Introduction
Background of the study
Today, English is considered an international language According to Wikipedia, it is used by more than 400 million people worldwide as their first language, and over 1 billion people speak English as a second language Many international events, such as the Olympics, global organizations, multinational companies, etc., consider English as the common language of the media Understanding this, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam has been continuously improving the quality of teaching and learning foreign languages through comprehensive innovation English is a compulsory subject for school years from primary school, and there is also a compulsory graduation exam for high school students On that basis, the Project "Teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system in the 2008-2020 period" was approved by the Prime Minister's Decision No 1400 /QD-TTg of September 30, 2008 (Foreign Language Project 2020) The goal of the project is that by 2020, most Vietnamese young people who graduate from intermediate schools, colleges, and universities have the ability to use foreign languages independently and confidently
However, after 10 years of implementation, the project has not achieved the desired results, and the situation of ineffective English teaching and learning has been mentioned many times in the different survey results According to the Ministry of Education and Training's statistics, in 2018, there were 637.335 students taking the English exam in the National High School Exam and the average score was 3.91; the whole country had 542.666 national high school English tests in 2019 to score below average The average score in English is 4.36 (accounting for 68.74%) So why is teaching and learning English in our country inefficient despite being invested in it? Obviously, there are many reasons given, but one of them is that students' reading skill is not effective
As we know, in an English test, the score for reading skill is quite high, about 40 percent, which seems to be a challenge for a large number of students In particular, solving questions in the reading test requires students to have many skills related to each
2 other instead of just one skill This is because the reading tests evaluate a student's general reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, and use of reading strategies According to Alderson (2000), reading is not a natural process that is inherent like speaking and listening in the first language A person will not learn to read if he or she is not taught to read in any way (Grabe & Stoller, 2002) For students, reading is always a difficult skill among language skills Most of them do not understand foreign language texts because of their failure to acquire reading skills One of the main difficulties with reading comprehension is that students lack strategies that help them comprehend the texts Students who do not have the suitable skills to do reading exercises and often get bad grades can affect their learning attitude In addition, teaching reading skill in classes is mainly based on traditional methods and seems to be quite monotonous In the classroom, students only need to receive materials, listen to the teacher introduce the topic, and then do the required assignments Sometimes, they discuss it with friends right next to them There is little significant interaction with the others This situation repeats frequently during the lessons, which is also the reason why students have a negative attitude towards their learning Therefore, it is important to take an appropriate approach to help more and more students achieve higher scores on the reading test as well as to have a more positive attitude towards learning Among them, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has been considered an appropriate and effective method to promote students' reading skills
In the development process, there are many popular English teaching methods such as Grammar-Translation Method, considered a traditional foreign language teaching method, which focuses heavily on the study and practice of grammatical structures According to Richards & Rodgers (2001), “its aim was to know everything about anything more than the thing itself” The purpose of employing the grammar translation approach was to show that students can learn a foreign language by translating it Other methods, such as audiolingualism and the audiovisual method, emphasize the role of proficient practice of available structural patterns In the audio-lingual approach, students are taught how to use grammatical sentence patterns (Larsen-Freeman, 2000) Besides, we also mention other methods such as Situational Language Teaching (SLT)/The Oral Approach, the Natural Approach, and the traditional PPP (Presentation, Practice, and Performance) approach Each method born afterward is considered an
3 attempt to inherit the achievements and overcome the disadvantages of the method that came before it TBLT was born and operated based on constructivist learning theory and communicative language teaching (CLT) (Farrel & Jacob, 2010; Ellis, 2003) TBLT has the main roles of communication, social negotiation, and interaction among learners in task execution situations Through tasks, learners have the opportunity to communicate using the language (Douglas & Kim, 2014).Furthermore, when learners participate directly in the learning process by communicating and interacting naturally, they can use the target language more effectively Hokmi (2005) stated that “assigning students real-world tasks conveys the value of reading for message and influences the reading comprehension positively” According to D Willis and J Willis (2007), “one of the prominent features of the task is involvement in real language use, in which there is an immediate problem to solve” and using this language is essential for learners to apply in real situations (p.160) In summary, there are many studies on the effects of applying TBLT in teaching languages in general and reading comprehension in particular This paper focuses on applying TBLT in teaching reading comprehension skill to improve students’ results.
Statement of the problem
In Vietnam, English is one of the main subjects in high schools and is also a compulsory subject in the National High School Examination The Ministry of Education in general and schools in particular have invested a lot in this subject However, the results of the National High School Examination (as mentioned above) show that the results of teaching English in schools are not as expected
Huynh Thuc Khang High School is a school in a remote area of Lam Dong province The majority of students at the school come from farmers' families At an early age, when children start learning English, they also rarely get parents or siblings to tutor them and encourage them to study, because almost no one in the family is good at this subject Many students have lost their roots and are afraid to learn English The English exam results of students in the National High School Examination are very low, well below the general level of the province In 2018, the percentage of students with English scores above the average was more than 9%, while that of the whole country was 22.8% This percentage increased slightly in 2019 to over 20% and the whole country to 32.3%
Although the school's facilities are relatively adequate and equipment for teaching is available, the results are still not high According to the survey, most of the students have difficulty with reading comprehension skill, which accounts for 40% of a test's score This is for many reasons
Firstly, the student's vocabulary is limited They do not understand the content of the text as well as the related questions Woodward-Kron (2008) argues that a field's vocabulary is intimately linked to its topic knowledge As a result, reading comprehension becomes more difficult and challenging for students as they lack the vocabulary necessary to deconstruct and analyze meaning texts as well as develop literacy It is no exaggeration to say that target vocabulary is incredibly crucial in reading comprehension Even when having to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word, a learner with a limited vocabulary will not be able to guess the word based on the context but only on the "form of the word", which can lead to incorrect results (Laufer, 1996)
The second problem is the lack of reading strategies Most children become frustrated when they see a lengthy reading assignment and believe they will be unable to complete it.They have trouble identifying the explicit meaning of the text's main ideas and details, as well as the meaning of vocabulary or new words in context, word formation, word references, etc Many studies suggest that teaching comprehension strategies improves students' reading comprehension (El-Dinary & Pressley, 1996; Wold, 1996) The teacher should be aware of the issues that students face in order to establish a positive learning environment in reading classes and encourage students to study.However, it is a fact that reading strategies and techniques have not been given due attention in many reading classes at Huynh Thuc Khang High School Some teachers in reading classes still teach reading comprehension by traditional methods They often ask students to sit quietly, read and translate vocabulary, written texts, answer all the questions, do exercises, and then the teacher collects and gives marks All of this is unlikely to promote students’ learning, and students may not eventually gain a better understanding easily If teachers have appropriate methods and promote students' learning attitudes, they will be more interested in learning and their effectiveness will be higher
According to Farnan (1996), one factor that determines readers' reading achievement is their attitude toward reading She argued that readers' interests are related to their attitudes and motivation Motivation is important in the reading process, and reading motivation has a significant and positive effect on English reading comprehension (Ahmadi, Ismail, & Abdullah, 2013) Therefore, motivation is an important factor in learning that can motivate students to overcome the challenges of foreign language learning
Because of these things, each teacher is required to be creative, constantly research and find suitable teaching solutions Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an effective method mentioned because it can meet curriculum expectations.This effective learning method occurs when students are fully engaged in a linguistic task, rather than just learning about the language.Mulyono (2008) finds out that students taught by using TBLT will achieve better in reading comprehension
To this end, it is necessary to explore the effects of task-based language teaching on the tenth graders’ reading comprehension at Huynh Thuc Khang high school.
Aims and objectives of the study
This study aims to investigate the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension at Huynh Thuc Khang high school, Lam Dong Province, and their attitudes towards the use of TBLT in reading comprehension class
The specific objectives of this research are:
• To investigate the effects of TBLT on the students' reading comprehension at Huynh Thuc Khang high school;
• To explore students’ attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading class.
Research questions
In order to identify the previously mentioned objectives, the research questions made in this study are:
(1) To what extent does TBLT affect the 10 th graders’ reading comprehension at Huynh Thuc Khang high school?
(2) What are the students’ attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading class?
