Journal of Teaching English as a Foreign Language and Literature,

Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, 1(4), 73-91, Fall 2009

Using Tasks in a Content-Based Program: Does It

Enhance Vocabulary Learning?
Hamid Marashi
Ghazal Hatam

Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Iran

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Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Iran

ABSTRACT: This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of using tasks

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in a task/content-based instruction on EFL learners vocabulary achievement. To

fulfill the purpose of this study, 60 female students attending the first grade of
junior high in a school in Mashad, Iran, were selected from a total number of 90
based on their performance on the Cambridge Flyers Test of English and randomly
put into two experimental and control groups. Both groups were taught the same
content throughout the 12-session treatment; the only difference was that the
experimental group was taught through using tasks in a content-based
(task/content-based) approach while the students in the control group underwent a
regular content-based approach. A vocabulary achievement test within the content
area was given to students in both groups at the end of the instruction and the mean
scores of both groups on this posttest were compared though an independent
samples t-test which led to the rejection of the null hypothesis thus concluding that
a task/content-based program was more effective on students vocabulary
achievement compared to the content-based approach. A motivational
questionnaire was also designed and given to both groups towards the end. The
responses demonstrated a higher level of motivation among the participants in the
experimental group compared to that of the control group.

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Keywords: task/content-based program, task-based instruction, content-based

instruction, motivation, vocabulary achievement

Psychologists, linguists, and language teachers have been interested in

vocabulary learning strategies for a long time. To this end, numerous
studies have been conducted comparing the retention effects of different
vocabulary presentation strategies throughout the last half-century or so
(Arnaud & Savignon, 1997; Andrade & Makaafi, 2001; Atkinson, 1972;
Channell, 1998; Lado, Baldwin, & Lobo, 1967; Sansome, 2000).
Indubitably, one of the most important features in defining language
knowledge is the knowledge of words. Vocabulary learning is a central
issue in learning a new language which hand-in-hand with other skills and

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subskills can help a person to use a language. Hatch (1983) argues in favor
of the centrality of the lexicon to both acquisition and use by stating that it
is the lexical level that adult L2 learners regard as most important (p. 74).
If the prime goal is communication when there is little of the new language
in command, she maintains, basic communication is engendered through
words.
Real-life learning of the vocabulary of a foreign language cannot be
regarded as a track to be trodden with ease (Goulden, Nation, & Read,
1990; Hatch & Brown, 1995). Furthermore, as Nation (1982) and Meara
(1996) rightfully observe, vocabulary learning is an ongoing process.
Yet another aspect of vocabulary learning which most, if not all,
language teaching programs are conscious of (though they may not
necessarily succeed in addressing efficiently) is the distinction between
knowing a word and using it. In other words, the purpose of vocabulary
learning should include both remembering words and the ability to use
them automatically in a wide range of language contexts when the need
arises (McCarthy, 1984).
The contemporary history of language teaching is of course very much
oriented towards finding cost-effective solutions for the issues discussed
above, which are evidently only a handful of the challenges teachers face
when it comes to teaching the language. There have thus been different
methods designed for teaching a language as well as its vocabulary to EFL
learners; one such way is content-based language teaching (CBLT) which
may have deficiencies in teaching grammar or communicative skills but has
been reported to be helpful in teaching the vocabulary of other subject
matters to students. While arguing in favor of this advantage, Brinton,
Snow, and Wesche (1989, p. 2) define CBLT as the integration of a
particular content (e.g., math, science, social studies) with second language
aims. It refers to the concurrent teaching of academic subject matter and
second language skills.
Historically, the convergence of content and language instruction stems
from the theoretical position that communicative competence (Hymes,
1971) in a second language is facilitated by using the language as a medium
for learning content rather than by studying it as a separate and distinct
subject area. Being propelled by that paradigm alongside other both
theoretical notions and practical conclusions, CBLT has entered its fourth
decade and by many accounts is flourishing in both foreign language and
second language instructional settings (Crandall, 1987; Krashen, 1982;
Mohan, 1986; Mohan, Leung, & Davison, 2001; Snow, 2005; Stoller,
2004).
Another relatively modern approach that is recently being integrated
with other approaches and endeavors to maximize the language intake of
learners (their vocabulary included of course) is task-based language
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teaching (TBLT). Richards, Platt, and Webber (1985) define TBLT as a

