(Skkn 2023) using task based learning activities to teach vocabulary and grammar for efl students at high schools

EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE USING TASK-BASED LEARNING ACTIVITIES TO TEACH VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR FOR EFL STUDENTS AT HIGH SCHOOLS School year: 2022-2023 Nghe an Department of Education and Training Nam Dan High School EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE USING TASK-BASED LEARNING ACTIVITIES TO TEACH VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR FOR EFL STUDENTS AT HIGH SCHOOLS Teacher: Nguyễn Thị Kim Thúy Field: English School: Nam Đàn High School Mobile phone: 0948609405 Email: kimthuynd1@gmail.com School year: 2022-2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the Study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Organization of the study PART 2: CONTENT 2.1 Literature Review 2.1.1 Importance of Grammar and Vocabulary in Academics 2.1.2 Task-based Learning 2.1.3 Stages of Task- based Learning 2.2 Content Selection and Teaching Approach through Task Basked Learning 2.3 Finding and Discussion 29 PART 3: CONCLUSION 33 REFERENCE 34 PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Learning a language means a process of encountering varied number of challenges, the role of the English language attributes itself to number of minute details that have to be taken up as a challenge of learning, because English is an International language and it is highly reputed globally Some of the challenging situations come in mastery of pronunciation and articulation of words, sentence structuring, error free writing, adapting to a classic form of writing and yet another very important aspect would be grammar and vocabulary learning Poor language skill among the weak learners especially in grammar and vocabulary will make things more challenging and stressful hence developing confidence among the second language learners needs to be the ultimate aim and objective of the language classroom Over the years, different approaches, methods and procedures, have been employed to help learners learn second language In one period considerable attention was paid to teaching and teacher-oriented classes The emergence of communicative language teaching (CLT) in teaching and learning exhibited a rush in the whole process of language learning The application of activities in language learning evolved interest and better result among the students It improved the mood and participation among students through an improved performance and soon many other methods found its emergence and existence in teaching learning process Task-based learning (TBL) was one among those outcomes of such innovative teaching learning method popularly referred as task-based language teaching (TBLT) and this could be confidently used to teach tough concepts TBLT can be best defined in the words of Richards & Rodgers as: "task-based language teaching refers to an approach based on the use of tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching" (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p.223) Some common concerns that affect student performance are poor language skills of reading, speaking, listening, writing, weak grammar and vocabulary, influence of mother tongue and other concerns In fact, students find the English language easy but applying the rules and presenting ideas professionally turns to be a challenging task Hence, in this crucial situation the weak learners become the targets and the whole learning process ends up as a disaster to them, because they feel no importance is being given to them in a classroom and one bad experience can turn language learning into a nightmare To address this problem of the weak learners and to assure a better learning experience the task-based learning approach was initiated to the students and at the end they welcomed the new teaching method that restored confidence and improved performance among them Application of TBL is more to with activities, where it can be a student centric learning experience and the teacher just becomes the teaching instructor Richards, Platt and Weber define the activity or action of the learning process as: “An activity or action which is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language, for example, drawing a map while listening to a tape, listening to an instruction and performing a command may be referred to as tasks” Tasks may or may not involve the production of language A task usually requires the teacher to specify what will be regarded as successful completion of the task For those reasons, this study sought to explore if task-based learning activities can help learners grow out of the aforementioned difficulties, therefore, this study was conducted with the topic: Using Task-based Learning Activities to Teach Vocabulary and Grammar for EFL Students at High Schools 1.2 Aims of the Study This study serves the aims as follow: - To investigate the effectiveness of task-based learning activities in supporting students in learning vocabulary and grammar - To examine the perception of teachers and learners to this approach in language lessons 1.3 Scope of the study In this approach, learners are presented with a task or problem to solve and not concentrate on language features during performance These tasks are meaningfocused and have a non-linguistic outcome This new trend in English Language Teaching seems to be best applied to English for Specific Purpose (ESP) courses which has emphasized the need for teaching specialized vocabulary Therefore, the present study is an attempt to investigate whether task-based