to which the students were interested in task types 61

Many problems which come from both teachers and learners are raised in teaching and learning English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) The teaching methods partly have impact on these problems Lochana and Deb (2006) state that most teachers focus mainly on grammatical rules instead of language use when English is taught Teaching a language from context and meaning is much more effective (Ellis, 2003)

Furthermore, learners are believed not to be often provided enough opportunities by teachers to practice English In fact, most Vietnamese teachers and learners frequently use Vietnamese language in English classrooms Ruso (2007) claims that English language learners do not like teachers spending most of class time talking and lecturing Teaching time causes learners to have limited input to the learning process, which discourage them to learn English

Speaking is one of the most important language skills including reading, speaking, listening and writing in teaching and learning English The main goal of teaching and learning speaking skills is to enable English language learners to be capable of communicating effectively To do this, learners should be aware of

avoiding ending wrong messages based on vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation Furthermore, they should focus on the social issues and cultural rules when interacting with others

Prabhu (1987) noted that the objectives and the means adopted by Communicative Language Teaching are so unsuitable for the Indian situation and he proposed experiments with task-based language teaching (TBLT) in a new specific context Teachers and researchers has paid a lot of attention to TBLT because tasks are meaning-focused activities where learners use whatever language resources, they have to carry out the task to achieve its non-linguistic outcome (Ellis, 2003) Task-based learning (TBL) is considered to be an effective approach that fosters a learning environment in which learners are free to choose and use the target language forms which they think are most likely to achieve the aim of accomplishing defined communicative goals (Ellis, 2003; Willis, 1996a) Nunan (1989) claims that tasks should encourage learners to feel the need and strive to complete the activity communicatively Through tasks, students are provided with a

„„purpose‟‟ to use the target language (Lee, 2000, p 30)

Tasks are considered important tools in language teaching and are described

by many researchers as activities that will be completed since they use the target language communicatively by focusing on meaning to reach an intended outcome (Bygate, Skehan and Swain, 2002; Lee, 2000; Nunan, 1989; Prabhu, 1987; Richards

& Rodgers, 2001; Skehan, 1996)

Speaking tasks are helpful to fulfill the conditions to practice the target language communicatively Through design of communicative tasks in speaking classes, fluency can be achieved, and accuracy can be promoted through these pedagogic tasks (Brumfit, 1984) In particular, speaking classrooms are well suited for TBL, which encourage learners to participate in and achieve their goals actively and enthusiastically thanks to the cooperation between learners Learning foreign languages, especially English language through TBL is thought to have got positive impacts on learners

However, most students at Vinh Thanh high school (VTHS) have admitted that they do not speak English with confidence Therefore, they are afraid of communicating with others in English because when they have few opportunities to practice speaking English in daily life They also think that they do not know how

to improve their English speaking skills Moreover, they seem to avoid participating

in speaking activities and tasks due to the fact that they find it difficult to convey their ideas and have nothing to say Their topical knowledge seems poor, and their mother tongue is likely to be used very often Dian (2010) points out that there are some reasons why the students have such difficulties: (1) their lack of vocabulary, (2) their lack of English grammar, (3) speaking which is not interesting enough to draw their attention because of the ways the teachers use to teach the students TBL has been regarded as an alternative English teaching approach Oxford (2006) suggests that task-based teaching and learning offers great resources, i.e., language experience in the classroom if EFL teachers explore in their dual roles as instructors and action researchers According to Muller (2006), teachers applying TBL to their classrooms are able to meet institutional requirements and assist the improvement of communication skills among their students.TBL enables learners to use the target language naturally in pairs or group work, making them share opinion, which encourages them to be actively involved in the learning process TBL framework, together with tasks and texts, provides learners with rich exposure to the target language and opportunities to use it themselves The task cycle emphasizes learners‟ understanding and expressing meaning to complete tasks (Nunan, 2004, p 12)

All the reasons mentioned above encourage the author to conduct the study

entitled “Enhancing high school students‟ English speaking skills through

task-based learning.” Expectantly, the result could serve as a useful source of reference

for those who concern about the subject matter

This study will explore the effectiveness of certain kinds of tasks on the development of learners‟ speaking skills

1.2 The aims of the study

The study investigates the effects of TBL on high school students‟ speaking skills and their attitudes in order to enhance their speaking skills inside the classroom

To be more specific, the aims of the study are to observe the EFL students‟ abilities in speaking skills; to explore the reality of applying TBL in helping students to improve speaking skills at the high school; to find out the students‟ attitudes towards practicing TBL in speaking lessons; to evaluate the effectiveness

of the application of TBL in enhancing students‟ English speaking skills, and to investigate whether TBL stimulates students‟ participation in speaking tasks or not

1.3 Research questions

The present study strove to answer the following questions:

1 How does the use of tasks affect the students' attitudes towards speaking English in the classroom?

2 How does that attitudinal change enhance their speaking skills and their participation in speaking tasks?

1.4 Scope of the study

With the aim of determining the effects of TBL on English speaking skills for EFL learners, surveys from two questionnaires, speaking tests, students‟ diaries and the researcher‟s teaching journals were used as the main methods to collect the needed data from the learners 43 students of VTHS - a remote school in Vinh Thanh district, Can Tho City were involved in this study

