The effectiveness of Using Task- based Language Teaching in promoting speaking skills in ELT among Matriculation College students.

The effectiveness of Using Task- based Language Teaching in promoting speaking skills in ELT among Matriculation College students.

Abstract

Speaking is an integral part of second language learning and teaching. Teaching speaking no longer confines students towards grammar and vocabulary acquisition or to let them repeat and memorize dialogues , but they should be able to apply the skills to communicate in real-life situation. Adoption of traditional approaches to teach speaking should evolve with time  as teachers should be able to create a learning experience that will not only  produce students who are academically inclined but they are able to communicate and express their voices and feelings  outside of the classroom. In line with this, this study aimed at investigating the effect of task based language teaching in promoting speaking skills in ELT among Matriculation College students. This study addresses the use of task based Language Teaching in developing speaking skills among Matriculation students and the implications towards pedagogical approach in teaching speaking in the respective system.

Key words: Task based Language Teaching, speaking skills, speaking anxieties, Matriculation College

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Establishing effective and interactive teaching strategy is imperative in creating meaningful communication. Therefore, teaching speaking should not merely constraints on stressing drilling patterns, reading activities, writing tasks, listening to dialogues but to have students participate in speaking activities. In most ESL classroom, the focus on teaching speaking is on grammatical rules, memorization of vocabulary, translation of texts, and attempting written exercises, students have little involvement in class as the class is mainly teacher- centered. Malaysian ESL classroom is no exception to this approach as students have been used to drills and practices, it is therefore evident in the oral competence that students possess once they have completed their tertiary education and about to apply for job employment. Malaysian university graduates failed to nail the interview session due to not being fluent in English language and lack capability to answer questions in the respective language, therefore these two main reasons are turn-offs for the prospective employers. The former Prime Minister , Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad  has stressed on the mastery of English language among Malaysian youth as to enhance their employability in the Asian University Presidents Forum held at Universiti Malaysia Perlis . As stated in The Star ( 11 October 2013) Tun Dr Mahathir said only seven out of 333 information technology (IT) graduates were successfully recruited in a recent mass job interview. The stark reality is that 90% of the interviewees failed to achieve the minimum level of English proficiency as a requisite to joining the IT industry.  Being incompetent in the English Language will not do much justice for graduates in the working field as they lack of one aspect of employability skills which is oral competence. The needs to be orally competent is important in the working field as it facilitates the communicative system  in the working field itself among the subordinates as well as our communication with the superiors provided with the fact that English is the main spoken and written language in the workplace. Being able to communicate will put one in a comfortable position where language boundaries do not bothers anyone  and everybody is not lost in translation.  The issue of declining level of English proficiencies among university graduates has been addressed through and through since the nation is moving towards Vision 2020 and recently, the revised Malaysian Educational Blueprint which was announced in 2012 has outlined  refurbishment towards educational policy and educational strategies.

This dilemma goes back to the roots on how teaching speaking was implemented in the classroom. Teaching speaking in ESL classroom has always been associated with the traditional approaches such as Grammar Translation, Direct Method, and Audio-lingual Method which can be mundane to students and teachers are mainly in charge of the lesson; therefore there is little room for students to be actively practicing the language orally.  These approaches have failed to help students in developing communication skills among students as these approaches focus on language structure, grammatical rules, memorization of vocabulary, and   stress drilling pattern

 (Swain, 2005).  The teacher-centered nature is evident in ESL classroom in Asian countries where reliance on students’ input is minimal therefore results in reluctance of students to participate in classroom activities (Wenden ,1991); Reid, 1996).  Teaching speaking can be effective and meaningful if the students are exposed to some real-life context that they can relate to; it can be on real-life situations that can attract their interest and attention on it, and not solely providing students with mastery in the classroom itself, but they can also apply in their daily life. Having self-confidence, lack of ideas, poor vocabulary, poor structure, lack of oral practice, shyness, inability to arrange ideas are some of the obstacles that students face in communicating effectively. Harmer (1988) proposed that students learn best if the teacher assign them speaking task based on a few reasons. They are [1] rehearsal: when students have free discussions or conversations inside the classroom, they have a chance to rehearse having discussions or conversation outside of the classroom; [2] feedback: engagement in a speaking task which demands for the use of all and any language at the students’ command provides feedback for both teacher and students; [3] engagement: completing a speaking task can be really motivating and it gives real satisfaction. This approach will help students to talk more during the class task activities and  they will eventually build up their confidence level in applying what they have learnt outside of the classroom, and in real- life situations. 

