Using a Task-Based Instruction Program for Promoting EFL Pre-Service Teachers' Speaking Skill and Phonological Awareness

     کلیة التربیة

        کلیة معتمدة من الهیئة القومیة لضمان جودة التعلیم

        إدارة: البحوث والنشر العلمی ( المجلة العلمیة)

    =======

Using a Task-Based Instruction Program for Promoting EFL Pre-Service Teachers' Speaking Skill and Phonological Awareness

By

}         المجلد الرابع والثلاثون – العدد الثالث – مارس 2018م {

http://www.aun.edu.eg/faculty_education/arabic

ملخص

       هدفت الدراسة الحالیة إلى دراسة إستخدام برنامج قائم على مدخل المهام لتحسین مهارات التحدث والوعى الصوتى لدى معلمى اللغة الإنجلیزیة قبل الخدمة بکلیة التربیة جامعة المنیا. استخدمت الدراسة المنهج شبه التجریبی(عینة تجریبیة واحدة) حیث قامت الباحثتان بتطبیق البرنامج المقترح على عینة الدراسة لمعرفة أثره فى تنمیة مهارات التحدث والوعى الصوتى لتحقیق أهداف البحث.

وتکونت عینة الدراسة من عدد عشرون طالبا وطالبة من الفرقة الرابعة- شعبة اللغة الإنجلیزیة. واشتملت أدوات الدراسة على استبیانات واختبارات  فى التحدث والوعى الصوتى والبرنامج التدریبی. وقد أشارت التحالیل الاحصائیة  إلى فاعلیة البرنامج المقترح القائم على مدخل المهام فى تنمیة مهارات التحدث و الوعى الصوتى لدى الطلاب ؛ حیث وجدت فروق ذو دلالة  إحصائیة بین متوسطى درجات عینة الدراسة فی التطبیقیین القبلى / البعدی لصالح التطبیق البعدى.

وقد تم عرض النتائج ومناقشتها. وأوصت الدراسة بإستخدام مدخل المهام لتحسین مهارات التحدث والوعى الصوتى لدى معلمى اللغة الإنجلیزیةما قبل الخدمة. کما اشتملت الدراسة على أهم التوصیات والمقترحات لبحوث مستقبلیة. 

الکلمات المفتاحیة:

مدخل المهام  مهارات التحدث و الوعى الصوتى

Abstract

The current study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using a task-based learning (TBL) program in developing speaking skills and phonological awareness of 4^th  year English majors at the Faculty of Education, Minia University. A pre - post experimental group design was used to achieve the study objectives. Twenty students were randomly chosen for the experimental group. Students were trained through the task-based program to develop their speaking skills and phonological awareness.  Instruments of the study included a needs assessment questionnaire to determine the sub skills of speaking and another questionnaire to determine the phonological awareness skills that were mostly needed by 4^th year English majors, a  pre-post  test  in speaking and  a pre-post test in phonological awareness. A training program based on task based approach was designed by the researchers. Analysis of data obtained by students (using t-test) revealed that the experimental group significantly achieved higher on the post  speaking and phonological awareness tests as the difference in the mean scores of the two administrations was statistically significant in favor of the post performance. Discussion of these findings, recommendations and suggestions for further research are presented.                                          

Key Terms:

Task-based Approach, Speaking Skills, phonological awareness                                                             

Introduction

Language is considered the human principle of understanding. It is the basic means of communication among people. Of all the language skills, speaking seems spontaneously the most effective for communication. Learning to speak is a crucial aim in itself, for it equips students with a set of skills they can use for the rest of their lives. Speaking is the form of communication used to express opinions, make arguments, offer explanations, transmit information, and make impressions upon others. While articulating such utterances, one is required to take into consideration different phonological features of words. Among the methods, which enables learners to use the language subconsciously in a natural environment is Task-based Instruction (TBI). It is a way to negotiate meaning with others. (Nunan, 2006) presents opportunities to employ effective and meaningful activities and thus promotes communication in the language classroom (Willis, 2004).                                                                                           

 Task-based Instruction

 There is a call now for a move in the process of learning and teaching the language toward task-based instruction. Task-based Instruction is considered as the most recent effective approach mainly concerned with providing certain learning  environment for students in the form of different tasks for communicative purpose. It considers tasks as the central element in the language classroom, because the process       of acquiring the language is developed in context through tasks        (Ellis, 2003).Task-based approach, as Lin (2009) stated, represents        "a trendy concept in language teaching. The purpose of teaching is not to assist learners in obtaining scheduled targets but to provide them with the context and conditions where language acquisition can take place". Many advocates of TBIregard it as an alternative method  to the  regular methods of  teaching  and learning because  it favors a methodology  in which  functional  communicative  use is aimed at and strived  for.  They also  believe  in the valuable impact of this approach to teaching and learning  the  different  language skills  as it aims to engage students         in communicative use of the language in the process of carrying                 out defined, meaningful and pedagogical tasks. Moreover, TBI indicates  that  learning the language is a dynamic procedure which facilitates communication and social interaction among students more           effectively when they are naturally exposed to meaningful tasks            (Willis, 2004, Shehadeh, 2005, Nunn 2006).                                                          

Task-based  instruction approach is a student-centered approach which views language  a communicative tool that aims at presenting opportunities for learners to master language skills via  activities designed to engage learners in the natural, practical and functional use   of language for meaningful purposes. The essence of task-based instruction is to engage students in authentic learning activities and to  put them in the kinds of situations in which they need to use these skills (Lin, 2009, Jeon, 2006).