1.5 Design of the thesis

This research comprises five chapters as follow

Chapter 1: Introduction – In this chapter, the rationale of the problem dealing with the topic, the aims of the study, the research questions and the scope of the study have been discussed

Chapter 2: Literature review – The relevant literature on speaking pedagogy, task-based language teaching and learning, tasks and some previous studies related

to the thesis and are reviewed in this chapter

Chapter 3: Methodology – The third chapter introduces research methodology

of the study It explains the materials, participants, instruments for data collection, research procedures and data analysis procedures

Chapter 4: Findings and Discussions – This chapter presents the results and discussions developed after the impacts analyzed

Chapter 5: Conclusion – This fifth chapter covers the conclusion, pedagogical implications, limitations of the study and some suggestions for further researches Following these chapters are the references and appendices

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This study examines the effectiveness of TBL on the improvement of high school students‟ speaking skills An experimental study was conducted to investigate whether the implementation of TBL in one speaking classroom at Vinh Thanh high school, Vinh Thanh district, Can Tho city in the academic year of 2016-

2017 improved students‟ speaking competence

This chapter presents background information on teaching and learning speaking skills in historical perspective to its current place in TBL This is followed

by a more detailed discussion of TBL, its goals, tasks and features of tasks, and the instructional components of TBL The tasks used for the purpose of this study will

be examined in the context of task descriptions in the literature The advantages and drawbacks of TBL will be pointed out Attitude and language attitude will also be discussed together with the importance of attitude towards language learning

2.1 Speaking skills

According to Brown (1994) and Burns & Joyce (1997), speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information The form and meaning of speaking depends on the context

in which it takes place It involves learners in knowing how to build specific points

of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary (linguistic competence), and cognizing when, why and in what ways to produce language (sociolinguistic competence) (Cunningham, 1999) Additionally, Nunan (2003) believes that speaking consists of systematic verbal utterances that are produced and covey meaning Moreover, Bygate (1987) mentions that speaking in a second language (L2) involves the mastery of a specific type of communicative skill

Speaking is a real communication and a productive skill Speaking enables humans to be good at sending and receiving information or messages Speaking is one of the four important language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) One of the most important aspects of everyday communication is that it always takes place in cultural and social contexts It is clear that, if students are to develop

the competence, they need to use a foreign language easily and effectively in situations they encounter outside the classroom and have to experience how language is used as a tool for communication inside the class

On the matter of importance of speaking, Ur, P (1991) points out that “of all four language skills, speaking seems intuitively the most important: people who know a language are referred as to „speakers‟ of that language, as if speaking included all other kinds of knowing and many if not most foreign language learners are primarily interested in learning to speak” (p 120) Correspondingly, Lazaraton (2001) adds that most people believe that to be able to converse a language is parallel with knowing that language because speech is the most primary means of interpersonal interactions Levelt (1989) acknowledged three separate processing stages in speech production: (1) conceptualizing the message, (2) formulating the language representation, and (3) articulating the message Skehan (1998a) proposed three aspects of speaking production: (1) fluency; (2) accuracy and (3) complexity Listening and speaking should be paid a lot of attention to because of the fact that humans know how to communicate with others by listening and speaking before having the ability of reading and writing Traditional classroom speaking practice often takes the form of drills in which one person asks a question and another gives an answer, while the question and the answer in real situations are unstructured and unpredictable Therefore, the purpose of real communication is to accomplish a task, such as conveying a telephone message, obtaining information,

or expressing an opinion In real communication, participants must manage uncertainty about what the other person will say Authentic communicative tasks involve an information gap; each participant has information that the other does not have In addition, to achieve their purpose, participants may have to clarify their meaning or ask for confirmation of their own understanding

Nunan (1992) mentioned another basic distinction when considering the development of speaking skills: distinguishing between dialogue and monologue Giving an uninterrupted oral presentation is quite different from communicating

with other speakers for specific purposes According to Brown (2000), most language teaching is concerned with developing skills in short, interactional exchanges in which the learner is only required to make one or two utterances at a time Nunan (1998) added that one can apply the bottom-up/top- down distinction to speaking The bottom up approach to speaking suggests that speakers start with the smallest unit of language, namely, individual sounds, and move through mastery of words and sentences to discourse The top-down view, on the other hand, suggests that speakers start with the larger chunks of language, which are embedded in meaningful contexts, and use their knowledge of these contexts to comprehend and use correctly the smaller elements of language

In general, speaking is regarded as one of the prime skills to be mastered With the increasing attention on the acquisition of language skills, especially speaking, it seems important to find and implement techniques and methods which significantly can help teachers and learners to master this skill Speaking is likely to be the skill that displays the language proficiency and competency of the learners The mastery

of speaking skills is a priority for many second and foreign language learners Learners often evaluate their success in language learning of English on the basis how well their improvement on speaking the language In genuine communication, speaking is purpose-driven or it can say that to communicate is to achieve a particular end