approach is appropriate for vocabulary development in an ESP course 1.4 Organization of the study The study consists of three parts: Part 1: Introduction This part will include rationale, aims, scope, and organization of the study Part 2: Content This part mentions the literature review of the topic with an overview of vocabulary and grammar learning It also suggests some task-based learning activities which help students to improve their performance and products as well as their attitude during learning process The application of these techniques is on the scale of units for students at high school Additionally, the perception of teachers and learners to this approach will be discussed more in details Part 3: Conclusion Conclusion offers the main findings of the study As for the implication of the study, some suggestions are recommended to contribute to the success of evaluating students’ performance PART 2: CONTENT 2.1 Literature Review 2.1.1 Importance of Grammar and Vocabulary in Academics Grammar delivers efficiency, competency and structure to a language as in the words of Harmer “Grammar is an important component in learning English in order to gain competency in using English”(Harmer, 2001, p.12) Grammar and vocabulary are considered as soul of a communication process Ideas conveyed are effectively put forth through appropriate use of communication Among the four language skills, most appropriate use of grammar and vocabulary comes in writing and speaking where an effective and organized transfer of ideas would favor communication without any barriers If someone wants to master English, they might know how essential grammar and vocabulary are to learn the language It is true that grammar is significant for learning any language Grammar is a set of rules that dictates how a language works, making it easy to comprehend At the same time, without proper vocabulary, one would have no idea how to speak or write in English It helps us make sense of our words Grammar and vocabulary also dictate rules regarding how words are used and when they should be used Without knowing this information, it would be impossible for us to understand anything or say anything at all Grammar and vocabulary are not just simply about learning how to use words correctly It is also about understanding the patterns in languages worldwide If learners see how these patterns work, they can use them and form sentences without worrying about forgetting rules such as subject-verb agreement or using the words in the wrong context Understanding these rules makes it easier for learners to comprehend other people’s sentences when they communicate in English The importance of grammar and vocabulary cannot be emphasized enough because it helps learners know what is being communicated and how they can respond appropriately If learners want to improve their English skills, they must start by learning the grammar rules and enrich their source of vocabulary and then practicing them until it becomes a habit 2.1.2 Task-based Learning The idea of “task” is not as simple as it might seem Many definitions and perspectives exist Each one is discussed in turn Possible definitions of and perspectives on the concept of “task” can be an imposed tax, duty, or piece of work An everyday piece of work, A job responsibility, A general activity or exercise for second learners Task based learning (TBL) has a wide application for learning in a classroom atmosphere Classroom is a place for exploiting new ideas with a goal to teach and refine knowledge by providing a platform of opportunities to the learners Teachers need to bear in mind that the tasks using in classroom should be ranged from simple to complex or even comprehensive work designs that favor the learners to develop skills in communication Prabhu describes task-based learning as, “A task is 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” (Prabhu, 1987, p.24) Through this we can conclude that learners can be made to work on themselves through tasks and aim to develop all the basic skills of a language Task-based learning shows many aspects of advantages when it is used in teaching and learning process as follow:      Student interaction is ‘built in’ to the lesson, as they need to communicate to complete the task Students’ communication skills improve Students’ confidence can improve as tasks can mimic real life Students’ motivation can improve due to the same reason Students’ understanding of language can be more profound as it’s used in realistic contexts 2.1.3 Stages of Task- based Learning The whole process of TBL execution is based on a three step process which needs attention and that has to be monitored by the learners as well as the instructors In some cases, the organization and implementation may be fairly new especially when it is a rural crowd of learners or if they possess the dominance of second language or in some cases there may be more number of weak learners According to the source from www.berefootTEFLteacher.com the process of task-based learning can be illustrated as follow Figure 21 The Process of Task based Learning Lesson However, in any circumstances the role of the instructor needs to be of utmost prominence The three stages can be broadly classified as: Pre-task: During this phase the learners are briefed on the topic and a collective framework is presented to them Task Cycle: This is the next step after introducing and selecting the text, this will enable and facilitate the phase of reporting and planning Post Cycle: This is the last step in the process, where the learners present and are analyzed through the attained results In TBL