Scope of the study
The study focused on investigating the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension and the attitude of students after applying TBLT in reading classes The study was conducted in the context of Huynh Thuc Khang high school in the school year 2020-2021 The research participants were 70 grade 10 students studying English as a foreign language at the intermediate level They were assigned to the experimental (10A1) and control (10A2) groups The research instruments consited of the EFL reading comprehension pre-test and post-test and a questionnaire.The independent samples T-test and paired samples T-test are used to analyze quantitative data, while content analysis was used for qualitative data.
Significance of the study
Reading comprehension skills are very important for students because they take a high score on many different types of exams To effectively read and understand texts, students need an appropriate strategy and the right attitude towards reading Huynh Thuc Khang high school is a remote school in the province where teachers do not have much access to modern teaching methods Most of them still use the traditional approach to teaching reading Therefore, this research will provide a new and useful approach to teaching reading comprehension through TBLT
Besides, the research is expected to bring great significance to teachers, students, and other researchers who want to conduct further research on the application of TBLT in teaching reading comprehension For students, being guided through motivational and meaningful tasks improves their ability in reading comprehension The results of the study hope to contribute to providing a better approach, task-based language teaching, to teach reading as well as changing the perspective of teachers who consider traditional methods to be the optimal method Moreover, thanks to the results achieved after applying TBLT, it is expected to encourage teachers of English to implement TBLT in teaching reading in the future
It is also hoped that the findings will help individuals who want to learn how the theoretical principles of TBLT can be turned into practical classroom activities in order to build materials for a TBLT curriculum Furthermore, teachers of English may find
7 sources of inspiration, and developers of language curricula and materials may benefit from seeing how theoretical concepts can become real-world tasks in the classroom.
Definition of the key terms
EFL students refer to students who are learning English in grade 10 at Huynh
Reading comprehension is “the process of constructing meaning by coordinating a number of complex processes that include word reading, word, and world knowledge and fluency” (Klingler, et al., 2007, p.2)
Task is defined as “activities where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome” (Willis, 1996, p 23)
Task-based language teaching (TBLT) focuses on the use of authentic language and on asking students to do meaningful tasks using the target language.
Organization of the thesis
This thesis consists of the following 5 chapters: Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology Research, Results and Discussion, and Conclusion and Recommendations
Chapter 1, Introduction, examines the background of the problem to be investigated in this study, as well as educational trends related to the problem, unresolved issues, social concerns, and personal background, before moving on to the study's objectives, research questions, and scope The definitions of key terms and the significance of the study are given
Chapter 2, Literature Review, provides a deeper understanding of the area and gives arguments to support the focus of study First, it provides concepts of reading, including definitions of reading, reading strategies, and models of the reading process, as well as concepts of reading comprehension, including definitions of reading comprehension, factors influencing EFL learners’ reading comprehension, and principles for teaching EFL reading comprehension Secondly, the definition of tasks, types of tasks, Task-based Language Teaching as a teaching approach, and TBLT in Teaching Reading Comprehension are presented Following that, the definition of attitudes, the components of learning attitudes, and the roles of learning attitudes in EFL
8 learning and teaching are discussed The following are previous studies about the effects of TBLT on students’ reading comprehension abilities and the effects of TBLT on students’ attitudes towards reading The conceptual framework is the last part introduced in this chapter
Chapter 3, Methodology Research, outlines the research design and research site of the study, including samples, instruments of the study, and processes for collecting and analyzing data Finally, validity and reliability are reviewed
The results and discussions of this study are presented in Chapter 4 The results are the data collected from the pre-test, post-test, and questionnaire The discussion is at the end of this chapter
Chapter 5, Conclusion and Recommendations, contains conclusions, pedagogical implications, limitations, and recommendations for further research
Literature review
Reading
The definition of reading has been proposed by quite a few different experts
Goodman (1976, p.2) defines "reading is a psycholinguistic guessing game" Effective reading is not about perceiving and correctly identifying all the factors, but rather the skill of picking out the smallest, most effective signals needed to make correct predictions the first time According to Ransom (1978), reading is "a conversation between the writer and the reader" (p 14) Besides, Nuttall (1996) considers reading as
"the process of getting out of the text as nearly as possible with the message the writer puts into it" (p.4)
Harmer (1991) gives an interesting definition of reading He thinks reading is an exercise dominated by the eyes and brain The eyes receive the messages and the brain then has to work to understand the importance of these messages Meanwhile, Geoffrion and Geoffrion (1983) define reading as a cognitive process that deduces meaning from a visual symbol, often called print Reading relates thought and language more closely with perception
According to Linse and Nunan (2005, p.86), reading is “a set of skills that involves making sense and deriving meaning from the printed words” That is, to read, we must be able to make out printed words and also understand what we are reading
Reading is a process by which a person views and understands what has been written According to Stanley (2007), reading is "a process of constructing meaning
10 from written texts It is a complex skill requiring the coordination of interrelated sources of information" It will not be called reading without understanding, even when the reader pronounces each word correctly Good readers bring a lot of world knowledge as well as linguistic knowledge to the printed page It can be said that the readers contribute even more than the author himself
Through the above definitions, it can be seen that reading is the reader's activity to get information and understand the printed text with their eyes and brain, thereby understanding what the writer thinks in his article
A reading strategy is a technique to help you actively read the literature we study Different scholars give different definitions of reading strategies in different ways
Barnett (1988) states that reading strategies are tools used by readers to solve problems and gather information from texts According to Anderson (1991), the reading strategies are “cautions and cognitive measures adopted by the reader for acquiring, storing and amending new information” Brown (2007, p.119) defines strategies as the
"specific methods of approaching a problem or task, modes of operation for achieving a particular end, planned designs for controlling and manipulating certain information" Therefore, using reading strategies in language learning is critical for enhancing reading comprehension ability (Anderson, 2003; Cohen, 1998)
Carrell (1998) offers the following strategies for reading: scanning the text to get the main idea; skimming; skipping over new words; guessing words based on context; predicting the text's content, and so on Brown (2001) thought skimming and scanning were the most valuable reading strategies Good readers adopt more strategies and apply them more effectively than poor readers (Pani, 2004) Thus, the application of reading comprehension strategies has been shown to bring positive results in improving English reading comprehension skills
Obviously, reading strategies are activities intended to help readers easily and effectively deconstruct and understand texts When the reader knows how to use reading strategies, it means that the reader has the ability to choose the appropriate strategies to complete various activities and tasks for each phase of reading comprehension, like pre- reading, while-reading, and post-reading
In the before-reading comprehension stage, readers use prior knowledge to think about the topic and make predictions about the probable meaning of the text Besides, they preview the text by skimming and scanning it to get a sense of the overall meaning The teacher can introduce new vocabulary or structure in this stage
Meanwhile, in the during-reading comprehension stage, it aims at monitoring and comprehending the text The readers’ minds and consciousness are activated one more time Reading strategies at this stage are used with the aim of inferring the main idea that the text is not clear or unfamiliar, as well as determining the important details of the text Once, the readers keep track of making the writer’s intention clearer by comprehending the text
The post-reading stage is to consolidate and check for accurate comprehension of the text At this stage, the readers reflect upon the ideas and information in the text and relate what they have read to their own experiences and knowledge In addition, reading strategies at this stage help them clarify their understanding of the text or extend their understanding in critical and creative ways
Goodman (1970) presents three models of reading, namely: the bottom-up model, the top-down model, and the interactive model.Anderson (cited in Nunan, 2003, p.70-71), shares the same view that there are three reading models, namely bottom-up, top- down, and interactive models
In this model, students begin to read texts from the smallest units of the language, such as letters, words, phrases, and sentences, and try to understand the meaning of these units before inserting them into the bigger text
This is a reading way to see details and help readers clarify ideas, locate details, or answer questions they have about the text
This process emphasizes the interaction between the reader and the text rather than the meaning of the text's most basic units, such as letters, words, phrases, and sentences
Therefore, readers must demonstrate their active role in the reading process by making use of their existing knowledge about the topic, predicting what will be in the text, and clearly showing motivation and interest in and attitude towards the content of the text This is a skimming way to get the main ideas or important information in the text
Figure 2.1 Models of Reading Process (Anderson as cited in Nunan, 2003)
The interactive reading model is a reading model that combines both elements of the model from bottom-up and top-down during the reading process
Reading comprehension
