Abstract
This article examines Vietnamese EFL students’ perceptions of oral tasks and non-tasks as viewed from a task-based language teaching and learning (TBLT) perspective. Questionnaire data were collected from 188 students from a high school in Vietnam to understand their preferences and perceived importance of tasks and task engagement. The results indicated that these students reported a clear preference for free open-ended oral tasks than structured activities or non-tasks such as asking and answering, acting out a dialogue, and dialogue modeling. At the same time, students wanted to be provided with linguistic support such as vocabulary and grammatical structures and they also valued the importance of oral tasks for numerous reasons including their values for real world use/application, confidence enhancement, skills integration, and language use improvement. However, they reported a low level of task engagement due to many factors, of which, topics, teaching methods and students’ limited English proficiency were most frequently cited. In light of these findings, the implications for teaching EFL speaking and adopting TBLT in EFL contexts are discussed.
References
- Anderson, J. (2017). A potted history of PPP with the help of ELT journal. ELT Journal, 71(2), 218–227. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccw055
- Boers, F., & Faez F. (2023). Meta-analysis to estimate the relative effectiveness of TBLT programs: Are we there yet? Language Teaching Research. Advanced online publication. http://doi.org/10.1177/13621688231167573
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
- Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education. Routledge.
- DeKeyser, R. (2017). Knowledge and skills in ISLA. In S. Loewen & M. Sato, The Routledge handbook of instructed second language acquisition (pp.15–32). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315676968-2
- Dewaele, J.-M., Witney, J., Saito, K., & Dewaele, L. (2017). Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety: The effect of teacher and learner variables. Language Teaching Research, 22(6), 676-697. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817692161
- Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press.
- Ellis, R. (2009). Task-based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221-246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473- 4192.2009.00231.x
- Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. SAGE.
- Gutiérrez, X. (2024). Implementation of task-based language teaching in a Spanish language program: Instructors’ and students’ perceptions. Language Teaching Research (Online first). https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241263945
- Hood, M., Elwood, J., & Falout, J. (2009). Student attitudes toward task-based language teaching at Japanese universities. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 19, 19-47.
- Kim, Y., Jung, Y., & Tracy-Ventura, N. (2017). Implementation of a localized task-based course in an EFL context: A study of students’ evolving perceptions. TESOL Quarterly, 51(3), 632–660. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.381
- Littlewood, W. (2004). The task-based approach: Some questions and suggestions. ELT Journal, 58(4), 319-326. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/58.4.319
- Long, M. H. (2015). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. John Wiley & Sons.
- Nunan, D. (1993). Task-based syllabus design: Selecting, grading and sequencing tasks. In G. Crookes & S. Gass, M (Eds.), Tasks in a pedagogical context (pp. 55-68). Multilingual Matters.
- McDonough, K., & Chaikitmongkol, W. (2007). Teachers’ and learners’ reactions to a task based EFL course in Thailand. TESOL Quarterly, 41, 107–132. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1545-7249.2007.tb00042.x
- Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). National curriculum for general education: The English curriculum. Hanoi.
- Nguyen, A. T., Nguyen, T. L., & Vo, A. P. (2023). Vietnamese EFL secondary school teachers’ perceptions of task-based language teaching. Language Related Research 14(1), 89–112. https://lrr.modares.ac.ir/article-14-58693-en.html
- Nguyen, B. T. T., Newton, J. & Crabbe, D. (2018). Teacher transformation of textbook tasks in Vietnamese EFL high school classrooms. In Bygate, M., Samuda, V. & K. Van
- Den Branden (Eds.), TBLT as a researched pedagogy (pp.52-70). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
- Park, M. (2012). Implementing computer-assisted task-based language teaching in the Korean secondary EFL context. In A. Shehadeh, & C. A. Coombe (Eds.), Task-based
- language teaching in foreign language contexts: Research and implementation (pp. 215–240). John Benjamins.
- Samuda, V., Bygate M., Van den Branden, K. (2018). Introduction. Towards a researched pedagogy for TBLT. In V, Samuda, , K, Van den Branden, & M, Bygate (Eds.), TBLT as a researched pedagogy (pp. 1–22). John Benjamins.
- Skehan, P. (2003). Task-based instruction. Language Teaching, 36(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144480200188X
- Siddiqui, T., & Winke, P. (2023). Bangladeshi EAP teachers’ perspectives on task-based language teaching. TASK, 3, 273–304. https://doi.org/10.1075/task.00023.sid
- Ur, P. (2024). A course in English language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge.
- Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Longman.