Various methods have been adopted by teachers and educators in promoting oral competence among students. An approach which incorporates the use of meaningful communication between students and extensively used in ESL classroom in promoting speaking skills among students is Communicative Language Teaching (Canale & Swain et. al, 1980). Communicative Language Teaching has been widely accepted as a positive way of language teaching in Malaysian ESL classroom.   One subcategory of Communicative Language Teaching is Task based Language Teaching was widely discussed by scholars as an effective teaching method to nurture communication skills among students (Ellis, 2003;Nunan,1989,1991; Prabhu;1987 ) . Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT)  is typically student-centered; it focuses on the use of authentic learning activities and requires students to do tasks using the target language. TBLT views the learning process as a set of communicative tasks that are directly connected to the curricular goals they serve.  In Malaysian context, task based speaking activities have been proven to play an important role in fostering Malaysian students’ speaking skills by allowing them to apply vocabulary and structures and enabling them to practice using English in problem solving activities (Md.Supie & Awang, 2007).  Lee(2001) stated that task based  activities provide comprehensible input and promotes communicative interaction among the students using the target language.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Communicative competence is defined as having the ability to interpret and enact appropriate social behaviours, and  it requires the learner to be actively involved in  the production of the target language( Canale and Swain 1980; Celce-Murcia et al.1995). Being proficient in English was once regarded as the marketability value for undergraduates or graduates for future job employment. English is learned everywhere as people acknowledge the importance of being proficient in the language for better career, career advancement, and being able to communicate with people of different nationalities as English is a global knowledge .

Alas, time has changed; communication skills is no longer a competitive edge that sets one apart from anyone else, people now have the conception that one must be able to speak well in English as it has been taught in schools from elementary to tertiary education.

Learning English may not be appealing to students as the same and stereotypical methods have been adopted by teachers in the classroom. Teaching speaking skills is difficult in ESL classroom as the English Language is not the students’ native language and teachers have to adopt a teaching approach that is interesting to students besides having good conduct in the language as well. Due to lack of motivation in the ESL classroom, students have inability to express themselves orally and they develop speaking anxieties later on.  In language classroom, teachers tend to focus on drilling patterns that emphasise on grammar building, stressing on pronunciation and enunciation, exposing students to reading text and writing activities which allow little room for speaking activity to take place and students are not fully involved in the activities with active use of spoken English. In most Malaysian English classroom, these methods are often utilized as teachers who are bounded by textbooks and adhering to the syllabus. This approach will not help much in producing students who are able to communicate in English effectively in and outside of the classroom.

Teaching speaking effectively relies on the right teaching approach. Shumin (1997) suggests that learners should be given opportunities to develop short, interactional exchanges in which they are required to produce short utterances; this will help them to engage in small talks in the target language. Activities that relate to real-life situations are useful for students like job interviews, debates, managing meeting, and problem-solving activities are effective techniques in developing speaking skills as these can prepare learners for real life communication. Task Based Language Teaching has been widely applied in ESL classroom to teach English as a foreign language and it has played a crucial role in promoting the development of foreign language teaching. Giyoto (2007) stated that TBLT seems to have a variety of features that are helpful in the development of language proficiency. In Task Based approach, learning is developed through performing a series of activities as steps towards successful task realization that can be a potential approach that helps to build up speaking skills among students besides having them to build their self-esteem in using the language as well as using the skills in real-life communication. 