Although TBI  is a method which concentrates on language learning via tasks  performed  by learners in real contexts, the definition of the term 'task" is  still  controversial. For  example,  Skehan  (2003)  stated  that a task is "an activity in which " meaning is primary; there is some communication problem to solve;  there is some  sort of  relationship to comparable real world  activities;  task  completion  has  some  priority; and the assessment of task performance is in terms of task outcome". Ellis (2003), as well , regarded the instructional task as "some kind of activity designed to engage the learner in using the language communicatively or reflectively in order to arrive at an outcome other than that of learning a specified  feature of the language". Nunan (2004) defined a task  as "a piece of  classroom work  that  is  as  close  to       target tasks as possible, tasks become pedagogical  in  nature  which  involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing  and  interacting  while  their attention  is principally focused on meaning rather than  form ".                                  

However, in  order  to  have  an overall view on the nature of the Task,  Ellis  (2003)  mentioned  six  criteria  features of  a task as follow:     

1) A task constitutes a plan for learning activity.                                         

2) A task involves a primary focus on meaning. It seeks to engage            Learners in using language pragmatically rather than displaying           language. It seeks to develop language proficiency through communicating.                                                                                     

3) A task involves real-world processes of language use in which learners are engage in an activity such as that found in the real-world.              

4)  A task can involve any of the four language skills whether receptive and productive.                                                                                          

5)  A task engages cognitive processes in which learners are required to      utilize such processes as selecting, classifying, reasoning and                evaluating information in order to carry out the task.                                 

6)   A task has a clear defined communicative outcome which serves as the means of determining when participants have completed the task.     

Generally speaking, TBI is  an effective approach which promotes learning language knowledge and training skills through the process of performing tasks. According to Willis (2007) and Stanley (2003) TBI provides  students  with  natural  exposure, opportunities to express what they  want  to  mean,  and to analyze  performances throughout tasks.  In TBI, learners work in pairs or groups to rehearse and practice a conversation before they present it in front of their peers. It provides        the opportunity to practice the language in a safer context to           promote learning. Finally, it is argued  that TBI  lesson  is  commonly divided  into  three  basic  phases: the 'pre-task' which  is  concerned  with  the  various  activities that   students can carry out before they start the task; the 'during task' phase which concentrates  on  the  task  itself  and  affords various instructional options and  the  'post-task'  phase  which  involves  procedures for  following  up   the task performance (Ellis (2003) &Willis (2007).                                   

Speaking                                                                                            

Mastery  of  the  speaking skill is considered  a priority for all students, teachers and those who are concerned with the teaching  and learning  process.  Learning  a language  is  measured  in  terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the foreign language. However, in addition to being an important skill, speaking is also a great challenge for students to master. Speaking  is the most important  language skill which assists students to express themselves freely and spontaneously. It is the verbal communication which involves  not only forming  meaningful  utterances but  also  receiving  others’ oral  production. Through  using  verbal and non-verbal symbols, meaning  is built  and  shared  among  people in the speaking  process  (Richards, 2007). Therefore,  speaking  is  thus regarded as  a critical  skill in learning a foreign language by most students, and their success in learning a language is measured  in terms of their accomplishment in  oral  communication  (Nunan, 2011).                                                     

According to Brown (2007), speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information. It provides  learners with the ability to communicate effectively, to convey their message in  a comprehensible manner and to converse fluently with others.  In order to learn spoken skills, learners need   to construct knowledge and skills for participation. Speaking requires that learners  not  only to know how to produce  specific aspects  of  language such as  grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary  but  also to comprehend  when, why, and  how to produce language.                                               

Luoma (2004) considered speaking an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information. Its  form  and  meaning  are  dependent  on  the  context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking. It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving.                                                                                 

An  ample  number  of  the advocates of TBI to teaching  speaking skills  (Luoma, 2004; Richards, 2009, Brown, 2007 and Nunan, 2011) agreed  on  some  specific  tasks  and  activities for students to be encouraged  to  perform  in  order  to  enhance  their speaking skills as shown in the following:                                                                             

• Participate in oral pair or group activities such as, a debate, a     discussion, a conversation.                   
• Giving directions for other students.
• * Answering questions. 
• * Describing objects from a picture or chart. 
•  Using own words to tell or retell a well-known story or experience.*
• * Reporting a prepared topic 
• * Taking a role in a communicative language game
• * Performing Information gap activity.
• Interviewing someone.  * 
• *-Giving opinions and making preferences.
• * Making suggestions and giving advice.

