Applying task based language teaching (TBLT) method for improving reading comprehension skill of junior high students at UKA school in ba ria city

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
BA RIA – VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY

Thesis: Applying Task-Based Language Teaching
(TBLT) Method for Improving Reading Comprehension
Skill of Junior-High Students at UKA School in Ba Ria City

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. PHAM VU PHI HO, Ph.D
Student: HO THI THUY NGA
Class: MTESOL18K2

Vung Tau City, 2022


“Applying Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) Method for
Improving Reading Comprehension Skill of Junior-High Students at
UKA School in Ba Ria City”


ABSTRACT
Reading is a skill that will help students develop their ability to perceive
language, especially English language. This skill helps them to discover and
memorize a lot of English sentences and words. Then, their brain can imitate,
and they can say what they think correctly, in terms of both grammar and word
use. If a student reads a lot, paying special attention to the words they often use,
they will quickly apply new words or new structures to speaking and writing.
Moreover, it also helps students develop their intuition when learning the
language. Students will begin to feel which statements are right, what sounds
wrong - just as they would be in their native language. Learning English by
reading English material seems to take longer, unlike grammar – based learning.
And teaching reading skills has not been as much concentrated as expected. In

Vietnam, reading exercise and skills usually happen after other skills (speaking,
listening and writing) and students usually need more reading skills in their
reading comprehension tests rather than when learning. Therefore, this study
aims at exploration of the effects of using Task-based language teaching method
(TBLT) to improve reading comprehensive ability of students in the UKA Ba
Ria School. There are 50 students of 2 classes selected to take part in this study
and divided into two groups: one control and one experimental group. The
control group was exposed to textbook teaching between pre-test and post-test;
however, the experimental one was taught using TBLT method. This study helps
us become more aware of the innovation of Task based language teaching
method for students. This project will contribute to future research on similar
topics.
Keywords: Reading skills, learning English, reading comprehension, Task
based language teaching method, TBLT method.

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Table of contents
ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... 1
Table of contents ............................................................................................................... 2
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 5
1.1.

Rationale for the Study ..................................................................................... 5

1.2.

Statement of the Problem .................................................................................. 5

1.3.

Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................... 8

1.4.

Research Questions ........................................................................................... 8

1.5.

Significance of the study................................................................................... 8

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 10
2.1. Theoretical Concepts ........................................................................................... 10
2.1.1. Reading ................................................................................................... 10
2.1.2. Reading Skill .......................................................................................... 11
2.1.3. Definition of tasks ................................................................................... 13
2.1.4. Definition of Task-based language teaching .......................................... 17
2.1.5. Classification .......................................................................................... 19
2.1.6. Reading comprehension .......................................................................... 22
2.1.7. Teaching Reading in TBLT .................................................................... 23
2.2.

Previous Research Studies .............................................................................. 26

2.3. Research Gap ....................................................................................................... 36
Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY........................................................................................ 37
3.1. Research context .................................................................................................. 37
3.2. Sampling methods................................................................................................ 37
3.3. Design of the Study.............................................................................................. 38

3.3.1 Experimental group ................................................................................. 39
3.3.2 Control group ........................................................................................... 42


3.4. Instruments........................................................................................................... 44
3.4.1. Pre-test and Post-test .............................................................................. 45
3.4.2. Survey Questionnaires ............................................................................ 46
3.4.3. Classroom Observation........................................................................... 48
3.4.4. Interview Questions ................................................................................ 49
3.5. Procedure of the study ......................................................................................... 50
3.6. Data Collection .................................................................................................... 51
3.6.1. Tests ........................................................................................................ 51
3.6.2. Questionnaire .......................................................................................... 52
3.7. Methods of analysis ............................................................................................. 52
Chapter 4: RESULTS…………………………………………………………………...54
4.1. Response to research question 1 .......................................................................... 54
4.1.1. Pretest and posttest result ....................................................................... 54
4.1.2. Questionnaire result on Research question 1 .......................................... 58
4.2. Response to research question 2 .......................................................................... 64
4.2.1. Classroom observation result.................................................................. 65
4.2.2 Interview with teachers/students ............................................................. 69
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION.......................................................................................... 72
5.1. Summary of Research question 1’s results .......................................................... 72
5.2. Discussion on the results...................................................................................... 72
5.3. Summary of Research question 2’s results .......................................................... 74
5.4. Discussion on the results...................................................................................... 75
5.5 Limitation of the study .......................................................................................... 77
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ………………………79
6.1. Summary of the findings.......................................................................................... 79
6.2. Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 80