In Malaysian Matriculation programme, English is taught as a compulsory subject for students and it plays a significant role in determining a student’s placement in the university. Students who are enrolled into Matriculation College are not only regarded as academically inclined but they also have to have good command in the spoken discourse as well. These students are deemed to be the cream of the cream as the selection of these students were made based on their academic qualification in SPM. However, they are no exception to be having difficulties in using and conversing in English language. Most of them are reluctant to speak before their friend and lecturers in class as they claim they are afraid of committing language errors, having difficulty in finding the right vocabulary to express their feelings, inferior towards those who have better oral competencies, and others. Classroom control sometimes can be teacher centred though the real intention of the lesson was meant to be student –centred. Generally, matriculation students have speaking anxieties among themselves, instead of rectifying the challenges, they feel comfortable keeping their opinions to themselves and soon they realize of the importance of having good oral communication skills in English when they fail to answer questions in the job interview.

The issue of university graduates who lack of communication skills in English is not a newly- discovered issue in Malaysia. This issue is persistent though there are a lot of exposures towards English Language that we can learn from. This issue involves all, the education system, the teachers, the students themselves, and others who are continuously contributing towards speaking  incompetence among our students .And Matriculation College is no exception from this.  Thus, the problem of this study is concentrated on the scenario that Matriculation College students are inept in speaking skills and they endure difficulties in expressing themselves orally in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom. There is a need for a shift in language teaching that does not prepare students for examination but to help students be active participants in the classroom. Teaching speaking should allow students to use the language communicatively and it is hypothesized that, that incorporating task based approach  in  teaching speaking may improve and promote speaking skills among Matriculation College students.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study is outlined based on several objectives which are:

1.      To determine the effectiveness of Task Based Language Teaching in promoting speaking skills in English Language among Matriculation College students.

2.      To determine the differences in efficacy on the application of TBLT and non-TBLT towards Matriculation College students.

3.      To investigate the Matriculation College  students ‘attitude towards the teaching of speaking in the English classroom

4.      To examine the influence of TBLT towards enhancing Matriculation students’ speaking skills in English language.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the research questions are devised as follows:

1.      What are the effects of Task Based Language Teaching towards promoting speaking skills in English Language among Matriculation College students?

2.      What are the differences in the efficacies on the application of TBLT and non-TBLT towards Matriculation College students?

3.      What is the Matriculation College students ‘attitude the teaching of speaking in the

English classroom ?

4.      How does TBLT influence the Matriculation College students’ speaking skills in English language?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of  the intervention of Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) towards promoting speaking skills among Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor students. This study will examine the effects of using Task Based Language Teaching in promoting speaking skills of Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor students ranging from low to intermediate language proficiencies. It is anticipated that this study may lead to meaningful insights for the teachers/instructors to determine other alternative approaches in teaching speaking in a foreign language . In addition, it is hoped that the findings of this study may lead to a change in the teachers/ instructors’ approach in teaching speaking as well as Matriculation students’ attitudes towards second language acquisition particularly speaking skills. Based on the findings, students may change the attitudes towards learning speaking and at the same time, they are able to use these skills not only restrained in the classroom context, but they are able to apply these skills in real-life situations.

                 Moreover, it is hoped that this study will provide ESL teachers/ instructors with a specific language teaching approach which they can use in their classroom to promote speaking skills among students.  If this study show a practically differences in the performance of participants in experimental group to those in control group, therefore Task Based Language Teaching may be considered as a potentially beneficial method in promoting students’ speaking skills as well meeting the needs of preparing a verbally confident and proficient Matriculation graduates . Task Based Language Teaching can then be applied extensively in the Malaysian classroom .

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

            This study was limited to only Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor students of One-year programme. Two groups will be chosen for this study ; one group will be representing the experimental group who will be placed under the approach of Task Based Language Teaching whilst the other represents the control group with a non-TBLT approach. These findings of this study could not be generalized to the overall population of Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor students.