2.1.1 Aspects of speaking skills

2.1.1.1 Conversational discourse

Brown (2001) asserts that the goals and the procedures for teaching conversation are extremely diverse, depending on the student, teacher, and overall context of the class Recent pedagogical research on teaching conversation has provided some parameters developing objectives and techniques

2.1.1.2 Pronunciation

The majority of learners will never acquire an accent-free command of a foreign language Therefore, the language programs should emphasize whole

language, meaningful contexts, and automaticity of production should focus on these phonological details of language (Nguyen and Tran, 2015)

2.1.1.3 Accuracy and fluency

Accuracy and fluency are terms characteristic for a successful and effective conversation Scrivener (2005, p 160-162) declares that accuracy is the ability to speak correctly without making serious mistakes and therefore a greater use of instant teacher's correction within a speaking activity is appropriate In contrast, fluency is the ability to speak confidently without irrelevant pauses or hesitation, however, often with making major mistakes In this case, instant correction may be inappropriate and could interfere with the aims of the speaking activity

Teachers should be aware of whether their main goal in a speaking activity is accuracy or fluency and adapt their role in class eligibly If the main aim is to get students to speak, then one way to achieve that would be reducing teacher´s contribution It is supposed that the less he or she speaks, the more time and space it will allow the students to If the main aim is accuracy, the teacher should concentrate on students´ mistakes and devote time to their correction

However important speaking without mistakes is a promoted trend at present seems to be to lead students to a fluent conversation in everyday situations Taking this into consideration, this approach best fits the needs of today´s society which is based on fast exchanges of information Nevertheless, it would be unwise to qualify accuracy as less important in communication and underestimate its importance It is also essential for the ability to speak a foreign language well While fluency may be

an initial goal in many communicative language courses, accuracy is achieved to some extent by allowing students to focus on elements of phonology, grammar, and discourse in their spoken output

2.1.1.4 Affective factors

One of the major obstacles learners have to overcome in learning to speak is the anxiety generated by the risk of blurting things out that are wrong, or incomprehensible Because of the language ego that informs people that "you are

what you speak," learners are reluctant to be judged by listeners Krashen (1985) states that a variety of affective variables has been confirmed to be related to the success in second language acquisition in research over the last decade but most of those studies examined the three categories: motivation, self-confidence and anxiety

2.1.1.5 The interaction effect

As Nunan (1998) notes, conversations are collaborative, which presents a further complication in interactive discourse He calls this the interlocutor effect or the difficulty of a speaking task as measured by the skills of one's interlocutor In other words, one learners‟ performance is always colored by that person he or she is talking to In fact, every speaker plays the role of both a listener and a speaker Therefore, one is certainly unable to respond if he/ she cannot understand what is said

2.1.1.6 Performance conditions

According to Nation & Newton (2009) in Nguyen and Tran (2015), performance conditions can have affected speaking performance and they suggest that there are the four types of performance conditions including time pressure, planning, the standard of performance and the amount of support

2.1.1.7 Topical knowledge

According to Nguyen and Tran (2015), topical knowledge is the speakers‟ knowledge of relevant topical information They add that the information that topical knowledge provides enables learners to use a language with reference to the world in which they live According to Bachman & Palmer (1996, cited in Nguyen and Tran), topical knowledge is defined as knowledge structures in long-term memory and it affects speaking skills

2.1.2 Speaking problems

According to Ur (1996) in Nguyen and Tran (2015), teacher may have difficulties in getting students to talk in speaking classes The first problem is students‟ inhibition Students who have to talk about something in a target language

are often inhibited They are afraid of making mistakes, fearful of criticism or losing face They are too shy to say something Littlewood (2007, cited in Nguyen and Tran) claims that a foreign language classroom can create inhibitions and anxiety easily Moreover, students‟ participation is low or uneven There is a tendency of some learners to dominate while others speak very little or not at all Students have

no opportunities to express themselves Furthermore, Baker & Westrup (2003, cited

in Nguyen and Tran) point out that it is difficult for many students to respond when the teachers ask them to say something in a foreign language because they might have little ideas about what to say, which vocabulary to use, or how to use the grammar correctly

Park & Lee (2005, cited in Nguyen and Tran) claim that learners‟ anxiety level was negatively related to their oral performance Tanveer (2007) in Nguyen and Tran (2015) believes that students‟ feeling of stress, anxiety or nervousness may impede their language learning and performance abilities He cites that “the higher the anxiety, the lower the performance.” Bozorgian (2012), in Nguyen and Tran (2015), shows that there is a close correlation between listening comprehension and language proficiency He claims that the higher the listening score, the better the speaking score

2.2 Task-based language teaching

Since the 1980s, TBLT has been paid a lot of attention to by researchers of second language acquisition (SLA), which gives experimental evidences to support how and to what extent this approach can promote language learning TBLT promotes learning by doing Long (2007, p 129) states that the aim of TBLT is to help learners to meet their present or future real-world communicative needs through a task-based learner needs analysis It is recognized as a development within the Communicative Language Teaching movement (Littlewood, 2014), and defined as the „strong version‟ of this approach (Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2011) It proposes that students will acquire language through the process of completing tasks that require meaningful communication According to Willis &

Willis (2007), its proponents hold that the most practical method to teach a language is by involving learners in real life language use through designing tasks, discussions, games, activities and so on which require learners to use the language

in real life situations

2.2.1 Definition of TBLT

Nunan (2003, p 216) defines TBLT as “an approach to language teaching organized around tasks rather than language structures.” Tasks are also used for syllabus design as Nunan (2003, p 113) states that it is more than a methodological tool used in the speaking classroom – “it is a central curriculum planning tool.”

to elicit data for research Prabhu (1987) defines a task as "an activity which requires learners to arrive to an outcome from given information through some processes of thought and which allow teachers to control and regulate that process was regarded as a task.”

