The effectiveness of task - based - language teaching in improving ielts reading skill

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE OF HNUE DOI: 10.18173/2354-1067.2016-0108
Social Sci., 2016, Vol. 61, No. 12, pp. 78-86
This paper is available online at 
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TASK - BASED - LANGUAGE TEACHING
IN IMPROVING IELTS READING SKILL
Dao Thi Thanh Hao
International Education Center, Hanoi University
Abstract. The present paper attempts to emphasise the mutual connection between
testing and teaching in light of evaluating the effectiveness of task-oriented IELTS
activities on the performances of IELTS trainees in their reading test. For this
purpose, the learners in an IELTS preparation center in Hanoi were treated with
IELTS reading materials under the adoption of task-based language teaching
approach (TBLT) for three months. Two instruments to collect data were employed,
namely Pre-IELTS Test and Post-IELTS Test, and a questionnaire. The study
reveals that after the experimental time, the participants’ reading scores improved
considerably.
Keywords: Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT), Reading skill, IELTS.
1. Introduction
IELTS, abbreviated from International English Language Testing System is a
task-based testing system, has become recognized as an international benchmark for
proficiency in English. This system measures the four language skills of listening,
speaking, reading and writing, which candidates need to study or practice in the medium
of English [6;2]. Among these four skills, reading skill appears to be challenging for a
massive number of test takers. Especially, tackling with the questions in an IELTS reading
test requires candidates with a variety of interrelated skills, rather than one skill only or
even mainly one skill” [1;436]. This is because IELTS reading tests assess a candidate’s
general reading comprehension, knowledge of vocabulary and use of reading strategies
[22;60]. Therefore, it is important to have a suitable approaches to help more and more
candidates succeed in IELTS reading test. Among them, task-based language teaching
(TBLT) has been regarded as a suitable and effective approach to promote students’
reading skill in doing IELTS reading test.
In the early 1980s, TBLT came into play with syllabus of its own nature and
the main roles of communication, social negotiation, interaction of learners in task
management situations and the focus on meaning and functions [4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15].
Received date: 21/5/2016, Published date:29/10/2016
Contact: Dao Thi Thanh Hao, e-mail: haodtt2014@gmail.com
78
The effectiveness of task-based-language teaching in improving IELTS reading skill
The approach has been defined in a number of ways by various linguistics, educators, and
researchers. Long owned a non-pedagogical definition of this terms as “a task is a piece of
work undertaken for oneself or for others freely or for some rewards. In other words, task
is meant anything people do in everyday life at work, at play, and in between“[12;89]. By
contrast, Richards, Platt, and Weber defined TBLT in a more linguistic and pedagogical
way when assuming a task as “an activity or action which is a result of understanding
and processing the target language” [19;289]. This seems to be in line with what Prabhu
defined, i.e. “an activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome from given
information through some process of thought, and which allowed teachers to control
and regulate that process” [18;44]. Nunan even made it clear when stating that by
implementing a task, learners “get involved in comprehension, manipulating, producing,
or interacting in the target language with the main focus on meaning rather on form”
[16;10]. In this study, the definition of Nunan, and Richards, Platt, and Weber are
underpinned the meaning of “task” in the reading lessons. Specifically, the reading “task”
in the current paper is defined as a reading classroom activities that involve learners
in interacting with each other, comprehending the reading materials, producing their
language output based on their comprehension of the materials under the support of the
teacher.
The significance of TBLT in teaching reading skill has been researched and
well-documented by a numerous researchers and teacher-practitioners. Regarding the first,
during performing the task, students analyze the new words in different contexts and in
different ways so it will reinforce their learning of vocabulary and language uses [14, 15,
21, 23, 24]. This is obviously useful for IELTS learners since each reading passage in
IELTS reading test is set in various contexts, and usually extracted from authentic sources
like magazine, books, newspapers, or journals. As regards to the second benefit, TBLT
engages learners into cognitive process so they can properly comprehend the texts which
are extracted from authentic materials [15, 19, 20]. Richards, Platt, and Weber explicitly
referred cognitive process to “processing and understanding language” underlying several
definitions [19; 289]. These studies were conducted in different contexts and have
provided invaluable insights into the practice of TBLT in reading teaching. However,
the importance of this approach in improving IELTS reading skill has not been much
exploited by many scholars. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to investigate the positive
effects of IELTS-oriented tasks on the performance of candidates in their reading test.