6.3. Implications for Instruction ..................................................................................... 81
6.3.1. For the teachers ....................................................................................... 81
6.3.2. For Students ............................................................................................ 83
6.3.3. For the UKA Ba Ria School ................................................................... 84
Appendix 1: Questionnaire ............................................................................................... 1
Appendix 2: Observation sheet ......................................................................................... 3
Appendix 3: Pre – test ....................................................................................................... 5
Appendix 4: Post – test ................................................................................................... 12
Appendix 5: Controlled group ........................................................................................ 16
Appendix 6: Experimental group .................................................................................... 18
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 1


Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1.

Rationale for the Study
Reading comprehension is one of four important skills that estimates

English language proficiency and is an important foundation for developing
self-study, self-working, identifying, and solving learners' problems.
However, it is considered a difficult skill by students, and most students do
not know which strategies to use and how to use them effectively. Some of
them do not even think of a reading strategy.
In addition, education in Vietnam is more focused on grammar than
other skills, students learn with the purpose of passing the exam only rather
than learning to use. Therefore, most students cannot apply the knowledge
learned and also have difficulty in learning English; whereas, the most

difficult part students are facing is reading comprehension. There are many
reasons, such as lack of vocabulary, being unfocused reading, being
distracted by other thoughts or unattractive content that make the reading
process unable go smoothly. Thereby, reading comprehension ability of most
English learners is very limited.
For the above reasons, this thesis studies about the subject "Applying
Task-based language teaching (TBLT) method for improving reading
comprehension skill of junior-high students at UKA Ba Ria School" and is
aimed at improving students' reading comprehension of junior students at
UKA Ba Ria School with the use of Task-based language teaching method
to provide the most effective teaching and learning strategy for teachers and
students.
1.2.

Statement of the Problem
Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translating are the main

skills of the language, in which reading is a mental process to extract
information from source texts and form new information. There is no magic
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trick that can help poorly literate children become super readers and quickly
grasp the meaning of texts themselves. With patience, practice, and a few
rules of thumb, however, every student can learn to read short and longer
texts consciously and to understand the respective content. It is important to
recognize where a student's difficulties in understanding the text lie.
Disinterest, difficulty concentrating, or real inability can be the causes.
However, the world of writing is not easily accessible to all students.
That can change with a few simple reading aids. In order to read faster and

better, for example, a reading arrow or a reading ruler will help the student,
not on the line to slip and see only the section of the text to be read. It will
be less distracted. The reading arrow covers the lower lines, the reading
window also covers the following words. If a student keeps losing the line,
he or she can try a colored foil that is simply placed over the text. Some
students benefit from the other color contrast, and they manage better to stick
to the text. Teachers can also help students to read by always reading quietly
and only taking over difficult words. This paired reading only intervenes in
those places where a student gets stuck.
If one compares the two written language components of reading and
writing with one another, students can easily imagine that reading is more of
a passive-receptive activity, whereas writing is an active-productive activity.
In contrast to this intuitive everyday conception, however, cognitive
psychology and experimental reading research assume that reading (or
language reception in general) represents a highly active process of dealing
with the respective content (Klicpera and Gasteiger-Klicpera, 1995; Artelt,
Stanat, Schneider and Schiefele, 2001; Yeager et al, 2016). The task and at
the same time the aim of the reader is usually to decode the information that
was encoded by the writer in a text, i.e. to decipher it (Christmann and
Groeben, 1999). This process of reconstruction does not only consist in
deciphering the meaning of the individual words, but also in a meaningful
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connection between the word meanings and the surrounding information the other words, sentences, and parts of the text. Regardless of the different
meanings assigned to the individual components in the various models, there
is, however, a relatively high consensus as to which essential processes take
actually place when reading. At a lower level in the hierarchy, all those
aspects can be subsumed that have to do with deciphering the words and the
syntax. The information extracted from comprehensive reading is interpreted

