TBLT VS. CBLT

Chapter 1

Introduction

The present study intended to investigate whether TBLT and CBLT can enhance and improve the Iranian architecture learners' reading comprehension skills and if so, which of the two methodologies can be more effective in teaching reading comprehension skills.

CBLT is also a subdivision of CLT which focuses on integrating the teaching of language and subject matter. In the application of content-based language teaching (English for Specific Purposes), knowing the English language dire needs of the students and preparing the appropriate curriculum of the course according to these needs are of critical importance.

According to Richards and Rodgers (2001), when CBLT comes to the reading skill in a foreign language, the ample research shows it is gaining increasing importance. Therefore, the instruction in reading in general and in ESP reading, in particular, is assuming a more crucial role.

Over the last fifteen years, one can notice a growing interest in the application of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Content-Based Language Teaching (CBLT) in different realms of second and foreign language teaching, especially in teaching ESP materials.

01

Nunan (1989), in Task-Based Language Learning (TBLL), learning is fostered through performing a series of activities as steps towards successful task realization.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) claims that the goal of language teaching is to develop "Communicative Competence" in learners and pays attention to all of the four skills .

they have asserted that: "TBLT is a logical development of CLT" .

J. Willis (1996) sees a task as a goal-oriented activity which has a clear purpose and which involves achieving an outcome through creating a final product that can be appreciated by others.

Long (2015) maintains that Task-based Instruction (TBI) is a methodology which focuses on functional tasks and invites the students to use language for real world and it “starts with a task-based needs analysis to identify the target tasks for a particular groups of learners- what they need to be able to do in the new language”

(Richards & Rodgers, 2001; Brown, 2007)

Chapter 1

The present study is an attempt

• to investigate and compare the effectiveness of task-based vs. content-based approaches on Iranian male and female ESP learners’ reading comprehension ability.

• to determine whether teaching reading through task-based and content-based approaches can be influential in ESP reading improvement.

Nunan (1989), in TBLL, learning is fostered through performing a series of activities as steps towards successful task realization.

The present study is an attempt :

• to investigate and compare the effectiveness of task-based vs. content-based approaches on Iranian male and female ESP learners’ reading comprehension ability.
• to determine whether teaching reading through task-based and content-based approaches can be influential in ESP reading improvement.

the previous studies in this regard had hardly dealt with applying both task-abased and content-based activities in ESP materials.

• Statement of problem
• Objective of study
• Significance of study
• Research Questions

TBLT and CBLT are flourishing methodologies in the field of second / foreign language instruction and also are becoming increasingly widespread all over the world.

Test items of international examinations are mostly task-based because task-based language performance is believed to be more relevant to future use of the foreign language in real-life situations.

As far as teaching reading is concerned, the findings of this study will help ESP instructors to choose the appropriate way of teaching reading to ESP learners.

Research Hypotheses

H1. Task-based language teaching is effective in improving reading comprehension skills of Iranian architecture learners.

H2. Content-based language teaching is effective in improving reading comprehension skills of Iranian architecture learners.

H3. There is significant difference between task-based and content-based instructions in improving reading comprehension skills of Iranian architecture learners.

1.Is task-based language teaching effective in improving reading comprehension skills of Iranian architecture learners?

2.Is content-based language teaching effective in improving reading comprehension skills of Iranian architecture learners?

3.Is there any significant difference between task-based and content-based instructions in improving reading comprehension skills of Iranian architecture learners?

01

literature review

Afsahi and Chalak :

a study to investigate the relationship between Iranian intermediate EFL learners who learn speaking based on content approach in student-centered environment and their learning in the traditional teacher-centered environment. The results revealed the positive relationship between content-based approach in student-centered class and the improvement of EFL Iranian students' speaking ability.

2016

2015

Chalak :

focus on improving reading comprehension ability through Task-based Instruction (TBI).

The findings suggest that using flexible and interactive tasks in English classes improves reading comprehension ability of Iranian EFL learners.

This study may have pedagogical implications for practitioners in the field and for syllabus designers to include appropriate tasks in English textbooks.

Azimi, Rahmani, and Sadeghi :

investigate two ways of instruction of "Existential constructions": task-based and content based instructions on the comprehension and production of Existential constructions by Iranian English as foreign language (EFL) learners. compararison the effect of task-based instruction in teaching existential constructions versus content-based instructions. it is concluded that, the learners' progress in comprehending existential construction through the use of task-based instruction.