Reading comprehension is considered an important language ability and one of the essential skills that language learners have to develop
Wagner and Sternberg (1987) argue that reading comprehension refers to "the ability to identify how and where to supply one’s reading resources in order to increasingly achieve one’s goals in a comprehension situation" In other words, in addition to using reading skills and prior knowledge and experience, the readers also need to understand what to do with the information being processed
Reading comprehension is believed to be the process of negotiating understanding between the reader and the writer (Brumfit, 1999) It is a complex psychological process and, besides cognitive factors, it includes various linguistic factors such as phonological, morphological, semantic, and syntactic factors The reader always has the purpose of receiving information from the author through words, sentences, and paragraphs and trying to understand the writer's interior and feelings
According to Pang (2003), comprehension is the process of creating meaning from connected words, sentences, and texts Understanding, he says, is the process of translating meaning from one word to another in a text Readers often take advantage of background knowledge, vocabulary, grammar knowledge, and various strategies to help them understand written text
Reading, according to Linse and Nunan (2005), is a combination of skills that involves making sense of and obtaining meaning from printed material In order to read, we must be able to decode (sound out) printed words as well as comprehend what we read Reading comprehension, on the other hand, relates to reading for meaning, comprehension, and entertainment It necessitates higher-order thinking abilities and is far more difficult than simply decoding specific words (Linse & Nunan, 2005, p.71)
According to Klingler et al (2007), reading comprehension is “the process of constructing meaning by coordinating a number of complex processes that include word reading, word, and world knowledge and fluency” (p.2) This definition is also supported by many researchers, such as Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, and Wilkinson (1985), Jenkins, Larson, and Fleischer (1983), O’Shea, Sindelar, and O’Shea (1987)
Thus, it can be said that reading comprehension is the ability to connect between words in a text, to understand ideas and the relationship between ideas conveyed in a text Reading comprehension is the activity of reading and decoding meaning layers of text through the reader’s ability to receive It is the process of entering the text with a positive attitude
2.2.2 Factors influencing EFL learners’ reading comprehension
Reading is an important part of teaching and learning a language According to the researchers, it is the ability to capture information from texts accurately and effectively However, learners' reading comprehension is affected by many factors
Fabrikant, Siekierski, and Williams (1999) mention some factors that influence students’ reading ability are a lack of motivation, prior knowledge, insufficient recognition skills, limited experience, and a deficiency in understanding and using inferential thinking
Torgesen (2000) also shares the same view when arguing that motivation, interest, vocabulary, general knowledge, knowledge of specific topics, word recognition skills, and effective use of reading strategies are the factors affecting students' reading comprehension ability Besides, according to Trehearne and Doctorow (2005), other factors that affect learners' reading comprehension skills include their reading attitudes, useful teaching on comprehension techniques, variety, text form, and knowledge of different reading comprehension strategies
Koda (2007) also argues that reading comprehension and the meaning of each word are closely related In other words, lexical knowledge and reading comprehension are always highly correlated
Dennis (2008) states some factors, such as complexity of the reading text, environmental influences, anxiety during reading comprehension, interest and motivation, decoding or word recognition speed, and medical problems
This factor is influenced by the reader's strength and fluency in the language as well as the reader's ability to understand different meanings Speaking ability is an important part of determining how a reader's skills are because the learner hears words and acquires a lot of vocabulary Lots of vocabulary helps learners explain unknown words through the application of contextual ideas
Obviously, environmental conditions affect learners who try to read a passage Readers who read text in a calm and controlled environment are more effective than those who must be in an unorganized environment It will be difficult for learners to concentrate on their reading if they are in an unpleasant environment Noisy environments such as television or radio will distract the reader from understanding a text
Tests, class assignments, or homework can put a reader's reading under more strain than just reading for pleasure Some learners react positively to exams, while others are overwhelmed by the pressure to do reading activities Learners experiencing this anxiety
16 may not fully understand the instructions, which can lead to confusion and poor understanding of the text
Motivation refers to a student's desire to read Many experts believe that motivation is one of the most essential aspects that influences language learning, especially reading ability For many students, one of the biggest difficulties they face in the process of learning a foreign language is learning motivation This includes reading comprehension If students are positively motivated, they will consciously try to learn what is very important and useful to them Motivation motivates students to learn, not for the sake of rewards but for their needs and desires On the contrary, if the document is monotonous and too complex, it will discourage readers and make them lose interest in reading
Motivation, according to Schunk et al (2008), is the process of initiating and maintaining goal-directed behaviors The motivation of students can influence their current learning as well as previously learned abilities and strategies Meanwhile,
Brophy (1998) views “student motivation as the extent to which students will invest time, energy, and attention towards various tasks, goals or activities”
Schutte and Malouff (2007) state that “learners’ motivation affects their readings Learners with higher motivation are expected to read more in a wider range”
"Motivation is a crucial feature that helps learners read more and it has a vital association with reading and recognizing texts," Morgan and Fuchs (2007) add Similarly, Ahmadi, Ismail, and Abdullah (2013) claim that motivation is important in improving language learners' understanding
Task-based language teaching (TBLT)
According to Bygate, Skehan, and Swain (2001), a task is “an activity which requires learners to use language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective”
Prabhu (1987) mentions that a task is an activity that requires the learner to obtain an outcome from given information through their process of thought, and the teacher is the person who controls and regulates the process (p.17) With the same opinion, Willis (1996) states that a task is an activity in which developing a learner’s interaction to achieve the outcome is the focus
Language tasks, according to Breen (1987), can be considered as a range of work plans, from simple to complicated, with the overall goal of supporting language learning Nunan (1989) defines a task as “a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form” (p.10)
According to Lee (2000), a task is “(1) a classroom activity or exercise that has: (a) an objective obtainable only by interaction among participants, (b) a mechanism for structuring and sequencing interaction, and (c) a focus on meaning exchange; (2) a language learning endeavor that requires learners to comprehend, manipulate, and/or produce the target language as they perform some sets of work plans”
Skehan (1998), cited in Brown (Brown, 2007, p.50), based on the work of a number of other authors, proposed 5 basic characteristics of a task: (1) It focused on meaning; (2) There is some communication problem that has to be solved; (3) There is some connection to related real-world activities; (4) Completing the task is prioritized; and (5) the task is evaluated based on its outcome
To summarize, tasks in TBLT classes always focus more on meaning than on form, for interacting in real-life settings or for language outcomes in authentic situations, so that students have as many opportunities as possible to use language in the future
Different authors divide tasks into different categories
Prabhu (1987) divided tasks focusing on meaning into three categories as follows:
1 Information gap activity: It involves transferring information from one person to another or from one form to another
2 Reasoning gap activity: This type of task involves obtaining some new information through inference, deduction, factual reasoning, and perception of relationships
3 Opinion gap activity: In this type of task, students identify and state an individual’s interest, feelings, or attitude in response to a given situation
Richards and Rodgers (2001) recommends five types of tasks as follows:
1 Jigsaw tasks: These tasks require learners to combine different pieces of information to form a whole
2 Information gap: In this task, a student or a group of students has one set of information (which remains blank) and another student or group has the additional set of information Two groups will exchange, negotiate and find out information of the other group to complete an activity
3 Problem solving tasks: students are given a problem and related information They have to come up with a solution to the problem
4 Decision making tasks: Students are presented with a problem but have some probable outcomes and they must choose an issue by negotiation
5 Opinion exchange tasks: In this task, learners participate in discussions and exchange ideas They focus on the discussion process rather than reaching an agreement
2.3.3 Task based language teaching as a teaching approach
Task-based language teaching is the method that has been applied in many language education environments due to its effectiveness in developing learners’ linguistic competence
According to Richards and Rodgers (2001) TBLT is based on “the use of tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching” (p.223) TBLT can be understood as a pedagogical method in which classroom activities are tasks that require students to complete specific goals in the language With TBLT, an analytical approach to language teaching, largely top-down, teachers are fully responsible for selecting tasks that match the needs and interests of the students while they are expected to communicate or transmit information with each other during their learning (Evans & Green, 2006)
Nunan (2001) states that, “a task-based language teaching approach is characterized by: a) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language b) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation c) The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language, but also on the learning process itself d) An enhancement of the learner's own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning e) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom.”
