[LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ] The effects of task-based language teaching on EFL learners’ reading comprehension achievements at Huynh Thuc Khang High School

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BARIA-VUNGTAU UNIVERSITY

Statement of Original Authorship

I certify that this thesis, “The effects of Task-based Language Teaching on EFL learners’ reading comprehension achievements at Huynh Thuc Khang high school”, is my own work

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person.

Signature: _ Date: _

Acknowledgements

Firstly, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my advisor, Dr Duong My Tham, for providing me with academic guidance and constructive feedback during the writing of this thesis Without her support and encouragement, this work would not have been completed

Next, I would like to thank the principal and the English teachers at Huynh Thuc Khang High School where I did my research They gave me a lot of time during the data collection process, and they also encouraged me to complete my research

My gratitude also extends to my students They participated fully in the experimental lessons, answered the questionnaires, and completed the reading comprehension tests Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family and friends, who have always been by my side to encourage and be a great source of encouragement and motivation to help me complete this thesis.

Abstract

The aims of this study were to examine if Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) improved high school students’ reading comprehension as well as to investigate the students' attitudes toward the use of TBLT in the TBLT-based reading class The participants in this study were equally divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group The participants for this study were 70 tenth grade students at Huynh Thuc Khang high school Each group consisted of 35 students Reading comprehension tests (i.e., pre-test and post-test) and a closed-ended questionnaire were used to collect data The data were analyzed by using the independent samples t-test and

paired samples t-test in SPSS 20 Also, the descriptive statistics was run to calculate

mean and standard deviation It was found that there was a significant difference between the two groups (i.e., p=0.00 <.05) This means that TBLT had positive effects on the students’ reading comprehension The results from the questionnaire also indicated that most of them held positive attitudes towards the use of TBLT in the reading classes Based on the findings of the research, several implications are offered to assist teachers and educators in constructing and implementing TBLT

Keywords: Attitude, High School Students, Reading Comprehension, Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)

List of Figures vii

List of Tables viii

List of Abbreviations ix

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 3

1.3 Aims and objectives of the study 5

1.4 Research questions 5

1.5 Scope of the study 6

1.6 Significance of the study 6

1.7 Definition of the key terms 7

1.8 Organization of the thesis 7

Chapter 2: Literature review 9

2.2.2 Factors influencing EFL learners’ reading comprehension 14

2.2.3 Principles for teaching EFL reading comprehension 18

2.3 Task-based language teaching (TBLT) 20

2.3.1 Definition of task 20

2.3.2 Types of task 21

2.3.3 Task based language teaching as a teaching approach 22

2.3.4 TBLT in teaching reading comprehension 23

2.4 Learning attitudes 26

2.4.1 Definition 26

2.4.2 Components of learning attitudes 27

2.4.3 Roles of learning attitudes in EFL learning and teaching 28

2.5 Previous studies 29

2.5.1 The effects of TBLT on students’ reading comprehension ability 29

2.5.2 The effects of TBLT on students’ attitudes in Reading 31

3.8 Validity and reliability 41

3.8.1 Pre-test and post-test reading comprehension 41

3.8.2 Attitude questionnaire 41

3.9 Summary 42

Chapter 4: Results and discussion 43

4.1 Research question 1 43

4.1.1 Students’ reading comprehension achievements before the experiment 43

4.1.2 Students’ reading comprehension achievements after the experiment 46

4.1.3 Students’ reading comprehension achievements 48

4.2 Research question 2 50

4.2.1 Overall results 51

4.2.2 Detailed results 51

4.3 Discussion 55

4.3.1 The effects of TBLT on students' reading comprehension achievements 55

4.3.2 The Effects of TBLT on students’ attitudes in reading 56

5.1.2 Students' attitudes toward the use of TBLT in reading classes 58

5.2 Pedagogical Implications 59

5.2.1 Implications for students 59

5.2.2 Implications for teachers 59

5.2.3 Implications for administrators 60

5.3 Limitations 61

5.4 Recommendations for further research 61

REFERENCES 62

APPENDICES 699

List of Figures

Figure 2.1 Models of reading process (Anderson as cited in Nunan, 2003) 12

Figure 2.2 The conceptual framework of this study 32

Figure 3.1 Data collection and analysis procedures 40

Figure 4.1 Distribution of the pre-test scores of the control group 43

Figure 4.2 Distribution of the pre-test scores of the experimental group 44

Figure 4.3 Distribution of the post-test scores of the control group 46

Figure 4.4 Distribution of the post-test scores of the experimental group 46

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Task-based lesson plan model (Willis, 1996, p.38) 25

Table 3.1 Pretest and posttest specifications 37

Table 3.2 Questionnaire specifications 39

Table 3.3 Reliability statistics for attitude questionnaire 41

Table 4.1 Tests of normality of the pre-test 44

Table 4.2 Descriptive statistics of pre-test scores between control group and experimental group 44

