Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Abstract
This study is aimed at investigating the impact of task-based learning approach on developed reading comprehension of the EFL learners. To this end, the scores of reading comprehension tests in a group of students experiencing task-oriented method were compared with those of another group taught the common reading and translation method. The participants include 26 master's degree candidates of educational technology at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, in the academic year 2012-2013. The researcher randomly selected the subjects from among the female master's degree candidates of educational technology and divided them into two 13-member groups, namely experimental and control. The experimental group completed the educational text based on the task-oriented lesson plan, and the control group was taught the content with the common method. The measurement tool includes researcher-developed pre-test and post-test on English language reading comprehension at the higher education level. The tests were reliable by 0.63 and 0.72 respectively, which was higher than the criterion, i.e. 0.60. The data analysis method is quantitative, including mean, standard deviation, lowest and highest numbers of the experimental and control groups. The significance test suggested a difference between means of the two groups by means of different t-statistic. Results of the data analysis indicate that the language scores in the experimental group, taught using the task-oriented method, were higher in comparison to those of the control group, taught using the common reading and translation method. Therefore, the task-based method in teaching the English language develops reading comprehension skill of the learners.
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