The perceptions of Iranian EFL teachers towards the effect of incorporating different task types on their learners’ oral interaction

Subject Areas : Curriculum Design and Development

Shima Ghiabi ¹ , Abbas Bayat ² , Hamid reza Khalaji ³

1 - Azad Malayer university
2 - English Language Department, Islamic Azad University, Malayer Branch, Malayer, Iran
3 - English Language Department, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad university, Malayer, Iran

Received: 2024-05-22 Accepted : 2024-09-03 Published : 2024-09-20

Keywords: Task-based learning, Task types, Oral interaction, EFL learners,

Abstract :

There are different task types to improve oral production. The present study investigated the perceptions of Iranian EFL teachers towards the efficiency of incorporating different task types on their learners’ oral interaction. The research was performed through the use of qualitative content analysis by using semi-structured interview data. The interview protocol was developed following discussions with experts in the field and previous research. The first group of participants included six Iranian female English teachers selected through convenience sampling. This group was interviewed for the purpose of extracting their perceptions of different task types and the effect of task types on the oral interaction before and after the study. The second group included 120 EFL learners who were recruited using convenience sampling. The researchers transcribed the audio-recorded interview data verbatim for data analysis. Subsequently, qualitative analysis was conducted on the transcriptions of interviews using coding procedures such as open coding, axial coding, and selective coding to recognize recurring patterns, themes, categories, and sub-categories within the collected data. The findings indicated that EFL teachers held highly positive perceptions regarding various forms of form-focused and meaningful tasks, as well as their impact on the oral interaction of EFL learners. This shows that teacher’ familiarity with and practice of different types of form focused and meaningful tasks have changed their perceptions of the effectiveness of various task types. Given that oral interaction in general is considered as a big achievement and advantage for EFL learners, it can be concluded that different form focused and meaningful tasks can provide EFL learners with competitive advantages in comparison to their counterparts at homogenous conditions.

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