The Effect of Task-Baased Language Teaching on Iranian EFL learners

Abstract

This study strived to determine whether or not the adoption of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) would be a more effective means of increasing the students’ reading comprehension achievement scores when compared to the traditional teaching method of the English language that involves prompting and drilling of students. This study also explored to gain issues and insights that accompany the application of TBLT through constant comparison and contrast with those that accompany the traditional teaching method. A pretest and posttests for collecting quantitative data was used, and classroom observation and researcher log for collecting qualitative data. The study involved 122 participants divided into treatment and control groups. The treatment group has received ten weeks of English language instruction via the TBLT method while the control group has received ten weeks of English language instruction via the traditional teaching method. The independent variable is the use of TBLT in the classroom and the effect/dependent variable is the students’ reading comprehension achievement scores. By analyzing the data, the findings showed that teaching via the TBLT method has significantly helped students increase their reading comprehension achievement scores more than that of the traditional teaching method of the English language. The findings also suggest that the TBLT method, as a constructivist practice, is a better way for English language teaching and has involved practices that are desired in a modern educational context when compared to the traditional teaching method of the English language.