teaching approach based on the use of communicative interactive tasks as
the central units of planning and delivery of instruction. Such tasks, though
there is much controversy in the literature concerning their definition and
typology (Ellis, 2003), are said to provide an effective basis for language
teaching since they involve meaningful communication and interaction and
enable the learners to acquire the grammar as a result of engaging in
authentic language use. TBLT is an extension of the principles of
communicative language teaching and an attempt by its proponents to
apply the principle doctrines of second language teaching to learning
(Richards, Platt, & Webber, 1985).
TBLT establishes tasks at the center of the methodological focus and
grants a more communicative essence to the method with which it is
integrated. Nunan (2004) argues about the disparateness of the outcomes of
pure CBLT and CBLT integrated with TBLT and summarizes the benefits
of CBLT as including an organic, analytical approach to language
development and a framework within which learners can have sustained
engagement on both content mastery and second language acquisition (p.
132). He further notes how these benefits work toward increasing
motivation and engaging the learner more actively in the learning process,
and clearly states that CBLT is very much in line with the principles of
TBLT.
In this combination (CBLT and TBLT), the importance of focusing on
content or language will of course vary in different contexts and highly
depends on the objectives of the course. Recently, some schools in Iran
have begun exploring teaching methods using English to teach subjects like
math, science, and computer for students of the 11-14 age groups (junior
high school). In this system, students learn English through other subjects.
It should be added here that in the books being taught in this system, the
main focus is on vocabulary, and other language subskills are not
highlighted.
Accordingly, the researchers in this study became interested to find out
whether the pure CBLT approach to teaching the vocabulary content of
science subject matters or an integrated CBLT and TBLT approach,
namely, task/content-based instruction, would generate more promising
results in terms of the learners vocabulary achievement. Hence, a null
hypothesis was raised in line with the objective of this study:
H0: Task/content-based programs do not have any significant effect
on EFL learners vocabulary achievement.
In addition, a research question concerning the motivation of the learners
following the instruction was raised:

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How does a task/content-based program impact EFL learners

motivation?

Method
This part describes in detail the participants, instrumentation, materials, and
procedure adopted in this study and ends with a brief overview of the
statistical analyses employed, saving the full data analysis to the next and
penultimate section of this paper.

Participants

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To accomplish the objectives of this study, 90 female students aged 11-12

who were studying at the first grade of junior high in a school in Mashad,
Iran, were given a language proficiency test and 60 of them whose scores
fell within one standard deviation below and above the mean score were
chosen. Subsequently, a test of vocabulary based on the material they were
going to study in their textbook was also administered to make sure that the
60 subjects were homogeneous in terms of their vocabulary knowledge
prior to the treatment and also to assure the researchers that the participants
did not have any knowledge on the content which they were going to be
exposed to; the results of this test confirmed that assumption.
Prior to the actual administration, both the proficiency test and the
vocabulary tests were piloted among 30 students with almost the same
language proficiency level of the 90 subjects who took the test later.

Instrumentation

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Three tests were used by the researchers in this study: a language

proficiency test for homogenizing the students general English, a test of
vocabulary to make sure that the participants level of vocabulary
knowledge was the same prior to the treatment, and a posttest measuring
and comparing the vocabulary achievements of the two groups. For
comparing the two groups motivation after the treatment, a teacher-made
questionnaire was used.
All the above are described in detail below in the chronological order
employed in the study:
1. A Cambridge Flyers test was used for homogenizing the participants.
Only the reading and writing sections of this test were administered
since the focus of this study was an evaluation of the participants
vocabulary achievement in written form. According to the handbook of
Cambridge Young Learners English Tests, this test is appropriate for
candidates within the age group of 9 to 12. To make sure about the
reliability of the test, the researchers piloted it among a group of 30
learners with characteristics almost identical with those of the target
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Materials