on the basis on individual prior knowledge - possibly with the help of
strategic behavior - and may lead to conclusions that go far beyond the actual
text (Cromley & Azevedo, 2007). In high school education, reading is
considered one of the foundational concerns in English teaching and
learning. Thus, teachers should find effective teaching methods to enhance
students’ reading to raise their interests and language competency in learning
English. So far, many researchers have provided various methods to help
students to easily study and memorize vocabulary. Of them, TBLT is
regarded one of the most useful methods in teaching and learning
vocabulary. This is the reason why comprehensive reading is a challenge for
most students.
For many students at UKA Ba Ria School, reading is the most
important of the four language learning skills and is seen as an essential
element of lifelong learning. Students today need not only to acquire
knowledge and theories from English reading materials, but also to read
many books or magazines in English to absorb new knowledge and
information. Improving reading ability in English is essential for students to
develop other language skills as well as acquire necessary professional
knowledge. Especially with students at UKA Ba Ria School, there are many
factors that impact students' English reading comprehension ability such as
type of text, school and social environment, students' intelligence, learning
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motivation, or teaching methods, and one of the important factors is the use
of reading comprehension strategies by students.
To solve the problems mentioned above, this paper will study the
effectiveness of applying Task-based language teaching on reading
comprehension skill of junior students at UKA Ba Ria School to then find
out best way for teachers to teach reading and for students to learn to read

effectively.
1.3.

Purpose of the Study
The main goal of the study is to investigate the impacts of Task-based

language teaching methodology for improving reading comprehension skill
of junior-high students at UKA Ba Ria School.
1.4.

Research Questions
The present study answers the following questions:

• Research question 1: Does applying TBLT in reading classes have any
significant effect on junior-high students’ performance at UKA Ba Ria
School?
• Research question 2: What are students’ attitude toward the TBLT
method in English class and reading comprehension skills learning?
1.5.

Significance of the study
It is undeniable that TBLT is beneficial for learners because it helps

learners to acquire better knowledge, making learning more fun but it is not
used much in schools in Ba Ria in general or in UKA Ba Ria School in
particular. The researcher expects that the study results will prove the utility
of TBLT in enhancing reading skills of secondary school students in general
and students in UKA Ba Ria School in particular. Teachers change their
teaching methods from being proactive in the classroom and forcing students
to passively listen to students taking the initiative in the classroom. Thanks

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to a change in teaching method, students become much more flexible and
creative when studying.
Essentially, the practical consideration of the research is the
significance of the expected research. Hence, the result of this study is
expected to be useful to the teachers, the students, and the researcher in using
TBLT in teaching and learning reading.
The research is expected to explore and prove the effectiveness of
applying TBLT method in teaching and learning English vocabulary.
Therefore, teachers and students at UKA Ba Ria School would conduct the
teaching and learning activities more effectively.

