Improving Grade 8 Students’ Grammatical Competence in Filipino through Task-Based Language Learning Strategy

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of Task-Based Language Learning (TBLL) in improving students’ grammatical skills in Filipino at Valencia National High School in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines. The goal was to find out the level of grammatical competence among students taught with TBLL compared to those taught with traditional methods and to check for any significant differences between the two groups. A quasi-experimental research design was used, with both a pre-test and a post-test for a non-equivalent control group. Two intact sections participated in the study, with a total of sixty (60) students split evenly between the two groups. Respondents were selected through random sampling to ensure fairness. Results showed that students in the TBLL group improved from a moderate level in the pre-test (M = 10.67) to a high level in the post-test (M = 17.67), while the non-TBLL group increased from a low level (M = 9.40) to a moderate level (M = 11.43). Furthermore, an independent samples t-test showed a significant difference between the post-test scores of both groups, t (58) = -10.54, p < 0.001, indicating that TBLL was more effective than traditional instruction. The findings suggest that task-based strategies improve students’ abilities to use grammatical structures in meaningful contexts. This study emphasizes the need to integrate learner-centered approaches in grammar instruction to enhance language learning success.