Bridging Language Learning and Cognitive Growth: The Power of Situated Learning and Task-Based Language Teaching in Modern Education
Abstract
The study explores the effects of a hybrid instructional approach combining Situated Learning (SL) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) on the executive functions and cognitive abilities of fourth-grade students learning English as a second language (ESL). Method: An experimental design was employed, with students divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group participated in four weeks of SL and TBLT, while the control group received traditional instruction. Pre-test and post-test measures were taken using the Executive Function Assessment Scale (EFPS) and the Cognitive Abilities Scale (CAS). Results: Although the executive function (M=158.16, t=-14.224, p<0.05) and cognitive ability (M=133.28, t=-11.835, p<0.05) of the students in the control group were improved, the improvement was small. However, the executive function (M=161.88, t=-18.047, p<0.05) and cognitive ability (M=137.04, t=-19.591, p<0.05) of the students in the experimental group were significantly improved. Conclusions: The combination of SL and TBLT significantly enhances both executive functions and cognitive abilities in primary students, indicating the effectiveness of this instructional approach in promoting cognitive development through real-world, task-based activities.
References
Abdallah, M., & Mansour, M. M. (2015). Virtual task-based situated language-learning with second life: Developing EFL pragmatic writing and technological self-efficacy. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), Special Issue on CALL, (2), 150-182. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2843987
Abdallah, M. M. S. (2011). Web-based new literacies and EFL curriculum design in teacher education: A design study for expanding EFL student teachers’ language-related literacy practices in an Egyptian pre-service teacher education programme. University of Exeter (United Kingdom).
Alomar, M. H. (2017). How Task Based and Situated Language Learning and Teaching is Changing the Way English Can be Taught to Foreign Students. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www. iiste. org ISSN, 2422-8435.
August, D., Carlo, M., Dressler, C., & Snow, C. (2005). The critical role of vocabulary development for English language learners. Learning disabilities research & practice, 20(1), 50-57. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2005.00120.x
Awomokun, T. R. (2022). Relationship Between Stress, Executive Function and Emotional Regulation of Students. Minot State University.
Baddeley, A. (2006). Working memory: An overview. Working memory and education, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012554465-8/50003-X
Barab, S.A., & Duffy, T.M. (2000). From Practice Fields to Communities of Practice. In: D. Jonassen & S. Land (eds.), Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments (pp. 25- 56). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Besar, P. (2018). SLT: the key to effective classroom teaching? In: HONAI: International Journal for Educational, Social, Political & Cultural Studies, 1(1): 49-60.
Best, J. R., Miller, P. H., & Jones, L. L. (2009). Executive functions after age 5: Changes and correlates. Developmental review, 29(3), 180-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2009.05.002
Boud, D. (1994). Conceptualizing Learning from Experience: Developing a Model for Facilitation. In proceedings of the thirty fifth annual adult education research conference, Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 49-54.
Brown, H. D. (1994). Teaching by principles: An interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Renents. Bull, Faculty of Education, Hirosaki University.
Chung, E. (2018). Revisiting second language vocabulary teaching: Insights from Hong Kong in-service teachers. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 27(6), 499-508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-018-0412-3
Cristofori, I., Cohen-Zimerman, S., & Grafman, J. (2019). Executive functions. Handbook of clinical neurology, 163, 197-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804281-6.00011-2
Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think. A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process, Boston etc. (DC Heath and Company) 1933.
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual review of psychology, 64(1), 135-168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
Durston, S., Thomas, K. M., Yang, Y., Uluğ, A. M., Zimmerman, R. D., & Casey, B. J. (2002). A neural basis for the development of inhibitory control. Developmental science, 5(4), F9-F16. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00235
Dutro, S., & Moran, C. (2003). Rethinking English language instruction: An architectural approach. English learners: Reaching the highest level of English literacy, 227, 258.
Ellis, R. (2015). Understanding second language acquisition 2nd edition. Oxford university press.
Ellis, R.(1999). The study of Second Language Acquisition. Shanghai: Foreign language education press.
