Abstract
This study investigated the influence of focus-on-form task-based language teaching (TBLT) on Taiwanese children’s English vocabulary acquisition and retention. Focus-on-form TBLT here refers to instruction in which the teacher and students interact, negotiate, and respond to each other on the subject of a second language (L2) vocabulary. The participants (N = 71) were all enrolled in the third grade of a central Taiwan elementary school. The experimental group (N = 42) received TBLT lessons with a focus on form. In contrast, the control group (N = 29) received more conventional lessons based on the presentation-practice-production (PPP) model. Quantitative data were collected from three vocabulary tests. Qualitative data were gleaned from the teacher/researcher’s journal logs. Although the statistical comparisons showed no significant differences between the two groups in the three VKS tests, the qualitative data suggest that students in the two groups responded differently in terms of their in-class interaction and personal involvement. It seems that interaction and output production induced in the experimental group possibly facilitated the comprehension and acquisition of L2 vocabulary. The study also provides pedagogical implications for implementing TBLT with a focus on form to increase the retention of L2 vocabulary.
Highlights
Over the past few decades, English has gradually become a lingua franca
This study showed positive evidence that the incorporation of task-based language teaching (TBLT) and focus-on-form plays an important role in L2 vocabulary learning
The statistical comparisons showed no significant differences between the two groups in the three administrations of Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) tests, the qualitative data suggest that students in the two groups responded differently in regards to in-class interactions and personal involvement
Summary
To meet the demands of globalization (Chen, 2013; Chen & Huang, 2017; Chern, 2002), the Taiwanese government has initiated two major reforms of English education They were the Nine-Year Joint Curriculum Plan initiated in 2001 and Twelve-Year Basic Education in 2019; both were administered in the hope of encouraging students to become lifelong learners. Despite governmental efforts to redirect school teaching toward real-life skills and experiences, the current dominant language teaching practices in Taiwan seem to contradict the vision of national curriculum guidelines. These practices highlight form instruction (Lin & Wu, 2012) developed from the presentation-practice-production (PPP) model. The PPP model has been criticized for its overemphasis on sequential learning, discrete linguistic items, teacher-centeredness, and restricted communicative competence development (Lewis, 1996; Skehan, 1998; Willis & Willis, 1996)
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