Development And Validation Of Task-Based Language Lessons for Post-Secondary Learners of Dr.Filemon C. Aguilar Information Technology Training Institute (DFCAITTI)

The goal of this study is two-fold: 1) to find solutions to certain classroom woes such as passivity, low self-esteem and poor academic performance among the students of DFCAITTI, and 2) to make learning more meaningful by connecting classroom experience toward preparing for/obtaining a job. A new approach, Task-based Language Teaching, as a contemporary language education that puts premium in communication is adopted to address the researcher's aims. In order to move toward that approach, a number of task-based materials were prepared following these steps: 1) Identify the competencies learners must achieve through needs analysis; 2) Develop Task-based language lessons and materials appropriate to the needs of its graduates; and 3)Validate the materials design in terms of the following: target tasks, format and content.

The descriptive method of appraising the needs of post-secondary students of DFCAITTI was used in this study. To achieve a triangulation of results the researcher collected data from three sources-the students, the instructors and the graduates. The data collected from the questionnaires, interviews and job shadowing were processed and translated into needs. The data gathered also helped in identifying the competencies needed by the students to be trained in. This in turn, permitted the researcher to order and design activities that stimulate real life situations contextualized in work related situations or finding a job. The findings of the study reveal that the developed materials contain target tasks that expose learners to variety of input, therefore, increasing their motivation in learning, relevant to their needs, allows interaction, appropriate to their age, level and interest. It also shows how job shadowing helps identify the needed competencies and the language demands of certain profession. Moreover, the framework for designing TBLT lessons and the steps taken for determining tasks suggest the basis for designing a task syllabus. Despite the short span of time allotted to finish the course, the study shows that students from the said institution aspire to perform the profession their courses could offer. Hence, the following recommendations are presented: 1) The chosen tasks presented in this study are limited. They are common tasks observed during job shadowing and as revealed during the interviews and in the given questionnaires. Further research is recommended to reveal other task types and language demands related to each specific profession of the courses offered in DFCAITTI; 2) Lessons should have a direct relationship to what is needed in the profession. Therefore, it is very important to align the present syllabus to the needs and tasks of each specific course; and 3) There is a need to shift from an old syllabus that is not based on needs analysis to the more appropriate one. This can be realized using the framework presented in the study in designing the lesson and by following the steps taken in determining tasks as bases in forming the new syllabus.