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group thereby calculating its reliability. Furthermore, the researchers

ran item analysis on the test which proved none of the items needed to
be replaced or revised.
2. The researchers designed a 20-item multiple-choice vocabulary test
based on the Ministry of Education English textbook of the first grade
of junior high (to divide the subjects into the control and experimental
groups). Naturally, the researchers piloted this test too running the item
analysis required to revise any inappropriate items and calculated the
reliability of the test, as well.
3. A teacher-made vocabulary test based on the content of the instruction
and consisting of 30 multiple-choice items testing the students
vocabulary achievement within the content area was used as the
posttest. It should be added that although the students were at the first
grade of junior high school, they were familiar with multiple choicetests and thus the format of the test did not disturb its face validity. A
table of specification was designed by the researchers as the first step
and the test was revised several times in order to suit the participants
level of proficiency. Again to make sure the test was appropriate, the
researchers piloted it prior to the actual administration among a group
as identical as possible with the target group thus conducting a
thorough item analysis and revising faulty items and checking its
reliability.
4. A motivation questionnaire in close-ended form consisting of 15
questions was prepared by the researchers and used to investigate the
level of motivation in both groups after the teaching period.

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The following materials were used at different stages of the study:

1. A series of tasks including individual and group work type was used
as a part of the treatment in the experimental group (described in the
next section).
2. The SAMA English Science Book for the first grade of junior high
was used as the course book which is designed and published by
SAMA schools and includes science subject matters in English. Its
main focus is on language teaching through science content.
3. The Oxford Picture Dictionary was used in the experimental group for
doing certain tasks. Only those contents in this dictionary consistent
with the content of the course book were used during the treatment.
This dictionary thanks to its colorful pictures was very appropriate
to the students language proficiency and age level.

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Procedure

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Following the process of selecting the control and experimental groups, the
actual treatment commenced. It is worth noting that, in order to control the
teacher variable, both groups were taught by one teacher (one of the
researchers).
In the control group, the students were taught vocabulary through
definitions, synonyms, and pictures. The students were not required to do
any kind of tasks with the vocabulary they were learning; they only
answered the questions presented in their course book.
In the experimental group, however, a task/content-based framework
was employed. The content was taught through a content-based approach
and the treatment was integrated with tasks, hence a task/content-based
approach.
The lessons taught in both groups were under these headings: Animals,
Plants, Objects and Matters, Five Senses, Teeth, and the Periodic Table.
While in the control group, these lessons were taught in a usual contentbased fashion and only the exercises in the books were employed, in the
experimental group each of these lessons were taught through one or
several tasks and vocabulary was taught through them. Each task had four
main phases: warm-up (pre-task), main task, follow-up (post-task), and
homework. A brief summary of each lesson is presented hereunder with the
complete lesson plan for each chapter appearing in Appendix B.
For teaching the chapter of Animals, the students were taken to the zoo
where they were taught the vocabulary content of their books regarding
different animals. On their way to the zoo, the teacher showed them
pictures of some animals and asked them to make the sound of those
animals and this was regarded as the warm-up for this lesson. The whole
trip to the zoo was in English and students were aware that this was a field
trip with educational purposes for them. The next session, they worked on
the reading passage of their books regarding animals and for homework,
they were asked to draw their favorite animals and write at least three
sentences for it. They read it for their classmates and showed their pictures.
For the Plants chapter, the teacher entered the class with a flower and
the students were asked to touch and smell it; this act was regarded as the
warm-up for this activity. The students were given planting tools and were
taken to a garden. Different plant parts were introduced to them and
subsequently, they planted some bean seeds themselves. For 10 days, they
took care of their beans and as they started to grow, they were asked to
introduce the different plant parts to their classmates. The session after the
planting activity, they worked on the reading passage in class and for
homework, they were asked to look at their picture dictionaries and find
some new plant parts, draw at least one of them, and bring it to the class the
following week.
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The lesson on Objects and Matters focused on magnets and thus the
teacher took a box of magnets to the class and introduced the vocabulary
content to the students by using magnets and showing their attraction
power on different objects. Then the students were divided into groups of
three and were given a magnet. Next, each two groups merged and they
experienced the power of the magnet poles on each other with the teacher
introducing the new vocabulary to them. As homework, they were asked to
find some magnets around and write their names (the students had already
learned about this naming in their textbooks) and draw a picture of one of
them. The session after this, they showed their homework to their
classmates and worked on the related reading passage in their book.
Next came the chapter of the Five Senses; a song was used for this
lesson in the class. While the song introduced each body part, the teacher
showed that part to them. Then they were asked to point to those body parts
with the teacher and subsequently, the vocabulary was presented using a
doll. Then again they started to sing the song with the tape. For homework,
they were asked to draw one body part on a big sheet of paper and bring it
to the class and talk about it in at least two sentences. The reading was done
during the next session with the song activity and clapping and showing
body parts.
The chapter on Teeth required the students to bring a toothbrush with
them to the class. The teacher entered the class with a toothbrush in hand
and started showing how teeth are brushed; this served as the warm-up for
this activity. The vocabulary content was presented to them by showing the
toothbrush. Additionally, they practiced correct tooth brushing with their
toothbrushes while working in pairs using the vocabulary. For the next
session, they were asked to look at their picture dictionaries and find at
least three other words related to oral health and draw one of them to be
presented in the class in the second session after working on the reading
passage.
For the last chapter, that is the Periodic Table, a periodic table in
English was taken to the class. They were given different substances such
as salt, sugar, and water. The teacher explained to them that matters and
substances are like a box and things inside them are different from how
they are seen on the outside (this explanation was mostly done in their L1
of course since at this stage of language proficiency, the learners would fail
to understand such explanations in English). For this purpose, they were
divided into groups of five and were given a box with some small balls
which represented atoms. They repeated the word atom and started to work
in groups and showed each other the atoms. This was followed by some
questions and answers. Some common atom names were presented to them,
and then they looked in their boxes to find those atoms. For the next
session as homework, they chose one atom and drew a picture of it on a big