Phonological  awareness skills:

According  to  Yopp & Yopp (2009) understanding the sound system of  the language requires a certain level of phonological awareness. Teaching phonological awareness requires considerable time and effort. Phonological awareness relates only to speech sounds, not to alphabet letters or sound-spellings, so it is not necessary for students to recognize the alphabet to develop a basic phonological awareness of language. Tibi (2010) also clarified that phonological awareness is not acquired spontaneously. It seems to develop only through systematic and apparent training.                                                                                                     

            A phonological awareness skill is considered one of the most important  skills  that  students  need to demonstrate in order to develop other language skills. Demonstrating good phonological awareness skills means that  learners  are able to manipulate sounds and words, or “play” with  sounds and words  ( Schuele, 2015).  Phonological awareness is the key word in the mainstream of language system as it refers to the ability to distinguish  individual  letters  and  their  association with sounds, and "is the basis for decoding  spoken  words  into phonemes (the smallest sound units  of  language), syllables  (segments  of  speech that are uninterrupted by obstructions to airflow), onsets (the initial sound of a word), and rimes (the unit that follows the onset)"(Zhang, 2009).                                             

 Phonological awareness is also regarded as a basic element of the broader category of phonological processing, which refers to the use of speech sounds in processing written language "(i.e., reading, spelling) and oral language (i.e., listening, speaking) (El-Hassan, 2017). Johnson & Geoswami (2010) stated that phonological awareness follows a developmental sequence, with awareness of syllables developing first, then awareness of  rhymes,  and  finally (partly via alphabetic learning) awareness of  phonemes. Therefore, it is very crucial to  identify certain terms in relation to phonology: Phonological awareness, Phonemic awareness and Phonics.                                                                              

According to  Yopp & Yopp (2009), Tibi (2010) and Schuele           ( 2015): Phonological awareness is the ability to think about and analyze the sound structure of language It includes skill at the level of words, syllables, and sounds (i.e., phonemes), Phonemic awareness is the ability to analyze the sounds  structure  of  language at the phoneme  level  including segmentation and blending ; and finally, Phonics is the knowledge of how the sounds of language (speech sounds or phonemes) are represented.  Mayer (2008) added that phonological awareness involves knowing that words are composed of sound units and that sound units can be combined to form words. For example, the spoken word "pan" consists of three phonemes: /p/, /a/, and /n/.Phonological awareness refers to (1) the process of breaking a spoken word into its sound units-such as being able to discriminate  the  sounds  /p/, /a/, and /n/ when the word "pan"' is spoken-and (2) the process of  producing  and  blending  sound  units to form spoken words-such as being  able to produce and  blend  these  three sounds when one wants to say the word "pan". However, tasks of the phonological awareness may vary in type and difficulty and goes through a sequence of processes and activities as clarified by Schuele & Boudreau (2008) in the following figure:                                                                                       

Accordingly, the phonological awareness skills are distinguished by the task performed and the size of the unit of sound that it is the focus of the task. Blending sounds together, segmenting words into constituent sounds, recombining sounds of words and judging whether two words have some sounds in common (Anthony & Francis, 2005)                                         

Literature Review:

Task-Based and Speaking Skills:

Kasap (2005) explored the effectiveness of (TBI) in improving students’ speaking skills and their perceptions of the approach.  The researcher used questionnaires, interviews and oral tests to collect data. Findings of the study indicated that students had positive reactions to the tasks  included  in  the  instruction  and found them helpful in developing and  improving  their speaking abilities. Findings also indicated that students’  general  perceptions  of  TBI  were positive.  Fan-Jiang’s study (2005) investigated  the effectiveness of implementing TBI  in a Taiwanese primary school. The  finding  of  the study revealed that TBLT could enhance  the  students’ motivation  and  attitudes  toward  learning  English.

Al Nashash  (2006)  examined  the  effect of  a task-based  program  for  teaching  English  language  productive  skills on  the  development of  first  year  secondary  grade students' oral and written skills. Results indicated that TBI program enhanced the learning of communicative speaking skill is  better  than  the  conventional  method of teaching.             

Torky  (2006) investigated  the effectiveness of a TBI program in developing speaking skills of secondary stage students. The researcher developed a checklist, a speaking proficiency  test  and  a task- based  program  as tools of the study. Results showed that the differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and  the  control  group  were  statistically significant on the post-test in favor of the former group in the overall speaking. She referred these differences to the exposure to the suggested task-based program. According to the results of this study, TBI program was very effective in enhancing secondary school students' speaking skills.                                                                                          

Aljarf's  (2007)  investigated the  effect  of  TBI  on  EFL students at the  college of  language  at  King  Saud University. The students were taught using TBI principles, instructions, and procedures as they were enrolled in a two-hour speaking course. They were pre and post-tested. The results indicated that the students could speak fluently using correct grammar and pronunciations, and could easily generate ideas. The improvement of students' performance was due to well-organized TBI. Khattar  (2008)  also  attempted  to investigate the effectiveness of using TBI approach  in  developing the oral interaction communicative competence of 1^st year secondary school students. Results of the study revealed the improvement of students' performance in their oral skills.          