What is more, Nunan (1989) briefly summarizes “task” as a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form The task which is able to stand alone as a communicative act in its own right should also have a sense of completeness (p 10) Skehan (1996) concludes that there are four key features of a task: the task‟s meaning; there are some links between the real world and the task; the priority is to

complete the task; the assessment of the task is based on the outcome Furthermore, the researcher defines language learning tasks as activities that focus primarily on meaning The achievement of tasks is evaluated in terms of an outcome and they have real-life language use

Willis (1996a) defines task as an activity where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome Here, the notion of meaning is subsumed in „outcome.‟ Skehan (1998b) says that task is "an activity in which: meaning is primary; there is some communication problem to solve; there is some sort of relationship to comparable real world activities; task completion has some priority; and the assessment of task performance is in terms of task outcome."

According to Ellis (2000), a task “is a device that guides learners to engage in certain types of information-processing that are believed to be important for effective language use and/or for language acquisition from some theoretical standpoint” (p 197) It assumes that while performing the tasks, learners engage in certain types of language use and mental processing that are useful for acquisition

A pedagogical task, according to Willis & Willis (2001, p 173), is a classroom undertaking “where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome.”

Furthermore, Bygate, Skehan, and Swain (2002) define a task as “an activity which requires learners to use language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective” (p 11)

Ellis (2003) gives the definition of a task:

“A task is a work-plan that requires learners to process language pragmatically

in order to achieve an outcome that can be evaluated in terms of whether the correct or appropriate propositional content has been conveyed To this end,

it requires them to give primary attention to meaning and to make use of their own linguistic resources, although the design of the task may predispose them to choose particular forms A task is intended to result in

language use that bears a resemblance, direct or indirect, to the way language

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

As a result, tasks are composed of different parts and can come in different variations There are goals, input, procedures, roles of the participants and the setting An instructor should plan the various task components in order to follow a successful and productive TBL environment According to Nunan (2004, p 41), there are five elements of TBL which are goals, input, procedures, roles and settings Goals are the general intentions behind a learning task They are the connections between the task and the larger curriculum To develop students‟ confidence in speaking and to improve their writing skills are among the examples

of goals The learners must achieve any teaching task or course goals When completing a task, learners study spoken, written, visual, and auditory data as an input The data mentioned here can be provided by an instructor, a textbook, or other supplementary materials

2.2.3 Differences between “exercise” and “task”

Features of tasks as discussed represent an important dimension in task design and use The other major dimension in TBL is the selection of task type for specific teaching objectives Such a definition has the virtue of recognizing that there are many different routes to classroom language learning, from stimulations to choral repetition, while at the same time excluding work that is not directly related

to language learning for example, copying a chart as a preparation for a listening comprehension exercise In practical terms, however, it is not always easy to determine the aim of a proposed classroom action and it is for this reason that we should use our ability for inference Exercise pays a lot of attention to linguistic practice while task focuses on the ways students use a language to solve some certain problems

Many researchers (Skehan, 1998a; Nunan, 2004, pp 1-4; Willis & Willis,

2007, pp 12-14) help clarify the nature of a task in contrast with “exercise.”

Table 2.1 Distinguishing a Task from Exercise

does not have to be directed towards

learning a SL

is directed towards learning a SL

is not contextualized and do not have to

represents a situation from real life

represents communicative situations from real life and as such it is

has a defined way to be solved and

usually there are not many choices

Students are free to choose the way of carries it out

the answers or reactions to an exercise

are used to be pre-defined

entails at least some degree of unpredictability in the reactions

as a rule it can be corrected directly by

an exercise key

its assessment is done through observation and raised awareness

2.2.4 Differences between “activity” and “task”

Ellis (2012), cited in Erlam (2016), offers a set of definitional criteria against which a given activity may be judged as more or less task-like These criteria are first introduced in Ellis (2003, p 35) as a way of „assessing with some rigor to what extent an activity is a task.‟ Ellis and Shintani (2013) in Erlam (2016) explain these four key criteria presented below

1 The primary focus should be on „meaning‟ (i.e learners should be mainly concerned with encoding and decoding messages, not with focusing on linguistic form)

2 There should be some kind of „gap‟ (i.e a need to convey information, to express an opinion or to infer meaning)

3 Learners should mainly rely on their own resources (linguistic and linguistic) in order to do the task completely That is, learners are not „taught‟ the language they will need to perform the task, although they may be able to „borrow‟ from the input the task provides to help them perform it

non-4 There is a clearly defined outcome other than the use of language (i.e the language serves as the means for achieving the outcome, not as an end in its own right) Thus, when performing a task, learners are not primarily concerned with using language correctly but rather with achieving the goal stipulated by the task‟ Willis & Willis (2007) claim that tasks will not just be speaking to practise a new structure, e.g., doing a drill or enacting a dialogue or asking and answering questions using the „new' patterns or writing to display their control of certain language items These are primarily form-focused activities; however, these activities are not tasks Learners doing tasks (i.e focusing on meanings) will be making free use of whatever English they can recall to express the things that they really want to say or write in the process of achieving the task goal

Willis, J (2009) offers the following criteria in the form of questions They suggest that “the more confidently you can answer yes to each of these questions, the more task-like the activity.”