Two main research questions guided the analysis as follows:
(1) What are the influences of TBLT on the learners’ IELTS reading skill?
(2) What is the attitude of learners towards the adoption of TBLT in the IELTS
reading lesson?
2. Content
2.1. Methodology
2.1.1. Participants
79
Dao Thi Thanh Hao
The subjects of this study were 45 students consisting of 28 females and 17 males
studying in an IELTS preparation course at an English center in Hanoi. They were at
different ages ranging from 16 to 27 but their English proficiency was at pre-intermediate
level or above with the aim that they can deal with the difficulty level of the IELTS exam
content. Some learners’ data before and after the treatment were set aside and disregarded
in order to avoid the intervening variables associated with this project.
2.1.2. Data collection and procedures
Data were collected through questionnaires, Pre-IELTS test and Post-IELTS test
to obtain the finding about the attitude of the participants towards the use of TBLT in
improving their IELTS reading skill and the positive changes (if possible) between the
time before and after the treatment with TBLT.
First, the pre-test of IELTS reading was delivered to the participants for diagnosis
purpose and homogeneity purpose of ascertaining the sample’s reading knowledge. After
that, the learners were taught with IELTS reading materials under the adoption of TBLT
for three months before they took the post-IELTS reading test. All of these tests were
chosen from the book called Cambridge IELTS 10 [2] which all of the participants had
never done before the time the current research was conducted.
The questionnaires were administered at the conclusion of the study to collect the
information about the attitudes of the learners after the treatment with TBLT in their
IELTS reading lessons. The questionnaires were adapted from Nunan for evaluating
communicative tasks, including 20 questions divided into three sections [16]. The first
section contained demographic questions to collect information about learners’ age,
sex, and reading ability level. The second part was a 10 Likert-type item set, asking
participants about their view on the uses of TBLT during lessons. They had to answer the
questions by using a 5-point scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”.
The last section was 3 multiple choice questions about learners’ performance in reading
test and also another 7 Likert-type questions about the influences of TBLT on their IELTS
reading test results.
2.1.3. Data analysis & results
a. Research question 1: What are the influences of TBLT on the learners’ reading
skill?
A pre-test and post-test of IELTS reading were organized at the commencement
and conclusion of the study to compare the students’ results and to calculate the possible
effects of TBLT treatment on their IELTS reading performance. The results are shown in
two tables, as follows:
Table 1. Paired Samples Statistics
Pair 1 Mean N Std Deviation Std. Error Mean
T1 Pretest 6,156 45 ,4864 ,0725
T2 Posttest 6,611 45 ,4509 ,0672
In light of Table 1, it can be seen that the score mean of the pre-test was considerable
80
The effectiveness of task-based-language teaching in improving IELTS reading skill
lower than that of the post-test (6.156 compared to 6.611). It is notable that to increase 0.5
in the IELTS score is not an easy task with IELTS learners. Besides, in the Table 2, the
sig. (2- tailed) = 0,000<0, 05; which means that there was a relative difference between
2 test scores. This points out the pedagogical fact that TBLT approach somehow affected
the performance of the participants in the study.
Table 2. Paired Samples Test
Pair 1 Paired Differences t df
Sig.
(2-talled)
Mean
Std.
Deviation
Std.
Error
Mean
95%
Confidence
Interval of
the
Difference
(Lower)
95%
Confidence
Interval of
the
Difference
(Upper)
T1
Pretest/
T2
Posttest
-,4556 ,4104 ,0612 -,5789 -,3323 -7,446 44 ,000
Moreover, two questions were also designed to investigate the average number of
correct answers that the participants got in the IELTS reading tests after three month
period of applying TBLT, and the time they completed the test. The results are illustrated
clearly in the Table 3 and Table 4:
Table 3. Correct answer number
Valid Frequence Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
215-26 16 45 35,6 35,6
327-34 29 64,4 64,4 100,0
Total 45 100,0 100,0
As can be seen, up to 64, 4% learners got around 27-34 correct answers in an IELTS
reading test, and almost half of that (35, 6%) earned 15-26 ones. Notably, no one could
reach the highest figure of 40, and no one got under 15 correct answers.
