Improving the Writing Proficiency of Grade Six Students Through Task-Based Language Teaching: Basis for Writing Intervention

In an ever-evolving society where everything has its alternative to provide comfort, several skills are disregarded and or neglected. Sure, some of it has its advantages but some of it has disadvantages. From the first ever creative thinking assessment done in 2022 under the OECD or Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, PISA, Philippines ranked second to the last. The alarming results evidently show the learning gaps in Philippine Education. Hence, the objective of the study is to improve the writing skills of grade six students by using the teaching methodology; Task-Based Language Teaching. The approach was usually used in speaking in higher level, tertiary or ESL courses; thus, the researcher used the methodology in elementary level focused in writing. This study used quantitative method, quasi- experimental design. There were 40 respondents who have undergone an eight-week intervention comparing their scores from pre and post-test and were interviewed to further support the result of the test. Findings of the study revealed that there is a significant difference between the performance of the respondents in the pre-test and post-test. The result signifies that the use of Task-Based Language Teaching was effective in improving the writing skills of grade six students. In the interview, themes in learning gains such as ‘Improved grammar use’, ‘Expressing oneself in essay writing’ and ‘Essay writing skills’ were drawn. “TBLT develops writing abilities through comparable fun and understandable tasks pertaining to students’ daily lives” was the main theme in the categories that stood out from the interview. These findings imply that the lessons and activities used in the intervention which was anchored on DEPEd’s Most Essential Learning Competencies through the use of TBLT made a significant contribution to the performance of the respondents. The study concludes that Task-Based Language Teaching significantly improved the performance of the students in writing through authentic and real-life task-based activities. This present study thereby recommends the integration of TBLT in lessons to help enhance the performance of the students especially in writing. An intervention plan was crafted by the researcher to help elementary educators in the implementation.