lessons, students solve a task that involves an authentic use of language rather than complete simple questions about grammar or vocabulary Task-based learning is an excellent way to get students engaged and using English That, plus the collaborative element, builds confidence in language and social situations It has also been shown to align with how we learn a language In order to have a successful lesson, teachers need to take some appropriate steps in and out their classroom as follow  The pre-task In this step, teacher introduces the task to the students and get them excited about the task Once they are engaged, then he/she should set his/her expectations for the task By doing this, the less motivated students have to get involved and not the bare minimum To make it clear, teacher could show the students an example of the completed task or model it If teacher wants to differentiate their students, it is the time for them to hand out support materials or scaffold the task appropriately It is a good idea to group students and give instructions It is essential to emphasize that the focus of this stage is to engage the learners, set expectations and give instructions  The Task To begin the task, small group of students is a better choice than a large one because passive or shyer students may hide the task Ideally, teacher will not join the task However, they will monitor and only give hints if students get stuck There are several ways to design task, but usually it should involve a gap of some sort The focus of this stage is fluency which means that students need to use the language to communicate without using their first language unless needed  A Review Once the learners complete the task and have something to show, it is time to review what they have done Peer review are preferable, or if you see an error common to many during your monitoring, a teacher-led delay correction is also very useful For weaker groups, peer correction can be made more effective by giving the students support on providing feedback A checklist or a ‘things to look for’ list can be a suggestion The aim for this stage is accuracy which means that the reflection on completed work and analyzing it 2.2 Content Selection and Teaching Approach through Task Basked Learning Students were divided into groups to make students be aware their task and develop confidence The group can be a mixture of level with those who had studied in English medium or had a good command over the language The initial task was to develop confidence and responsibilities among the learners to make them get involve in learning process and hence promote them to create their own syllabus and task - based learning activity This process of learning has specific aim in developing the grammar and vocabulary skills for students Here is the illustration of activities that were initiated to develop the language skills in the learners The material chosen in this study is English 10 – Global Success, the first lesson in each unit – Getting Started In this lesson, teachers not really teach vocabulary or grammar structure, instead, they allow their students to discover themselves a set of new words and some useful structures in each lesson from the given dialogue in the text book This can be done through the tasks that teachers set for them in each lesson This kind of teaching process seems to work well when it helps students to engage themselves in the lessons while preparing the material asked for the lesson Material: English 10 - Global Success Unit 1: Family Life – Getting Started: Household Chores Task 1: Learning Vocabulary Pre task: All the students were asked to bring a copy of the text, and just read through the whole text, without any burden of knowing or understanding any part of the text They were asked to complete reading of the text and were asked to mark the tough words according to them Task cycle: Once the words were selected the students had to pass the selected words into their group and make a collection of words which were similarly selected as tough by others in the group and other words were kept aside Post task: Once the word list was prepared, a discussion was made within the group on the possible meaning that the learners could relate and the meaning was jotted down, once the whole exercise was over with a help of a dictionary, the meaning was identified and also other related meanings in the form of synonyms were also taken down for further study and reference by the members of the group Task outcome: At the end of this exercise we were able to compile a glossary of words, other than those discussed at the end of the text and also a collection of synonyms and antonyms were ready within a short interval Many learners were able to learn many more words than those given in the glossary Students’ Draft before Class Students’ Outcome Task 1: Learning Vocabulary Pre Task: All the students were asked to read through the whole text, without any burden of knowing or understanding any part of the text Teachers provided a table with different part of speech of words appearing in the textbook Words in textbook Noun Verb Adj Adv Meaning organization poverty participate particularly protect education Task Cycle: Students were asked to work in groups to put the words into the right column of part of speech They then could use dictionary to find the other part of speech for all the given words as well as the meaning Post Task: Students discussed with each other and showed their final product with the words they find themselves The expected answer can be as follow Words in textbook Noun Verb Adj Adv organization organization organize