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sheet of paper and presented its characteristics; they used the single first
person pronoun as they were supposed to be the atom themselves.
The whole treatment lasted for 12 sessions with the administration of
the posttest (already described in detail in the instrumentation section) to
both groups ending the treatment. The means of the scores achieved by
both groups in the posttest were compared through running a t-test.
The motivational questionnaire was also administered to both groups
alongside the posttest to see how each of the two groups responded to
questions on their degree of motivation at the end of the program.

Statistical Analysis

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The data analysis conducted in this study comprised both descriptive and
inferential statistics: the former for calculating the means, standard
deviations, and reliabilities of each test, and the latter (a t-test) to respond to
the main research question and verify the null hypothesis.

Results

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This section details the data analysis conducted in this study again in a
chronological order reporting the subject selection process, dividing the
participants into two groups, the posttest, and the hypothesis testing.
Ultimately, the responses to the motivational questionnaire are presented.

Participant Selection Process

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As noted earlier, the Cambridge Flyers test used as a means for

homogenizing the participants was first given to 30 students with almost
the same level of proficiency for the piloting phase. Table 1 provides the
descriptive statistics for this piloting.

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Table 1. Descriptive Statistics of the Proficiency Test Piloting

N
Min
Max
Mean
SD
30
9.00
41.00
27.67
9.81
Total

Item analysis was run on this test and the results showed that none of the
items needed to be revised or changed. Hence, the reliability was
calculated. Table 2 reports the reliability estimate of the piloting (an
acceptable Cronbachs Alpha Index of .89).
Table 2. Reliability Index of the Piloting
Cronbach's Alpha
K
.89
50

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The researchers thus felt safe in employing the above piloted test for the
subject selection process.
Following the piloting, the Cambridge Flyers test was administered to
90 students with the aim of selecting 60 of them for the study. The
descriptive statistics of this process are presented below in Table 3.

Total

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics of the Proficiency Test

N
Min
Max
Mean
SD
90
10
49
29.09
9.47

Dividing the Participants into the Two Groups

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Among the 90 students who took the test, 60 whose scores fell between one
standard deviation above and below the mean were chosen as the
participants of this study to be placed in the experimental and control
groups.
Accordingly, 30 were put in one group and 30 in the other. The
descriptive statistics of the two newly formed groups appear in Table 4
below.
Table 4. Group Statistics of the Two Groups Prior to the Treatment

Exp
Cont

30
30

Mean

SD

Std. Error
Mean

27.80
28.10

3.53
4.37

0.64
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Skewness
Std.
Statistic
error
0.36
0.43
0.17
0.43

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To ensure further homogeneity between the two groups, an independent

samples t-test was run between the mean scores of both groups on the
proficiency test. Prior to this, however, the normality of the two groups
distribution of scores had to be checked.
Going back to Table 4 and by dividing the statistic of skewness by the
standard error of each of the two groups, the results were 0.08 (0.36 / 0.43)
and 0.40 (0.172 / 0.43) in the experimental and control groups,
respectively. Both values fell within the range of -1.96 and +1.96, thus
guaranteeing the normality of distribution within each group. Table 5 below
includes the results of the t-test run between the mean scores of the two
groups on the proficiency test.