2014

Shabani:

TBLT has been more effective than CBLT in teaching reading comprehension to Iranian ESP learners. the researchers tried to study the effect of using this approach on ESP reading comprehension of Iranian university students through action research The findings revealed the significant advantage of teaching ESP through tasks and integrating this approach as an innovative one in this trend.

Amiri and Hosseini Fatemi :

effect of Content-based Instruction (CBI) and the Grammar Translation Method (GTM) on students’ English language learning.

Marashi and Noochirwani :

investigate the comparative impact of two types of teaching approaches, namely content-based (CBI) and task-based (TBLT) instruction on the reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. The result of this study depicted no significant difference concerning the impact of CBI and TBLT on EFL learners' reading.

2012

02

chapter 2

Methodology

Participants

Based on non-probability sampling, two intact classes with a total number of 100 university architecture students are selected . The participants are male and female students who are taken ESP courses at Shiraz University in fall 2016. These selected participants are assigned randomly into two groups of 50 as Group 1 for Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Group 2 for Content-Based Language Teaching (CBLT). The age range of the participants is 20 to 40 years old. subjects at university were from different educational and socio-economical strata. More importantly, the same level of proficiency is not possible at the university and the researcher has to carry out the present study with intact classes.

Instruments

the homogeneity test, Oxford Placement Test, is run to ascertain that groups are homogeneous before the treatment.

Oxford Placement Test (OPT) is a standardized test of Oxford University to determine EFL learners' proficiency level and make the participants homogenized. It is used as pretest to identify the participants' English proficiency level

In order to determine the effects and differences between TBLT and CBLT on the reading comprehension of architecture learners, an ESP test instrument, which is developed to reflect the objectives of the course and the syllabus, is used for measures after the teaching intervention by deploying task-based and content-based activities and is devised to all students in both Group 1 and Group 2.

Procedure

This study conducted once a week for twelve sessions at Shiraz Islamic Azad University. After running OPT, students were assigned into two experimental groups, the instructor applied TBLT in Group 1 and CBA in Group 2.

In Group 1, a reading passage was taught based on TBLT and the class time is divided into three phases: pre-task, task cycle and post-task.

pre-task phase, the instructor tried to activate the ESP students' schemata related to the ESP text and motivated the participants to read the passage.

During-task phase, the students were engaged in completing different kinds of tasks.

post-task phase, students give a report through, for instance, repeating the tasks and practicing some formal and linguistic features of the text.

in the content-based class (Group 2), the syllabus was organized around themes or topics related to ESP text. Here, the students read authentic materials and all the exercises and class activities were designed around the reading text. The instructor used realia, pictures and technological aids, as much as possible, to strengthen the learning of the related ESP subject matter. The treatment is given for 12 sessions on for the whole semester. After this period, post-test is given to the two groups to compare their reading improvement.

Data Analysis

To ascertain the homogeneity of the groups, One-way ANOVA, frequency analysis, and independent samples t-test were conducted via SPSS 22 version. After running posttests in both groups, the scores were collected by the instructor. After the required data was collected, in order to find if the teaching of reading through each of the two methodologies, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in Group 1 and Content-Based Approach (CBA), have any significant effect on the ESP learners' reading skill, t-test was applied.

The mean scores of both groups were analyzed through

an independent samples t-test.

Design of the Study

a quasi-experimental design, pretest and posttest,

two homogeneous groups of Iranian ESP learners serve as two experimental groups at Shiraz University.

A treatment, as task-based and content-based instructions, is offered to the experimental groups. due to lack of clear sampling strategy and time limitations and university restrictions, convenience sampling is made to get an easy access to the respondents (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003), is most often used when the population is large and the researcher is unable to test every individual due to various circumstances.

The sample for this study is taken from Shiraz University, which enrolled ESP course majoring in architecture. While with a random sample, each participant has an equal chance of being chosen (Sampling, 2007).

Design of the study

a quasi-experimental design, pretest and posttest,

two homogeneous groups of Iranian ESP learners serve as two experimental groups at Shiraz University.

A treatment, as task-based and content-based instructions, is offered to the experimental groups.

Since, there was a lack of clear sampling strategy due to time limitations and university restrictions, convenience sampling is made to get an easy access to the respondents (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003), which is most often used when the population is large and the researcher is unable to test every individual due to various circumstances.

The sample for this study is taken from Shiraz University, which enrolled ESP course majoring in architecture. While with a random sample, each participant has an equal chance of being chosen (Sampling, 2007).

Design

03

chapter 3

Reach the Top

Whatever it takes

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Success

You made it!

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