The Effectiveness of Task-Based Language Teaching in Enhancing High School Students’ Communicative Competence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71435/639192Keywords:
Task-Based Language Teaching , Communicative Competence , English Language Teaching , Quasi-Experimental Desig, High School StudentsAbstract
Purpose: This study examined the effectiveness of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in enhancing the communicative competence of Indonesian high school students and compared its outcomes with conventional English instruction.
Subjects and Methods: A quantitative quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control group design was employed. Sixty Grade 11 students from two intact classes participated, with 30 students assigned to the experimental group and 30 to the control group. The experimental group received an eight-week TBLT intervention, while the control group received conventional instruction. Data were collected through oral communicative competence tasks assessed using an analytic rubric by two independent raters. Descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-tests, independent-sample t-tests, and Cohen’s d were used for analysis.
Results: The experimental group improved from a pre-test mean of 62.40 to a post-test mean of 79.13, with a gain of 16.73, whereas the control group increased from 61.87 to 67.20, with a gain of 5.33. Within-group changes were significant for both experimental (t(29) = 14.82, p < .001, d = 1.65) and control groups (t(29) = 5.11, p < .001, d = 0.54). The post-test difference was also significant (t(58) = 7.01, p < .001, d = 1.28). Improvements were also reported in fluency, vocabulary, and grammar, reinforcing the value of task-based communicative practice.
Conclusions: TBLT demonstrated greater effectiveness than conventional instruction in developing communicative competence.
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