Structure-based vs. task-based syllabus: The effect of type of syllabus on listening comprehension ability of Iranian university students

Abstract

The present study attempted to investigate the effect of typology of syllabus (structure-based vs. task-based) on the listening comprehension ability of two homogeneous classes (50 participants) during a whole academic semester. The homogeneity was attained through administration of a pre-test taken from Barron's TOEFL (Sharpe, 1996). The selected students were assigned to a structure-based and a task-based group. The subjects in the structure-based group were instructed through American Kernel Lesson: Intermediate (O'Neil et al., 1978), and the second group was instructed through Expanding Tactics for Listening: intermediate (Richards, 2005), representing the structure-based and task-based syllabus, respectively. Unlike the structure-based group, the task-based group demonstrated a considerable and statistically significant improvement in the post-test performance. The results of this study could be of pedagogic significance to syllabus designers, material developers as well as teachers. © 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland.