The Impact of Task-Based Language Teaching on Speaking Fluency and Learner Autonomy in EFL Classrooms

Abstract

When learners of English as a foreign language cannot express ideas freely or depend on teacher directions during every activity, communicative competence develops slowly. This practical tension created a need to test whether task-based language teaching can improve speaking fluency and learner autonomy at the same time. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of TBLT in developing these two connected outcomes. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design involved 60 learners, with 30 assigned to the TBLT group and 30 to the control group. Normality and goodness-of-fit tests, together with a linear mixed-effects model, structured the analysis. At pretest, speaking fluency had a mean of M = 55.1, SD = 6.4, and a range of 42–68; at posttest, the mean reached M = 68.7, SD = 7.8, with a range of 51–84. Learner autonomy increased from 61.9 to 73.8; the corresponding SD values were 6.1 and 7.2, while the ranges were 48–76 and 57–89. Within the TBLT group, speaking fluency improved by 24.8 % and learner autonomy by 19.6 %; posttest differences between groups were 8.4 points at p = 0.01 and 7.1 points at p = 0.02, respectively. The findings support a model that combines the task cycle, graduated complexity, post-task reflection, and teacher scaffolding; the study’s scientific contribution is its treatment of fluency and autonomy as one integrated communicative mechanism.