Samuda and Bygate (2008) also give the definition of TBLT, in which “contexts where tasks are the central unit of instruction: they “drive” classroom activity, they define curriculum and syllabuses, and they determine modes of assessment” (p.58)
Robertson (2014) argues that TBLT emphasizes the practice of meaning based on existing knowledge According to him, learners are encouraged to use their own linguistic knowledge to complete linguistic tasks
Bonces and Bonces (2010) conclude that TBLT provides learners with tasks to encourage them to engage in meaningful communication
Thus, it can be said that TBLT is the method in which language tasks are used to create opportunities for learners to use languages to communicate meaningfully Communication can be done with a variety of language features used to complete authentication tasks in the context of everyday life It is clear that task-based language teaching is a good and effective method in education because students are directly involved in a linguistic task rather than just learning about the language
2.3.4 TBLT in teaching reading comprehension
Richards and Rodgers (2001) argue that task-based language teaching is a major tool that is used in language teaching to solve reading comprehension problems faced by students Students who are being treated through task-based teaching will understand text better than students using traditional methods Different from other methods, the TBLT approach to reading comprehension is to use very clearly and simply various activities such as pictures, question lists, tables, and pictures
Rahimi and Azhegh (2011) conducted research to explore the effect of TBT on reading comprehension as well as student achievement They divided the participants into two groups One group was taught based on traditional methods, and the other group received the method of using pre-task, while-task, and post-task stages The results of the study showed that the experimental group experiencing TBLT had significantly higher results than the control group in their reading comprehension ability
In a study by Fani et al (2011) on the effect of TBLT on EFL high school students’ reading comprehension and also their ability to paraphrase texts, it was revealed that TBLT not only improved the learners' reading comprehension but also raised their reading speed and motivation In a further study, Rahimi and Azhegh (2011) investigated the effects of TBLT on the reading comprehension abilities and achievement of a group of students in an English for Specific Purposes course They used two intact engineering classes and taught one group using GTM while the other treated TBI using pre-task, while-task, and post-task stages According to the study's findings, the experimental group that received TBI outperformed the control group in terms of reading comprehension
Chalak (2015) investigated the impact of TBLT on the reading comprehension ability of a group of Iranian EFL learners The 135 high school students were divided into two experimental groups and two control groups The results of the study showed that participants in the experimental group who used the tasks improved in their EFL reading performance and had more interactions during their activities
In the study “assigning students real-world tasks conveys the value of reading for message and influences reading comprehension positively”, Hokmi (2005) concludes that if the student is directly involved in the learning process, they will find something beneficial for later use and thus better comprehension
Learning attitudes
A learning attitude is a mental state that is shown outwardly to acquire knowledge about a certain subject In other words, the learning attitude is the mental state when students learn Different individual learning attitudes are driven by different learning motivations
Learning attitude is extremely important and it greatly affects students’ ability to acquire knowledge Students with a good attitude will be able to concentrate highly and acquire knowledge quickly without feeling pressured by anyone A bad learning attitude will make students less able to memorize and learn poorly because they will not focus on the subject
In order to be able to evaluate the students’ attitudes, there are some definitions of the term “attitude”
According to Allport (1935), “attitude is a mental or neural state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related” (cited in Baker, 1992, p.11)
Crystal (1997) defined “attitude” towards language as the attitude of speakers of different languages towards each other’s languages or towards their own language (p 215) Attitude reflects how people feel about something
Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) defined attitude as “a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favourable or unfavourable manner with respect to a given object” (p 6)
The term “attitude” is also explained to be positive or negative and supported on the person’s own beliefs, ideas, and perceptions (Likert, 1932, p.9)
The attitude of language learning affects the process of language learning and is important for the success or failure of learners (Starks & Paltridge, 1996)
Learners’ positive attitudes may lead to increased motivation, which, in turn, may lead to successful attainment of proficiency due to increased input and interaction (Young, 2006, p 480)
To sum up, attitudes are judgmental statements of like or dislike about things, people, and events Attitude is an individual's judgment of good or bad, formed on the basis of existing and stable knowledge about a certain object or idea
Wenden (1991) proposes the following three components of attitudes:
The cognitive component includes opinions or beliefs about attitudes It refers to the attitude part that is related to a person's general knowledge The cognitive component is considered the most important one of the attitudes Cognition is also known as one's background knowledge These are personal insights, beliefs, and judgments about what is going on Each person has a different level of understanding as well as a perception of their attitude Baker (1992) believes that the cognitive component involves thoughts and beliefs
The affective component is the perception or emotion of the attitude It is the emotions, feelings of the subject for the things that are going on That is, the subject's personal perception has not been revealed by the behavior For example, when you are preparing to present in class, you are very nervous But it's just an emotion that hasn't been revealed to the outside world
This is how subjects interact directly with the worldview That is the behavior, also known as a reaction, when influenced by outside influences
Basically, the cognitive component is based on information or knowledge, whereas the affective component is based on feelings The behavioral component reflects how our attitude affects the way we act or behave
So what is the influencing factor or the essence of attitude? That is how individuals' reactions are revealed externally by their behavior based on their knowledge and understanding of specific things and events So, to have a good attitude, you need to invest in personal development in a comprehensive way
2.4.3 Roles of learning attitudes in EFL learning and teaching
Gardner and Lambert (1972) concluded that students' attitudes and perceptions towards the target language influence their second language proficiency, not just their mental competence or language skills They also support that attitudes can enhance language learning and influence the nature of students' behaviors and beliefs, which will determine their inclination to acquire that language
Reid (2003) states, “attitudes are important to us because they cannot be neatly separated from study” Attitude is considered a very important factor that influences language performance (Visser, 2008)
According to Kara (2009), in addition to opinions and beliefs, attitudes toward learning have a clear influence on students' behavior and then their results Students who have a positive belief in language learning tend to have a more positive attitude towards language learning In contrast, negative beliefs can lead to anxiety in the classroom, low cognitive performance, and negative attitudes (Victori & Lockhart, 1995)
Gardner (1985) emphasizes concerns about learners' attitudes towards target languages The attitude of a learner toward learning another language is crucial in improving and stimulating them to learn that language This increases the performance of that language
De Bot et al (2005) agreed that language teachers, researchers, and students should understand that students' high motivation and positive attitudes help them learn a second
29 language more smoothly If a learner has no interest and tendency to acquire the target language to communicate with others, he/she will have a negative attitude and no motivation or enthusiasm to learn the language Therefore, learner attitudes can be combined in language learning as it can affect their performance in acquiring the target language
Momani (2009) conducted a survey of students' attitudes toward learning English as a foreign language and their achievement in reading comprehension The results showed that the students surveyed had a positive attitude toward learning English Furthermore, there is a relationship between students' attitudes toward English language learning and their reading achievements
To conclude, the concept of attitude is considered an essential component in language learning Therefore, a positive attitude should be maintained in language learning EFL teachers should respect and consider students' emotions, beliefs, and behaviours before considering cognitive abilities Classroom activities should include emotional goals according to students' needs and their individual differences in order to build a positive attitude toward English Cognitive performance can be achieved if the EFL learners have a positive attitude and are willing to learn the target language.
