과업 중심 교수법이 초등 영어 듣기 및 말하기 능력과 영어 학습 태도에 미치는 영향

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the change in listening, speaking achievement, and learning attitudes in Korean elementary students who enrolled the Task-based instruction class. The study was conducted by targeting 1st to 4th grade students who participated in after-school English programs at an elementary school in Gwangju. The classes were conducted twice a week for 5 weeks from March 14 to April 13. On the first day of the class, students were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their attitudes toward English learning. They also took a pre-listening and speaking test. In the class, the participant students performed a task-based lesson based on an English textbook. The task-based language teaching was composed of three stages: pre-task, task cycle, and post-task based on Nunan’s (1991) theory. After the experiment, the students were asked to fill out a post questionnaire and given a post-listening and speaking test. The pre- and post- questionnaire items were the same. The collected data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics and paired samples t-tests. The study results are as follows; first, the classes demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the student’s listening skills. The target language was reused through the various task-based activities. It seems that learners gave good opportunities to listen to classmates. Next, the students demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in their speaking skills. In other words, the students’ speaking skills were considerably improved in terms of fluency and vocabulary use. The students practiced listening and speaking with their classmates or through group activities while they were performing the task. It is observed that students can enhance their speaking abilities through interactions with others. And the tasks activities were helpful to the students to speak many words and phrases they already know. There were no statistically significant changes in the student’s learning attitudes. That is, there were no statistically significant differences in self-concept, attitudes and learning habits. Self-concept, attitudes and learning habits need an observation and analysis. Hence, it seems that more investigations on self-concept, attitudes and learning habits need to be conducted for a longer period of time. And, a short period of time and characteristic of study the participants’ impact on the results in the students’ learning attitudes. There were only 23 students used for this study the length of the experiment was 5 weeks. The small sample size and short period of experimental time might influence show small effect on the result. In spite of the short experimental period, this study gives compelling evidence that teaching English through task-based instruction is able to contribute to improve students’ listening and speaking abilities. The study provides teaching implications based on the results.