THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING (TBLT) ON THE SPEAKING SKILLS OF EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS AT SMP NEGERI PAUH

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) on the speaking skills of eighth-grade students at SMP Negeri Pauh. The study employed a quantitative method using a quasi-experimental design. The participants of the study were two classes consisting of 52 students, where Class VIII A was assigned as the experimental group and Class VIII B as the control group. The experimental group was taught using Task-Based Language Teaching, while the control group received conventional teaching methods. The instrument used in this study was a speaking test administered through pre-test and post-test. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and an independent sample t-test. The findings showed that the students in the experimental class achieved better speaking improvement compared to the control class. The result of the independent sample t-test revealed that the significance value was 0.005, which was lower than 0.05 (0.005 < 0.05). This indicated that there was a significant difference between the speaking achievement of the experimental and control groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) was effective in improving students’ speaking skills at SMP Negeri Pauh.