Previous studies
2.5.1 The effects of TBLT on students’ reading comprehension ability
Up to now, there have been many studies on the effects of using TBLT on students’ reading achievements The results of the studies revealed that students’ reading comprehension abilities significantly improved after they were instructed with the TBLT approach
Nahavandi (2011) conducted a study to investigate the effect of task-based activities on EFL learners’ reading comprehension The authors had research on 60 participants and divided them into two groups They are empirical and control groups The control group was taught according to traditional methods, while the empirical group was taught by the TBLT method The next step was collecting and analyzing the data from the pre-test and post-test The results show that the empirical group has higher reading comprehension achievements than the control group thanks to the application of TBLT in the teaching process
“The effect of task-based instruction on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners” written by Chalak (2015) is also a study that talks about the effects of using TBLT on students’ reading achievements His study was conducted on 135 Iranian female students from several grades They were divided into four sets: two empirical and two control The TBLT method was applied to students in empirical sets while the control sets were taught with traditional methods The results of the pre-test and post- test showed that empirical sets outperformed the students at control one Therefore, the author concluded that “TBI was very effective in improving reading comprehension abilities of Iranian EFL students” (p.27)
According to Mesbah (2016) in "Task-based Language Teaching and Its Effect on Medical Students’ Reading Comprehension", task-based language activities have an effect on the reading comprehension skills of medical students The participants are randomly selected (60 students) and divided into two groups: experimental and control groups The experimental group received task-based instruction, while the control group was taught by using the conventional method The study's findings revealed that TBLT was effective in enhancing participants' reading comprehension
In his article "The Effect of Task-based Language Teaching on Students’ Reading Comprehension", Irfan (2017) conducted a survey to find out if there was a significant improvement in students' reading comprehension taught using TBLT compared to those taught using traditional methods The participants were divided into two groups and took reading comprehension tests After collecting and analyzing the data, the author concluded that there was a significant difference in reading comprehension achievement between the students who were taught by TBLT and the others
A study about the effect of Task-Based Language Activities on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension achievement was also conducted by Mezhgan and Seyed (2017) In their study, the researchers randomly selected 70 students and divided them into experimental and control groups These two groups were given the same texts, but with various task patterns and activities The students’ reading results were compared by using a reading post-test for both groups By using a t-test to survey, the authors showed that TBLT had a more significant influence on learners' reading performance than traditional reading instruction
As Dao (2016) mentioned in “The effectiveness of Task-Based Language Teaching in improving IELTS reading skill”, learners can improve their reading skills thanks to the application of TBLT There are 45 students, consisting of 28 females and
17 males, studying in an IELTS preparation course at an English center in Hanoi A pre- IELTS test, a post-IELTS test, and a questionnaire were employed to collect data The study reveals that after the experimental period, the participants’ reading scores improved considerably
2.5.2 The effects of TBLT on students’ attitudes in reading
Many studies have been conducted to find out the effects of TBLT on students’ attitudes towards reading The authors of those studies indicated that students generated excitement and interest in task-based reading activities
Rubaiat (2018) undertook a study so as to investigate the students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards implementing TBLT in the classroom Survey questionnaires and classroom observation checklists were used for 201 students and 10 teachers from five schools in Dhaka, Bangladesh Data analysis showed that the students wanted to learn English through TBLT Furthermore, through observation, the author discovered that both students and teachers agreed that tasks helped them improve their reading and writing skills
Similarly, Dao (2016) conducted another study to investigate the effectiveness of TBLT in improving reading skills 45 participants received a pre-test and a post-test in reading and completed a questionnaire Besides the findings mentioned above, this study showed that most participants also agreed that the task-based approach is interactive and collaborative in order to motivate learners to carry out the assigned task
Momani (2009) researched secondary school students' attitudes towards learning English as a second language and their reading comprehension achievements The findings revealed that respondents' attitudes toward learning English were neutrally positive There was also a significant relationship between the students' attitudes towards learning English and their reading comprehension performance
According to Bugler and Hunt (2002), TBLT increased students' enthusiasm for learning English Students who received TBLT instructions learnt English more effectively, according to Lopes (2004), because they used the language to perform tasks,
32 obtain information, solve problems, and discuss personal experiences Lochana and Deb (2006) stated that TBLT was advantageous to students not only in terms of competency but also in terms of motivation.
Conceptual framework
The objectives of this study are to investigate the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension achievements and explore students’ attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading classes
Based on previous studies, which showed that TBLT significantly improved the reading comprehension abilities of EFL students, their understanding of vocabulary knowledge, their use of reading strategies, and their attitudes towards reading In addition, previous studies have found that the TBLT approach offers significant benefits and improves students' reading comprehension skills, including enhancing vocabulary knowledge, developing reading strategies, and creating excitement in reading The author tried to explore the positive effects and benefits of TBLT in reading classes based on the conceptual framework of previous studies and literature
The conceptual framework of this study is presented in the following figure
Students’ attitudes towards the use of TBLT
Figure 2.2 The Conceptual framework of this study Vocabulary knowledge
Summary
This chapter presents related literature reviews and research studies on the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension achievements and their attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading classes
To begin with, this chapter gives the definitions of reading and reading strategies; models of the reading process; factors influencing reading comprehension; and principles for teaching reading comprehension are presented Then, the issues concerning the TBLT approach, including the definition of a task, the procedures of TBLT adopted by Willis (1996) with three stages, and the advantages of TBLT Next, the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension achievements are mentioned Following that, the study defines attitudes, the components of learning attitudes, and the roles of learning attitudes in EFL learning and teaching The conceptual framework of this study is at the end of this chapter The research methodology will be presented in the next chapter
Research Methodology
Research questions
The following two research questions were established in order to achieve the study's objectives:
(1) To what extent does TBLT affect the 10 th graders’ reading comprehension at Huynh Thuc Khang high school?
(2) What are the students’ attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading class?
Research design
This study employed quasi-experimental research, a study using comparisons between control groups and experimental groups The experimental class received TBLT, whereas the control class received traditional instruction A reading comprehension pre-test was given to the students in the first week to evaluate their reading comprehension ability before the treatment At the end of the experiment, a reading comprehension post-test was given to the students after they had been treated with the TBLT approach in order to assess their reading comprehension abilities The quantitative data is analyzed using the independent samples T-test and paired samples T-test The results showed significant improvements in reading comprehension of students who practiced their reading skills using TBLT techniques A questionnaire will be designed for students to explore their attitudes towards the use of TBLT in reading classes
The research process is conducted through the following five stages:
1 Administering reading comprehension pre-test
2 Applying TBLT approach in 16 reading classes
3 Administering reading comprehension post-test
5 Evaluating the effects of the TBLT on students’ reading comprehension and analyzing the students' attitude towards TBLT
Stage 1 Administering reading comprehension pre-test
A reading comprehension pre-test was given to the students in the first week to evaluate their reading comprehension ability before the treatment The outcomes of the reading comprehension pre-test were collected as quantitative data so that they could be compared to the results of the reading comprehension post-test to see if students improved their reading comprehension ability, which is what the study's goal is to find out
Stage 2 Applying task-based language teaching approach in 16 reading classes
During the next 8 weeks, each unit was guided in a 2-period session They took part in the pre-task, task cycle, and language focus stages of the TBLT approach (Willis, 1996) During the pre-task stage, the teacher used questions, games, pictures, and videos to engage the students in the lessons Task, planning, and report were the three sub- stages of the task cycle stage To deal with reading texts individually and cooperatively, the students first employed reading strategies such as skimming, scanning, predicting, and so on They next discussed and planned to report their findings to the class Finally, other groups were obliged to provide feedback on a group's presentation while it was being given In the last stage, with the help of the teacher, students worked in groups to analyze mistakes and emphasize significant language used in the lesson
Stage 3 Administering reading comprehension post-test
A reading comprehension post-test was given to the students after they had been treated with the TBLT approach in order to assess their reading comprehension abilities The findings of the reading comprehension post-test were collected as quantitative data in order to compare them to the results of the reading comprehension pre-test and determine if students improved their reading comprehension ability, which was the study's goal
At the end of the eighth week, an attitude questionnaire was distributed to students after they finished the post-test to explore students' attitudes towards the use of TBLT in reading comprehension class
Stage 5 Evaluating the effects of the TBLT on reading comprehension achievements and analyzing the students' attitude towards TBLT
The data from the reading comprehension pre-test and post-test were analyzed using mean value, standard deviations, and a t-test to compare the significant differences in the students' reading comprehension ability before and after learning through the TBLT approach The results were analyzed to see if TBLT improved their reading comprehension skills Finally, the results of the perception attitude questionnaire were analyzed to determine how students felt about the benefits of TBLT.
Research site
The study was carried out at Huynh Thuc Khang high school in the second semester of the 2020-2021 academic year Huynh Thuc Khang high school was established in 2003 in Lam Ha district, Lam Dong province This is a remote school in the province with 21 classes and 52 teachers in total There are six English teachers among them All of the teachers have had at least seven or more years of experience teaching English as a foreign language The participants included 70 Vietnamese EFL learners at the intermediate level, and they were placed randomly into a control group (class 10A1) and an experimental group (class 10A2) Both of the groups will be taught for 8 weeks, two hours per week for 8 weeks Learners are trained in the use of strategies that are needed to be effective in reading comprehension.
