Enhancing grade 9 students\u27 English Language speaking skills through a task based language teaching (TBLT) approach in a private secondary school in District Chitral, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Although the area of speaking skills is acquiring enhanced attention owing to its importance in communication in the 21st century, this skill has been overlooked by EL teachers due to several reasons such as teachers’ lack of capacity, less / no weightage to speaking skill in the board exams and students’ reluctance to speak in the target language. Consequently, students, even after completion of their schooling, fail to fluently communicate in the English Language. In this background, using an action research method, this study aimed at enhancing Grade 9 students English Language speaking skills in a private secondary school in District Chitral, Pakistan through the Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach. The research included several phases starting from reconnaissance, moving on to different cycles, each cycle planned and implemented on the bases of lessons learnt in the previous cycle, and consisting of a variety of interactive activities with a focus on speaking skills. Data were generated through observations, field notes and interviews with students, teachers and the school principal. The analysis of data after the intervention phase, revealed that students had enhanced verbal fluency at a certain level, built confidence and developed a habit of speaking English during their classroom discourse. Students took keen interest in the activities and were excited to speak in English. It reflects that when the EL teachers provide students with meaningful tasks, engage them to ensure their participation, develop a culture of interaction through TBLT and facilitate students during their learning process, students’ spoken English can be enhanced. Moreover, the application of TBLT can also be more effective for teaching reading, writing and listening skills as this approach has the potential to engage students in all four-language skills