 Will the activity engage learners' interest?

 Is there a primary focus on meaning?

 Is there a goal or an outcome?

 Is success judged in terms of outcome?

 Is completion a priority?

 Does the activity relate to real world activities?'

Willis gives an example of a task: Think of the busiest day you have had

recently Work in pairs Tell your partner all the things you did Decide which of you had the busiest day, and then tell the class about it Decide who in the whole class had the most hectic day (and say why.) Finally, from memory, write a list of the things one person did on their busiest day, and, without revealing their name, read it out to the class (or display it on the wall) to see how many people can remember whose day it was

She explains that generally learners enjoy talking about (even bragging about) how busy they are/have been, so this would score a Yes for the first, the second and the sixth question The first goal is to compare their busiest days The natural completion point for each learner is the end of their day - and the final outcome - the selection of the busiest person is also clear, so we can answer yes quite confidently to the other questions The final writing activity sets up an engaging memory challenge game with a clear outcome - to identify the person written about The activity that misses one of these criteria is not a task It is considered a less task-like activity Willis, J (2009) gives an example of a like-task activity:

Work in pairs Talk about your grandparents Tell each other what you know about their past lives Use the phrases and patterns from the box above She also points

out that this meets only two requirements, i.e., the activity will engage learners' interest and the activity relates to real world activities There is no clear outcome; success is not judged in terms of outcome; there is no a primary focus on meaning; and completion is not a priority

Erlam (2016, p 289) clearly distinguishes “task” from “activity” based on four key criteria, which are presented below by giving explanations about the criteria

Table 2.2 Tasks that did and did not meet criteria

Focus on meaning:

Beginner learners of Spanish had to Beginner learners of Spanish had

design a teenager‟s ideal bedroom

They then presented their bedrooms in

Spanish to the class who voted on the

best

Students were using language to

messages, rather than just functioning

as language learners

to collect cards that matched their own in terms of colors They asked the question que color tegusta („what colour do you like?‟) to find out what color their partner had on their card

The question students asked had

no relation to their own color preferences It neither needed to

be encoded nor decoded for the game to succeed Students were using language as learners only Some kind of gap:

Beginner students of German were to

play „Battleships‟ Each student needed

to position submarines and destroyers

on a numbered grid Then in pairs,

facing each other so they could not see

their partner‟s grid, they had to aim

„hits‟ to destroy their opponent‟s navy

Students did not know where their

opponent‟s navy was on the grid (gap)

Each „hit‟ was a guess and their

partner‟s response told them whether

or not they had been successful

Elementary learners of Japanese had to discuss the opening hours

of a restaurant or business on a picture they were given to look at

together

No gap was closed as a result of this communication and learners did not find out anything they didn‟t already know

Rely on own resources:

Elementary learners of French were, in

small groups, to plan and present a

5-Beginner students of French had

to buy and sell groceries at small

course French menu In a pre-task

students were reminded of the prior

learning they had done in a unit on

French cuisine and the resources such

as homework sheets that they could

draw on to help them

Students are reminded of the language

they already have been exposed to that

might help them with this task

shops set up around the classroom In the pre-task, students were taught vocabulary for food items, for shops and some expressions that they would need for conversations in shops They were then taught the use of partitive articles with nouns with the expectation that they would use these when asking for food items

immediately prior to performing the task

Clearly defined outcome:

In pairs, beginner learners of Mandarin

were given the role of „speaker‟ and

„listener-artist.‟ The „speaker‟ had to

create an oral description of a person

that the listener then drew and

coloured … „the visual outcome was a

measure of students‟ attempts to

negotiate meaning.‟

The completed picture was distinct

from the use of language and

completed

In pairs, beginner learners of Mandarin were to devise questions that they would ask of each other The outcome was

„that students will use the data they collect to answer their questions.‟

The use of the language was not distinct from achieving the outcome

Clearly, a task is required to meet all the four key criteria, i.e., focus on meaning: some kind of gap, rely on learners‟ own resources and clearly defined outcome while an activity cannot be regarded as a task because they miss one or more criteria “At times there is overlap between criteria – for example, the teaching

of the partitive articles (see „not fulfilled‟ under „rely on own resources‟) meant that there was not a consistent focus on meaning because of the expectation that learners would be focused on linguistic form while completing the task” (Erlam, 2016, p 288)