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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Theoretical Concepts
2.1.1. Reading
According to Nuttal (2000), reading is very easy - for those who can
absorb and understand written texts. Reading is a highly complex matter. We
are often unaware of this, especially when we are impatient with novice
readers. While we are reading, many processing processes take place at the
same time. In addition to decoding sequences of letters or words, we also
draw on a wide variety of areas of knowledge. To understand the content of
a text, we not only need linguistic knowledge, but also background
information on the topic and the genre of the text in question. Reading can
be classified into several categories related to the goal of the readers. In this

regard, Brown (2004) purposes three types of reading: academic reading,
job-related reading, and personal reading.
Experienced readers use the individual knowledge bases as a matter
of course and without having to consciously think about them. Beginners and
children with difficulties in reading and writing, on the other hand, must first
learn the individual processes to be able to combine them in the next step.
There are some reading performances proposed by Brown (2001): “oral and
silent reading” and, “intensive and extensive reading”.
Some the experts share the same concept when talking about reading
strategies. Li Lyuan (2010) notes that reading strategies mean that readers
can read and think or act to overcome the problems experienced while
reading and make it easier for them to remember the article's contents.
Similarly, Johnson (1989) claimed that reading strategies applied to the
student's course of action in order to overcome reading difficulties. Reading
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strategies, independent of any argument, were strategies for finalization by
the readers.
Reading is an important part of high school English learning, and taskbased teaching can be integrated into the reading learning method. In
students' English learning, let students learn English reading with tasks and
goals, which is conducive to students' understanding of the meaning of
reading content Brown (2004). It can also cultivate students' reading
comprehension ability and enable students to communicate and discuss
problems among themselves. Creating a relaxed classroom atmosphere in the
classroom helps to improve students' ability to learn from each other. In this
kind of teaching, students pay attention to the problem and try to accomplish
this learning goal, which is very suitable for English reading teaching in high
school (Li Lyuan, 2010).
2.1.2. Reading Skill

Most countries and cultures in the world have scriptures and people
read texts and books. Children mostly learn to read in school. In many
countries around the world, however, not all children can go to school
because they have to work. In such countries only a few people can
read. People who cannot read are called illiterate because they do not
know the alphabet ,

i.e

the

ABC.

It

used

to be

the same in Europe. A farmer did not need to be able to read for his work. It
was not until later that people realized how important reading is for
everyone. Someone who don't read is much easier to rip off because, for
example, they don't understand a contract. It is said that the more developed
a country is, the fewer illiterate people there are. But even today there are
cultures in which people do not write or read. They only pass on their
knowledge and their stories orally.

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In general terms, it can be said that reading skill consists of the ability
to use texts in all forms and functions, both for information purposes and for
entertainment and participation in cultural traditions. The following reading
skill model shows this relationship (Cunningsworth, & Tomlinson, 1984). In
the center of the relationship is the text as a reference field for all actions.
The interaction of the three elliptical dimensions of reading skills
(communication, motivation, and cognition) results in the successful and
active construction - "negotiating" - of a text meaning for the individual
reader (Emmitt, & Gorse, 2006). Neither can it be done by means of
cognitive strategies nor can still be achieved through appropriate forms of
communication and motivation. The interaction of the different dimensions
must also be taken into account in the didactic modeling of the lesson for
reading skills.
A fundamental, reliable improvement in reading skills in all of their
aspects is only achieved if it is actually used on a daily basis that knowledge
is continuously and systematically implemented that is known about this
topic today. The following analysis is intended to provide an overview give
how the components of the above model in sub-skills and methodical
procedures can be concretized. These procedures and competencies must be
made the goal and subject of the lesson, so that the students write
independently and critically while learn to deal with reading skills in
effective manner for them personal goals.
A competent reader has a complex system of activities that are
automated expire. These reading processes differ greatly from one another,
depending on how well someone can read. Rosebrock et al (2010) present
the multilevel model of reading skills, which supports the advantage of being
able to assign reading competence exercises to these levels. BertschiKaufmann et al. (2009) differentiates in their training program between
ready-to-read speed, reading fluency and reading strategies. So being able to
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read does not just mean taking text information, but reading is a complex
process of meaning construction. This complex process of understanding
essentially takes place in three ways of processing levels: the word level, the
sentence level, the text layer. If readers succeed in building a cross-sentence
structure of meaning, which is linked to one's own prior knowledge, one
speaks of the competence of standing. Readers then form an inner image in
their memory of what is described in the related facts, the actions of people,
the classification of events. Become the information, statements or actions
or experiences of people in a text linked to previous knowledge and stored
in long-term memory, a learning process (understanding process) took place.

