The effect of task-supported and task-based teaching on the use of Russian verbs of motion

Joan Castellví; Elena Markina

doi:10.30827/portalin.viX.27844

Authors

Joan Castellví Universidad de Barcelona https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4676-9643
Elena Markina Autonomous University of Barcelona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.viX.27844

Keywords:

task-based language teaching, task-supported language teaching, Russian as a foreign language, verbs of motion, Learning Management Systems

Abstract

The goal of this investigation is to determine to what extent task-supported (TS) and task-based (TB) language teaching approaches are effective for learning Russian verbs of motion. To this aim, an experimental study was carried out under real classroom conditions as a part of Russian language courses at the University of ***. Participants were organised into two groups that received a TS and a TB treatment, respectively. The implementation of the didactic strategies subsumed in the design of the TB treatment by means of a Learning Management System (Moodle), the benefits and key features of which facilitate task-based instruction, are analysed. The study follows the pre-test, post-test and delayed post-test design. In the light of the results obtained, it is safe to say that the two approaches are beneficial for learning verbs of motion since both groups showed a significant improvement in all the measured aspects, that is, the correct use of verbs both in the oral and written production and in the grammar tests (fill in the blanks, multiple choice and grammaticality judgement tests). Nevertheless, the TB group performed significantly better than the TS group in the oral tasks, and in most delayed post-tests

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Author Biographies

Joan Castellví, Universidad de Barcelona

Associate Professor in the Slavic Studies section of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Barcelona (UB). His teaching activity is centred on Russian language and linguistics and his current research focuses on SLA, teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL), task-based language teaching, and task design. He is a member of the research group CLiC (the Language and Computation Centre) at the UB. His most recent publications deal with task design for learning morphologically rich languages, the acquisition of vocabulary, and teaching RFL outside the language environment.

Elena Markina, Autonomous University of Barcelona

Associate Lecturer at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and University Pompeu Fabra (UPF). She is a task-based researcher and holds two Ph.D. degrees in Applied Linguistics. Elena has taught Russian for twelve years in a wide variety of contexts with different student profiles (primary school, in-company Russian courses, Russian for specific purposes and general Russian courses for university students) in Moscow and Barcelona. Currently, she teaches courses in academic writing and supervises master’s theses on CALL.

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