Improvement of Iranian EFL learners’ autonomy through task-based speaking activities

Abstract

Using tasks for leaning a second or foreign language has been a recently debated subject. It is supposed that it triggers motives of the learners in subconscious learning processes. The goal of this study was to examine whether using task-based speaking activities has any effects on autonomy of the learners. This study employed an experimental method in which two classes of Iranian Intermediate students of Kish Institute of Science and Technology in Bojnourd, Iran were chosen and instructed by the same teacher as experimental and control groups. Eighty subjects, selected from 230 students based on their scores in PET test and Learner's Autonomy in Language Learning Questionnaire, participated in the study. Learner's Autonomy in Language Learning Questionnaire was used as the pretest and posttest. Also, some qualitative data were collected through interviews. The participants in experimental group received twenty sessions of task-based speaking activities. Then, the collected data from pretest and posttest were analyzed through SPSS.   The results revealed the fact that task-based speaking activities had positive effect on improving learners' autonomy in experimental group.