2.1.3.Definition of tasks
Since the 20th century, there have been Western researchers such as
Krashen (1982) who proposed a model of foreign language teaching from
"form" to "meaning", from "conscious" to "unconscious or consciousness",
from "parts" to "the whole", so that foreign language learners are aware that
language is not a rigid science, but must be "on-the-spot learning", from
which learners can make actual communication, or achieve other goals. In
which, the theory of "Task-based Language Teaching method" discusses
teaching methods that take the learner as the center, the learner as the main,
the teacher as the secondary, the learner as the master can complete the task.
According to Greene et al (2012), the study defines a task is a job
assigned by an agency, unit, or organization to be completed for a specific
purpose and completed within a certain time. As for the definition of "taskbased language teaching", each scholar has a different definition, but it can
be understood that "task-based language teaching" is the teacher who asks
learners to complete a task. Through the process of performing activities
including before the activity, during the activity and after the activity, it gives
the opportunity to learn and perfect one's own language. Task-based
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language teaching is associated with the use of language with clear
expressive purposes (Ansari, and Shahrokhi, 2014).
Nunan (2004) draws on the definitions of other types of tasks given
by other experts: goal tasks and pedagogical tasks. Goal assignments relate
to doing something outside of the classroom and in the real world. While
educational assignments relate to the task’s students perform in the
classroom and in response to input or processing of the target language. He
defines pedagogical task as a teaching activity, according to Ellis (2003), a
task has four main characteristics:
• A task has a primary focus on (pragmatic) meaning.
• A task has a kind of "loophole". (Prabhu identified the three
main types as information gap, reasoning gap, and opinion
gap.)
• Participants select the linguistic resources needed to complete
the task.
• A task has a clearly defined, non-linguistic result.

According to Prabhu (1987), tasks are therefore something that one is
obliged to do: a task that one should do, and which can be interesting,
honorable, or simply a duty of service; But it can also be a question of
intellectual tasks. And then, of course, tasks are also the "homework" as we
all know them from school: likewise compulsory, often less interesting, or
honorable, but simply part of everyday school life, which certainly includes
the arithmetic tasks mentioned in or include exercises. Didactics is usually
interested in homework and in all those tasks and exercises that have to be
mastered during the lesson, but certainly not only in the math lessons. It is
precisely these tasks and exercises that this section is actually about.
Language teaching is apparently a little underrepresented in the

representation of the universal dictionary.
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Tasks have always been part of foreign language teaching, as a look
back at history shows that depending on the method, texts have been and are
translated, dialogues read, repeated, and performed, gap texts filled in and,
of course, long vocabulary lists memorized - a task that has demotivated
learners for centuries. The communicative turnaround in foreign language
didactics in the 1970s stands for numerous changes, including in the area of
didactic reflection on those linguistic actions that are called tasks. The focus
of the discussion of early communicative didactics is the question of the
function of the activities in the classroom for the development of
communicative competence (Ketabi, and Ketabi, 2014). This is clearly
visible in the "Typology of Exercises for Communicative Lessons"
published in 1981, the most important achievement of which "lies in the
establishment of exercise sequences that prepare, build up, structure and
present comprehension and communication" (Baliuk, Buda, Rösler, and
Würffel, 1981). So here not only possible forms of exercise are listed, but
they are also explicitly asked about their function for the new foreign
language teaching, which is supposed to enable communicative action, and
sorted accordingly.
Whether it is work plans, work orders or offers of action, what these
definitions have in common is that complex tasks become the focal point of
language learning and that learning opportunities arise in the mastering of
these tasks. In foreign language, such tasks are increasingly referred to as
"learning tasks" in order to distinguish them from the other, "old" tasks. This
was suggested by Gibson, and Horseshoe (2006). And in numerous other
articles in the anthology task orientation as a task (Bausch et al., 2006) and,
more recently, by Decke-Cornill and Küster (2010). However, “learning task