Table 4. Complete a test ontime
Valid Frequence Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
2 sometimes 7 15,6 15,6 15,6
3 often 17 37,8 37,8 53,3
4 always 21 46,7 46,7 100,0
Total 45 100,0 100,0
In this table, out of 45 participants in the samples, 46,7% of them could always
81
Dao Thi Thanh Hao
complete the task on time, 37,8% often managed this and 15,6% just sometimes finished
the task in a given time.
b. Research question 2: What is the attitude of learners towards the adoption of
TBLT in the reading lesson?
The description of learners’ views towards TBLT after the treatment is illustrated
in Table 5.
Table 5. Views on TBLT uses
Question SD D N A SA
1 0 0 24,4 55,6 20,0
2 0 0 17,8 60,0 22,2
3 0 0 0 44,4 55,6
4 0 0 66,7 33,3 0
5 0 0 20,0 68,9 11,1
6 0 0 15,6 62,2 22,2
7 0 0 51,1 44,4 4,4
8 0 0 44,4 53,3 2,2
(*SD: Strongly Disagree; D: Disagree; N: Neutral; A: Agree; SA: Strongly Agree)
Interestingly, there was no one choosing “SD” or “D” for all questions. For the
first item” every time, I was clear of the theme of the tasks”, those who agreed with this
accounted for the highest percentage of 55,6%, an almost similar proportion belonged to
“Neutral” and “Strongly Agree” opinions with about 20% for each. The item 2” TBLT has
a relaxing atmosphere”, 60% showed their agreement, 22,2% strongly agreed, and only
17,8% had neutral thinking. In terms of item 3 “TBLT was learner-centered”, up to 55,
6% participants strongly agreed with this, followed by 44,4 % agreement. Regarding item
4 “teacher’s instruction and explanation were easy to understand and follow”, 66,7% was
neutral while 33, 3% agreed. Item 5” there is authentic English environment during the
learning process” collected up to 68, 9% agreement responses, 11,1% strong agreement,
and 20% neutral answers. As with item 6 namely ”I enjoyed integrating with teacher and
classmates during the lesson”, 62,2% showed their agreement, that is four times higher
than those were neutral, and three times higher than the strongly agreement figure. Item
7” I could gain confidence and sense of belonging under the atmosphere of the adoption
of TBLT” collected 44,4% agreement opinions and 51,1% neutral ones. When it comes
to the last item “TBLT activates learners’ needs and motivations”, a majority of learners
agreed with this (53, 3%), meanwhile only 2,2% strongly agreed and 44,4% showed their
neutral thought.
On the other hand, another set of 7 Likert-type questions was given to the sample
to ask them about the positive influences of TBLT on their IELTS reading skill after the
adoption of TBLT. Their responses were demonstrated in the following Table 6.
By examining the table above, it can be easily realized that there was no
disagreement or strong disagreement recorded in the data whereas most of people showed
their agreement and strong agreement with the given items. Specifically, for the item 1
”I could get sense of achievement from learning test oriented English in this course”, the
82
The effectiveness of task-based-language teaching in improving IELTS reading skill
majority of 64,4% agreed and 35,6% even strongly agreed with this idea.
Table 6. Views on TBLT uses
Question SD D N A SA
1 0 0 0 64,4 35,6
2 0 0 22,2 62,2 15,6
3 0 0 26,7 55,6 17,8
4 0 0 0 64,4 4,4
5 0 0 31,1 64,4 4,4
6 0 0 0 53,3 46,7
7 0 0 26,7 40,0 33,3
(*SD: Strongly Disagree; D: Disagree; N: Neutral; A: Agree; SA: Strongly Agree)
Mentioning the item 2”I realize my own weakness and direction to improve my
reading skill”, only 22,2% was neutral while the rest 77,8% agreed and strongly agreed.
Item 3” I have improved my reading skill through finishing tasks of working out the
outline of the passages and summarizing the main idea of each paragraph in these
passages” collected 55,6% agreement responses, 17,8% strong agreement, and 26,7%
neutral answers. Interestingly, the next question “I have strengthened the ability of
reasoning by answering the questions designed by the teacher concerning the content
of the passages” received the exactly same results as item 1. As regards to item 5
“I could better solve certain IELTS reading questions by implementing tasks”, 31,1%
showed neutral opinion while 64,4% agreed and 4,4% strongly agreed with this. In item
6 “I have improved my reading skills by finishing IELTS reading tasks”, no neutral or
disagreement was seen, while agreement and strong agreement employed 53,3% and
46,7% respectively. With the last item “I have learnt and known new words, expressions
and sentence patterns via reading passages”, 40% expressed their advocate, 33, 3%
strongly agreed.