2.2.5 Characteristics of TBLT

Willis (1996b) asserts that TBLT is a learner-centered teaching approach The learners‟ role is the main aspect during language processing The main roles of the learners in TBLT are a negotiator or interlocutor, a performer and listener; moreover, the learners should focus on their own learning Ellis (2003) claims that it

is a form of teaching that treats language primarily as a tool for communicating rather than as a subject for study or manipulation It is clear that if learners are to develop the competence they need in order to use a second language easily and effectively in the kinds of situations they meet outside the classroom, they need to experience how language is used as a tool for communication within it

According to Nunan (2004), TBLT is an approach that focuses on the process

of learning to communicate through interaction in the target language This approach enables the students to be trained to concentrate their minds not only on learning the structure of a language, but also on using the language Nunan (2004) states that TBLT represents a realization of communicative language teaching philosophy It proposes the use of tasks as a central component in language classroom because it provides better contexts for activating learner acquisition processes and promoting second language learning (Shehadeh, 2005) It is, therefore, based on a theory of language learning rather than a theory of language structure

In TBLT, the basic aim of second language teaching is to support learners to use the target language for social functional action and situational communication (Bygate, Branden & Norris, 2009) Willis &Willis (2007) states that one way of helping students to learn and acquire a new language is to place them in real-life situations, where oral communication is essential for carrying out a specific task Long & Crookes (1992) have classified three different types of task-based approach The first is the procedural tasks; whereby the teacher designs the procedure of the task and learners complete it Teachers design tasks which are more accessible for learners and more manageable than real-world tasks The second is when the teachers and learners decide together what task to do It is project work but connects to the real- world and distinctive enough, with special consideration of the project‟s world The third type of approach is when learners engage in TBLT drawing strong attention to the language as needed These tasks can be adapted flexibly according to the different levels of the students and the different target language items

Ellis (2003) states that the learners‟ role is the main aspect during the language processing The main characteristics of the learners‟ role in TBLT are that the learners are a negotiator or integrator, capable of giving as well as taking; the learners are a performer and listener, with little control over the content of the learning; and the learners should take responsibility for their own learning In TBLT, learners develop a language system through attempting to use meaning-based language, while the teacher designs opportunities for the students through meaningful, authentic and interesting activities In TBLT, specific language forms will never be considered; instead, the learners are allowed freely to make meaning

in any way they like

According to Willis & Willis (2007), the aim of TBL is to stimulate more opportunities for meaning-focused interaction and encourage learners to give longer responses The wide variety of tasks available such as reading texts, listening texts, problem-solving, role-plays, questionnaires, etc offers a great deal of flexibility in

this model and should lead to more motivating activities for the learners Willis & Willis (2007) state that in a TBL lesson assessment is primarily based on task outcome that is on the appropriate completion of tasks, rather than on accuracy of language forms It is widely acknowledged that TBL as a method of instruction encourages language fluency and increases students' confidence.

Malihah (2010) claims that TBLT focuses more on language learning as interaction, and meaningful communication rather than the complexity of grammar rules Therefore, it will encourage the students to talk more during the learning process like talk about themselves, have a joke, deliver some ideas and thoughts, without being hesitated or afraid of making some mistakes or errors of the grammar They just have fun whilst doing the task According to Dailey (2009), TBLT is a new, exciting, and interactive approach to improve communicative competence Wang (2013) claims that this approach emphasizes tasks to enable learners to use the target language in communicative situations; moreover, it measures the language outcomes arising from those tasks Furthermore, TBLT is a meaning-based teaching approach that enables students to communicate in a meaningful way and the tasks employed in the lessons may be based on real life circumstances The task meaning is like a language problem to solve in relation to real-world situations In TBLT, the teachers monitor and give feedback as well as respond not only to the students‟ fluency, but also their accuracy (Wang, 2013) TBLT, therefore, is not only concerned with communication; it also pays attention

to the formal aspects of language Tasks are normally designed in such a way that they draw learners' attention to specific grammatical or lexical features that are needed for the successful completion of the task

According to the notions of TBLT stated above, it is clearly seen that TBLT can be used as an approach to reach the target language in learning English; producing target language through interaction Lin & Wu (2012) state that TBLT can stimulate learners to work together in groups or pairs

2.2.6 Benefits of TBLT

According to Larsen-Freeman (2000), TBLT provides students with natural situation for language utilization and enables them to have the opportunities to actualize themselves through conversational English This kind of interaction enables them to acquire some language uses and expressions that are beyond their conjecture In other words, they have to try to understand one another to solve the problems in a task they are doing

One of the benefits of TBLT is that it places the focus of students on achieving

a goal where language becomes a tool, making the use of language a necessity In fact, TBL is language learning by doing By using this method, the focus of the learning process moves away from the teacher to the student It provides a helpful framework for creating classes addressing students‟ needs TBLT focuses on learners using language naturally in pairs or group work, allowing them to share ideas (Nunan, 2004, p 12), which encourages them to be actively involved in the learning process TBLT framework, combined with tasks and texts, provides learners rich exposure to language plus opportunities to use it themselves Throughout the task cycle, emphasisis on learners‟ understanding and expressing meaning to complete tasks Another advantage of TBLT is that according to the level of difficulty for the students, it is classified in tasks in term of task type, theme

or topic and sequencing criteria (Ellis, 2003) The task types, topics and sequencing criteria are flexible and can be changed depending on the level of the students and their interesting in the language items Tasks can be possible assessed based on the learners‟ outcomes

