Publication |Sophia Linguistica
Daniel Schultz
The research conducted addressed observations that Japanese language learners of English
were more motivated by tests (Yashima, Zenuck, Nishide and Shimizu 2004) and that
Task-based language teaching (TBLT) may not be suitable because it was not designed
for exam purposes (Sato, 2010). Maria de la Fuente’s 2006 study served as the basis for
the current study because it provided evidence that a task-based language lesson could be
more effective in the acquisition of vocabulary and morphology than a traditional present-
practice-produce (PPP) lesson. In this segment of the study, a task-based class with
explicit focus on form (TB+EF) and a traditional PPP class were compared for their productive
use of target language. When recorded role-play interactions were analyzed, the
TB+EF class demonstrated greater creative use of target words than the PPP class. Results
of this study provide evidence that a TB+EF lesson could assist learners with grammatical
accuracy and vocabulary acquisition as well as steer students away from rote use of language.