organizational organizationally poverty poverty impoverish poor poorly participate Participation/ participate Participatory/ x participant Meaning participative particularly particularity particularize particular particularly protect protection protect protective protectively education education educate educational educationally 20 Task 2: Learning Grammar: Comparative and superlative Pre Task: Students were asked to complete the sentences with words finding from the text Since then, our country has become more active and has participated in many UN activities including peacekeeping It particularly aims to support the most disadvantaged children all over the world It provides technical support, expert advice and training to help people in developing countries have a better life It is the world’s largest international economic organisation Viet Nam has also become more attractive to foreign investors Teacher then introduced the term of comparative and superlative to students Task Cycle: After students were familiar with the term comparative and superlative, teacher provided them with some cards containing some adjective or adverbs with comparative or superlative form and start the game calling “I have, who has” Before starting the game teacher might divide the board into three columns and put one adjective that students have found out in the first task Adj/adv comparative superlative Attractive More attractive The most attractive Large Larger The largest Teacher then provided the cards of a set and say “Who has the first card? (big) And the student holding it answered “I have the first card Who has the next card? The students who has the card featuring the answer continues (bigger) He/she then asked “Who has the last card?” (the biggest) The answer key is included, so you can easily follow the game and help or correct a student if necessary If you want 21 to spice things up, you can time the games and see how well their performance improves Teacher can use some versions of the game: - Comparative only - Superlative only - A mix of both Post Task: After finding the cards in the same form, students stuck the cards in the right column that teacher had drawn on board Then they had a collection of comparative and superlative form on board Material: English 10 - Global Success Unit 8: New ways to learn – Getting Started: New learning activities (p86) 22 Task 1: Learning Vocabulary Pre Task: All the students were asked to read through the whole text, without any burden of knowing or understanding any part of the text Teacher then provided a set of words and asked students to match the one verbs with some nouns to make phrases In this set, there are some phrases appearing in the reading text Task Cycle: Teacher provided one set of cards with some verbs including: upload, do, find, take and another set with: a file, an image, a video / the calculation, a project, a task/information, pleasure, fault/ a break, a look, notes Students were asked to work in group to match the verbs with appropriate nouns to make suitable phrases Post Task: Students collaborated together to have the correct phrases and stuck them on board The final work of student must be shown on board Upload: a file an image a video Do: the calculation a project a task Find: information pleasure fault Take: a look a break a note 23 Task 2: Learning Grammar – Relative clauses Pre Task: Students were asked to complete the sentences with one word from the conversation in the textbook I’m watching the video that my geography teacher uploaded on Eclass It gives me a chance to discuss with my classmates, who may have original ideas on the topic This way of studying, which gives us more control over our own learning, is quite useful Teacher then introduced the term of relative pronouns in relative clauses Task Cycle: It is the place _ we went last summer John is the man _ is waiting The car _ in front of us is a Ford 10 a.m is _ they’ll arrive I don’t know the reason _ he’s coming I don’t know _ the magician did this Teachers provided some sentences with the missing in the relative pronoun Students individually took a card with a relative pronoun/adverb from the given poster to stick on the missing place on board 24 Post Task: Students were explained that they might not be under pressure of finding correct answer What they needed was to choose a relative pronoun to fill basing on their background knowledge or intuition The final product is a colorful poster with the sentence completed as follow 25 Material: English 10 - Global Success Unit 9: Protecting the environment – Getting Started: A presentation on the environment (p100) Task 1: Learning Vocabulary Pre Task: All the students were asked to read through the whole text, without any burden of knowing or understanding any part of the text Teacher then provided a set of card with words which appearing in the conversation big ideas main causes global warming practical actions endangered animals environmental issues 26 Task Cycle: Teacher asked groups of students with students for each group They stood in two line with the given cards When the teacher counted the time, they quickly found out their partner to match their card with a meaningful phrase Post Task: Students then held the card with the partner to show the whole class their result Their final answer should be included the phrases: big ideas, main causes, global warming, practical actions, endangered animals, environmental issues Task 2: Learning Grammar – Reported Speech Pre Task: Students were asked to complete the sentences with one word from the conversation in the textbook My teacher asked me to some research on environmental