            Other aspect of limitation in this study would be the duration one-year  programme which takes up to a mere two semesters in one academic session. 

1.7 THE OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

The following operational definitions of terms applied to this study:

Task Based Language Teaching

Task is any 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 from (Nunan, 1989).  Nunan (2004) defined a task based language teaching  as an teaching approach which allows students to work on their own pace and within their own level and area of interest to process and restructure their inter-language; it permit students top have their own autonomy into their learning process while teacher facilitates throughout the process. The introduction of Task Based Language Teaching was initiated by Prabhu in the 1980s where the teaching method emphasizes on language proficiency and it is a developed pattern of communicative.

Speaking skills

Brown and Yule (1983) believed that language learners regard speaking skills as the criteria for knowing a language. Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that requires producing, receiving, and processing information (Brown, 2007; Burns & Joyce, 1997). Speaking requires the learners to have sociolinguistic competence of understanding when, why, and what ways to produce language besides linguistic competence namely grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary (Burns & Joyce, 1997). A good speaking skill is established when a speaker is able anticipate and produce the expected patterns of specific discourse situations. They must be able to manage discrete elements such as turn-taking, rephrasing, providing feedback, or redirecting.

Speaking anxieties

Speaking anxieties in a second or foreign language relates to communication apprehension, exam anxiety, and fear of getting negative feedback and evaluation (Horwitz, 2010). The Communication apprehension or having the feeling of uneasiness towards communicating with others causes one to have  a feeling of fear or anxiety when communicating with other people in different situations. This uneasiness or apprehension can consequently lead to frustration resulting in unbearable anxiety. Communication apprehension is not abnormal to individuals with a low level of language proficiency; anyone can experience this. While, exam anxiety or test apprehension which is a common occurrence that is experienced among individuals before taking a test. Individuals could be placed in a state of mental and physical discomfort if they are worried too much about being assessed in an examination.

Mariculation programme

Matriculation programmes were managed by respective local universities in Malaysia since the 1980s. Ministry of Education established Matriculation Division in September 1^st, 1998 for the unification of all Matriculation Programmes that were previously managed by local Higher Learning  Institutes with the exception of UIAM and UM centres. The first matriculation programme by Matriculation Divion started in 1999( Zakariah, 2011). Till date, there are 17 matriculation colleges nationwide in Malaysia which include 10 matriculation colleges, two MARA colleges, and three technical matriculation colleges.

 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Chapter 2 begins with a definition of speaking skills supported by several citations and quotation from the scholars as well as the importance of having good speaking skills. Whilst the second part of this chapter will represent some explanation about speaking anxieties and students’ attitudes towards second language acquisition particularly speaking, and  finally, the last part of this chapter presents the theoretical background of Task- based Language teaching (TBLT) and empirical studies enacted by other researchers and scholars towards the implementation of TBLT in promoting speaking skills among second language learners.

Speaking Skills

            Speaking skills are important for individuals to enable them to convey messages and meaning effectively and to promote ones’ feelings to others. Speaking carries an interactive means of transmitting and responding to messages as well as processing the messages ( Brown, 1994). The meaning of messages rely much on the individuals , the persons who transmit and produce the messages as well as the speech production of an individual which encompasses three elements as outlined by Levelt (1989)  which are conceptualizing the message, formulating the language representation to get the message across and articulating the message or in other words communicating the message.

Communicating in a foreign language is often a problem for individuals who do not speak English as their first language. In countries where English is not the main spoken language, English is being taught as a second language teaching and learning, where students learn to acquire the language with the focus on four skills namely speaking, listening, reading, and writing. In countries where English is taught as English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL)  , focus is being placed more on reading and writing rather than listening and speaking , therefore students disregard the importance of having good speaking skills in English The students may have better competence when it comes to written context, however they face challenges in communicating their thoughts verbally. The difficulty faced by second language learners is also faced by the teachers who impart the knowledge and input to the students, teachers who are teaching English as a second language or a foreign language may experience lack of aptitude or readiness to teach speaking skills . Therefore in regards to these challenges –lack of emphasis on teaching speaking skills as well as the students’ anxieties towards English particularly contribute towards students being incompetent in the speaking skills .