Ganta (2015) makes a list of the strengths of TBL: (1) TBL helps learners to interact spontaneously; (2) automaticity: Segadowitz (2003, as cited in Ridder, I et

al (2007)) defines automaticity for language learning as a more efficient, more accurate and more stable performance According to Dekeyser (2003), as cited in Ridder et al (2007), automaticity is achieved by using language rules in a creative manner in an authentic communication situation; (3) TBL gives language learners

opportunities to learn vocabulary Learners improve vocabulary related to the task title or topic, in the pre-task stage, in the task-cycle, and in the post-task stage; (4) TBL provides essential conditions for language learning; (5) TBL maximizes scope for communication since TBL provides conditions that allow learners to assimilate what they notice and understand while performing the task; (6) experiential learning It is believed that intellectual growth comes about as learners take part in and reflect on the sequences of the tasks The active participation is considered central to TBL and it is, therefore, learner-centered

Various previous researches at various levels of education have proven that TEFL using TBL has been effective in enhancing learners‟ speaking abilities In Thailand, Wijitpaisan (2005), in Konkaew (2009), also investigated learners‟ English speaking ability through TBL The subjects were 11 Mattayom Suksa 3 learners The study showed that learners‟ English speaking ability before and after the TBL experiment was significantly higher at the level of 01 Additionally, learners‟ attitudes towards studying English speaking ability before and after the TBL course were significantly higher

Lochana & Deb‟s (2006) project in a school run by the Basaveshwara Education Society in India also revealed evidence in support of a task-based approach to language teaching and learning They developed an experiment in which non-task-based textbook activities were converted into task-based ones in order to test two hypotheses: (1) task-based teaching enhances the language proficiency of the learners‟ and (2) “tasks encourage learners to participate more in the learning processes.” Their findings advocate that TBL is beneficial to learners in terms of proficiency improvement and in terms of motivation

Narita (2008, cited in Murad, 2009) led a research an elementary school in Japan where she taught EFL The classes were given lessons and activities in which they experienced realistic communicative circumstances such as shopping tasks and

an interview tasks The findings indicated that many students had a feeling of

contentment and strong willingness to continue to study English in the future after completing the tasks

The study was conducted by Dailey (2009) from the University of Brimingham entitled “Implementing TBLT in Korean classrooms.” There are two research questions presented by her, namely, (1) Do you think that TBLT if adopted

in your own teaching context would result in more students being able to communicate effectively in English? (2) Why (not)? What would be the advantages and/or problems of implementing a task-based approach in this context? She used communicative approach and learner-centered of TBLT on teaching English towards the students in Korea The result of her study showed that more than 75%

of the students felt enjoyable while they practised speaking in the classroom

Munirah & Muhsin, M.A (2015) claims that the use of TBL can increase the students‟ speaking accuracy, which leads to the conclusion that the implementation

of this approach is very needed in English language teaching and learning especially

in speaking TBL can develop the students‟ speaking fluency in which the improvement is dealing with self-confidence, and it, therefore, motivates the students in teaching and learning process

According to Lee, L (2016), TBL which is useful for moving the focus of the learning process from the teacher to the students gives them a different way of understanding language as a tool instead of as a specific goal A task is helpful in meeting the immediate needs of the learners and provides a framework for creating classes, interesting and able to address to the student‟s needs Through the observation, TBL develops the speaking skill in the students with fluency The students‟ English speaking abilities were developed after TBL The students had positive opinions towards learning English through TBL

All the aforementioned researches have emphasized the effectiveness of TBL

on speaking abilities and students‟ positive attitudes towards TBL Hence, it can be concluded that TBL is useful to enhance English speaking skills as well as develop learners‟ language proficiency

2.2.7 Challenges of TBLT

According to Long (2007), there are still challenges and areas in need of further research when task is the unit of analysis Two key issues in TBLT are task selection and sequencing for both teaching and assessment Most of the research concerning task selection and sequencing has focused on task complexity (Robinson, 2001; Skehan, 1996, 1998a); however, another issue concerning selection is transfer of learning or to what extent performance on an assessment task

or pedagogic task can be predicted to transfer or generalize to other tasks Transfer

of learning is difficult to research and document, yet determining how much learning will transfer is critical for the planning of teaching and the assessment of learning Course designers, for instance, need to know which tasks to teach and to test, and whether or not assessment results can be generalized without testing every individual task

Seedhouse (1999) argues that TBL emphasizes too much on tasks and communicating meaning, which could have an influence on how to use the language with the correct form Additionally, it is important to realize there is a lot more to communication than performing tasks Skehan (1996) states that TBL could have some dangers if it is not implemented correctly and could result in affecting the growth and change of the language learners„ inter-language