Table 4.3 Independent samples t-test of the pre-test in both groups 45

Table 4.4 Tests of normality of the post-test 47

Table 4.5 Descriptive statistics of post-test scores between control group and experimental group 47

Table 4.6 Independent samples t-test of the post-test in both groups 48

Table 4.7 Paired Samples Statistics of the control group 49

Table 4.8 Paired Samples T-Test of the control group 49

Table 4.9 Paired Samples Statistics of the experimental group 49

Table 4.10 Paired Samples T-Test of the experimental group 50

Table 4.11 EFL high school students’ attitudes towards TBLT 51

Table 4.12 EFL high school students’ behavioral attitudes towards TBLT 52

Table 4.13 EFL high school students’ cognitive attitudes towards TBLT 53

Table 4.14 EFL high school students’ emotional attitudes towards TBLT 54

SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

TBLT Task-based Language Teaching

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 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

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

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

1.2 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

1.3 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

1.5 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

1.6 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

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

1.7 Definition of the key terms

EFL students refer to students who are learning English in grade 10 at Huynh

Thuc Khang high school

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.

1.8 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

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

Chapter 2: Literature review

This chapter demonstrates the use of the task-based language teaching approach to teach reading comprehension for EFL students Also, it presents the basic concepts and the related theoretical background in reading, reading comprehension, and reading strategies; models of the reading process; tasks; the TBLT framework; TBLT in teaching reading comprehension; learning attitudes; and The Effects of TBLT on Students’ Attitudes in Reading

2.1 Reading 2.1.1 Definition

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

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

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

2.1.3 Models of reading process

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

Bottom-up process

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

Figure 2.1 Models of Reading Process (Anderson as cited in Nunan, 2003)

In summary, when discussing the reading process, many experts refer to models such as bottom-up, top-down, and interactive reading models Whatever the process, it's the way teachers in reading classes use it to guide students through reading comprehension at each specific stage Students can use a bottom-up or a top-down reading model, or a combination of the two, in their reading classes to process readings, and it is known as the interactive reading model The correct use of models in the reading process helps students choose and decide on appropriate strategies to make sense of the text, which in turn helps them decode and understand the text in a reading class

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

Complexity of the texts

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

Environmental conditions

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

Anxiety during reading comprehension

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

may not fully understand the instructions, which can lead to confusion and poor understanding of the text

Interest and motivation

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

To enhance students' reading motivation, teachers should utilize and engage students to develop a lasting interest in reading through authentic tasks such as providing purposeful reading activities and facilitating interactive reading-related activities Students who are more motivated to improve their reading comprehension will make more progress than students who are less motivated It is critical to the teaching and learning of reading

Vocabulary knowledge

Students' reading comprehension skill is also affected by vocabulary because they use decoding skills to grasp the pronunciation and meaning of words they have never encountered before Readers with a large vocabulary can clarify or read passages faster than those who rely on context clues to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words

Many researchers have studied the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading (Maher Salah, 2008; Nation, 2001; Stahl, 1990) Vocabulary knowledge can help learners understand written texts, and vice versa, reading can help them expand their vocabulary Meanwhile, Harley (1995) uses "reciprocal causation" to talk about the relationship between lexical knowledge and reading Reading comprehension depends on the background of lexical knowledge previously acquired by the reader, while reading is the primary means of extending new vocabulary knowledge

The size and depth of a student's vocabulary has a significant impact on their reading comprehension skills If the student has a vocabulary that is smaller than the text size, he or she will have difficulty understanding the text and vice versa (Eskey, 1988)

Reading strategies

Reading strategies are determined acts that assist readers in deconstructing and making sense of texts quickly and effectively Before, during, and after reading, reading strategies are used to help readers improve their comprehension of the texts Keene and Zimmerman (1997) mention that reading strategies are thought to be effective tools for assisting students in better understanding

Reading strategies are methods for determining a text's meanings (Lai, 2013) As a result, using reading techniques in language learning is critical for improving reading comprehension (Anderson, 2003; Cohen, 1998) Reading strategies refer to the different ways and efforts that readers employ in order to understand what they are reading To comprehend the text's meaning quickly and easily, good readers must use reading methods such as making predictions, guessing the content of the text from context, eliciting the main idea or scanning, searching for important words or ideas, and so on

If readers have more strategies, their reading comprehension becomes more effective Therefore, in reading classes, teachers must guide students in using the reading methods necessary for them to understand the text and become successfully independent readers When a reader understands how to employ reading strategies, it indicates that the reader can select the best strategy for completing various activities and tasks during each phase of reading comprehension, such as before, during, and after reading

Medical problems

Health problems are rarely mentioned, but according to Hollowell (2013), they are also the cause of poor reading skills if not resolved as children get older She emphasized that students who have difficulties hearing and speaking are less likely to participate in class discussions and oral readings These are two activities that can be used to help students enhance their reading comprehension.