protection She advised to start with small, practical actions to protect the environment She said I should present it the following week Teacher then introduced the term of reported speech Task Cycle: Teacher provided some common saying of some people who have different jobs “Let me see your hands” “I'd like to keep you here overnight for observation” “Hand in your paper, please” “Can I take your order, sir?” “Just a reminder, this is a completely full flight” “Thank you, sir Have a nice day, and please visit us again” Group of jobs: doctor, teacher, waiter, air hostess, shop keeper, police officer Teacher asked students to guess whose common saying this is 27 Post Task: Teachers asked students to work in pairs and performed in front of the whole class when one student read aloud the common saying and the other complete the sentence in given structure For example: Student A: Let me see your hands Student B: The police officer said “Let me see your hands” Student A: I'd like to keep you here overnight for observation Student B: The doctor said “I'd like to keep you here overnight for observation” Student A: Hand in your paper, please Student B: The teacher said “Hand in your paper, please” Student A: Can I take your order, sir? Student B: The waiter said “Can I take your order, sir?” Student A: Just a reminder, this is a completely full flight Student B: The air hostess said “Just a reminder, this is a completely full flight” Student A: Thank you, sir Have a nice day, and please visit us again Student A: The shopkeeper said “Thank you, sir Have a nice day, and please visit us again” Material: English 10 - Global Success Unit 10: Ecotourism – Getting Started: An eco-friendly fieldtrip to Phong Nha Cave (p110) 28 Task 1: Learning Vocabulary Pre Task: All the students were asked to read through the whole text, without any burden of knowing or understanding any part of the text Teacher then provided a set of actions when taking an ecotourism Disturb wildlife or its habitats Explore the place Use non-wood fuel for all cooking, heating, lighting Damage the environment Pick flowers or medicinal plants Leave litter behind Learn about the place Task Cycle: Students were required to put each phrase into the correct column of Dos or Don’ts when taking an ecotourism Dos Don’ts Explore the place Disturb wildlife or its habitats Use non-wood fuel for all cooking, heating, lighting Damage the environment Learn about the place Pick flowers or medicinal plants Leave litter behind Post Task: Students were asked to work in pair, each pair had to think one more idea to fill into each column 2.3 Finding and Discussion Pre-test: In order to get a comprehensive overview on the grammatical ability and the standard of vocabulary, a small test was conducted for the students taking some simple grammar and vocabulary section The total marks allotted for the test was 50 as each question carried about one mark each The section that was tested was based on tenses, gerund and infinitive, passive voice, comparison, relative pronouns, reported speech and conditional sentences and vocabulary through Reading Comprehension This was a random test conducted under the supervision of the researcher and the students were made aware on the requirement and outcome of the study The test was conducted in two classes with 45 students in each class: one class which used task-based learning activity (treatment class) and 29 the other did not (control class) Confidentiality of the whole process was ascertained to the participants, the result of the performance has been tabulated and analyzed through the following table: Marks Control class Treatment class 0-10 = 17.8%% = 2.2% 10-20 18= 40% = 15,6% 20-30 11= 24.4% 10 = 22.2% 30-40 = 13.3% 21=46.7% 40-50 = 4.4% = 13.3% Total 45 students 45 students Table 2.1: Marks scored by respondents in the test In the table 2.1 we can get a comprehensive difference of marks and the scoring improvement in control class and treatment The table shows, in the range of 0-10 marks in the control class, students had scored but there was one in this range in treatment class In the range of 10-20 marks there were 18 students in the control class (40%) but in the treatment class it had reduced to students In the range of 20-30 marks in the control class there were 11 and in the treatment class it reduced to 10 Marks in the range of 30 - 40 were scored by students in the control class but in the treatment class the number of students reached to 21 (46.7%) which is a substantial improvement Finally, students had been in the range of 40-50 in treatment class but there were only students who scored in this range in control class Through this one gets a clear idea on the benefits of TBL learning method and its outcome One of the major aims of this study was to determine if the application of taskbased has any impact on vocabulary learning of ESP students The reported findings show that there will be significant difference That is the participants’ performance in the task-based class was remarkably better than that of traditional class Apparently, the significant improvement regarding the vocabulary learning ability of the participants in the experimental group must have originated from the type of instruction they had been exposed to during the time that the experiment was conducted Another factor that may affect learners’ performance is the nature of the task that may be stimulating It is believed that assert that task activity and task achievement, as a characteristic for task-based instruction, are motivational It is proved that it is easy to assume that success in any task is due simply to the