The Application Of Task-Based Language Teaching In English Teaching And Learning In Vocational Colleges

As a logical development of communicative language teaching, task-based language teaching approach (TBLT) takes its shape in 1980s, emphasizing"learning by doing". The core idea of the task-based language teaching is student-centered and learning by doing, in which the learners cooperate and interact to achieve the goals of the task. Such approach has gained its popularity and increased its importance in language teaching and learning. In China, it has been implemented in the English teaching in the primary and middle schools. And many scholars have advocated its application in English teaching in higher education. However, the present English teaching model in vocational colleges is traditional 3Ps Model—presentation, practice and production, which can not improve the learners'English proficiency as expected, and sometimes is resisted by the learners.A quasi-experiment is conducted to investigate whether TBLT is more effective than the traditional 3Ps model in English class. The participants in the experiment are the sophomore English majors in a vocational college. And the total number is 100 of whom 50 learners belong to the experimental group and 50 to the control group. Then a comparative analysis is made before and after the experiment. The data collected from the test scores and questionnaires are dealt with quantitatively and qualitatively. The research questions are as follows:1) Is TBLT conducive to improving learners'English proficiency more effectively than the traditional 3Ps teaching model?2) Is TBLT more conducive to enhancing learners'interest in studying English and developing positive attitudes towards English teaching and learning than the traditional 3Ps teaching model?The results show that TBLT is more effective than the traditional 3Ps approach in English teaching and can increase learners'interests and develop their positive attitudes towards English teaching and learning.