TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING AND ITS EFFECT ON ESL LEARNERS COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

This research paper examines how Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) can influence the communicative competence of ESL students. The study is based on theoretical frameworks of Hymes, Long, Swain and Vygotsky to investigate the role of task-based instruction in developing fluency, interaction, strategic competence and learner confidence. The qualitative methodology was used, which included 30 intermediate ESL students and an experienced educator, and data were gathered using the methods of classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, audio recordings, and journals written by the learners. The results show that TBLT can significantly enhance the capacity of learners to negotiate meaning, generate language in communicative pressure, and use effective strategies to address linguistic constraints. There was also increased motivation, anxiety and participation in tasks by learners. Difficulties in the form of big classes, time, and language barriers were noted and it illustrated that special care needed to be taken in the design of tasks, scaffold, and built in form instruction. In general, the research validates that TBLT is a theoretically and pedagogically adequate model to build communicative competence, as long as the contextual and teaching conditions are properly controlled. The implications of these findings on curriculum design and assessment and teacher training in ESL contexts are as follows.