            Teaching speaking may not be easy to teachers who feel the challenges in imparting input in the respective area. According to Nunan (2003) teaching speaking necessitates the teachers or instructors to be competent in this are as they teach students (1) how to produce speech with speech sounds and sound patterns, (2) the elements of stress, intonation, and rhythm of the English language,(3) exposing students to the selection of words and phrases in accordance to proper setting, audience, ambience, and subject matter, (4) organization of thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence, (5) language representation to express values and judgments , as well as (6) fluency , the ability to utilize language confidently and minimizing gap fillers .

            Teaching speaking has always been associated with repetition of drills or memorizing dialogues, which allows little opportunity for students to master communicative skills. In most Arab countries for instance, teaching speaking stresses on drill patterns employing the traditional approaches of language teaching such as Grammar Translation, Direct Method, and Audio-lingual Method. Students were exposed to repetition of drills and memorization of dialogues

( A. Hassan, 2014). Classes were often taught in the native English with little active use of English verbally by the students.

Among the predominant method in language learning is the Grammar Translation Method where content of the textbook primarily offers an array of vocabulary and rule explanation (Richards and Rodgers 2001).  This method  places little exposure on oral proficiency among learners as grammar is the core of the language teaching. Learners are taught to memorize grammar rules and are required to translate the foreign language into their native language. Critiques argued the use of grammar translation method in language learning due to dreariness of the concept towards language learning  and the inefficiency of its instructional procedures and fostering oral proficiency among learners(Larsen-Freeman, 1987).

Another approach which had its place in language teaching is The Direct Method which was established in Europe by Larsen-Freeman (1987). The inception of this method rooted from natural learning principles of the Natural Method. Richards & Rogers (1986) believe a learner can learn a foreign language without translation or the use of the learner’s native tongue if meaning was delivered  directly through demonstration and action. This method aims to have learners learn how to communicate by using a foreign language and meaning is the core of language teaching. Learners focus on associating meaning to the foreign language without the application of translation and grammatical rules. Learners are usually presented with realia, pictures and they learn speaking by doing oral substitution drills and speaking exercises. Critiques cited that teachers faced difficulty in implementing this on students as this method requires skilful teaching methods (Larsen-Freeman, 1987).

Speaking Anxieties and Attitudes towards English

            Speaking anxieties are challenges experienced by individuals dealing with the escalated feelings of uneasiness, discomforts, apprehension, and low self esteem in sharing their opinions and feelings. Speaking anxieties hamper one’s proficiency in the second language , and eventually trigger one’s self esteem, self-confidence, and impede a person from risk taking ability( Crookall & Oxford, 1995). Students experience speaking anxieties as they feel inferior towards others who may be better than them in oral skills, they feel uneasy speaking before the audience as they are afraid of committing mistakes in the classroom and some said that they refuse to make a fool out of themselves. ( Malihah, 2010) Students’ attitudes towards English as a second language shows that they are being indifferent towards the importance of having the ability to speak English due to their misconception of communicating in English unleash the foolishness out of themselves and they feel that having this advantage will isolate them from others. Such attitudes have left them denying opportunities for practicing speaking skills in the foreign language.

            Students’ attitudes relating to English language  signify their feelings, prejudices, and fears in learning English as a second or foreign language. Brown (1994) believed that second language learners benefit greatly from positive attitudes of teachers who influence and motivate them in the production of oral speech. Negative attitudes portrayed by teachers may lead to lack of motivation in attaining the skills and proficiency contributed by lack of effort in providing input and making the class interactive. Teaching speaking should be interactive and allow students to meet communicative goals and functions , therefore classroom activities should promote students’ involvement and engagement in the activities to stimulate their interest and build upon their trust as well as motivation towards the teaching and learning speaking skills in the second language.