 Murad  (2009) explored the impact of TBI in improving students’ speaking skills among the Palestinian secondary EFL students and  on their attitudes towards  English. Findings of the study indicated that there was a significant improvement in students' speaking skill and their attitudes towards English.                                                                                        

Dalley (2009) investigated  the  use of Task-Based Language Teaching in Korean classrooms. She  adopted the communicative approach TBI on teaching English for the Korean students. Findings  showed that more than 75% of the students were enjoying speaking in the classroom due to using tasks.                     .                                                                     

The study of Rahman (2010) tried to explore the possibility and viability of task-based approach to apply for the teaching of oral communication. Data collected on indicated that the task-based approach to teach oral communication was very promising but needs more empirical data. Similarly, Hasan  (2011)  explored the effect of implementing TBI in teaching the methodology course on the English oral performance and speaking confidence perception of the general diploma students at the college of education.  A checklist of the English oral performance skills, an oral performance test, an assessment rubric and a speaking confidence perception inventory were administered as tools of the study. Data were analyzed and indicated that there were statistically significant differences between mean scores of the experimental and the control group students in both the oral performance test and the speaking confidence perception inventory, favoring the experimental group.                                             

 Sofyana  (2015)  attempted  the implementation of the Task-Based Language teaching in improving students’ speaking skill. Tools  included observation, interview and pre-post test. Results indicated an improvement in students' speaking skills as there mean scores were higher on the post performance of the test.                                                                              

Sanchez (2016) aimed to develop the English speaking skills of third graders. The researcher attempted to transform pupils' passive behavior into active participation through concepts and principles taken from task- based learning.  The researcher used surveys, questionnaires, self-evaluation grids and video transcriptions as tools of the study. The conclusion of the study revealed and confirmed the positive impact of TB learning on pupils' speaking performance.                                                                              

Task-based Instruction and Phonological Awareness Skills:     

An ample number of studies attempted to examine the effectiveness of TBI approach in promoting different language skills: on reading comprehension (e.g. Amer, 2017, Abdullah & Sahebi, 2012), on vocabulary, on speaking (e.g .Torky, 2006; Hasan,2011, Sofyana ,2015)on grammar (e.g. Yildiz, 2017). However, still these studies are insufficient in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt.  Literature  review showed  that  no such a study  attempted  to  investigate  its effectiveness  on phonological awareness skills in Egypt.                                                                         

Reviewing the literature, it was evident that there is a strong relationship between spoken language and phonological awareness as clarified by Gillon (2004) who referred to the  phonological  awareness as the learners' awareness of the sound structure, or phonological structure of spoken word which would enable them to sound out a word. Similarly, Tibi (2010) referred to phonological awareness as learners' ability to recognize and make use of the phonological structure underlying spoken language. Because of the gap in the literature,          there was an urgent need for conducting the current study aiming to investigate the effectiveness of TBI in  developing speaking phonological awareness skills.                             

Background of the Problem:                                                           

While teaching EFL pre-service teachers, the researchers noticed that students were unable to talk spontaneously without long hesitations. They committed numerous grammatical and pronunciation mistakes. They showed inability to express their ideas without using their mother tongue. When using videos in methodology classes, many students were unable to comprehend the conversations and speeches presented. To document the problem of  the  study, the researchers  conducted  an informal interview with thirty  4^th year  English majors  at the Faculty of Education to ask about their  background knowledge and skills they have  in conversation  and phonology. They asserted that phonology classes were very difficult, disliked, theoretical and uninteresting due to the abstract information  that mostly lack the practical side. As for the conversation classes, they confirmed that they did not practice using the language in different situations.                                                                                                   

To further investigate the problem, the researchers developed   two questionnaires to assess  student teachers' knowledge of the main speaking and phonological awareness skills that they mostly need in their future teaching career.  Results of the questionnaires indicated that they had problems in the basic speaking and phonological awareness skills.          

 Consequently, it was evident that the convention models of teacher preparation programs  miss the fact that the ultimate purpose of teaching phonology is enhancing students' language skills , particularly, speaking, and phonological awareness.. Therefore, new methods of teaching are called for. Task based  instruction (TBI) was suggested in the present study  to help pre-service teachers of English excel in English speaking and phonological awareness skills.                                                                                        

The pilot study

 The researchers conducted a pilot study and developed two questionnaires that were conducted on randomly chosen  27 students in the Faculty of Education.. The questionnaires aimed to find out the different  speaking skills they had and how far they apply them in the conversation classes. Students indicated that in conversation classes they only had different dialogues and conversations followed by different questions to be answered without referring to any specific speaking skills. Speaking practice is just restricted to giving short answers to some questions. Students also indicated that in Phonology classes they only studied some theoretical background about phonological symbols. The pilot study was conducted two weeks prior to the real implementation of the study. The researchers conducted the Speaking and Phonological awareness tests and calculated their validity and reliability. Face validity for all instruments was determined by consulting a panel of experts, whereas the internal validity was decided by either internal consistency or Cronbach Alpha Coefficience. The reliability was found through Cronbach Alpha Coefficient, test-retest, or the inter-rater method. The pilot study revealed that all instruments were valid and reliable.                                                                                                

Statement of the Problem:

  Results of the  questionnaire showed that 4^th year English Majors  needed to develop their speaking and phonological awareness skills.  Reviewing literature, task -based learning (TBL) method  was suggested  to be effective for achieving this purpose.                                                    

Questions:        

"How  effective was using task -based learning (TBL) program in developing speaking skills and phonological awareness of  EFL pre-service teachers at the Faculty of Education, Minia University?      

More specifically, the first question can be branched into the following questions:                                                                                                    

• How effective was using task -based learning (TBL) program in developing speaking skills of EFL pre-service teachers at the Faculty of Education, Minia University?                                                      
• How effective was using task -based learning (TBL) program in developing phonological awareness of EFL pre-service teachers at the Faculty of Education, Minia University?                                        

Objectives of the Study:                                                   

The study was conducted to :

1- Identify the effectiveness of using task -based learning (TBL) program in   developing speaking skills of 4^th year English majors at the Faculty of Education, Minia University.

