On the Role of Vocabulary Instruction in Communicative Performance of Iranian EFL Learners: Tasks Revisited

The present study aimed to examine the effect of task-based vocabulary instruction on communicative ability of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 100 learners of intermediate level at Iran Language Institute (ILI) in Shiraz, Iran were selected through Oxford Placement Test. Upon randomizing to form the experimental and control groups, each participant in the pre-test was interviewed with the expectation of recording simple answers using a movie camera, so that two raters could score them based on the standardized scale of IELTS speaking. The experimental group underwent the treatment afterwards i.e., learning new words via task-based instruction while the control group merely received definitions of vocabulary through memorization. Upon fulfilling the treatment, the participants of both groups in the post test were re-interviewed to compare the means of ratersʹ scores for each student in their pre-post tests performances. The results of a series of t-tests indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control in terms of their communicative ability as affected by the vocabulary learning techniques. The results lay further proof on the practicality of task-based teaching in an EFL classroom. The study also approves of IELTS speaking test rating validity.