Participants
As mentioned above, the participants of this study are 70 Vietnamese EFL learners They are in grade 10 at the intermediate level in the 2020–2021 academic year and volunteer to do the pre-test and post-test and answer the questionnaire The participants were selected using convenience sampling method In convenience sampling, researchers select participants because they are volunteered and available to be studied (Creswell, 2002, p.167) Based on sampling, these students are male and female learners in different classes The age range of participants is also controlled All the students are 15–17 years old They have participated in this study with 16 sessions on different topics, including different readings about life, society, nature, people, technology, etc Most students pass 16 sessions in which they experience reading passages on these topics However, many of them do not have reading comprehension skills and strategies
Research instruments
In order to consolidate the validity and reliability of the thesis, quasi-experimental researchwas adopted Quantitative data were gathered by the results of the pre-test and post-test as well as through questionnaire sent to students
3.5.1 English reading comprehension pre-test and post-test
According to Brown (2005), a test allowed relative interpretations of test scores based on "how each student's performance relates to the performances of all other students" (p 4) He also mentioned that "the test must provide scores that form a wide distribution, so that interpretations of the differences among students will be as fair as possible" (p 8)
In this study, the pre-test and post-test have parallel forms that were designed according to the topics in the textbooks The reading comprehension tests were adopted from the testing bank at Huynh Thuc Khang high school The time allocation for each test was 15 minutes A pre-test is a measurement of some attribute or characteristic that the author evaluates for participants before they get treatment Then, a post-test was administered in order to check the effectiveness of TBLT on students’ reading comprehension The test specifications were summarized in the following table:
Section Test Types Text Types Number of Items
Part 1 Cloze test Short passage 5
Part 2 Multiple-choice questions Long passages 5
In Part 1, students are asked to read the short passage and then use the words in the box to fill in the blanks to complete the passage This section mainly assesses students' levels of understanding of vocabulary
In Part 2, students read a long technical passage and had to answer questions to learn specific information and main ideas This part was designed to examine the application of the reading strategies in a reading comprehension test
The purpose of the reading comprehension pre-test and post-test was to see if there were any differences between before and after students get TBLT treatment The data was gathered through the results of a pre-test and post-test, and it was used to answer the first study question, which was to look into the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension achievements
A questionnaire is a form used in a survey design that participants in a study complete and return to the researcher It is widely regarded as one of the easiest methods to manage, even with the large number of respondents (Dửrnyei, 2010), as well as one of the most effective instruments for eliciting the subjects' attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions (Koshy, 2005) The student questionnaire used in this study was adapted from a variety of sources (Jeon, 2005; Luu, 2011; Dang, 2012; Duong, 2015; Tran &
Vo, 2019; Ruelens, 2019) According to Jeon: “the questionnaire items were partly adapted and modified from Nunan’s (2004) checklist for evaluating communicative tasks”
The data from the questionnaire was designed to answer the second research question exploring students’ attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading class The questionnaire contains closed-ended questions Each question is measured on a five- point Likert scale The criteria used for evaluating students’ attitudes are: 1 strongly disagree; 2 disagree; 3 neutral; 4 agree and 5 strongly agree It requires participants to describe their attitudes when being taught reading comprehension by using TBLT The questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese to avoid any misunderstanding that may happen
There are 24 items in the questionnaire sheet concerning three topic areas, as follows:
No Topic area Number of items Total
Data collection and analysis procedures
At the beginning, participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group Next, both groups took a reading test as a pre-test which was designed and academically evaluated by the English Department of Huynh Thuc Khang High School
Next, the experimental group received the treatment using TBLT based on the current school program The research treatment was not given to the control group A reading post-test was administered to the students after the final session of instruction
To check their achievements and determine the effectiveness of TBLT on reading comprehension, the scores of both groups were compared with those of the pre-test When all of the data from the pre-test and post-test had been collected, it was time to analyze effectiveness of using task-based language teaching on reading comprehension The data were analyzed by using the independent samples t-test and paired samples t- test in SPSS 20
At the end of the experiment, students were asked to fill out a questionnaire to measure their attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading class In the questionnaire, the students rated themselves honestly based on the given statements using a five-point Likert scale The data collected from the questionnaire was statistically analyzed quantitatively by using means and standard deviations
The procedures for collecting and analyzing the data for this study are presented as follows:
Data analysis
The data from the English reading comprehension pre-test and post-test were statistically analyzed using mean, standard deviation, a paired samples t-test and the independent samples t-test to answer the research question 1 about the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension achievements and to compare the significant differences in the mean scores from reading comprehension tests before and after TBLT, as well as between the experimental and control groups The experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of mean scores, which indicates a statistically significant difference between the two groups This means that TBLT helped improve the students’ reading comprehension
The students' attitudes toward the use of TBLT in reading comprehension classes were the topic of the second research question The students were asked to rate themselves honestly on a five Likert scale depending on the statements provided in the
Data Collection and Analysis Procedures
(at the beginning of semester 2 – 2020-2021)
Inferential statistics (independent samples T-test & paired samples
Descriptive statistics (mean & standard deviation)
Figure 3.1 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures
41 questionnaire Using mean and standard deviation, the data from the questionnaire were statistically analyzed quantitatively.
Validity and reliability
3.8.1 Pre-test and Post-test Reading Comprehension
The pre-test and post-test reading comprehension were designed and academically evaluated by the English Department of Huynh Thuc Khang high school and taken from the exam-bank of Huynh Thuc Khang high school in 2021 The exams were then adapted for use in this study As a result, the tests in this study followed the author's experimentation in content and format
The attitude questionnaire was designed based on TBLT characteristics that were performed in the reading treatment classes as well as the problems discovered in the present classes The questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese so that respondents would not have any linguistic difficulty when filling it out The English and Vietnamese versions have been checked for validity by an expert in the field of English language education Also, the Vietnamese version was sent to colleagues in the school to cross- check the accuracy of the translation and adjust the sentences and semantics accordingly The reliability results for three components behavioral attitudes, cognitive attitudes, emotional attitudes are 0.78, 0.85 and 0.75 respectively and for the whole questionnaire, checked and quantitatively computed by Cronbach’s Alpha, was 81, as presented in Table 3.3
Table 3.3 Reliability Statistics for Attitude Questionnaire
No Attitudes Cronbach’s Alpha Number of items
In conclusion, the reliability statistics in Table 3.3 revealed that the questionnaire was sufficiently reliable for collecting data.
Summary
Chapter 3 has presented the overall research design as well as the study's methodological issues In this chapter, the research design, research site, the participants, research instruments, the procedures for collecting and analyzing the data collected from the used instruments all described in detail Furthermore, reliability and validity are also two prominent factors for the methodological issues of this study The following chapter is responsible for reporting and analyzing the results
Results and discussion
Research question 1
To what extent does TBLT affect the 10 th graders’ reading comprehension at Huynh Thuc Khang high school?