2- Identify the effectiveness of using task -based  learning (TBL) program in   developing phonological awareness of  4^th year English majors at the Faculty of Education, Minia University.                                                          

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were tested:

1-There would be statistically significant differences between mean scores of the experimental group in the pre-post administrations of the speaking test in favor of post administration of the Speaking skills test.

2-There would be statistically significant differences between mean scores of the experimental group in the pre-post administrations of the speaking test in favor of post administration of each sub-skill.

3- There would be statistically significant difference between mean   scores of the experimental group in the pre-post administrations of the phonological awareness test in favor of post administration of the whole  phonological awareness skills test.                                                                                 

4- There would be statistically significant differences between mean   scores of the experimental group in the pre-post administrations of the phonological awareness test in favor of post administration in each   phonological awareness sub-skills.

Significance:

 the present study was expected to be significant in constructing        a program particularly directed to pre-service teachers to enhance their basic speaking and phonological awareness skills. The study might be significant to pre-service students as it provides an instructional strategy based on using different tasks. The findings could be theoretically and practically significant for EFL teachers, curriculum designers and researchers.                          

Delimitations

1- Only twenty (20) 4^th year English Majors at the Faculty of Education, Minia University participated in the study.. They were particularly chosen, because they had some background knowledge of  linguistics   a prerequisite for the program. They were prospective teachers who needed to demonstrate some basic skills in. speaking and phonological awareness to make use of them in their future teaching.

2- The treatment lasted only for eight weeks in the first term of the academic year 2017/ 2018, three hours a week, in addition to another two weeks for the pre-post tests.

3- The speaking skills were limited to the sub skills that are most needed by 4^th year English majors and these were decided upon by jury members who confirmed their suitability for the participants. These skills were Giving opinions and Making Preferences; Discussing a topic; Talking  about oneself; Giving information; Describing pictures; Making suggestions and giving advice; Asking questions; Taking Turns and telling a story.          

4- Phonological awareness skills were limited to the sub skills that are mostly needed by 4^th year English majors and these were decided upon  by jury members who confirmed their  suitability for the participants. These skills were: Producing Rhyming; Segmenting Syllable; Blending Syllable; Blending words; Segmenting Onset-rime; Blending Onset-rime; Segmenting Sound; Blending Sound; Producing Diphthong and Identifying vowels.   

Definitions of Terms:

Speaking Skill:

 Wikipedia (2017) defined speaking as "the process or act of performing a speech to a live audience. This type of speech is deliberately structured with three general purposes: to inform, to persuade and to entertain. Public speaking is commonly understood as formal, face-to-face speaking of a single person to a group of listeners".                                                       

Scanlon and Zemach (2009) defined it as " students' ability to consistently and continuously speak without pauses or hesitations; consistently communicate all ideas without difficulty, pronounce words correctly and clearly; use varied and correct vocabulary and be able to communicate them properly; consistently use correct grammatical structures and use gestures appropriately.                                                                

Speaking is defined operationally in this study as the students' ability to express themselves orally, correctly, clearly and appropriately in a given meaningful context using correct pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.  

Phonological Awareness  

Wikipedia (2017)  defined it  as " an individual's awareness of the phonological or sound structure of words involving the detection and manipulation of sounds at three levels of sound structure: (1) syllables, (2) onsets and rimes, and (3) phonemes. Awareness of these sounds is demonstrated through a variety of tasks 

Schuelle & Boudreau (2008) defined it as the" understanding of the different ways that spoken language can be broken into smaller components. It is the ability to attend to, identify and utilize a range of sounds within speech stream".                                                                                          

Phonological awareness is defined operationally in this study as the   Students' ability to rhyme words, segment sentences, segment and blend syllable, segment and blend onset-rime and to segment and blend phonemes through using different tasks.                                                                    

Task-Based Instruction: (TBI)

Nunan (2004) defines TBI as " an approach which seeks to allow students to work  somewhat at their own speed and within their own level and area of interest to process and restructure their inter language. It moves away from a prescribed developmental sequence and introduces learner freedom and autonomy into the learning process".                                   

Frost (2007) defines it as "a method of instruction in the field of language acquisition and learning. It focuses on the students doing meaningful tasks using the target language                                                

The operational definition of TBI is that it is a method of learning that is built on different tasks for students to perform in pairs or groups through interaction in  the target language.                                                            

Research Design

The study adopted a pre-post experimental group design. Twenty   4^th year English majors at the Faculty of Education were submitted to an intensive TBL program. Students were trained to use different speaking and phonological awareness skills. The data of the study were gathered by a pre-post speaking test and a pre-post phonological awareness test.                

Variables

Independent Variable

-Using a Task- Based Learning program. 

Dependent Variables

1- Developing students' speaking skills.

2- Developing students' Phonological awareness skills

Control Variables:

All students were 4^th years English Major at the Faculty of Education, Minia University.

Instruments of the study:

The researchers developed the followingInstruments

 -A needs assessment questionnaire in the speaking skills.

 -A needs assessment questionnaire in the phonological awareness skills.   - A Speaking skills Test.

 - A phonological awareness skills Test.

- A rubric for assessing the speaking skills test.