Engle, R. W. (2002). Working memory capacity as executive attention. Current directions in psychological science, 11(1), 19-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00160
Felix, U. (2002). The web as a vehicle for constructivist approaches in language teaching. ReCALL, 14(1), 2-15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344002000216
Fleishman, E. A., & Reilly, M. E. (1992). Handbook of human abilities: Definitions, measurements, and job task requirements. Consulting Psychologists Press.
Friedman, N. P., Miyake, A., Corley, R. P., Young, S. E., DeFries, J. C., & Hewitt, J. K. (2006). Not all executive functions are related to intelligence. Psychological science, 17(2), 172-179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01681.x
Gardner, H. (1985). The minds new science: A history of the cognitive revolution. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Gass, S. (2009). Second Language Acquisition. In: Foster-Cohen, S. (eds) Language Acquisition. Palgrave Advances in Linguistics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230240780_6
Genesee, F., Geva, E., Dressler, C., & Kamil, M. (2006). Synthesis: Cross-linguistic relationships. Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth, 153-174.
Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Guy, S. C., & Kenworthy, L. (2000). Behavior rating inventory of executive function: BRIEF. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Guy, S. C., Isquith, P. K., & Gioia, G. A. (2004). BRIEF-SR: Behavior rating inventory of Executive Function--self-report version: Professional manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.
Hassan, N. M. H. (2024). Using a Program Based on Situated Language Learning and Virtual Task Activities for Developing EFL Student Teachers’ Writing Skills and Writing Self-Efficacy. Sohag University International Journal of Educational Research, 10(10), 19-66. https://doi.org/10.21608/suijer.2024.369237
Karbach, J., & Schubert, T. (2013). Training-induced cognitive and neural plasticity. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 7, 48. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00048
Lampert, M., & Graziani, F. (2009). Instructional activities as a tool for teachers' and teacher educators' learning. The elementary school journal, 109(5), 491-509. https://doi.org/10.1086/596998
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge university press.
Lesaux, N. K., & Siegel, L. S. (2003). The development of reading in children who speak English as a second language. Developmental psychology, 39(6), 1005. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.39.6.1005
McKinley, J. (2015). Critical argument and writer identity: Social constructivism as a theoretical framework for EFL academic writing. Critical inquiry in language studies, 12(3), 184-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2015.1060558
McLellan, H. (1996). Situated learning perspectives. Educational Technology.
Meltzer, L., Greschler, M. A., Davis, K., & Vanderberg, C. (2021). Executive function, metacognition, and language: Promoting student success with explicit strategy instruction. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(6), 1343-1356. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_PERSP-21-00034
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., and Wagner, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: a latent variable analysis. Cogn. Psychol. 41, 49–100. https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1999.0734
Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Oura, G. K. (2001). Authentic task-based materials: Bringing the real world into the classroom. Sophia Junior College Faculty Bulletin, 21, 65-84.
Paniagua, A., & Istance, D. (2018). Teachers as designers of learning environments. Educational Research and Innovation, 17-42.
Peng, P., & Kievit, R. A. (2020). The development of academic achievement and cognitive abilities: A bidirectional perspective. Child Development Perspectives, 14(1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12352
Rustamov, I. (2022). Teaching English As a Foreign Language. Журнал иностранных языков и лингвистики, 4(4).
Sae-Ong, U. R. A. I. W. A. N. (2010). The use of task-based learning and group work incorporating to develop English speaking ability of Mattayom Suksa 4 students. Unpublished master’s thesis, Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand.
Shih, Y. C., & Yang, M. T. (2008). A collaborative virtual environment for situated language learning using VEC3D. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 11(1), 56-68.