4.1.1 Students’ reading comprehension achievements before the experiment
Before using TBLT to improve reading comprehension, the control and experimental groups' pre-test results were compared to ensure that the students' scores were distributed normally The scores were then evaluated, and the pre-treatment achievements of the two groups were compared using the independent samples T-test
To establish if the data were normally distributed, the normal distribution of pre- test scores from both the control and experimental groups was checked (see Figures 4.1; 4.2 and Table 4.1)
Figure 4.1 Distribution of the pre-test scores of the control group
Tests of Normality of the post-test
The sets of scores did not make straight lines and could yield reasonably bell- shaped curves with mean of 23.97, as seen in Figures 4.1 and 4.2, although they were not ideal and totally symmetrical Besides, Table 4.1 shows that the sig values are larger than 0.05 in both groups (0.118 for control group and 0.273 for experimental group), considering the Shapiro Wilk test As a result of all of the statistic descriptions, the researcher was able to come to the reasonable conclusion that the pre-test scores of the participants in the study sample had a normal distribution After computing means and standard deviations, the values from both groups' pre-tests were put into one table, Table 4.2
Descriptive statistics of pre-test scores between control group and experimental group
N Minimum Maximum Sum Mean Std
Deviation Pre-test (Control group) 35 1.00 4.00 94.00 2.6157 58266
Pre-test (Exp.group) 35 1.00 4.00 92.00 2.6286 59832 Valid N (listwise) 35
Figure 4.2 Distribution of the pre-test scores of the experimental group
Table 4.2 shows that the mean values for the control group (2.61) and the experimental group (2.62) were nearly the same There were no zero scores acquired by the learners in either group; in fact, the minimum score for both groups was 1.0 (corresponding to a score of 0-3.5), and the maximum score for both groups was 4.0 (equivalent to a score of 6.5-8.0)
When comparing the control and experimental groups' sets of values, most of the values were similar, and the mean of the control group's pre-test scores (M = 2.61; SD
=.58) was somewhat lower than that of the experimental group (M = 2.62; SD =.59) However, in order to get a broad picture of the situation and determine whether difference was significant enough to reach the statement that the student’s reading comprehension achievements of the control group was outweighed by that of the experimental group, to compare and assess the scores of the pre-test papers between the two groups, an Independent Samples T-test was used
Independent samples T-test of the pre-test in both groups
Table 4.3 reveals that the level of significance (.234) for the F value of 1.445 was much higher than 05 This indicated that the assumption of equality for the two groups was met, as the variances of the two groups were identical As a result, instead of analyzing the second row, the first row's t value (equal variances assumed) was used.
As can be seen in this row, the significance for t value of a 2-tailed test was 524, which was significantly higher than 05, indicating that the difference in means was not statistically significant The students' reading comprehension levels in the two groups
Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper
Figure 4.3 Distribution of the post-test scores of the control group were comparable at the start of the study As a result, the researcher was able to conduct the experiment with confidence and compare the treatment's effects
4.1.2 Students’ reading comprehension achievements after the experiment
The scores of the post-test between the control and experimental groups after the treatment were examined for normal distribution, interpreted, and then compared using the Independent Samples T-test to determine the effectiveness of using TBLT in teaching reading comprehension to students
To see if data were normally distributed, the normal distribution of post-test scores from both the control and experimental groups were evaluated (see Figures 4.3 and 4.4)
Figure 4.4 Distribution of the post-test scores of the experimental group
Tests of Normality of the Post-test
The sets of scores did not produce straight lines and could yield relatively bell- shaped curves, as seen in Figures 4.3 and 4.4, however they were not ideal or totally symmetrical Moreover, as the sig values are greater than 0.05 (see table 4.4) in both groups (0.085 for control group and 0.174 for experimental group), considering the Shapiro Wilk test, the researcher can conclude that the participants' scores in the study sample had a normal distribution
Descriptive statistics of post-test scores between control group and experimental group
It is clear from Table 4.5 that the value of mean of the experimental group is higher than that of the control group There were no zero scores among the learners in the two groups; in fact, the control group's minimum and maximum scores were 2.0 and 3.0 respectively, while the control group's and experimental group's maximum scores were 4.0 (equivalent to a score of 6.5-8.0) and 5.0 (equivalent to a score of 8.0-10)
To compare and assess the outcomes of the post-test papers in both groups, an Independent Samples T-test was used (see Table 4.6)
N Minimum Maximum Sum Mean Std Deviation
Table 4.6 Independent samples T-test of the post-test in both groups
Table 4.6 reveals that the level of significance (.003) for the F value of 9.1 was much lower than 05 This signified that the equality assumption for the two groups had been broken, the variances of the two groups were different As a result, instead of the first row, the value of t in the second row (equal variances not assumed) was utilized to evaluate
The difference between the two groups’ means of scores on reading comprehension from pre-test (t = -4.66, df = 68, & p = 000) may be noticed in this row The experimental group's learners scored 27 points higher on average than the control group' s, and the computed p value was lower than the cutoff point of 05 The difference in these means was statistically significant As a result, the null hypothesis of no difference in reading comprehension achievement between the control and experimental groups could be safely rejected This finding demonstrated that the experimental group's learners made considerable development in reading comprehension after the course, allowing the researcher to confidently state that the learners in the TBLT-based class made great progress in reading comprehension achievements after the course
To compare the students' results and quantify the possible effects of TBLT treatment on their reading comprehension performance, a pre-test and post-test of reading comprehension were organized at the beginning and end of the study The results of the control group are presented in the following two tables:
Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper
Equal variances assumed 9.181 003 -4.665 68 000 -.54286 11637 -.77507 -.31065 Equal variances not assumed -4.665 67.724 000 -.54286 11637 -.77508 -.31063
Paired Samples Statistics of the control group
As can be seen in Table 4.7, the Mean values of Pre-test (2.68) and Post-test (2.77) test are nearly the same
Paired Samples T- Test of the control group
Paired Differences t df Sig (2- tailed) Mean Std
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper
Besides, in Table 4.8, the sig (2- tailed) = 0,539>0, 05; which means that there was no difference between 2 test scores In other words, it is not statistically significant The scores of the students in the traditional classroom are close to each other and it seems that there is no remarkably significant difference between them
Paired Samples Statistics of the experimental group
In light of Table 4.9, it is clear that the pre-test score mean on the English reading comprehension test was much lower than the post-test score mean (2.62 compared to 3.51) Students who participated in a task-based program for eight weeks improved their reading comprehension, whereas students who did not take part in any program and only took a test performed poorly
Paired Samples T-Test of the experimental group
Paired Differences t df Sig (2- tailed) Mean Std
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper
Pair 1 Pre-test (Exp.group) -
Research question 2
What are the students’ attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading class?
To answer the research question 2 regarding the students’ attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading class, the data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed
The total mean score of students' attitudes toward TBLT was rather high (M=3.97; SD=.21), as shown in Table 4.11 This means that students’ attitudes towards the use of TBLT were relatively positive.
The students' responses to cognitive attitudes (M=4.02; SD=.31) were clearly the highest of the three attitude components The second position was occupied by emotional attitudes (M=4.00, SD=.21) By the lowest position among these components, behavioral attitudes had the mean value of 3.90 and the standard deviation of 27
EFL high school students’ attitudes towards TBLT
Note: M: mean; SD: Standard deviation
In terms of the high school students’ behavioral aspect of attitude towards TBLT, as shown in Table 4.12, it is evident that EFL high school students expressed positive attitudes towards TBLT (M=3.90; SD=.27) The results of the study revealed that most EFL high school students agreed that they were able to make themselves “pay attention during reading lessons” (M=4.00; SD=.64) This attitude was followed by Item B3 “I like to give opinions during reading lessons” (M=3.94; SD=.68) and Item B5 “I started to learn English seriously because I had fun during the lessons” (M=3.94; SD=.54) Furthermore, many students agreed that they didn’t use to care about reading skills (M=3.91; SD=.70) Howerver, TBLT helps them “to have good relationships with friends” (M=3.91; SD=.74) They also expressed agreement in their ability of thinking and analyzing the content in reading comprehension classes (Item B7 and B8)
EFL high school students’ behavioral attitudes towards TBLT
No Behavioral attitudes N Mean Std
B1 I didn’t care about reading skills in the past 35 3.91 70
B2 I spend more time self-studying the readings in my English textbook now 35 3.91 74
I pay attention to give constructive feedback and comments to my friends in reading comprehension classes
B4 I am able to make myself pay attention during reading lessons 35 4.00 64
B5 I started to learn English seriously because I had fun during the lessons 35 3.94 54
B6 I pay more attention when my English teacher is explaining the lesson now 35 3.88 58
B7 I am able to think the content in reading comprehension classes 35 3.85 55
B8 I am able to analyze the content in reading comprehension classes 35 3.74 61
In conclusion, the EFL high school students had a positive behavioral attitude toward the use of TBLT in reading comprehension classes Significantly, the majority of participants expressed positive views of the benefits of TBLT in terms of paying attention during reading lessons, enhancing the ability of thinking and analyzing the content in reading comprehension classes
