The Effects of Integrative Tasks on Speaking Performances of Korean EFL Learners

This paper explored the effect of an integrative task on speaking performances of Korean EFL learners by shedding light on relationships between reading, writing and speaking. Fifty-one freshmen of college enrolled in a required class participated in this study. Over a treatment period of 14 weeks, the experimental group were provided with writing basic skills and writing tasks connected to reading. Meanwhile, the students of the control group were given journal articles for reading and practice exercises for comprehension. A pre and posttest, which consisted of three questions including describing, narrating, and problem-solving speaking tasks, and survey were administered and t-test was utilized for the analysis. As a result, the students who were involved in the integrative task showed significant differences in improvement of their L2 speaking proficiency. Both high and low level students in the treatment group also benefited from the integrative tasks in terms of speaking proficiencies. In addition, the analyses of the survey revealed that the students of the experimental group perceived the integrative tasks as a useful tool for enhancing speaking proficiency of L2. The findings imply that writing, reading and speaking are co-related and the integrative tasks can lead to promote L2 speaking ability.