2.2.3 Principles for teaching EFL reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is not a natural capacity because it is not one of the automatic human maturation processes, but reading proficiency must be passed down from generation to generation in terms of literature (Dronjic & Bitan, 2016, Seidenberg, 2017) But many of us have learned to look at graphic forms on the page and let our minds try to interpret them, translate them into our language, whatever language it is Reading is a receptive skill, similar to listening, but it is not a passive one Teachers recognize that teaching reading is the process of assisting students in combining their reading and cognitive skills Teaching students to read entails not only teaching them how to read letters or combine letters, but also teaching them literacy development strategies According to Harmer (2007, pp.101-102), there are 6 principles teachers should apply in teaching reading comprehension to students

Principle 1: Encourage students to read as often and as much as possible

It is beneficial for students to read as much as possible All we should do is to encourage them to read a lot, or read intensively Discussing this principle with students is an excellent idea

Principle 2: Students need to be engaged with what they are reading

Obviously, children will achieve the highest reading efficiency if they feel the joy of reading Therefore, during class hours, teachers should do their best to ensure that children are engaged in the topic of reading and the activities they are asked to do while dealing with it.

Principle 3: Students should be encouraged to respond to the content of a reading text, not just to the language

It is important that we give students the opportunity to respond to the message of the lesson in some way In particular, they should be allowed to express their feelings about the topic This will elicit an individual's involvement with the topic and the language

Principle 4: Prediction is a major factor in reading

When we start reading text, we usually have a good idea of the content before we actually start reading What the teacher should do now is give the students a chance to predict what is going to happen

Principle 5: Match the task to the topic when using intensive reading texts

It is important to choose good reading tasks with the right kinds of questions Reading becomes enjoyable with imaginative and challenging activities that are appropriate for students This not only avoids boredom for students, but also helps them become more interested in reading

Principle 6: Good teachers exploit reading texts to the full

Any reading text contains a large number of sentences, words, opinions, descriptions, and other elements It is not practical to ask students to read it and then drop it and move on to something else in class A good teacher is one who can integrate reading text into interesting lesson sequences, use topics for discussion and other tasks, language for research, and use a range of activities to bring the text to life This is a common misunderstanding

In short, the teaching of reading comprehension needs certain principles Applying these principles helps teachers know the nature of the process of teaching and learning

to read The tasks that teachers design need to align with these principles to ensure that reading comprehension tasks promote students' own reading comprehension, background knowledge, and experience of referencing what they read, as well as the teacher's technique or method As a result, the teacher and pupils can achieve a high-quality reading process by referring to those principles

2.3 Task-based language teaching (TBLT) 2.3.1 Definition of task

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

2.3.2 Types of task

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

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

Moreover, Spector et al (2001) stated that the nature of the task should be directly tied to the reading materials chosen, so that the student can use the classroom experience as a springboard for future tasks Willis and Willis (2007) support the previous arguments by asserting that “one of the prominent features of the task is involvement in real language use, in which there is an immediate problem to solve” and that this type of language use is representative of the type of language that students would need in their real-world situations (p 160)

The implementation of TBLT in reading comprehension involves consideration of the stages or components of a lesson that has a task as its principal component Sequencing is an important problem in a task-based syllabus (Richards & Rodgers, 2001)

Willis (1996, p 38) outlined three stages of a task, including: Pre-task, Task cycle and Languague focus (Table 2.1)

Table 2.1

Task-based lesson plan model (Willis, 1996, p.38)

The pre-task phase

This is the stage when the teacher sets the task and context for the lesson and provides the language, useful words, and phrases that might be needed to prepare for the task At this stage, learners need to activate their general or previous knowledge of a certain subject Teachers help learners predict the type of language they will use to accomplish the proposed task and introduce the task in a way that motivates the learners (Dornyei, 2001) It is important for students to understand the purpose of the task at this stage

Task cycle

At this stage, learners have the opportunity to perform tasks that are similar to real life under the supervision of teachers They will be asked to work in pairs or in small groups to discuss and exchange the required content or express personal opinions in a spontaneous way Learners also need to plan to present their results, generally by exchanging and comparing outputs

At the end of this stage, learners report the output of the task to the rest of the class

Language Focus

This is the period when students evaluate their performance Students can compare the results of their tasks with proficient language users

At this stage, teachers also need to provide timely feedback, assessments, and comments on the students' performance of tasks and language application

In conclusion, the phases of TBLT can be applied to a wide range of tasks With the goal of brainstorming the students' knowledge of the topic they will be studying, the teacher observes and encourages students to actively study in order to complete the tasks rather than passively teaching language Finally, the teacher guides students in reflecting on their tasks, or, in other words, gives them opportunities to express what they have learned during the task-cycle

2.4 Learning attitudes 2.4.1 Definition

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

2.4.2 Components of learning attitudes

Wenden (1991) proposes the following three components of attitudes:

Cognitive component

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

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

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

2.5 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