fact that someone is motivated Generally, TBL has the potential to bring about moderate to large vocabulary gains and structure master It is not unlikely that the 30 characteristics of tasks, authentic materials, learner-centered communication, negotiation of meaning, integration of new and existing knowledge, and a meaningful non-linguistic outcome can foster vocabulary and grammar acquisition in the same manner they foster the acquisition of other language features A survey had also delivered to teachers of English in some high schools to discover their feedback about the urgency and feasibility if this study Below is the link of the survey conducted on google form and its result Survey on the urgency and feasibility of the teaching experience : Using task- based learning activities to teach vocabulary and Grammar for EFL students at High schools (google.com) 97,6% of teachers confirmed that they did use task-based learning activities to teach vocabulary and grammar in their class 42.9% of teachers used it very frequently and 40.5% often used it 31 It seems that most of the teachers know well about the advantages of using taskbased learning activity in language class This explains the reason why 95.3% of them agreed about the necessity of that task-based learning activities in improving students’ outcome Only 4,7% of them confirmed that this is less or not necessary to apply these activities In term of feasibility, it got many positive feedbacks from teachers when 97.6% believed that these activities are feasible in teaching vocabulary and grammar Only small number of them (2.4% disagreed with this idea) 32 PART 3: CONCLUSION As it was observed those EFL learners who have been taught vocabulary and grammar through task-based language teaching outperformed those learners who have been taught vocabulary through traditional approach The current study has provided further empirical evidence for the value of a task-based approach to second language learning It shows that learner-learner interaction while performing tasks provided opportunities for the learners to talk about vocabularies and monitor the language they used Task-based learning provides an authentic, purposeful, and intentional background for comprehending and using language, and it is encouraging for the EFL learners But in traditional method the focus is on translation and memorization of new vocabularies and students are not concerned with the context in which these technical vocabularies are used One of the features which can be referred to as a reason for the outperformance of the task-based learning class in comparison with the traditional class is the collaborative and interactive nature of the task-based approach where language use and language learning take place simultaneously The cooperative natures of planning and report stages help students get feedback from the members of a task group Of course, the students in task-based learning receive feedback from the teacher However, in the traditional group the students work individually on the exercises, so they not receive any feedback from their peers and the only authority for judging about accuracy of exercises is the teacher Therefore, it can be claimed that the existence of such a feedback provides a more relaxing and less threatening condition for learning foreign language With regard to language teaching methodology, the findings of this study emphasizes the role of task-based approach in teaching vocabulary and grammar In fact, everything turns around tasks and task completion in this approach The three stages of applying tasks can be used to teach vocabulary and grammar or other language skills and sub skills to EFL learners The intention behind the following study was to improve the grammar and vocabulary skills among the learners and also to identify the weak learners and assure them of a better performance The study found that students lack the mastery and proficiency of the English language and this in turn hampers their progress and language proficiency 33 REFERENCE Brown, H D (2000) Principle of language learning and teaching New York: Pearson Education Choudhury, A (2010) Teaching vocabulary in the ESL/EFL classroom: central pedagogical issues MJAL Journal, 2(4), 306-316 Brown, H D (2000) Principle of language learning and teaching New York: Pearson Education Cubillo, P., & Brenes, C (2009) Using task-based instruction in ESP course in the computer center at the University of Costa Rica INIE Journal of Costa Rica University, 9(1), 1-25 Dudley-Evans, T., & St John, M J (1998) Developments in English for Specific Purposes Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ellis R (2003) Task-based Language Teaching and Learning Oxford, OUP Ellis, R (2018) Reflections on task-based language teaching Bristol; Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Multilingual Matters (Second language acquisition, volume 125) Nunan, D (2004) Task-based language teaching Cambridge, UK; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge language teaching library) Nunan, D (2004) Task-based language teaching Cambridge University Press Podcast: Principles for Designing Better Tasks (with Dave Weller) A discussion between myself and the lovely folks at the TEFL Training Institute Skehan, P (1998a) Task-based instruction Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 18, 268-286 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0267190500003585 Willis, D and Willis, J R (2011) Doing task-based teaching print Oxford: Oxford Univ Press (Oxford handbooks for language teachers) Willis, J (1996) A framework for task-based learning Harlow: Longman 34