A Comparative Analysis of TBLT and PPP in Developing WTC and Conversational Engagement among Japanese EFL University Students

doi:10.65961/AJELT-26-1-005

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Asian Journal of English Language Teaching ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (1) : 83-110. DOI: 10.65961/AJELT-26-1-005

A Comparative Analysis of TBLT and PPP in Developing WTC and Conversational Engagement among Japanese EFL University Students

Pino CUTRONE

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This study examined the effect of two EFL instructional approaches, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Presentation, Practice, Production (PPP), on Japanese EFL university students' Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Conversational Involvement in L2 English. To this end, 64 Japanese university students, enrolled in an English Listening and Speaking course, participated in the study. The 64 participants comprised two separate classes of 32 students, each receiving a different instructional approach: one group was taught using TBLT, while the other followed the PPP model. Assessments of each participant's WTC and involvement in conversations were conducted at the course's beginning and end (after 15 weeks, which consisted of approximately 45 hours of instruction). Each of these assessments involved participating in a dyadic conversation with a classmate (which was transcribed verbatim and analyzed for the number of words uttered and questions posed) and completing a WTC questionnaire. Overall, the results demonstrated that TBLT was significantly more effective than the PPP approach across all measures of conversational involvement, including students' willingness to communicate (WTC) in L2 English, the number of words spoken, and the number of questions posed.

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Pino CUTRONE. (2026). A Comparative Analysis of TBLT and PPP in Developing WTC and Conversational Engagement among Japanese EFL University Students.Asian Journal of English Language Teaching , 35(1): 83-110. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-26-1-005

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