The Impact of Task-based Activities on the Reading Skill of Iranian EFL Young Learners at the Beginner Level
محورهای موضوعی : language teaching
ارشیا کیوانفر
1
(Islamic Azad University North Tehran Branch)
مونا مدرسی
2
(Islamic Azad University North Tehran Branch)
کلید واژه: Young learners, Task Type, Reading skill, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), Beginner Level,
چکیده مقاله :
Task-based learning and teaching in the realm of teaching young learners is still considered an adventure since very few experimental studies to date have tackled its applicability in that age group. The present research was an attempt to find out whether using task-based reading activities has any impact on the development of text comprehension in Iranian young learners studying English as a foreign language at the beginner level. Two groups of 25 students, aged 11 to 13, were the participants of the study. Through a reading pretest, it was ensured that the two groups were at the same level and belonged to the same population in terms of the reading skill. Having instructed the experimental group with four task types and the control group with classical reading activities, the researcher compared the reading performance of the two groups through a t-test which, not surprisingly, manifested the better performance of the experimental group. A follow-up reading test also showed that the experimental group still enjoyed a higher level of reading skill after one month. Furthermore, the scores gained from the four task types were compared and it was concluded that the students performed better in tasks which involved creativity and gave them the experience of playing.
آموزش کار محور در سالهای اخیر به شدت محبوبیت یافته و به زودی ممکن است کاملا جایگزین آموزش زبان ارتباطی گردد. اما متأسفانه کارایی آن در زمینه زبان آموزی کودکان و بطور اخص در آموزش مهارت خواندن مورد بررسی جامعی قرار نگرفته است. در تحقیق حاضر برای رسیدن به این مهم، دو گروه 25 نفری در فاصله سنی 11 تا 13 سال به دو روش کارمحور و سنتی مورد آموزش قرار گرفتند و مقایسه توانایی خواندن آنها در انتهای دوره آزمایش و یک ماه پس از انتهای دوره نشان داد که میانگین گروه کارمحور از گروه سنتی بالاتر میباشد. علاوه بر این، مقایسه توانایی خواندن آزمودنیهای گروه آزمایش در 4 نوع فعالیت کارمحور حاکی از آن بود که فهالیتهای توأم با خلاقیت و بازی بیشترین میزان توجه و علاقه را در آنان ایجاد میکند.
Best, J. W. & Kahn, J. V. (2006). Research in education (10th ed.). NJ: Prentice Hall.
Breen, M. P. (1987). Contemporary paradigms in syllabus design, part I. Language Teaching, 20 (2), 81-91.
Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (2nd ed.). NY: Pearson Education.
Brown, R. (1991). Group work, task difference, and second language acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 21, 1-12.
Doff, A. (1998). Teach English. UK: Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, R. (2000). Task-based research and language pedagogy. Language Teaching Research, 4, 193-220.
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Grabe, W. (2004). Research on teaching reading. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 44-69.
Klapper, J. (2003). Taking communication to task? A critical review of recent trends in language teaching. Language Learning Journal, Summer, 27, 33-42.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (1991). Language learning tasks: teacher intention and learner interpretation, ELT Journal, 45, 98-107.
Meisel, H.; J. Clahsen, and M. Pienemann (1981) On determining developmental stages in natural second language acquisition, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 3, 109-35.
Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Prabhu, N. S. (1987). Second language pedagogy. A perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rashtchi, M. and Keyvanfar, A. (2007). ELT: Quick’n’easy (3rd ed.). Tehran: Rahnama.
Richards, J. C. and T. S. Rodgers (2001) Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Skehan, P. (2001). Tasks and language performance assessment. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan, & M. Swain. (eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, Teaching and testing, 167-85. Harlow: Longman.
Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wilkins, D. (1976). Notional syllabuses. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Willis, D. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. London: Longman.