orientation” has not (yet) established itself as a conceptual equivalent for
English task-based learning.
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Prabhu (1987) contributed a significant effort in the growth of taskbased learning teaching. According to him, a task is an activity which asked
students to get a result from given material through some process of thought,
and this process are controlled and regulated by instructors (usually are
teachers). Learners are expected to engage to the lessons by giving them
opportunities to see how the language is used in context, and they find the
way to use them in their own ways. The focus is on the step-by-step, targeted
development of communicative competence and the teachers are given an
instrument that coordinates and systematically presents didactic options.
With the term exercise, however, a very broad and heterogeneous spectrum
of didactic possibilities was covered, which led to the fact that the
relationship between task and exercise in English-language didactics was
reconsidered and refined in the early 1990s (Samuda & Bygate, 2008: p. 69).
Task also means a task or a duty to which a person is asked to perform
a specific part of his job. Long (1985) defines a task as a work piece that is
carried out free or for some reward for itself and for others. The 'task' means
a hundred and one thing people do in their everyday lives, at work, and
between them. “The task of an administrative assistant; for example, requires
that the supervisor schedule appointments. Jobs for personal and training
purposes can be "task-analyzed" (Smith, 1971).
From another point of view which some researcher would like to add,
there are definitions of tasks in more specific circumstances which is in the
class or during learning sections. Definition of task in a language class of
Richards (1986) is that task is an activity or action that is performed through
understanding or processing language (i.e. as a response). From Crookes'
point of view (1986), a task is a work or operation typically performed as

part of an education course or used to generate knowledge or study and is a
short and concise description.
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2.1.4.Definition of Task-based language teaching
The task-based approach to training varies from conventional
methods. In reality, lessons from the task-oriented approach are based on the
appropriate language to achieve certain tasks rather than on certain elements
of linguistics like vocabulary and structure. Task-based approach is
commonly used to learn a foreign language or a second language.
Prabhu (1987) introduced task-based language learning, also known
as task-based language teaching or task-based teaching, has steadily grown
in popularity. TBLL is a further refinement of the Communicative Language
Teaching (CLT) approach and emphasizes successful completion of tasks
both as an organizational characteristic and as a basis for assessing language
teaching. Prabhu (1987) language classes share a philosophy with TBLT but
differ in approach.
Sharing the same idea, in 1996, Willis well-defined task as an activity.
In this activity, the learner uses the target language for a communicative
purpose (goal) in order to achieve learning targets. According to Willis
(1996), there are 3 stages in the structural framework of TBLT:
• Pre - task (Introduction to topic and task)
• Task Cycle (Task, Planning, Report)
• Post – task (Analysis, Practice)
Nunan (2004) describes the task as one of the activities and work in
the classroom which get learners involved in understanding, constructing, or
cooperating in a learning language. The in-class task requires completeness
characteristic, being able to stand alone as a communicative act in its own
right with a beginning, middle and an end.

Tasks are therefore something that one is obliged to do: a task that one
should do and that can be interesting, honorable, or simply a duty; But it can
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also be an intellectual task or a thought task. And then, of course, tasks are
also the "homework" as we all know them from school, also mandatory,
often less interesting, or honorable, but simply part of everyday school life,
which certainly includes the arithmetic tasks mentioned in or include
exercises. Didactics is usually interested in homework and in all those tasks
and exercises that have to be mastered during the class, but certainly not only
in the math class. It is precisely these tasks and exercises that this section is
actually about. Language teaching is apparently a little underrepresented in
the representation of the universal dictionary (Willis, 1996).
Branden (2016) divided the task-based Instruction method into three
sections: the pre-task, the task-cycle, and the post-task.
TBLT refers to teaching a foreign language and comes to attract
learners to use interactive authentication language by performing a variety
of tasks. The teaching of languages through TBLT aims to help learners
acquire new language knowledge and implement their existing knowledge.
Author Williams (2013) Task-Based Language Learning is a didactic
approach that was founded in the 1980s, influenced by the communicative
turn in foreign language adult education. The trigger for the development
was the mismatch between the exercises that the learners worked on in class
and the language requirements that awaited them outside of the classroom.
Linguists therefore investigated how learners can be taught to learn the
language relevant to their everyday lives. Practicing gradually took on the
character of a negotiation process in which the interaction partners
themselves determine the meaning of what was said, even if the linguistic
means are not always sufficient (Task-based Learning, 2020).