Sim, M. S., Rahmat, N. H., & Khin, L. S. (2021). Exploring Situated Learning through Task based Activities: A Case Study in the Mandarin Class. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(12), 1654-1676. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i12/11374
Von Bastian, C. C., & Oberauer, K. (2014). Effects and mechanisms of working memory training: a review. Psychological research, 78, 803-820. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-013-0524-6
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Walwanis, M. M., & Ponto, S. J. (2019). Clarifying cognitive flexibility from a self-regulatory perspective. In Augmented Cognition: 13th International Conference, AC 2019, Held as Part of the 21st HCI International Conference, HCII 2019, Orlando, FL, USA, July 26–31, 2019, Proceedings 21 (pp. 631-643). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22419-6_45
Warschauer, M., Shetzer, H., & Meloni, C. (2000). Internet for English Teaching. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Wenger, Etienne (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zelazo, P. D., & Müller, U. (2002). Executive function in typical and atypical development. Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development, 445-469. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470996652
Abdallah, M., & Mansour, M. M. (2015). Virtual task-based situated language-learning with second life: Developing EFL pragmatic writing and technological self-efficacy. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), Special Issue on CALL, (2), 150-182. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2843987
Abdallah, M. M. S. (2011). Web-based new literacies and EFL curriculum design in teacher education: A design study for expanding EFL student teachers’ language-related literacy practices in an Egyptian pre-service teacher education programme. University of Exeter (United Kingdom).
Alomar, M. H. (2017). How Task Based and Situated Language Learning and Teaching is Changing the Way English Can be Taught to Foreign Students. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www. iiste. org ISSN, 2422-8435.
August, D., Carlo, M., Dressler, C., & Snow, C. (2005). The critical role of vocabulary development for English language learners. Learning disabilities research & practice, 20(1), 50-57. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2005.00120.x
Awomokun, T. R. (2022). Relationship Between Stress, Executive Function and Emotional Regulation of Students. Minot State University.
Baddeley, A. (2006). Working memory: An overview. Working memory and education, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012554465-8/50003-X
Barab, S.A., & Duffy, T.M. (2000). From Practice Fields to Communities of Practice. In: D. Jonassen & S. Land (eds.), Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments (pp. 25- 56). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Besar, P. (2018). SLT: the key to effective classroom teaching? In: HONAI: International Journal for Educational, Social, Political & Cultural Studies, 1(1): 49-60.
Best, J. R., Miller, P. H., & Jones, L. L. (2009). Executive functions after age 5: Changes and correlates. Developmental review, 29(3), 180-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2009.05.002
Boud, D. (1994). Conceptualizing Learning from Experience: Developing a Model for Facilitation. In proceedings of the thirty fifth annual adult education research conference, Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 49-54.
Brown, H. D. (1994). Teaching by principles: An interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Renents. Bull, Faculty of Education, Hirosaki University.
Chung, E. (2018). Revisiting second language vocabulary teaching: Insights from Hong Kong in-service teachers. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 27(6), 499-508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-018-0412-3
Cristofori, I., Cohen-Zimerman, S., & Grafman, J. (2019). Executive functions. Handbook of clinical neurology, 163, 197-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804281-6.00011-2
Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think. A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process, Boston etc. (DC Heath and Company) 1933.
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual review of psychology, 64(1), 135-168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
Durston, S., Thomas, K. M., Yang, Y., Uluğ, A. M., Zimmerman, R. D., & Casey, B. J. (2002). A neural basis for the development of inhibitory control. Developmental science, 5(4), F9-F16. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00235
Dutro, S., & Moran, C. (2003). Rethinking English language instruction: An architectural approach. English learners: Reaching the highest level of English literacy, 227, 258.
Ellis, R. (2015). Understanding second language acquisition 2nd edition. Oxford university press.
Ellis, R.(1999). The study of Second Language Acquisition. Shanghai: Foreign language education press.
Engle, R. W. (2002). Working memory capacity as executive attention. Current directions in psychological science, 11(1), 19-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00160
Felix, U. (2002). The web as a vehicle for constructivist approaches in language teaching. ReCALL, 14(1), 2-15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344002000216
Fleishman, E. A., & Reilly, M. E. (1992). Handbook of human abilities: Definitions, measurements, and job task requirements. Consulting Psychologists Press.