2.2. Discussion and conclusion
For the first research question about the influences of TBLT on learners’ IELTS
reading skill, the data showed that there was considerable progress in the performance of
IELTS takers after three month of applying TBLT into their course as their mean score
increased by 0.5. Not only in the post test could they get higher score, their performance
in other IELTS reading tests later was also improved. Specifically, when asked, just under
65% were confident that they could earn 27-34 correct answers, which was equivalent to
6.5-7.5 band scores, and majority of participants could often complete the task on time.
This finding might support the finding of Panahdi since he also realized that the result of
students ‘learning reflected through test scores was productive when task-based language
testing and teaching got more emphasized [17]. Therefore, the data indicate that students
could improve their IELTS reading skill when TBLT was employed.
Where the second research question is concerned, an overwhelming proportion of
participants owned positive views towards the benefits of TBLT in terms of learning more
new words or structures, strengthening the ability of reasoning and analyzing by figuring
83
Dao Thi Thanh Hao
the outlines and summarizing the main ideas of the text, and answering the questions
designed concerning the content of the passage. To be more specific, TBLT helps promote
learners’ retention of vocabulary in different authentic contexts. Once they know and
accumulate a wide range of vocabulary, it is likely easier for them to understand the
passages and therefore can locate information needed to answer the questions in the IELTS
reading tests. Moreover, this approach also enabled learners to realize their weaknesses
and identify the direction to improve their reading skill. Along with this, the learners had
plenty of chances to interact with teacher as well as other classmates so they can learn
from each other and being confident to perform the tasks. This is consistent with the data
collected by Hadi when he investigated the learners’ perceptions towards TBLT. Most of
the participants in his study also agreed or even strongly agreed that task-based method
had interactional and collaborative nature to create motivation for learners to do the given
tasks [5].
2.3. Pedagogical Implications of the Study
This study has shed some light on the use of task-based learning in enhancing the
reading skill of IELTS learners in an English center in Hanoi. The findings of the study
offer some pedagogical implications for researchers, teachers and learners as below.
First, despite some certain promising aspects of TBLT, specific problems still may
be found during the adoption of this approach. Attentively considered, TBLT requires
long-term planning, serious organisation and proper implementation rather than only
three months as in this study. This, therefore, presents challenges for EFL teachers and
researchers to make more theoretical researches in a deep-going path and explore TBLT’s
applications, especially its applications to the improvement of IELTS reading performance
for Vietnamese test takers.
Second, the attitudes of learners towards TBLT is of great importance since it is
one of the key factors contributing the success of the course. TBLT with its own natures
of creating relaxing, collaborative, authentic, and motivational learning environment for
students can engage IELTS learners in different tasks and suffer less pressure to achieve
the high score. However, the characteristics and needs of students differ according to
various contexts so it is not necessary to obtain the same outcomes when applying the
same teaching method in different institutional settings. The implication from this is that,
learners’ voices need to be acknowledged so that a diversity of possible changes can be
made to adapt with their real needs and long-term learning path. Otherwise, TBLT or any
other pedagogial approaches might not uphold their utmost potential benefits.
2.4. Limitations
Despite the fact that the current study earns the positive results, some shortcomings
should be taken into consideration. Initially, the experimental time in this research was
quite short (only three months) compared to other previous studies. The participants did
not have much exposure to the practice of TBLT, as a result, this might have affected their
true feeling about TBLT. If they had more time working with this approach, they might
have been more aware of the changes in their perceptions and opinions about TBLT.