A differentiation between the types of tasks, their sequencing and the
methodical implementation is logical in Task-Based Language Teaching in
order to meet different learner demands and not to be limited to the stringent
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production of individual linguistic forms as was previously the case
(Shehadeh, 2005). In the 1970s, there was a move away from mechanical
forms of exercise to holistic tasks in the English-speaking world. (Izadpanah,
2010).
Learners and teachers now determine the curriculum together. David
Nunan took this up in 1989 in his work “Designing Tasks for the
Communicative Classroom" by defining the task parameters goals, input,
and activities, as well as the framework of learner roles, teacher roles and
settings considered. In addition, the author differentiates between real-world
tasks and pedagogic tasks, but also emphasizes that both are directly related.
Although pedagogic tasks outside the classroom are rather unthinkable, they
are considered to be useful, as these tasks stimulate thought processes and
train linguistic skills as a prerequisite for actual communication (Niemeier,
2017). Others, like Prabhu in the Bangalore project, it believes that tasks
were a way had to use the natural mechanisms of learners to acquire a second
language and did not deal with the communication in real life itself (Pang,
2019).
According to Ellis (2003), TBLT has major characteristics. In
particular, TBLT tends to use language naturally. Besides, this method of
TBLT makes learning activities focused on students rather than teachers. In
addition, this method of study pays much attention to the form occurring in
the context of performing tasks or interventions but still ensures the
naturalness of learning activities. And finally, learning by this method is
more effective than the traditional approach.

2.1.5. Classification
According to Ellis (2009), TBLT tasks can be focused or unfocused:
- Unfocused Tasks: Unfocused tasks are tasks designed to provide
learners with opportunities for communicating in general. Students must
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prepare a journey by train, as an example. Then students draw on their own
language resources to fulfill the task.
- Focused Tasks: Focused tasks are tasks designed to supply opportunities
for communicating using some specific language item, typically a grammar
structure (Ellis 2009).
With the Focused Tasks, this can be very effective in providing form
(the word, pronunciation, and spelling) of word. In this task, students need
to know the word, speak/read it out, and then teacher can help in
checking/fixing their pronunciation and spelling as well.
Another distinction that Ellis (2009) makes between input-providing
and output-prompting tasks:
- Input-providing Tasks: The task of providing input enables learners to
have the ability to listen and read. For example, students may be asked to use
content provided by the teacher to complete the timetable. Providing input
content (such as "listening and doing" tasks) can not only improve
receptivity, but also provide teachers with opportunities to introduce new
languages. This task usually gives the meaning of the word. By performing
the task, students can practice putting the word in the correct context and
combining/combining the word with other words.
- Output-prompting Tasks: In this task, students can naturally
learn/practice on the use of word. They can make sentences, use words in
their speaking meaningfully and correctly so their partners can complete the
task.