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Table 5. Independent Samples t-Test of the Two Groups Mean Scores on the
Proficiency Test
Levene's Test for
t-Test for Equality of Means
Equality of Variances
Sig.

Sig. (2-tailed)

df

2.72

.10

-0.29

.77

58

Mean
Difference
-0.30

Equal
variances
assumed

Posttest

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As Table 5 indicates, with F (1, 58) = 2.72, p =.10 (two-tailed), it was

concluded that the variances between the two groups were not significantly
different. Therefore, the results of the t-test with the assumption of
homogeneity of the variances are reported here.
Examining the mean difference of -0.30 with t(58) = -0.29, p = .77
(two-tailed) revealed that the difference between the two groups was not
significant at the outset. Hence, the researchers could rest assured that the
two experimental and control groups manifested no significant difference in
their language proficiency prior to the treatment which means that any
probable difference between the two groups at the end of the instruction
period could be attributed to the difference in the programs.

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The posttest was designed by the researchers and consisted of 30 multiplechoice items resembling the content which was taught during the treatment.
A series of statistical analyses was conducted before and after the
administration which are described below.
Prior to the actual administration of the posttest, it was first piloted
among a group of 30 students with almost the same language proficiency
level as the target group. Table 6 provides the group statistics for this
piloting.
Table 6. Descriptive Statistics of the Posttest Piloting
N
Mean
SD
Variance
Std.
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic Statistic
Error
30
17.63
.63
3.47
12.03
Total

Subsequently, the reliability of the piloting was calculated to see

whether the designed posttest proved worthy of final administration.
Furthermore, item analysis was run on this test and the improper items

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were replaced by new ones. Table 7 contains the reliability index of the
posttest in the piloting stage.
Table 7. Reliability Index of the Posttest Piloting
Cronbach's Alpha
K
.70
30

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With the reliability index being at .70, the researchers felt confident in
administering the test as the actual posttest to verify the hypothesis of this
study.
Once ready for final administration, the posttest was given to the two
groups. Table 8 contains the group statistics for this administration after the
treatment period.
Table 8. Descriptive Statistics of the Posttest
N

Mean

Cont
Exp

30
30

15.30
23.53

Std. Error
Mean

SD

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6.71
3.82

1.23
0.70

Skewness
Std
Statistic
Error
0.50
0.43
0.41
0.43

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As Table 8 reveals, the mean of the experimental group (M = 23.53, SD =

3.82) is perhaps exponentially higher than that of the control group (M =
15.30, SD = 6.71). However, further statistical analysis was required to see
whether this difference was significant.

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Testing the Hypothesis

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To verify the null hypothesis of this study, an independent samples t-test

was run between the means of the two groups scores during the posttest.
Just as was explained earlier during the participation selection section, the
normality of the two groups had to be checked first.
Going back to Table 8 and by dividing the statistic of skewness over
the standard error of each of the two groups, the results were 1.17 (0.50 /
0.43) and 0.09 (0.41 / 0.43) in the control and experimental groups,
respectively. Both values fell within the range of -1.96 and +1.96, thus
guaranteeing the normality of distribution within each group. Table 9
shows the results of running the t-test.

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Table 9. Independent Samples t-Test for the Means of the Two Groups at the
Posttest
Levene's Test for
t-Test for Equality of Means
Equality of Variances

6.95*
Equal
variances
not
assumed
** p < .01, * p < .05

Sig.