 Description of the different Instruments:

I-The Questionnaires

the researchers developed two questionnaires. The first aimed         at specifying the speaking skills that are mostly needed by 4^th year English majors. The second one aimed at figuring out students’ phonological awareness skills.  Building the questionnaires went through the following steps:

• Reviewing the literature related to the field of reading comprehension skills.
• Building up the questionnaires following these steps:

a- Stating the objectives of the questionnaire 

b- Stating the sub- skills

 c- Identifying the opinions of the jury members through the preliminary questionnaires.

1- The Speaking skills questionnaire

There were nine basic speaking skills in this questionnaire as mostly needed for 4^th year English Majors as modified and approved by the jury members. The questionnaire consisted of twenty sub-speaking skills which were tailed into nine ones according to the viewpoint of EFL experts. These skills were: Giving opinions and Making Preferences; Discussing a topic; Talking about oneself; Giving information; Describing pictures; Making suggestions and giving advice; Asking questions based on information provided; Taking Turns and Narrating or telling a story.                         

2- The Phonological Awareness Questionnaire:

 This questionnaire  includes 20 items that are mostly needed by 4^th year English Majors and were approved by the jury members. The questionnaire consisted of sixteen sub- phonological awareness skills. These skills were:Rhyming Production; Syllable Segmentation; Syllable Blending; Blending words; Onset-rime Segmentation; Onset-rime Blending; Sound Segmentation; Sound Blending; Diphthong production and Vowel identification. For final form see Appendix (A).                                       

Validity of the Questionnaires

Seven TEFL specialists, the jury members, approved the face validity of the questionnaires, their suitability and necessity for the participants.

3-The Speaking Skills Test:

Objectives:  

This test was designed to:

1- Assess fourth year English majors' performance speaking skills         

2- Measure the degree of improvement after the course is over.

Test Construction:

The test consisted of nine situation questions  representing the most important objectives of  the program.

Testing Time

      During piloting the test, the researcher calculated time taken by each student  finishing the test and the average was found to be 30 minutes. Thus the  testing time was half an hour.                                                                           

Test Scoring

 In order to assess students’ answers in the speaking test, the researchers developed a rubric for this purpose. The rubric was divided into two main criteria: Accuracy and Fluency. Each criterion included five basic items.  Students’ scores ranged from (1) to (5) for each criterion. Thus, the total score of each question was (10). Three raters were asked to use the rubric to score the test. The average of their scores was calculated. The inter rater reliability between the 1^st and the 2^nd raters was (0.93), between the 2^nd and 3^rd raters was (0.97) and between the 1^st and 3^rd raters was (0.97). The total score of the test was (90) points.                                                               

Validity of the Test

Face Validity of the Test

The test was submitted to a jury of 7 qualified and experienced TEFL specialists. They were requested to judge the linguistic stating of the items, appropriateness, clarity of instructions, the difficulty level, length, applicability, suitability to  the participants, and how far the items measure the skill it is intended to measure. Their suggestions were taken into consideration. The jury members confirmed the suitability, validity and applicability of the test.                                                                              

 The Internal Consistency

The validity of the test was determined  by computing internal consistency of each question. This was calculated by using (Pearson correlation formula). Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.54 to 0.92 and  Eta-Squared ranged from 0.94 to 0.98 as shown in Table (1) below.                            

Table (1)

Correlation Coefficients &η² between each domain and the total sheet of the Speaking test               No=10

*Significant at 0.05 level

The Reliability of the Test

 The test was administered to ten fourth year English Majors. The data  obtained was computed to calculate the reliability coefficient. The                 reliability coefficient (0.80) of the test was determined by Cronbach Alpha which was 0.795 as shown in Table (2). This shows that the speaking test enjoys a high degree of reliability. 

Table (2)

Cronbach Alpha’s reliability Coefficient of the Speaking test                                            No=10

*Significant at 0.05 level

4- The Phonological Awareness skills Test:

 Objectives:   This test was designed to:

1- Assess fourth year English majors' performance in phonological awareness skills

2- Measure the degree of improvement after the course is over.

Test Construction:

The test consisted of ten questions. Each question includes         five items.     

Test Scoring

Each  correct  answer  received one score. The total score of the test is (50) points.

Testing Time

 While administering the pilot study, the researcher calculated time taken by each student finishing the test and the average was found to be 60 minutes. Thus the testing time was one hour.

Validity of the Test

Face Validity

A group of twenty seven 4^th year English Majors were randomly selected for piloting the test. The test was submitted to a jury of 7 qualified and experienced TEFL specialists. They were requested to judge the linguistic stating of the items, appropriateness, clarity of the test instructions, the difficulty level, length of the test, applicability, fitness of the items for the participants, and how far the items measure the skill it is intended to measure. Their suggestions were taken into consideration. The jury members confirmed the suitability, validity and applicability of the test                  

 The Internal Consistency of the Test Items

The validity of the test was determined by computing                  internal consistency of each question. This was calculated by using (Pearson correlation formula). Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.50 to 0.78. This indicated that the test was valid as shown in Table (3).                             

