Abstract
This study investigated how task-based learning (TBL) developed the verbal competence of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) by employing qualitative and quantitative analyses. We compared the impromptu oral presentations on reading texts of 76 intermediate EFL learners given respectively in the beginning and the end of the 15-week study period at a Taiwanese university. The findings revealed that TBL was effective in fluency, lexical and syntactic complexity, and ineffective in accuracy. Besides, a standardized pretest and a post-test of English proficiency were administered, apart from a students’ self-report questionnaire at the end of the experiment. The results of the proficiency exams showed that students made significant improvements in reading and little improvement in listening after TBL. In the self-assessment of the effects of TBL, students felt improvements in vocabulary and pronunciation. Overall, TBL was motivational and useful for language acquisition. Learners’ attention was directed to a reading text as a whole for communicative purposes, and therefore their receptive and productive competence was enhanced.
Highlights
1.1 The Disparity between Concepts and Language Expression of Taiwan’s English as a foreign language (EFL) LearnersBased on the data released by Educational Testing Services from 2006 to 2013, the hardest part for Chinese examinees to score high points was the speaking section
This study investigated how task-based learning (TBL) developed the verbal competence of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) by employing qualitative and quantitative analyses
Since students had not enrolled in courses like English Listening Practice or English Conversation during the study period, and the language used in the other classrooms was mainly L1, the participants’ linguistic development in English may be closely related to the pedagogy implemented in this study
Summary
1.1 The Disparity between Concepts and Language Expression of Taiwan’s EFL Learners. Based on the data released by Educational Testing Services from 2006 to 2013, the hardest part for Chinese examinees to score high points was the speaking section. They may excel at taking proficiency tests in the form of multiple-choice questions as they are accustomed to test-oriented pedagogy and focus on rote memorization. Impromptu oral presentations and self-expression may appear challenging. This prevailing phenomenon has raised the attention of EFL instructors to identify techniques to help develop student’s verbal competence. Considering the struggle of students between concepts and linguistic expression, we sought to develop oral competence that approximates as closely as possible the thinking of the Chinese EFL learner
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