           

Task Based  Language Teaching

            Speaking skills is best promoted when learners are engaged in an activity using the language communicatively ( Taylor, 2003). Learners learn best by doing and engage in activities that they are interested in , and experience has been asserted as the basis of all learning (Lindeman,1926). The essence of a task based language teaching is to enable learners to be actively engaged in an authentic learning activities and placing them in real-life situation where they need to apply the speaking skills. Task based language teaching offers learners with comprehensible input and it encourages interaction among learners which will then promote communicative skills among the learners. This communicative approach  has been extensively used in language classroom where it aims to provide learners with a natural context for language use where learners learn by performing a task ( Prabhu, 1987;  Nunan, 1989) In task based approach, task is the central unit of planning and teaching  ( Richards, 2001) and its features are assistive towards promoting language competence .  Apart from completing a task, learners have the opportunity to interact with each other and with teachers in the classroom; learners engage in a group interaction working towards common consensual objective which involves meaningful utilization of the language ( Skehan, 2002). Interaction can facilitate language acquisition, as it allows learners to work to understand each other and to express their feelings and views. Willis (1996) defined task as an activity where the target language is used by the learner in meeting a communicative purpose to achieve a learning outcome.

The rationale of applying Task Based  Language Teaching is to enable students to experience how language is used as a tool for communication ( Ellis, 2003). In task based language teaching, the teacher will play a part in giving instructions to the students and to make sure that every student in the class play an active role in participating in the speaking activity. Teacher’s responsibility is to create situations where learners can execute meaningful tasks which promote their speaking skills.  Teacher’s intervention does not really interrupt the flow of the speaking activity as to allow active involvement of the students. Learning is developed through students performing activities in achieving a task where the task usually centralizes around real-life situations such as problem solving activity, conducting interview session, role playing, and others. Such task requires learners to learn by doing it and using appropriate language forms to practise the language skills.

In a task based language teaching, the task is completed in three phases as cited by Willis ( 1996) comprises of pre task, the task cycle, and the language focus. The objective of a pre task is to equip learners with skills in performing a task towards fostering speaking skills among themselves. In a pre task, teachers explain what is expected from the employment of task based approach towards learners. There are two alternatives proposed by Skehan (1996) as a reference for teachers in implementing this pre task phase namely emphasis to general cognitive demands for task and emphasis on linguistic factors. These two alternatives can be fulfilled in four ways which are (1) providing support to learners in performing a task similar to the task that learners will perform in the second phase, task cycle (2) students observe a model that demonstrates on how to perform a task (3) involve students in a non-task activities to enable to practice on performing a task and (4) implement strategic planning of the main task performance. At this stage, input is provided by teachers such as vocabularies and grammatical construct as to encourage learners’ motivation towards the task. Learners are also encouraged to utilize their own words in fulfilling the task. During this initial stage, teachers will present several examples of task based activities by integrating images, audio-vusial materials, or others to demonstrate the task.

The second phase, the task cycle will be the execution of the learners in fulfilling the task in groups. Teacher normally plays the role of a facilitator or a counselor in observing the learners completing the task as well as guiding learners to formulate what they want to say . The nature of the activity is student -centred and it allows learners to create and establish meaningful communication. The final phase of this task based language teaching focuses on the language or speech production among the learners. There are two stage where teachers will be evaluating the students where analysis and practice will take place. In analysis, teacher analyses the speaking skills utilized by the learners to which difficulties and errors will be taken into consideration. And the latter , teachers will be informing learners of the assessment of their  speaking skills as what has been observed by the teachers in the analysis stage. At this stage, teacher puts forward an emphasis on the key language to the learners.

Task based language teaching is an evolution in communicative approach , and it is not a novel concept in language learning. The nature of this approach that works towards meeting a meaningful communication and foster language learning makes it a relevant approach in this technological era. Review of previous research reveals the positive influence that Task based Language teaching has on promoting students’ speaking skills. Some educational scholars

( Mann, 2006; Torky, 2006) have revealed in their studies on the potential of Task Based language teaching in benefiting the students’ oral skills. In a study conducted by Mann (2006) it was found that international law students benefited  the effects of task based approach by making them more confident with themselves in performative skills and their speaking skills have improved.