Along with classification of tasks, it is critical for those tasks to be aligned
and binding with its key principles.
Principles of authenticity
The tasks designed in the teaching method are often associated with the
interests, experiences in life as well as learning of students. The content of
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the task closely follows the problems that occur in everyday life, so it is easy
for students to receive and complete the task in the time allowed (GonzálezLloret, & Ortega, 2014).
Principles of practices
The "task-based language teaching" method focuses on both results and
on the process of performing the task. Particular emphasis is placed on the
process of performing the task, how students will use their knowledge and
use the foreign language on the task. The principle of this method also
focuses on the outcome of the task process. Learning goes hand in hand with
practice, learning is a process, applying to practice is the goal towards,
meeting the basic theory of this method in "learning and doing", that is,
"learning to use, using to learn" (Carless, 2009).
Principle of student-centered teaching
Students are the center of the lesson, the most important factor in each
task. The teacher only acts as a guide and guide students to complete the task
(Hamilton, 2010).
Principles of interaction
Both students and teachers can understand the interaction here is the
interaction between students and teachers, between students and students,
between students and external factors. Interaction between students and
teachers with the aim to convey the task to students and vice versa, students
understand the requirements of the teacher's task more, in the process of
performing the task, students express their difficulties problems, difficulties

need to interact with teachers to find solutions, interact to elicit ideas to
students. Interaction between students with students for the purpose of
exchanging knowledge, ideas and discussing unilateral, bilateral, and even
multilateral perspectives when performing tasks, especially while
performing external learning tasks. Language interaction is also a process of
cultivating foreign language skills, etc. Interactions between students with
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external factors (if necessary) for the purpose of supporting the search to
complete the assigned tasks (Lopes, 2020).
2.1.6. Reading comprehension
One skill closely related to mental models is inferential reading, as
mentioned earlier. In terms of reading comprehension, the term inference is
not interpreted quite as strictly as in logic, but rather in the sense of reading
between or behind the lines (Klicpera & Gasteiger-Klicpera, 1995, p. 138).
It is therefore a matter of abstracting information from the literal realization
and connecting different sentences with one another in such a way that a
mental model of the text that goes beyond the text is created. Consider the
example "Anna was trying to make a dress out of the beautiful fabric. The
scissors were blunt and it gave her a lot of trouble". It is immediately clear
to the reader that Anna is trying to cut out parts of the fabric with scissors.
In order for this picture to unfold in the mind's eye, however, various nontrivial and not necessarily logically compelling conclusions have to be
drawn. On the one hand, it is necessary to put the terms scissors, dress and
fabric in an action-relevant relationship with one another. On the other hand,
the anaphoric pronoun must be related to Anna. Furthermore, reading can be
seen as a meaning-building process and involves interaction between the text
and the readers, the process of perceiving and understanding, paying close
attention, memorizing and understanding words as well as sentences.
Grellet (1981) mentions in his study for the understanding of reading

from a plainly written text. This means for the effective extraction of
meaning from the written text. The information is actively involved by
readers for the purpose of understanding the context of the text.
Furthermore, reading comprehension will be increased if these
materials are involved in understanding facts, implications and assumptions
of the text (Ness, 2016).
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Moreover, reading involves a complex integration of prior knowledge,
language proficiency, and meta cognitive strategies (Rosenshine, 2017).
Students can improve their reading comprehension of exam assignments and
instructions by approaching appropriate reading passages.
During the past few years, the perspective on how to teach reading
comprehension have been rapidly changed.
Reading is one of the four keys and important skills in learning a
foreign language and gives learners the opportunity to access the vast amount
of information written in English. It can be said that good reading ability
contributes greatly to the success of students because it supports learners to
learn different materials for different purposes from different learning
sources. Grellet (1981) defines reading comprehension as understanding a
written text, which means that readers can grasp the necessary information
effectively.
Pang et al. (2003) defines comprehension as a process by which the
reader draws meaning from the text the writer wants to convey. Readers
should interpret the content in texts and readers should use their background
knowledge to interpret the information that needs to be interpreted.
According to Ness (2016), comprehension will improve if the reading
documents contain clear, implied, and assumed information. According to
Rosenshine (2017), reading involves a complex combination of knowledge,

language proficiency, and meta cognitive strategies. Therefore, in order to
improve reading comprehension ability, learners need to approach
appropriate reading passages.
2.1.7. Teaching Reading in TBLT
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a movement that, unlike
its predecessors, places a strong emphasis on interaction and real
communication and less on the presentation of grammar and vocabulary in
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