Task-Based Language Teaching for Elementary Students’ Reading Improvement: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) for elementary students’ reading comprehension. It was participated in by 29 public school students with varied reading abilities. Using a single-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, the researchers assessed the reading skills of students before and after implementing Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) for one month in an English classroom. The data were gathered using the researchers-made questionnaires and analyzed using the Paired Samples T-test to determine the significance and the effectiveness of TBLT in their reading comprehension. Contrary to what was expected, the results indicated a decrease in the reading scores of the students in the post-test which shows that Task-Based Language Teaching was not effective for this group of students. The findings suggest that the effectiveness of Task-Based Language Teaching may vary depending on factors like age and learning environment. The limitations of the study include its short duration and the small sample size in which future researchers should also look into and consider a longer period in implementing TBLT in the classroom.