The Impact of Divergent Tasks on the Accuracy and Complexity of Intermediate Iranian EFL Learners’ Task-based Oral Speech

AbstractEnhancing foreign language learners’ oral competence is an inevitable necessity in the communication era. Various tasks have been used in language classrooms to engage learners in authentic oral communication. This study attempted to investigate the probable impact of divergent tasks on the accuracy and complexity of Iranian English learners’ oral speech. The participants of the study were 30 learners studying Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at a university in Iran. They were randomly assigned into two groups based on their scores in a standardized English language proficiency test, Preliminary English Test (PET). The experimental group received treatment for five sessions during which they were given some pictures to describe. First of all, the researcher described the picture for the group, then the learners did the picture description task in group and then in pairs. The researcher monitored the group and helped them to solve problems such as vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, and encouraged the learners to describe the picture as fully as they could and to produce real world communications, whereas the control group got no treatment. After the treatment, an oral post test was administered which required the participants to describe a picture. The participants’ oral productions were recorded, transcribed and the accuracy and complexity of their speech were assessed by two raters. The t-test data revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group and the accuracy of their speech increased noticeably; however, there were no significant differences between groups in the complexity of their speech