중학생들의 영어 말하기 과제 유형별 선호도, 효과성, 난이도 인식 연구

초록

This study investigated how Korean middle school students perceive different types of English speaking tasks in terms of preference, effectiveness, and difficulty, and which task design features affect their perception. In addition, this study explored the relationship among the three aspects of perception. A total of 97 middle school students participated in a questionnaire survey. They rated preference, effectiveness, and difficulty of nine speaking tasks, which were classified by four design features and subsequent key dimensions (i.e., input medium, interaction relationship, cognitive processes, and outcome scope) based on Ellis’ task framework. The results showed that interaction relationship (i.e., one-way vs. two-way) and outcome scope (closed vs. open) significantly affected the participants’ perception. Specifically, the participants preferred closed tasks to open tasks and felt that the former are easier than the latter. They also perceived that one-way tasks are more effective than two-way tasks in enhancing their speaking ability, although they tended to consider the former more difficult. The correlation analysis further revealed that the participants’ task preference was moderately related with their perception of task effectiveness. The correlation between task preference and difficulty was weaker, with little correlation between task effectiveness and difficulty. Based on the results, pedagogical suggestions for designing and selecting tasks for task-based language teaching were discussed.

키워드