Teachers also shared the same views on the great benefits that task based language teaching place on students’ speaking skills. Hu (2013) enacted a study a study in finding language teachers’ responses and perceptions about using task based approach in their classroom. Through interviews and observations on the implantation of task based approach in the participants’ classroom, it was revealed that teachers actively accepted using task based approach in the classroom as the students enjoyed doing speaking activities which were different from the conventional method that their teachers have been applying in the classroom. Task based language teaching places the student in a situation  like in a real world and enables students to comprehend, produce, and interact with others in the target language in which the intention is to convey meaning rather than to manipulate form.

Task Based Language teaching also places a positive influence on promoting self confidence and enhancing students’ oral performance. In an experimental study enacted by Hassan (2011) the participants placed in an experimental group presented a significant differences in mean scores on the oral performance test and speaking confidence perception inventory compared to participants in a control group. The findings support the hypothesis of the research in  investigating the effectiveness in integrating task based language teaching in teaching English as a second language. In another study which dealt with task based Language Teaching in increasing positive attitudes and self-confidence, Torky ( 2006) revealed that task-based approach helped to boost the secondary school students’ motivation as well positivity in learning to speak. The author also learnt that the participants in his study began to take risks and consequently, they had better oral proficiency.

Activities such as role play which is a part of activities outlined under Task based language Teaching was also proven to be beneficial in promoting speaking skills among EFL learners. The nature of Task based language Teaching which exposes learners to practicing speaking skills in an real life situations was proven to satisfy communicative needs of learners to communicate in the target language (Aliakbari & Jamalvandi , 2011) .

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1  The research design

            This study is a quantitative study whereby experimental design will be employed in seeking the relationship of the intervention of task based Language teaching towards promoting speaking skills among Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor students.There will be two groups involved in this study namely the experimental group where the employement of Task Based Language Teaching will be implemented on the participants, whereas the control group will adopting a non- TBLT approach in teaching speaking.

3.2 Population and sampling

To achieve the objectives of the research, students of Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor were regarded as the target population. This college consists of multi-racial pre-university students where 90% of them were Malay, and 10% were of Chinese, Indian, Bumiputera, Siamese parentage. The selection of this college was primarily based on the researcher who has  easy access to this institution. The student consists around 2050 students  of One-year programme. These One-year programme are distributed to four modules namely, Module 1, Module 2, Module 3, and Accountancy stream. And each  module comprises of several practicums.

Four classes of One-year programme were selected randomly under probability sampling. Two of them constitute experimental group, while the other two represent the control group. In order to minimize the effects of teacher variability, the same teacher will be teaching both the control and experimental classes, following the separate lesson designs for each of these classes. Their levels of proficiencies were determined by their English Grade in SPM.

3.3 Instrumentation

For this research, data collection will be obtained through the administration of one perception questionnaire, and pre- and post treatment oral tests. The perception questionnaire will be used to measure the perceptions of students towards English language learning and teaching ; this perception questionnaire will be administered to the students employed to the experimental groups in regards with the intervention of task based language teaching in the speaking lessons. The data obtained from this perception questionnaire aims to answer the third research question on the Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor students ‘attitudes towards the teaching of speaking in the English classroom. This perception questionnaire consist of 25 items which are  adapted and revised  from Al- Tamimi & Shuib ( 2009). The questionnaire is designed in the form of a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree" with values 1-5 assigned to each alternative.( refer Appendix 1)

The second data collection instrument comprises pre- and post-test oral conversations in which learners’ oral language abilities will be graded. Prior to the implementation of task based language teaching in the experimental group, a speaking pre test will be administered to both experimental and control groups. The purpose of the speaking test is  to assess the participants' speaking skills before the implementation of Task Based Language Teaching. The participants will be given pre-test and post-test orally and the session will be recorded. In order to assess the participants’ oral performance, an evaluation rubric will be used and is adopted from Ur (2006) and will be validated by a panel of experts.  (refer Appendix 2)

