Empirical Study Of Task-Based Language Teaching In Secondary Vocational School English Writing

In recent years, great importance has been attached to English teaching. English writing, being regarded as the most difficult ability to acquire, has been paid more attention to. Task-based approach has drawn more attention in China. Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), advocated in Standards of English Curriculum is an effective means, motivated by application, aimed at application and centered on application. However, there is a lack of empirical studies of its application in the field of secondary vocational school English writing.This paper attempts to provide empirical evidence that Task-Based Language Teaching is more effective than the traditional approach in teaching vocational school English writing. The empirical study was carried out between two classes from a vocational school in Nan Tong. One was made the experiment group and received the Task-Based Language Teaching, while the other was made the control group and received the traditional teaching approach. Writing tests as well as questionnaires were used as instruments to collect data through the whole study.The one-term study result shows that the experiment group has made significant progress in their writing performance in post-test, while the control group has made little progress in their writing performance. Besides, the questionnaires show that the writing motivation, interest and confidence of the students in the experiment group have been promoted. Consequently, Task-Based Language Teaching is more effective than the traditional approach in improving secondary vocational students'writing proficiency and helps students develop a positive attitude towards English writing. It is an effective English writing approach for students from secondary vocational schools. It is expected that the findings and discussions in this study will shed light on designing and implementing tasks for teaching secondary vocational school English writing under Chinese EFL environment.Task-oriented instruction involves the students'participating, feeling, experiencing and practicing, makes the students have their own interest, requirement and real need. Namely, it transfers the roles of the students from a language learner to a language user, which is one of the most important aims in Task-oriented instruction.