Utilizing Task-Based Learning Ac Utilizing Task-Based Learning Activities to Enhance Students’ English Workplace Communication Skills
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract
Workplace communication in English is a common pain point for Thai university graduates when transitioning to office-based careers. The study aimed to (1) develop and test instructional materials utilizing task-based activities for workplace communication, (2) determine whether the instructional materials improve students' workplace communication skills, and (3) explore students' reactions towards the instructional materials. The study was conducted with 35 students who enrolled in the English for Office Management course. The entire instructional material covered 15 weeks, comprising 45 hours of normal classroom learning. The instructional package included a pre-test and post-test of vocabulary knowledge and workplace communicative role play tasks. The students' 'learning logs' indicated learning gain in workplace vocabulary, their preferences for learning tasks, and also their challenges. Thirty-five students who participated in role-play tasks and performed the pre-test and post-test were analyzed to observe the evidence of improvement. This study shows that the positive effect is on learning tasks, which are structured lesson units that enable students to greatly improve their scores from pre-test to post-test in the development of students' speaking performance for workplace contexts. The results indicated that instructional materials with task-based activities in workplace communication were appropriate for real workplace situations and could be used to develop the students' practical communication skills needed in their future work.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Ahmada, N., & Munawaroh, M. (2022). The effect of role play on students' speaking performance: A study at senior high school level. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 7(1), 15–28.
Akkakoson, S. (2016). Speaking anxiety in English conversation classrooms among Thai students. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 13(1), 63–82.
Bora, F. D. (2021). The role of role play tasks in developing pragmatic competence in EFL professional contexts. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(2), 1053–1067.
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1–47.
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. (3rd ed.). California: SAGE.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
EF Education First. (2025). EF English proficiency index 2025. Retrieved from https://www.ef.co.th/epi/
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Forey, G., & Lockwood, J. (Eds.). (2010b). Globalisation, communication and the workplace: Talking across the world. London: Continuum.
Henisah, H., Wulandari, D., & Sari, Y. (2023). Boosting speaking confidence through role play among reluctant EFL learners at the tertiary level. English Language Teaching Educational Journal, 6(1), 27–38.
Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes: A learning-centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics. Selected Readings (pp. 269–293). London: Penguin book.
Kankaanranta, A., & Planken, B. (2010). BELF competence as business knowledge of internationally operating business professionals. Journal of Business Communication, 47(4), 380–407.
Kanoksilapatham, B. (2019). English in the Thai workplace: Needs and challenges for ASEAN. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 12(2), 1–16.
Kassim, H., & Ali, F. (2010). English communicative events and skills needed at the workplace: Feedback from the industry. English for Specific Purposes, 29(3), 168–182.
Khasbani, I., & Seli, R. (2021). Improving speaking performance through task-based role play: Evidence from Indonesian university EFL learners. International Journal of Education and Practice, 9(2), 300–312.
Kim, H. (2021). Exploring English as a business lingua franca in multinational workplaces: A review of current research. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 52, 101015.
Koo, T. K., & Mae, M. Y. (2016). A guideline of selecting and reporting intraclass correlation coefficients for reliability research. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 15(2), 155–163.
Lin, T. B. (2019). Effects of task-based language teaching on linguistic complexity and interaction in Chinese university EFL classrooms. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 4(1), 1–17.
Long, M. H. (1983). Native speaker/non-native speaker conversation and the negotiation of comprehensible input. Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 126–141.
Long, M. H. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W. C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 413–468). Massachusetts: Academic Press.
Long, M. H. (2015). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell.
Lynn, M. R. (1986). Determination and quantification of content validity. Nursing Research, 35(6), 382–385.
Mudinillah, A., Rahmi, S. N., & Taro, N. (2024). Task-based language teaching: A systematic review of research and applications. Lingeduca: Journal of Language and Education Studies, 3(2), 102–115.
Mutar, Q. M., & Nimehchisalem, V. (2019). The effect of task-based language teaching on speaking and writing skills of Iraqi high school students. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 10(2), 236–244.
Namtapi, C. (2022). English communication needs of Thai hospitality graduates: A needs analysis for ESP course development. PASAA: A Journal of Language Teaching and Learning in Thailand, 63, 81–110.
Nation, I. S. P. (2013). Learning vocabulary in another language. (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nickerson, C. (2015). Business English as a lingua franca. In B. Paltridge & S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. 455–470). New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell.
Noom-ura, S. (2013). English-teaching problems in Thailand and Thai teachers' professional development needs. English Language Teaching, 6(11), 139–147.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sinwongsuwat, K., Nicoletti, K., & Teng, B. (2018). CA-informed conversation teaching: Helping Thai students unpack English conversation to become conversationally competent. Journal of Asia TEFL, 15(3), 700–720.
Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 235–253). Massachusetts: Newbury House.
Swain, M. (2005). The output hypothesis: Theory and research. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 471–483). Oxfordshire: Routledge.
Tantiwich, K., & Sinwongsuwat, K. (2021). Thai university students’ problems of language use in English conversation. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 14(2), 598–626.
Tomlinson, B. (Ed.). (2011). Materials development in language teaching. (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Walsh, S. (2011). Exploring classroom discourse: Language in action. Oxfordshire: Routledge.
Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Harlow: Longman.