84
The effectiveness of task-based-language teaching in improving IELTS reading skill
Another limitation lies in the methodology. This quantitative study collected data to
measure the possible improvement of the learners in doing IELTS reading test after being
treated with TBLT and their attitudes to TBLT. However, the test results could be decided
by many other variables like the psychology, the health conditions, and even the luck of
the participants. Hence, the scores sometimes could not exactly reflect the progress of
learners. Besides, there is some problems when the attitudes of the learners were gathered
and quantified via Likert-scale questionnaires. The learners might not have had many
chances to express their feeling and opinions and had to limit their responses within
the items given. If one more qualitative instrument like focus group or semi-structured
interview was employed, the participants would show more detailed attitudes as needed.
The need of one more instrument in the study can also strengthen the reliability and
triangulate the findings. Thereby, it is hopeful that these limitations will be minimized
when further studies are conducted in the future.
3. Conclusion
Lucidly taken, the overall finding of this study reveals that learners can improve
their reading skill through the application of TBLT. Therefore, teachers of EFL should
plan and organize various useful tasks during IELTS reading lessons so that students can
attain more communicative lively vocabulary and structures, strengthen their ability of
reasoning and analyzing the texts, as well as summarizing the main ideas. All of these
micro-skills are found to be necessary for learners to understand the reading passages
well, thus can answer the test questions correctly. Besides, since the students’ attitude
towards TBLT also influences their learning process and outcomes, teachers need to get
familiar with TBLT, understand its basic principles and techniques in order to produce an
effective task-based lessons.
REFERENCES
[1] Alderson, J. C., 1990b. Testing reading comprehension skills (Part One). Reading in
a Foreign Language, 6(2), 425-38.
[2] Cambridge IELTS 10., 2015. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[3] Bygate, M., 2001. Researching Pedagogic Tasks (Applied Linguistics and Language
Study). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[4] Ellis, R., 2008. Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford
University Express.
[5] Hadi, A., 2013. Perceptions of task-based language teaching: A study of Iranian EFL
learners. English Language Teaching, 6(1), 103.
[6] IELTS Handbook., 2007. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Local Examination
Syndicate
[7] Jeon, In-Jae., 2005. An analysis of task-based materials and performances: Focused
on Korean high school English textbooks. English Teaching, 60(2), 87-109.
85
Dao Thi Thanh Hao
[8] Kamaravadivelu, B., 1991. Language learning tasks: teacher intention and learner
interpretation. ELT Journal, 45, 98-107.
[9] Lam, W., &Wong, J., 2002. The effects of strategy training on developing discussion
skills in an ESL classroom. ELT Journal, 54,254-55.
[10] Littlewood, W., 2004. The task-based approach: some questions and suggestions.
ELT Journal, 58(4), 319-326.
[11] Long, M., & Crookes, G., 1991. Three approaches to task-based syllabus design.
TESOL Quarterly, 26(1), 27-56.
[12] Long, M. H., 1985.A role for instruction in second language acquisition: Task-based
language teaching. Modelling and assessing second language acquisition, 18, 77-99.
In K. Hylstenstam&M. Pienemann (eds.), Modelling and assessing second language
acquisition (pp. 77-99). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
[13] Murphy, J.(2003. Task-based learning: the interaction between tasks and learners.
ELT Journal, 57(4), 352-360.
[14] Newton, J., 2001. Options for vocabulary learning through communication tasks.
ELT journal, 55(1), 30-37.
[15] Nunan, D., 2005. Important tasks of English education: Asia-wide and beyond.
Asian EFL Journal, 7(3).
[16] Nunan, D., 1989. Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge
University Press.
[17] Panahi, A., 2012. Juxtaposing Testing to Teaching through Task-Based Approach
and IELTS Reading Instruction. International Conference on Language, Medias and
Culture, 33, 93-98.
[18] Prabhu, N. S., 1987. Second language pedagogy (Vol. 20). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
[19] Richards, J. C., Platt, J. & Weber, H., 1986. Longman Dictionary of Applied
Linguistics London. Harlow U.K.: Longman Addison- Wesley
[20] Skhan, P., 1998. A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
[21] Stahl, S. A., & Fairbanks, M. M., 1986. The effects of vocabulary instruction: A
model-based meta-analysis. Review of educational research, 56(1), 72-110.
[22] Schwarz, S., 1984.Measuring reading competence. New York: Plenum Press.
[23] Willis, J., 1996. A Framework for task-based learning. London: Longman.
[24] ZanMao., 2012. The Application of Task-based Language Teaching to English
Reading Classroom. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(11), 2430-2438.
86