University Students’ English Vocabulary Acquisition Using Task-based Learning
Abstract
Task-based learning (TBL) has drawn great attention, particularly to second language learners’ vocabulary acquisition. This study aimed to compare and examine the effects of TBL on students’ vocabulary knowledge. A total of 60 undergraduate students who enrolled in English for Teacher course for the academic year 2019-2020 of a public university in Thailand were selected using cluster random sampling technique. This study involved two phases. In the first phase, a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control group research design was employed. Two intact classes of students were randomly distributed into experimental and control groups equally. Only the 30 students from the experimental group were assigned TBL activities, namely brainstorming ideas, discussing the meaning of vocabulary, matching pictures, listing new vocabulary, and comparing similarities and differences tasks through three lessons, for a period of 12-hours. The pre-test results indicated that there is no mean difference between experimental and control groups in terms of their vocabulary acquisition level (T2= .215; F = 6.120; p = 0.934, ?2= .080). However, the experimental group possessed a higher level of vocabulary acquisition than the control group was shown in their post-test results at a significant level of .01, which demonstrated a significant improvement in terms of students’ vocabulary acquisition. This is followed by interviewing nine students of three different levels of achievement in the experimental group to justify the effectiveness of the TBL approach. The results contribute significantly to knowledge by using the TBL approach to improve students’ vocabulary acquisition.