Friedman, N. P., Miyake, A., Corley, R. P., Young, S. E., DeFries, J. C., & Hewitt, J. K. (2006). Not all executive functions are related to intelligence. Psychological science, 17(2), 172-179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01681.x
Gardner, H. (1985). The minds new science: A history of the cognitive revolution. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Gass, S. (2009). Second Language Acquisition. In: Foster-Cohen, S. (eds) Language Acquisition. Palgrave Advances in Linguistics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230240780_6
Genesee, F., Geva, E., Dressler, C., & Kamil, M. (2006). Synthesis: Cross-linguistic relationships. Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth, 153-174.
Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Guy, S. C., & Kenworthy, L. (2000). Behavior rating inventory of executive function: BRIEF. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Guy, S. C., Isquith, P. K., & Gioia, G. A. (2004). BRIEF-SR: Behavior rating inventory of Executive Function--self-report version: Professional manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.
Hassan, N. M. H. (2024). Using a Program Based on Situated Language Learning and Virtual Task Activities for Developing EFL Student Teachers’ Writing Skills and Writing Self-Efficacy. Sohag University International Journal of Educational Research, 10(10), 19-66. https://doi.org/10.21608/suijer.2024.369237
Karbach, J., & Schubert, T. (2013). Training-induced cognitive and neural plasticity. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 7, 48. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00048
Lampert, M., & Graziani, F. (2009). Instructional activities as a tool for teachers' and teacher educators' learning. The elementary school journal, 109(5), 491-509. https://doi.org/10.1086/596998
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge university press.
Lesaux, N. K., & Siegel, L. S. (2003). The development of reading in children who speak English as a second language. Developmental psychology, 39(6), 1005. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.39.6.1005
McKinley, J. (2015). Critical argument and writer identity: Social constructivism as a theoretical framework for EFL academic writing. Critical inquiry in language studies, 12(3), 184-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2015.1060558
McLellan, H. (1996). Situated learning perspectives. Educational Technology.
Meltzer, L., Greschler, M. A., Davis, K., & Vanderberg, C. (2021). Executive function, metacognition, and language: Promoting student success with explicit strategy instruction. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(6), 1343-1356. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_PERSP-21-00034
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., and Wagner, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: a latent variable analysis. Cogn. Psychol. 41, 49–100. https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1999.0734
Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Oura, G. K. (2001). Authentic task-based materials: Bringing the real world into the classroom. Sophia Junior College Faculty Bulletin, 21, 65-84.
Paniagua, A., & Istance, D. (2018). Teachers as designers of learning environments. Educational Research and Innovation, 17-42.
Peng, P., & Kievit, R. A. (2020). The development of academic achievement and cognitive abilities: A bidirectional perspective. Child Development Perspectives, 14(1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12352
Rustamov, I. (2022). Teaching English As a Foreign Language. Журнал иностранных языков и лингвистики, 4(4).
Sae-Ong, U. R. A. I. W. A. N. (2010). The use of task-based learning and group work incorporating to develop English speaking ability of Mattayom Suksa 4 students. Unpublished master’s thesis, Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand.
Shih, Y. C., & Yang, M. T. (2008). A collaborative virtual environment for situated language learning using VEC3D. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 11(1), 56-68.
Sim, M. S., Rahmat, N. H., & Khin, L. S. (2021). Exploring Situated Learning through Task based Activities: A Case Study in the Mandarin Class. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(12), 1654-1676. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i12/11374
Von Bastian, C. C., & Oberauer, K. (2014). Effects and mechanisms of working memory training: a review. Psychological research, 78, 803-820. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-013-0524-6
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Walwanis, M. M., & Ponto, S. J. (2019). Clarifying cognitive flexibility from a self-regulatory perspective. In Augmented Cognition: 13th International Conference, AC 2019, Held as Part of the 21st HCI International Conference, HCII 2019, Orlando, FL, USA, July 26–31, 2019, Proceedings 21 (pp. 631-643). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22419-6_45
Warschauer, M., Shetzer, H., & Meloni, C. (2000). Internet for English Teaching. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Wenger, Etienne (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zelazo, P. D., & Müller, U. (2002). Executive function in typical and atypical development. Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development, 445-469. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470996652
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