The Effect of Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Content-based Language Teaching (CBLT) on the Iranian Intermediate ESP Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Abstract

The present study investigated the impact of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Content-Based Language Teaching (CBLT) on reading comprehension of the Iranian intermediate ESP learners. There were two groups of thirty participants in the current research: a control group (CBLT) and an experimental group (TBLT). They were chosen randomly from the students of Islamic Azad University majoring in accounting. The subjects were given a reading comprehension pre-test (reading section of TOEFL) in order to make them homogeneous regarding EFL reading comprehension at the outset. Then, in group A, reading comprehension was taught to the subjects based on the principles of TBLT. However, in group B, reading comprehension was taught to the students through CBLT. The researcher used independent samples t-test and paired samples t-test to analyze the collected data. The data analysis using paired samples t-test showed that teaching reading comprehension in both group was influential. The data analysis using independent samples t-test revealed that the subjects in TBLT group performed better on the reading comprehension post-test than CBLT group. It means that TBLT has been more effective than CBLT in teaching reading comprehension to Iranian ESP learners. Some justifications for this priority were discussed in the final section of the paper.