Table (3)

Correlation Coefficients, Alpha& η²between each domain and the total sheet of the Phonological Awareness skills Test     No=27

*Significant at 0.05 level             

Item Analysis

Item Difficulty and Discriminating Power

 Responses to individual items were analyzed to determine item difficulty and discriminating power. The difficulty index is accepted as it ranged from 0.33 to 0.55. Item Discrimination  was calculated to determine how well each item discriminates between high and low achievers. The discriminating items are those answered correctly by more of the higher group than of the lower one. Discrimination power ranged from 0.33 to 0.55                      

The Reliability of the Test

The test was administered to twenty seven 4^th  year English Majors. The data obtained was computed to calculate the reliability coefficient. The reliability coefficient of the test (0.987) was determined by Cronbach Alpha. See   Table (2). This shows that the Phonological awareness test enjoys a high degree of reliability.                                                                                   

Table (4)

Cronbach Alpha’s reliability Coefficient of the Phonological Awareness test               No=27

*Significant at 0.05 level

Procedures Followed in Teaching the Experimental Group

1- The session began by face to face interaction. The instructors posed a

     question to arouse students' interest and motivation.

2- The instructors started by informing the key words "Task-Based Instruction, speaking skills and phonological Awareness ", to the participants. They tried to identify students' prior knowledge about TBI through some  leading questions.

3- The instructors used the TBI approach in which learners did task-based               activities via a cycle of pre-task stage, during task stage, and         post-task  stage. 

4- In the pre-task stage, students were encouraged to guess, predict or     inquire about the topic. The instructors asked similar questions in       the main task. Questions were used to make sure that the tasks instructions were clearly understood by all students to ensure complete involvement in the  tasks.                                                                                                       

5- In the pre-task stage, students were assigned roles in  pairs or              groups   tasks and discussed how to manage the time for each task.  In           some cases, students were asked to perform tasks similar to those                  performed in the during task stage to ensure complete understanding of the different tasks. While performing those tasks, they were asked to use   only English to prepare them for the next stage. This is why this stage is  called the preparation task-phase. This stage paved the way for the  students to do the tasks efficiently and accurately.                                

6-  In the during task stage, students were provided opportunities to          accomplish real and authentic tasks on different speaking and                          phonological skills. They performed the main tasks sometimes in pairs          and other times in groups. Tasks were challenging and meaningfully             introduced to participants so as to acquire deeper understanding. In this  stage, participants were provided opportunities to combine more than one skill in the same task and were practicing different activities in which they produced sentences and appropriate expressions based on the different situations. Students were asked to present their tasks using English and concentration was on fluency rather than accuracy. Students played different roles to perform each tasks. Topics were suitable, familiar to the students,   imaginative and appropriate for students’ interests, language level and culture. Tasks were varied e.i. .talking about oneself; discussing a certain topic and narrating a story, and as for the phonological awareness tasks were segmenting and blending of syllables; onset-rime blending and segmenting   

7- In the post-task stage: students were encouraged to comment on their implementation of the tasks and received feedback from other groups and the instructors for further understanding. Through this stage, students focused on the language they used to complete the task and sometimes they were asked to repeat the performed task, and make comments on the it  by themselves to encourage reflection on how the task was performed. Task repetition helps students to improve fluency and acquire the speaking and phonological awareness skills. Sometimes, students were required to perform different conversations in front of the whole class taking into consideration the utterances and expressions they used and the phonological abilities.                                                                                                    

Results

The present study tried to explore how effective teaching speaking and phonological awareness through TBI was on the experimental group. The “t-test” was utilized for the analysis of data obtained from the Speaking and Phonological awareness tests. Scores of the participants on the pre-post tests were analyzed and compared.

Hypothesis (1)

Hypothesis (1) predicted that there would be significant difference (in favor of the post performance) between mean scores on the pre and post performance on the total speaking test.

Results indicated that the experimental group's mean scores on the post administration of the whole sheet of the Speaking test was higher and statistically significant compared to the pre- administration as t-value (0.98) is ( 16.04), and Eta- squared was 0.98 as presented in table (5). Consequently, the first hypothesis is confirmed and accepted.                         

Table (5)

t-value & η² between mean scores of the Experimental group in the Pre-Post Speaking Test

*Significant at 0.05

Hypothesis (2)

 Results revealed that the experimental group achieved                      a significant improvement on each domain of the post speaking test as the difference in the mean scores between the pre and post administrations was statistically significant. Results also showed that students got high marks on particular speaking skills (Discussing a topic; Asking questions based on information provided; Giving opinions and Making Preferences and Describing pictures) as t-values were high as shown in table (7). This result illustrates that the enhancement of the Experimental group performance  was due to the exposure to the TBI program which was found to be effective in promoting speaking skills of the participants. Consequently, the second hypothesis is confirmed and accepted.

Table (7)

t-value & η² between mean scores of the Experimental group in relation to the Pre-Post Speaking Test Domains

*Significant at 0.05 level

Hypothesis (3)

Results indicated that the experimental  group's mean scores on the post administration of the whole sheet of the Phonological Awareness test was higher and statistically significant compared to the pre- administration as t-value (15.18) is significant and Eta- squared is ( 0.94) as presented in table (8). Consequently, the third hypothesis is confirmed and accepted.   