After the intervention of task based language teaching on experimental group and a non-TBLT employed to control group, an oral performance test will be administered to both groups as a post test. The data collected through the results of pre- and post-treatment tests will be used to respond to the first research question investigating the effects of Task Based Language Teaching towards promoting speaking skills in English Language among Matriculation College students and the secondary research question in finding out the differences in the efficacies on the application of TBLT and non-TBLT towards Matriculation College students.

Methods of Analysis

To answer the primary objective of this study, it is hypothesized that:

1.      There is no statistically significant differences between mean scores of the experimental and control group participants in the pre-test and post test of their oral performance.

2.      There is no statistically significant difference in efficacy on the application of TBLT and non-TBLT towards Matriculation College students.

3.4 Dependent variable measurement

The study has two dependent variables and they are the subjects' mean scores on the speaking skill test and the mean scores of their responses to the items of the perception questionnaire, whereas the independent variables are the students’ gender and the use of Task Based Language Teaching.

3.5 Validity and reliability of the Research Instruments

In order to validate the research instrument, a panel of five academic instructors will be asked to evaluate the perception questionnaire. A pilot will be conducted to test the reliability of the questionnaire. The speaking test questions and the evaluation scheme will also be evaluated by the same panels of instructors.  

Appendix 1

Questionnaire

Instructions: For the following items, please your answer with a tick (√) in the

spaces provided.

Part 1 Demographic Profile

1.      Age: 

17
18
19

2.      Gender 

Male
Female

3.      Module

Module 1
Module 2
Module 3
Accountancy

Part Two:

Please read the statements below carefully and ticking the alternative which appears most applicable to you.  Use the scale below to answer the questionnaire items.

1= Strongly Disagree 2= Disagree 3= Neutral 4= Agree 5= Strongly Agree.

Note: Tick (√) only one option for each item in the questionnaire.

No	Items	1	2	3	4	5
1.	I learn to speak English as I feel it will enable me to get a job in the future.
2.	I learn English because it is a university requirement.
3.	Studying English helps me to have good relationships with friends
4.	I look forward to studying more English in the future.
5.	Studying English is fun and entertaining.
6.	I am able to make myself pay attention during English lessons.
7.	When I hear a classmate speaks English well, I like to practise speaking with him/her.
8.	Studying English makes me have good emotions.
9.	I am anxious when I have to answer a question in my English class.
10.	Studying English makes me have more confidence in expressing myself.
11.	Studying English helps me to improve my personality.
12.	I am comfortable using English to speak with my friends and teachers.
13.	I enjoy doing activities in English.
14.	I wish I could speak English fluently.
15.	I wish I could have many English speaking friends .
16.	Studying English subject makes me feel more confident
17.	Studying English makes me able to create new thoughts
18.	Knowing English is an important goal in my life
19.	I like to practice English the way native speakers do.
20.	I am not relaxed whenever I have to speak in my English class
21.	I feel embarrassed to speak English in front of my classmates
22.	I am not interested to learn English
23.	In my opinion, English language is difficult and complicated to learn
24.	I do not feel enthusiastic to come English class.
25.	I do not pay any attention when my English teacher is explaining the lesson

Appendix 2: Speaking Evaluation Rubric

Accuracy	Score	Fluency	Score
Little or no language production	1	Little or no communication	1
Poor vocabulary, mistakes in basic grammar	2	Very hesitant and brief utterances, sometimes difficult to understand	2
Adequate but limited vocabulary, makes obvious grammar mistakes	3	Gets ideas across, but hesitantly and brief	3
Good range of vocabulary, occasional grammar slips	4	Good communication skills	4
Wide vocabulary appropriately used, virtually no grammar mistakes	5	Easy and effective communication skills	5

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