Sig. (2-tailed)

df

.01

-5.83**

.00

58

Mean
Difference
-8.23

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As is evident in the table, F (1, 58) = 6.95, p = .01 (two-tailed)

disconfirms the equality of variances; nevertheless, t(58) = -5.83, p = .00
(two-tailed) lead to the conclusion that there was a significant difference
between the mean scores of the two groups at the posttest.
It can thus be concluded that the presupposed null hypothesis was
rejected meaning that the difference observed between sample means was
large enough to be attributed to the differences between the population
means and therefore not due to sampling errors. In other words,
task/content-based instruction does have a significant impact on EFL
learners vocabulary achievement.
Following the rejection of the null hypothesis, the researchers were
interested to determine the strength of the findings of the research, that is,
to evaluate the stability of the research findings across samples; hence, the
effect size was estimated. While Cohens d stood at 2.42, the effect size
was 0.78. According to Mackey and Gass (2005), this is considered a large
effect size. Therefore, the findings of the study could be considered strong
enough for the purpose of generalization.

Motivational Questionnaire

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To compare the two groups motivation, a motivational questionnaire (see

Appendix A) was designed by the researchers and given to all the
participants after the treatment. The 15-item Likert-type questionnaire was
designed in a way that the lower the score, the higher the motivation; that is
to say that the highest degree of motivation in each of the 15 items was
represented by a point 1 while the lowest by a point 4. Consequently, the
lower the mean of the scores of a group, the higher their motivation.
The mean score in the experimental group was 16.66 (very close to the
highest possible degree of motivation which is represented by 15 on this
questionnaire), while in the control group it was 30. Therefore, it was
concluded that the task/content-based program was more influential on
students motivation in comparison with the content-based program.
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Discussion

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Through this research, it became evident that the group of EFL learners
undergoing task/content-based instruction outperformed the group
receiving content-based instruction with a very clear difference. As it was
concluded from the statistical results conducted on the participants scores
on the posttest in the two groups which led to the safe rejection of the null
hypothesis of this study, there was a significant difference between the
effect of task/content-based and content-based instruction on learners
vocabulary achievement.
Furthermore, the motivational questionnaire given to the members of
both groups following the completion of the instruction period clearly
revealed that the task/content-based program was more influential on
students motivation in comparison with the content-based program.
The findings of this study indicate that English teachers can benefit
more effectively from a task/content-based approach in order to teach
vocabulary, which is a fundamental part of language learning. When
undergoing the task/content-based approach, students enjoy their learning
as was expressed by the learners on the motivation questionnaire. This is
true since the way they learn is categorically different from their previous
experiences; learning happens in a joyful manner under this approach and
gives them the experience that they are playing a game or that their English
class is not a part of their regular school program bearing in mind that as
young learners, going to school and class in many cases seems to be an
obligation for them.
In addition, this modality of learning was most probably a major factor
at work in the significant achievement of the learners undergoing the
task/content-based program. Rather than the usual modality of
teaching/learning in which students are mainly engaged in mere abstraction
in the class, these young learners experienced, for the first time, a far more
concrete presentation of new materials and were thus involved much more
actively in a dynamic learning.

Conclusion

Alongside providing teachers with plausible guidelines to employ in their

classrooms, the findings of this research can help syllabus designers and
textbook writers to design more effective textbooks for young learners; this
is specifically true in the context of Iran where it can be really helpful to
revise the materials presented to adolescent students at school.
Furthermore, it is recommended to design a teachers guide with the focus
on task/content-based instruction for content-based books being used in
different systems clearly because not having a guide can lead to
controversial issues faced by different teachers.

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Task/content-based language teaching may also be considered as an

economical initiative in enhancing EFL learners vocabulary intake and
use. Without having to undertake the abominably high expenses of
textbook production, both public and private sector schools can incorporate
and mainstream this procedure of language teaching in order to achieve
more promising results.

The Authors

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Hamid Marashi is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Islamic

Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, and Executive Manager of the
Journal of English Language Studies (JELS). He currently teaches the
graduate courses of seminar in TEFL issues, discourse analysis, and
teaching language skills and his main areas of research interest include
cooperative learning, critical thinking, and TBLT. He has published in
national academic journals and presented in international conferences.
Gahzal Hatam holds an MA degree in TEFL from Islamic Azad
University, Central Tehran Branch. She has been teaching English since
2003 in several different language schools in Mashad and is currently
teaching pre-advanced courses for adults in Safir Language School. Her
main areas of research interest include TBLT and language testing.

References

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vocabulary be? Applied Linguistics, 11(4), 341-363.