Table (8)

t-value & η² between mean scores of the Experimental group in the  Pre- Post Phonological Awareness Test

*Significant at 0.05  

Hypothesis (4)

 Results revealed that the experimental group achieved a significant improvement on each domain of the post Phonological Awareness test as the difference in the mean scores between the pre and post administrations was statistically significant. Results also showed that students got high marks on particular Phonological Awareness skills (Diphthong production; Onset-rime segmentation; Syllable Blending; Sound Blending and Onset-rime Blending) as t-values were high as shown in table (9). These results illustrate that the enhancement of the Experimental group performance was due to the  TBI program which was found to be effective in promoting Phonological Awareness skills of the participants. Consequently, the fourth hypothesis is confirmed and accepted.                                                                           

Table (9)

 t-value & η² between mean scores of the Experimental group in relation to the Pre-Post Phonological Awareness test Domains

*Significant at 0.05

Discussion

Based on the results mentioned above, there is evidence that the suggested TBI program had a large effect on promoting speaking and phonological awareness of  EFL 4^th year students at the faculty of Education. This is indicated by the previously presented statistical analysis where scores of the experimental group on the pre-post administrations of speaking and phonological awareness tests were compared using t-test. The researchers attributed  these results to the implementation of TBI program in teaching the experimental group. Using the TBI program was found to be effective and useful for the participants. This is consistent with the results provided by varied studies that proved the effective role of TBI program on promoting EFL students' different language skills (e.g. Amer & Demirel, 2 017, ; Yildiz, 2017, Sofyana, 2015, Sarani &   Sahebi, 2012,  Rahman, 2010, Murad, 2009,Torky, 2006, etc.)                                                                  

There is a great consensus among researchers, as mentioned in literature review, that TBI provided different valuable opportunities for students to learn new information and acquire skills actively. TBI focuses on learners through which students worked cooperatively, exchanged ideas, expressed opinions and shared experiences to perform certain tasks. Using pair work and group work throughout tasks increased the talking time of students and lowered their unwillingness to talk in front of the full class thus increased their motivation to participate.  Each task had a clear and obvious outcome which helped students to focus and define their target clearly. Students also found these tasks useful and effective since they built on authentic, daily language use. Besides, they were satisfied that they had variety of chances to practice newly learned vocabulary related to a different topic in each task. Moreover, the direct and clear guidelines at the pre-task stage helped to create interest in doing the task which increased their involvement, and willingness to practice speaking and do phonological activities.                                                                                                     

Students were given the opportunity to make use of the guidelines they were exposed to and the planning they did to perform a real task in the performance stage of the task. In the post- task stage, reporting and presenting the task helped students rethink their performance throughout group discussion with the instructors before they performed publicly in front of their peers, which gave them a sense of confidence and willingness to take part. Students not only were required to present their final task outcome, but they were required also to repeat the whole task performance publicly at the post task stage.  The majority of students enjoyed talking in front of their peers, making presentations and expressing their viewpoints as revealed in their reflection on the TBI program. Some students were unwilling to participate at the beginning of the experiment but after sometimes they began to get used to presentations and even shy students were willing to participate.                                                                          

Conclusion:

The findings of the study reflect the utility of the TBI program in developing students’ speaking and phonological awareness skills. Students highlighted the benefits of using the TBI program as a useful tool for developing their speaking and phonological awareness skills. They indicated that they enjoyed the task cycle of the TBI program which were very motivating and interesting. They were satisfied with learning through different tasks which encouraged them to speak, collaborate, cooperate and debate with each other. Those tasks increased their motivation and positive attitudes towards learning to speak.

  Providing  students  with  clear and  obvious instruction before the task fostered their understanding of the basic characteristics of spoken discourse and phonological awareness skills they were required to perform and also to use these characteristics and their underlying skills in actual performance. There is evidence that providing supportive feedback throughout task cycle is highly effective and appreciated from the student as revealed in their reflections (See, Appendix C). Through this feedback, students’ strengths in speaking were stressed and possible suggestions for improvement were offered throughout in such a way that helped them develop their speaking and phonological awareness. They also gained clearer insights of expectations of others peers and the tutor s as well.  Some of students' reflections are: "I enjoyed the pre-task  stage of the activity because it tell me what to do exactly"; "I now recognized different speaking skills which I did not know before"; "I liked the professor's comments and feel as I learn much from them"; " I liked working in a group with my friends that helps me to involve more in work because I feel shy"; " I improved my speaking so much through the program "; "I feel like I want to speak more and more with my friends to do my task"; " I think it is very useful and interesting method to learn with"; " I understand some phonological terms and skills that I did not hear before although I took phonology course for more than two years" "I acquired many abilities from the TBI program as working with my friend, playing different roles etc."  I liked while-task stage as we perform many useful tasks in it". (For more students' reflections.

The study concludes that the use of the TBI has a significant impact on the students’ performances of different tasks in speaking and phonological awareness. Undoubtedly, results gained from analysis of data are clear empirical evidence that the TBI program works effectively.  The program enabled the students to understand and prepare themselves well to the tasks and hence fosters their spoken performance and phonological awareness skills. TBI program also assisted students to acquire different skills which they will basically benefit from in their prospective teaching profession                                                                          

Suggestions for further studies:

Studies could be done to investigate:

1. Using TBI for developing students’ writing and reading  skills.
2. Using TBI for developing students’ critical thinking skills.
3. Using TBI for improving students’ attitudes towards writing.
4. Using TBI for enhancing students’ cultural awareness.
5. Using TBI for enhancing students different speaking genres
6. Using TBI for enhancing students listening skills. 

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