Swan (2005) points out that the factors affecting the TBL implementation are mainly from the large classroom size in the secondary school classroom and the existed „unmotivated‟ young learners In such circumstances, TBL might not provide much opportunities and time for adolescents to experience language drills and practices, i.e., “memorize word list, learn grammatical rules by heart or translate sentences.” Swan (2005) claims that TBL might fail to develop learners‟ ability to produce accurate language with grammatical features He adds that classroom management seems to be challenging for teachers to involve the appropriate use of TBL in engaging learners to perform tasks effectively in the

„mixed-level classes.‟

In addition, according to Ganta (2015), the problems of TBL do not lie so much in its potential effectiveness, but in the ways it is implemented , i.e., the coordination and supervision of the task cycle A high level of creativity and initiative on the part of the teacher is required Once TBL is understood fully by the teacher, it is possible to minimize its potential weaknesses

Ganta (2015) lists some specific limitations of TBL: (1) task difficulty is also defined in terms of code complexity-vocabulary load, redundancy and density; communicative stress - time limits, time pressure, speed, number of participants; cognitive complexity - cognitive familiarity comprising of familiarity of the topic, familiarity of the discourse genre and familiarity of the task itself and cognitive processing which includes information clarity and sufficiency of information given (Skehan, 1998b); (2) mismatch between the learners‟ and teachers‟ perception: The problem includes cognitive demand - difficulty in understanding the task, linguistic demand - vocabulary or structures the learners did not know, clarity of pictures / story-visual clarity and conceptual transparency without ambiguity, amount of information, task structure - the way information was organized, affective factors; (3) authenticity of tasks; (4) outcome: it is possible to achieve a successful outcome of a task without actually achieving the aim of task; (5) linguistic deficiency: Learners who are beginners with no linguistic resources find it very difficult to take part in a task; (6) learners‟ needs neglected; (7) diverse classes: A class consists of learners with different talents, learning styles and motivation levels; (8) fundamental issues unresolved: Tasks as core activities do not seem to resolve the fundamental issues of language expansion or the correctness of language used

Pramaditha‟s (2013) findings of the study using TBL method at the fifth grade students of MIN 1 Teladan Palembang in academic year 2012-2013 shows that teaching English by using TBL in teaching speaking to fifth grade students is not effective on their speaking ability Pramaditha (2013) concluded TBL can‟t develop students‟ English speaking skills at elementary students of MIN 1 Teladan

Palembang because of many reasons Firstly, the students don‟t have enough prior knowledge to do the tasks and they can‟t apply more varied experiences when sharing opinions Secondly, the involvement of physical activities caused the students not to sit still in their seat, which causes the difficulty in sharing ideas and resulted in a bad atmosphere Some students revert to their native language when unsupervised Many members were less self-confident and embarrassed to speak with their friends Moreover, the learners were not familiar with TBL

Many researchers suggest various ways to deal with these problems existed in the implementation of TBL Firstly, Skehan (1998b) points out that the „quality‟ of task design with simple or complex form should be determined by specific pedagogical perspective Additionally, well-designed of tasks with appropriate materials for the specific instruction might promote language learners‟ ability in the fluency of meaning expressing and accuracy of linguistic features use Moreover, appropriate sequencing process in a task-based language class should also depend

on the learners‟ target language needs Pramaditha (2013) suggests that TBL method should better applied in study the development of English speaking ability

by using TBL at higher level because they are more likely to have sufficient prior knowledge to do the more difficult tasks The solution to these problems is that teachers should recognize the learners‟ fundamental knowledge before designing tasks which are suitable for the learners‟ proficiency level

From the discussions above, it can be concluded that TBL is an important method of teaching and learning speaking that needs to be encouraged as TBL offers students more practice It emphasizes meaning and authentic language use It provides students with the opportunity to attend to language and learning can take place Using tasks in the classroom, the students have the chance to use the language in communication It is thought that TBL is more than giving tasks to learners and evaluating their performance

In summary, the research findings mentioned above show that TBL offers an opportunity for authentic learning in the classroom; and it is intrinsically

encouraging and may be compatible with a learner-centered educational philosophy

In addition, it helps develop communicative fluency as well as pay attention to accuracy; therefore, TBLT motivates students to reach higher levels of proficiency TBL also creates a low-anxiety learning environment in which students can utilize their ideas and practice their language to develop confidence; and importantly, it develops a cooperative learning community among students As a result, TBL is believed to enhance students‟ English speaking abilities and positively change their attitudes towards speaking lesson in the classroom

2.3 Task-based Learning in the classroom

2.3.1 Task-Based Learning Framework

Ellis (2003) and Willis & Willis (2007) emphasize that the design of a based lesson involves consideration of the stages or components of a lesson that has

task-a ttask-ask task-as its principtask-al component Willis (1996task-a) recommends thtask-at tetask-achers should break TBL into three phases: pre-task, task cycle, and language focus Willis‟s (1996a) task-based framework shows that the pre-task phrase is introduction to the topic and task; the task cycle includes task, planning and public report; and the language focus phase has analysis and practice

Table 2.3 Willis‟ (1996a) Task-Based Learning Framework

Phase

Pre-Task introduction to the topic and task

preparation Task Cycle task performance

planning public report Language Focus language analysis

practice