Effect of Offline Newly-Developed Task Cycle (NDTC) on Iranian Medical Students’ Reading Comprehension Performance
DOR: 20.1001.1.23223898.2021.9.37.13.1

International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research

دوره 9، شماره 37، دی 2021، صفحه 185-193   

نوع مقاله: Research Papers

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.52547/JFL.9.37.195

نویسندگان

Morteza Gholami؛ Peyman Rajabi^*

Department of Foreign Languages, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad University, Malayer, Iran

چکیده

This study was conducted to explore the impact of integrating an evaluation cycle (Newly-developed Task Cycle) into Willis's task-based model on the improvement of Iranian medical students’ reading comprehension. In this quasi-treatment study, 60 medical students were selected through convenience sampling from Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran, and assigned to two groups of Willis and NDTC. The control group (Willis group) received the procedures of the task-based cycle proposed by Willis, and the treatment group (NTDC group) received the procedures of NDTC designed by the researchers of this study. Each group participated in 12 sessions with a focus on reading comprehension, which met twice a week for 90 minutes. Prior to starting the treatment, a pre-test was administered. Also, one week after the last session, a post-test was administered. The post-test scores were compared with pre-test scores in each group and finally with each other. The results obtained from the statistical analysis of the collected data revealed that while both frameworks were effective in improving the learners’ reading skills, NDTC had a greater impact in this respect. The findings of the study have beneficial implications for teachers, researchers, and educational managers, should NDTC be infiltrated into teaching methods. 

کلیدواژه‌ها

Newly-Developed Task Cycle؛ evaluation؛ reading comprehension

مراجع

 

Bensafa, A. (2017). Functions of ESP: Criteria to Understand what Really Makes IT an Approach Not a Product. Journal of Social Sciences, 3(3), 175-179.

Breen, M. (2012). The second language curriculum: The evaluation cycle for language learning tasks. University of Lancaster, Lancaster, England: Cambridge University Press.

Bygate, M., Skehan, P., & Swain, M. (2013). Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching, and testing: Routledge.

Dastpak, M., Jamshidi, M. (2008). Reading Matrix. Tehran: Azaran.

Davari, H., Iranmehr, A., & Erfani, S. M. (2013). A Critical Evaluation of PNU ESP Textbooks. Journal of Language Teaching & Research, 4(4).

De la Fuente, M. J. (2009). The role of pedagogical tasks and focus on form in the acquisition of discourse markers by advanced language learners. Little words. Their History, Phonology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, and Acquisition, 211-221.

Dreyer, C., & Nel, C. (2003). Teaching reading strategies and reading comprehension within a technology-enhanced learning environment. System, 31(3), 349-365.

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Ellis, R. (2009). Task‐based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221-246.

Eslami, Z. R. (2010). Teachers' Voice vs. Students' Voice: A Needs Analysis Approach to English for Acadmic Purposes (EAP) in Iran. English language teaching, 3(1), 3-11.

Fani, H., Ghiasi, P., & Ghaneh, Z. (2011). The comparison of task-based and traditional teaching methods in high school students’ English development. Quarterly Journal of New Approaches in Educational Administration, 4, 99-114.

Farhady, H. (2005). Reflections on and directions for ESP materials development in SAMT. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the first national ESP/EAP conference.

Iranmehr, A., Erfani, S. M., & Davari, H. (2011). Integrating task-based instruction as an alternative approach in teaching reading comprehension in English for special purposes: An action research. Theory and practice in Language studies, 1(2), 142-148.

Joe, A. (1998). What effects do text-based tasks promoting generation have on incidental vocabulary acquisition? Applied linguistics, 19(3), 357-377.

Karimkhanlouei, G. (2012). What do Medical Students Need to Learn in Their English Classes?

Malmir, A., Sarem, S. N., & Ghasemi, A. (2011). The Effect of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) vs. Content-Based. The Iranian EFL Journal, 7(6) 79-94.

Minaabad, M. S., & Khoshkholgh, F. F. (2012). Investigating the Effect of Genre-Based Pedagogy on English for Specific Purpose Learners’ Reading Comprehension. World Applied Sciences Journal, 18(2), 251-260.

McLelland, N. (2017). Teaching and learning foreign languages: A history of language education, assessment and policy in Britain: Taylor & Francis.

Nahavandi, N. (2013). Task-based activities in reading comprehension classes: Task-based language teaching & learning: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.

Rahimi, M., & Azhegh, H. (2011). The Impact of TBLT on Mechanical Engineering Students’ achievement And Reading Comprehension In An ESP Course.

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching: Cambridge university press.

Willis, J. (1996). A flexible framework for task-based learning. Challenge and change in language teaching, 52-62.

Zand Moghadam, A. (2007). The effect of task-based approach on the Iranian ESP learners reading comprehension. Tehran: Allametabatabaei University.

Zhu, W., & Mitchell, D. A. (2012). Participation in peer response as activity: An examination of peer response stances from an activity theory perspective. TESOL quarterly, 46(2), 362-386.