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and content instruction. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in
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Appendixes
Appendix A
Motivational Questionnaire
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Appendix B

Lesson Plans
Animals
This lesson centers on the introduction of different kinds of animals to
students. Students are taken to the zoo in order to be taught different types
of animals.
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Pre-task stage (warm up): On the way to the zoo, the teacher/researchers
shows students the picture of some animals and asks them to make the
sound of the animal. This process makes the students involved in the
process of learning and they also enjoy doing this activity. Students figure
out that this is a field trip with the purpose of education.
Task: At the zoo, students move with the teacher/researchers from cage to
cage and the teacher/researcher tells them the name of those animals and
asks them to repeat the names. They have pictures of some animals and
when they are told the name of each animal, they make a note below the
picture and write the name. The whole process is conducted in English.
Post-task and homework: The next session, students study the whole
chapter in their books and for homework, they are asked to draw the picture
of their favorite animal and write three sentences for it and bring it to the
class. They can make use of their picture dictionaries to find the name of
some animals they do not know.

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Plants
Pre-task (warm up): The teacher/researchers enters the class with a flower
in her hand. Students are asked to smell and touch the flower. They wait to
see what happens next.
Task: Students are given gardening equipment and go to the garden.
Different plants are shown to them and they plant some bean seeds
themselves. They are asked to follow the bean seed growth for ten days.
The teacher/researcher has a plant in her hand and introduces different parts
of it to the students.
Post-task and homework: The following session, students study the
chapter of plants in their books, they use their picture dictionaries in order
to find the name of some new plants, and they draw some of the new ones
for the next session to show to their classmates. After ten days, they go
again to the garden and show different parts of their bean plant to their
classmates.
Objects and Matters
Pre-task (warm up): The teacher/researchers enters the class with a box of
magnets. One magnet is taken out of the box and put close to one of the
metal objects in the class; students see how the magnet attracts the metal
object. Then the process is practiced with a non-metal object and students
differentiate how the effect is different.
Task: The teacher/researcher introduces the vocabulary content by
showing pictures and using magnets. Students repeat.
Post-task and homework: Students are divided into groups of three and
each group is given a magnet to practice the new vocabulary. Then the two
groups are merged and they use the magnets; they have to understand the

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effect of different poles on each other. For homework, they require a

magnet to use among real world objects, draw their picture, and bring them
to the class the coming session. They also work on the reading passage in
the class.

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Five Senses
Pre-task (warm up): The teacher/researchers enters the class singing a
song which points to different parts of body and she shows that part while
singing the song.
Task: This time the students are required to show the pointed body part in
the song. The vocabulary content is introduced by using a doll. After that
the teacher plays the same song on the tape and wants them to repeat.
Post-task and homework: For the next session, they are asked to draw
different parts of the body on a big paper sheet and write at least two
sentences about them. They bring their homework to the class and show it
to their classmates. They also work on the reading passage.

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Teeth
Pre-task (warm up): The session before teaching this content, the teacher/
researchers asks the students to bring a toothbrush to the class for the next
session. She enters the class with her toothbrush in her hand and starts
brushing her teeth.
Task: The vocabulary content is presented to them by showing the
toothbrush; they are also taught how to brush their teeth correctly and this
is done in English.
Post-task and homework: Students work in pairs practicing brushing their
teeth correctly meanwhile using the vocabulary content. For the next
session, they are required to find three words related to health in their
picture dictionaries, draw them, and present in the class. The next session,
they work on their reading passages.

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Periodic Table
Pre-task (warm up): The teacher/researchers enters the class with a box in
her hand. She has put some small balls inside it. The box is shown to the
students and after some seconds, they are required to guess the content of
the box. The teacher opens the box and the students understand how a box
can be different inside.
Task: They are given some objects such as salt, sugar, and water and are
told that these objects are like a box having some small balls inside; atom is
taught in this way. They are divided into groups and given boxes with a
name of one substance written on each and there are small balls inside.
They work together and practice the vocabulary content.

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Post-task and homework: They are given another box with different balls
inside representing different atoms. The names of the different atoms are
spoken and they should find the atom in their boxes. For homework, they
choose one atom and draw a picture of it on a big sheet of paper and
present its characteristics; they use the first singular personal pronoun as
they are supposed to be the atom themselves.

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Email: ahmuya@yahoo.com
Email: ghhatam@live.com

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