Eight measures were used to assess students' cognitive attitudes toward TBLT Table 4.13 shows that EFL high school students have a positive attitude towards TBLT (M=4.02; SD=.31) The results of the study revealed that most EFL high school students agreed that TBLT enhanced their reading competence (M=4.00; SD=.59) and their Vocabulary (M=4.00; SD=.64) Additionally, students agreed that their ability to assess their own learning process (M=3.97; SD=.62) had improved Many students expressed agreement that TBLT helps them get new information linking to real life (M=4.00; SD=.69) as well as have more knowledge about many aspects of life (M=4.05; SD=.59)
EFL high school students’ cognitive attitudes towards TBLT
No Cognitive attitudes N Mean Std
C9 I want to improve my reading skills through
C10 TBLT helps me enhance my Vocabulary 35 4.00 64
C11 I improve my ability to assess my own learning process 35 3.97 62
C12 Being good at reading will help me study other skills well 35 4.11 63
C13 I have more knowledge about many aspects of life when being taught with TBLT 35 4.05 59
C14 TBLT helps me get new information in which
I can link to real life 35 4.00 69
C15 The lessons are more informative in this method 35 4.02 57
C16 This method gives me useful improvement on my reading skill 35 4.00 59
To sum up, it should be stressed that TBLT helps high school students improving their reading skills as well as enhancing their vocabulary Their ability to evaluate their own learning process also improved More importantly, the EFL high school students understood the importance of TBLT in reading classes as well as expanding their knowledge from the textbooks As a result, they were able to achieve the desired results in their learning of English
Students’ emotional attitudes towards TBLT were also evaluated by eight measured items Table 4.14 shows that the EFL high school students showed positive attitudes towards TBLT (M=4.00; SD=.59) To make it clearer, of all eight items in this group, “This method increases my confidence in reading” (Item E23) and “I am interested in learning reading comprehension in a TBLT-based class” (Item E20) were ranked by the highest and the second highest positions with the mean values of 4.11 (SD.=.63) and 4.08 (S.D.= 61), respectively The students in the TBLT-based class agreed strongly thatTBLT reduced their fear about reading skill (M=4.00; SD=.64) as well as anciety when they “have to answer a question in reading comprehension classes”
(M=4.00; SD=.64) They felt excited when communicating in English with others (M=3.91; SD=.70) and enthusiastic to learn reading comprehension in a TBLT-based class (M=3.91; SD=.70) As a result, they were satisfied with their performance in reading lessons (M=4.00; SD=.64) and looked forward to reading classes using TBLT in the future (M=3.97; SD=.62)
EFL high school students’ emotional attitudes towards TBLT
No Emotional attitudes N Mean Std
E17 TBLT reduces my fear about reading skill 35 4.00 64 E18 I feel excited when I communicate in English with others in a TBLT-based class
E19 I feel enthusiastic to learn reading comprehension in a TBLT-based class
E20 I am interested in learning reading comprehension in a TBLT-based class
E21 I look forward to reading classes using TBLT in the future
E22 I don’t get anxious when I have to answer a question in reading comprehension classes
E23 This method increases my confidence in reading
E24 I am satisfied with my performance in reading lessons
In short, the EFL high school students agreed they were more actively engaged in their learning When being taught with TBLT, they became more confident, enthusiastic, excited and satisfied
For the second research question, it was showed that the students’ attitudes towards TBLT were quite positive, TBLT brought them many benefits They strongly agreed that TBLT help them improve their reading skills as well as enhance their vocabulary They feel more confident, enthusiastic and excited after the course
These findings are consistent with many previous studies that showed that the TBLT approach improved students' reading comprehension ability and that students
55 gain considerably from reading-based activities in developing reading strategies, enhancing vocabulary knowledge, and generating reading desire.
Discussion
This section focuses on how the research findings are discussed in relation to two primary issues: the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension achievements and students’ attitudes towards the use TBLT in the reading classes
4.3.1 The effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension
In this study, which used quantitative method, learners were asked to complete the tests (pre-test and post-test) and answer a questionnaire on their attitudes toward the use of TBLT in reading comprehension classes The results showed that students' reading comprehension scores have improved The experimental group's post-test results were higher than its pre-test results, and the post-test results of this group were also higher than the control group's These findings are consistent with that in previous studies, in which several researchers found that students' reading comprehension skills improved significantly after learning through task-based activities (e.g., Chalak, 2015; Mesbah, 2016; Sariannur, 2017; Irfan, 2017; Mezhgan & Seyed, 2017)
More importantly, the results revealed that after using the TBLT approach, students' ability in grasping vocabulary knowledge has greatly improved The TBLT approach helped students know how to understand the meaning of vocabularies from contexts, reveal students' background vocabulary knowledge, and infer the topics of passages that were difficult for them to understand The remarkable gain in the students' vocabulary acquisition abilities in the current study must have resulted from the task- based instructions they were exposed to during the experiment In other words, the results of this study show how task-based vocabulary instruction affects students' vocabulary achievements In task-based classes, the students' vocabulary performance was impressively progressive These findings support previous researches (Sarani & Sahebi, 2012; Vosoughi & Mehdipour, 2013), which found that TBLT can help students enhance their vocabulary in second or foreign language classes Other studies (Kavaliauskien, 2005; Sarani & Sahebi, 2012) have found that by engaging or exposing students to tasks during the study period, students can improve their vocabulary and be more open to task-based learning in English classes
Furthermore, the results of the reading comprehension tests revealed that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test results in terms of identifying the main idea as well as supporting ideas in the reading texts This finding was consistent with Hayati and Jalilifar (2010) findings, which revealed that students who were taught reading skills through TBLT performed better academically and had greater reading comprehension Furthermore, the current findings of this study accord with Iranmehr, Erfani, and Davari (2011), who advocated for task implementation and highlighted the considerable benefits of teaching with TBLT They also confirmed that teaching through tasks has a considerable advantage As a result, there was an agreement among the findings of research, including the findings of this study, which showed that implementing the TBLT had a positive impact on students' reading comprehension ability
4.3.2 Students’ attitudes towards the application of TBLT in a reading class
The findings of the current study showed that students' attitudes towards the use of TBLT in reading comprehension lessons were relatively positive
Firstly, it is noticed that most of the students agreed that they were interested in learning reading comprehension and felt excited and enthusiastic to learn reading comprehension in a TBLT-based class These findings were consistent with the findings of previous studies (Widdowson, 1990; Hadi, 2013), which revealed that the majority of participants agreed or strongly agreed that task-based methods offered an interactive and collaborative nature that motivated learners to complete the tasks
In task-based classrooms, TBLT had a significant effect on each aspect of students' attitudes toward reading comprehension, as shown in Table 4.10 The results in this table show that TBLT is an effective teaching method that can help students improve their attitudes toward English Researchers that emphasized the role of TBLT in motivating students and changing their attitudes towards EFL through its numerous activities backed up these findings According to Bugler and Hunt (2002), TBLT increased students' enthusiasm in learning English Students who received TBLT instructions learnt English more effectively, according to Lopes (2004), because they used the language to perform tasks, obtain information, solve problems, and discuss personal
57 experiences Lochana and Deb (2006) stated that TBLT was advantageous to students not only in terms of competency but also in terms of motivation
The most reasonable perceptions in the current study support increasing students' motivation by promoting students to be active and cooperative in the language learning environment using the TBLT approach Students were encouraged to complete tasks that were fascinating and hard enough to motivate them to solve problems, fill in gaps, make efforts, and be self-learning in task-based reading activities Furthermore, the current findings revealed that the meaningful learning and authentic interactions or relevant, meaningful and purposeful reading tasks helped students motivate their learning activities Therefore, their attitudes towards the use of TBLT in reading comprehension classes were relatively positive.
Summary
To conclude, this chapter has presented the data that were statistically analyzed by means of the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) software The findings showed that students’ reading comprehension skill was improved after attending the lessons using TBLT approach The students’ attitudes towards TBLT were quite positive, TBLT brought them many benefits The findings of the study have discussed in relation to those found in the previous studies
The next chapter summarizes the main findings, offers a few applicable recommendation and indicates the study's limitations
Conclusions and recommendations
Conclusion
This section summarizes some key findings from the study by providing answers to two research questions The first research question deals with the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension achievements This is followed by the second research question, which focuses on analyzing students' attitudes towards the use of TBLT in reading classes
5.1.1 The effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension
The data for the first research question about the effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension achievements showed that after eight weeks of applying TBLT in their course, the participants' reading performance improved significantly because the students' post-test mean scores on reading comprehension were much higher than their pre-test mean scores at the level of 000 (p