EXPLORING KURDISH EFL TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHING RELATIVE CLAUSES THROUGH TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING

Authors

  • Angela O. Zaya Department of English, College of Basic Education, University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region- Iraq.
  • Shivan Sh. Toma Department of Translation, College of Languages, University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region- Iraq.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26436/hjuoz.2026.14.1.1571

Keywords:

UoD, Kurdish EFL teachers, , the TBLT approach, English relative clauses

Abstract

Few studies have investigated teachers’ views on the use of the Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach in teaching grammar structures. However, no study has specifically examined the use of this approach in the University of Duhok context. Thus, this study addresses the gap by exploring English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of instruction and evaluating its effective use in teaching relative clauses. Therefore, 30 EFL teachers who teach English grammar from various colleges of the University of Duhok participated in the study by completing a closed-and open-ended questionnaire to provide their opinions on the use of TBLT in teaching relative clauses. A mixed-method approach was used with quantitative and qualitative data collected via questionnaires. The findings indicate that English EFL grammar teachers at the University of Duhok generally hold positive attitudes towards the use of TBLT in teaching English relative clauses and demonstrate familiarity with its principles. However, they also identify key challenges in task design and offer insightful recommendations for its development.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bachman, L.F. and Palmer, A.S. (1996) Language testing in practice: Designing and developing useful language tests. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Borg, S. (2015) Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006) ‘Using thematic analysis in psychology’, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), pp. 77–101.

Calvert, M. and Sheen, Y. (2014) ‘Task-based language learning and teaching: An action-research study’, Language Teaching Research, 18(4), pp. 481–505. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168814547037.

Carless, D. (2003) ‘Factors in the implementation of task-based teaching in primary schools’, System, 31(4), pp. 485–500.

Cook, V. (2008) Second language learning and language teaching. 4th edn. London: Hodder Education.

Ellis, R. (2003) Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Field, A. (2018) Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. 5th edn. London: SAGE Publications.

Huddleston, R. and Pullum, G.K. (2002) The Cambridge grammar of the English language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Jeon, I.J. and Hahn, J.W. (2006) ‘Exploring EFL teachers’ perceptions of task-based language teaching: A case study of Korean secondary school classroom practice’, Asian EFL Journal, 8(1), pp. 123–139.

Kim, K. & Roth, G. (2011). Novice teachers and their acquisition of work- related information. Current Issues in Education, 14(1), 1-28. Retrieved from http://cie.asu.edu

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2003) Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Le, T.V. (2014) ‘Factors affecting task-based language teaching from teachers’ perspectives’, Studies in English Language Teaching, 2(1), pp. 108–123. Available at: http://www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/selt/article/download/162/163.

Liu, Y., Mishan, F. and Chambers, A. (2018) ‘Investigating EFL teachers’ perceptions of task-based language teaching in higher education in China’, The Language Learning Journal. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2018.1465110.

Long, M.H. (1991) ‘Focus on form: A design feature in language teaching methodology’, in de Bot, K., Ginsberg, R. and Kramsch, C. (eds.) Foreign language research in cross-cultural perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 39–52.

Long, M.H. (2015) Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Norris, J.M. (2009) ‘Task-based teaching and testing’, in Long, M.H. and Doughty, C.J. (eds.) The handbook of language teaching. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 578–594.

Nunan, D. (2004) Task-based language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nunan, D. (2005) ‘Important tasks of English education: Asia-wide and beyond’, Asian EFL Journal, 7(3).

Pham, N.T. and Nguyen, H.B. (2018) ‘Teachers’ perceptions about task-based language teaching and its implementation’, European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 3(2), pp. 68–84. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1241474.

Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Plews, J.L. and Zhao, K. (2010) ‘Tinkering with tasks knows no bounds: ESL teachers’ adaptations of task-based language teaching’, TESL Canada Journal, 28(1), pp. 41–59.

Pohan, E., Andhimi, E., Nopitasari, E. and Levana, Y. (2016) ‘Teachers’ perceptions of task-based language teaching in English classroom’, Proceedings of Igniting a Brighter Future of EFL Teaching and Learning in Multilingual Societies, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia.

Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (1985) A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London: Longman.

Richards, J. and Rodgers, T. (2001) Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Richards, J.C. and Schmidt, R. (2010) Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. 4th edn. Harlow: Pearson.

Skehan, P. (1998) A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Tabatabaei, S.R. and Hadi, S. (2011) ‘EFL teachers’ perceptions about task-based language teaching implementation and the reasons they choose or avoid TBLT’, Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(1), pp. 104–111. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.2.1.104-111.

Van den Branden, K. (2006) Task-based language teaching: From theory to practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Willis, D. and Willis, J. (2001) ‘Task-based language learning’, in Carter, R. and Nunan, D. (eds.) The Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 173–179.

Downloads

Published

2026-03-30

How to Cite

Zaya, A., & Toma , S. (2026). EXPLORING KURDISH EFL TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHING RELATIVE CLAUSES THROUGH TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING. Humanities Journal of University of Zakho, 14(1), 40–52. https://doi.org/10.26436/hjuoz.2026.14.1.1571

Issue

Section

Humanities Journal of University of Zakho