Impact of Task-Based Instruction on EFL Learners’ Speech Fluency: Are Input-Based Tasks Enough?

This presentation reports on the results of a quantitative study examining how input-based versus combined input-output task-based instruction impact EFL learners’ speech fluency. The study employs an experimental pre-test/post-test design with the participation of 102 Vietnamese EFL students who were randomly assigned to three groups (Input group, Input-Output group, and Control group). The Input group received input-based task instruction only. The Input-Output group was given input-based instruction followed by oral production opportunities. Meanwhile, the Control group received instruction unrelated to the target tasks. All groups received the same amount of instruction time, took part in the pre-test and post-test. The participants’ speeches in the pre-test and post-test were recorded, transcribed, and analysed in terms of fluency measures including speech rate, mean length of runs, frequency of pauses and self-repairs. The results indicate that both treatment groups outperformed the Control group on these measures. However, the combination of both input-based and output-based tasks was more effective than the use of input-based tasks only in enhancing learners’ speech fluency.