Learning Relative Clauses by Iranian EFL Learners: Task-Based Activities Versus Teacher-Focused Activities

Task-Based Approach (TBA) has gained its popularity in the field of language pedagogy since the last decade of the 20th century and significant scholars have joined the discussion to increase the amount of analytical studies on this issue. This study attempts to investigate the topic of Task-based activities and learning relative clauses by Persian EFL learners. To carry out this study, first, a general proficiency exam (IOPT test) was administered among all students who were supposed to be at intermediate level at Sobhe Sadegh Higher Education Institute. Afterwards, the participants were divided into three homogeneous groups, and a pretest was given to them. After the administration of the pretest the treatment was performed. The subjects of the two experimental groups were given task sheets, which gave them the requisite information and terminology regarding relative clauses and relative pronouns requiring them to generate two rules concerning the omission of relative pronouns, and to combine pairs of sentences to make a single sentence with a relative clause. The two experimental groups received almost the same treatment, the only difference being that in one group there was teacher feedback on the students' solutions to tasks whereas in the other there was no such feedback. The third group, considered as the control group, which was working on a reading assignment, received a conventional teacher-fronted grammar lesson in English by the researcher. After two weeks the posttest was given to the subjects again. The present study also provides the theoretical background to Task-Based Language Learning (TBLL), a framework for TBLL with explanations, and factors to consider when implementing task-based language learning.