Task-Based Language Teaching and Willingness to Communicate in Group Discussions and Public Speaking: An Experimental Study

Abstract

The present study attempted to examine the impact of task-based language teaching (TBLT) on university undergraduate students' willingness to communicate (WTC) in group discussions and public speaking. This experimental study hypothesized that TBLT would facilitate students' WTC, which is also effective for language learning. To test the proposed hypothesis, students' pre-test and post-test scores on WTC were calculated at two different times by administering the adopted version of McCroskey's (1992) 20-item questionnaire. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, including an Independent-Samples t-test and one-way MANCOVA, were performed in SPSS. The results showed that both the experimental group and the control group were not homogeneous on the pre-test. To control for the pre-existing difference between the two groups, the t-test was replaced with one-way ANCOVA, in which the pre-test score was treated as a covariate. The findings showed that TBLT exerted a significant impact on English language learners' WTC in group discussions and public speaking. In contrast, the control group did not exhibit any progress in WTC on the post-test. The implications of the study are also discussed.