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

PDF(773 KB)

Asian Journal of English Language Teaching ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (1) : 83-110.

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

Pino CUTRONE

Author information +

History +

Abstract

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.

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

Pino CUTRONE. A Comparative Analysis of TBLT and PPP in Developing WTC and Conversational Engagement among Japanese EFL University Students[J]. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2026, 35(1): 83-110

References

Allen, D. (2016). Japanese cram schools and entrance exam washback.The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(1), 54-67.
Anderson, F. (2019). The enigma of the college classroom: Nails that don't stick up. In P. Wadden & C. C. Hale, P.(Eds.), A handbook for teaching English at Japanese colleges and universities: A new handbook
Beretta, A., & Davies, A. (1985). Evaluation of the Bangalore project.ELT Journal, 39(1), 121-127.
Boers, F. (2024). Key constructs in language teaching: From PPP to APC: Some thoughts triggered by Ellis' (2024) take on task-supported language teaching.International Journal of TESOL Studies, 6(4), 34-42.
Breen, M. (1989). The evaluation cycle for language learning tasks. In R. K. Johnson (Eds.), The second language curriculum (pp. 187-206). Cambridge University Press.
Bygate M., Skehan P., & Swain M. (Eds.). (2001). Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing. Longman.
Carless D.2009. Revisiting the TBLT versus P-P-P Debate: Voices from Hong Kong. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 19(1)49-66.
Case, A. (2016). 15 variations of PPP. Tefl.NET, 15(1). Retrieved July 4, 2025 from https://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/teaching/variations-on-ppp/
Chou, M. H. (2018). Speaking anxiety and strategy use in learning English as a Foreign Language in full and partial English-medium instruction contexts.TESOL Quarterly, 52(1), 611-633.
Chou, M. H. (2021). An integrated approach to developing and assessing EFL students' speaking ability and strategy use.Language Education & Assessment, 4(1), 19-37.
Clément, R. (1980). Ethnicity, contact and communicative competence in a second language. In H. Giles, W. P. Robinson, & P. M. Smith (Eds.), Language: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 147-154). Pergamon.
Clément, R. (1986). Second language proficiency and acculturation: An investigation of the effects of language status and individual characteristics.Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 5(1), 271-290.
Clément R., Baker S. C., & MacIntyre P. D. (2003). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The effect of context, norms, and vitality.Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 22(1), 190-209.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cutrone, P. (2009). Overcoming Japanese EFL learners' fear of speaking.University of Reading's Language Studies Working Papers, 1(1), 55-63.
Cutrone, P. (2013). Assessing pragmatic competence in the Japanese EFL context. Cambridge Scholars Publishing..
Cutrone, P. (2014). A cross-cultural examination of the backchannel behavior of Japanese and Americans: Considerations for Japanese EFL learners.Intercultural Pragmatics, 11(1), 83-120.
Cutrone, P. (2015). Examining potential sources of miscommunication between Japan and the West: Using Grice to bridge the sociolinguistic gap for Japanese EFL learners.Asian EFL Journal, 17(2), 37-76.
Cutrone, P. (2018). Insights into the Field of Applied Linguistics: An Interview with Rod Ellis.Journal of the School of Global Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagasaki University, 4(1), 309-319.
Cutrone, P. (2025). EFL Speaking in the Japanese University Context: A Comparison of Task-Based and Presentation-Practice-Production Pedagogical Approaches.TESOL Communications, 4(2), 1-25.
Cutrone, P., & Beh, S. (2015). Welcome to Kyushu, Japan: A task-based approach to EFL learning using authentic dialogues. Shohakusha.
Cutrone P.,& Beh, S. (2017). Adopting a task-based approach to address ELT issues in Japan. In Leung, Y. (Ed.), Selected Papers from the Twenty-sixth International Symposium on English Teaching (pp. 150-159). English Teachers' Association - Republic of China (ETA_ROC): Crane Publishing.
Cutrone, P., & Beh, S. (2018). Investigating the effects of task-based language teaching on Japanese EFL learners' willingness to communicate.The Journal of Asia TEFL, 15(3)-589.
Dekeyser R. M.(1998). Beyond focus on form: Cognitive perspectives on learning and practicing second language grammar. In C. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 42-63). Cambridge University Press.
EF Education First Japan. (2024). World's largest English proficiency index ranking - EF EPI. EF Japan. Retrieved August 14, 2025, from https://www.efjapan.co.jp/epi/
Ellis, N. (2006). Selective attention and transfer phenomena in L2 acquisition: contingency, cue competition, salience, interference, overshadowing, blocking, and perceptual learning.Applied Linguistics, 27(2), 164-194.
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press..
Ellis, R. (2009). Task-based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings.International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221-246.
Ellis, R. (2018). Reflections on task-based language teaching (second language acquisition, 125). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Ellis, R. (2019). Towards a modular language curriculum for using tasks.Language Teaching Research, 23(4), 454-475.
Ellis, R. (2021a). Options in a task-based language-teaching curriculum: An educational perspective.TASK: Journal of Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning, 1(1), 11-46.
Ellis, R. (2021b). Task-based language teaching: Early days, now and into the future. In N. P. Sudharshana, & L. Mukhopadhyay (Eds.), Task-based language teaching and assessment: Contemporary reflections from across the world (pp. 39-61). Springer.
Ellis, R. (2024). Task-based and task-supported language teaching: Key constructs in language teaching.International Journal of TESOL Studies, 6(4), 1-13
Ellis R., Basturkmen H., & Loewen S. (2002). Doing focus-on-form.System, 30(4), 419-432.
ETS. (2017). TOEFL iBT Test and Score Data Summary 2017. Retrieved from https://www.ets.org/content/dam/ets-org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-test-score-data-summary--2017.pdf
ETS. (2020). TOEFL iBT Test and Score Data Summary 2020. Retrieved from https://originwww.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_tsds_data_2020.pdf
ETS. (2023). TOEFL iBT Test and Score Data Summary 2023. Retrieved from https://www.ets.org/content/dam/ets-org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-test-score-data-summary-2023.pdf
Foster, P., & Skehan, P. (1996). “The influence of planning and task type on second language performance.”Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18(3), 299-323.
González-Lloret, M., & Nielson, K. (2015). Evaluating TBLT: The case of a task-based Spanish program.Language Teaching Research 19(1), 525-49.
Harmer, J. (2015). The practice of English language teaching (5th ed.). Pearson.
Harris, J., & Leeming, P. (2021). The impact of teaching approach on growth in L2 proficiency and self-efficacy: A longitudinal classroom-based study of TBLT and PPP.Journal of Second Language Studies, 5(10), 1-30.
Hashimoto, Y. (2002). Motivation and willingness to communicate as predictors of reported L2 use: The Japanese ESL context.Second Language Studies, 20(2), 29-70.
Helgesen M., Brown S., & Mandeville T. (2007). English firsthand. Pearson Longman.
Ireland, G., & Woollerton, M. (2015). The English course - Discussion book 2. The English Company.
JASP Team (2024). JASP (Version 0.19.3)[Computer software].
Lambert, C. (2010). A task-based needs analysis: Putting principles into practice.Language Teaching Research, 14(1), 99-112.
Lewis, M. (1993). The lexical approach: The state of ELT and a way forward. Language Teaching Publications.
Long, M. H. (1991). Focus on form: A design feature in language teaching methodology. In K. De Bot, R. Ginsberg, & C. Kramsch (Eds.), Foreign language research in cross-cultural perspectives (pp. 39-52). John Benjamins.
Long M. H.(1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W.C. Ritchie, & T.K. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 413-468). Academic Press.
Long M. H.(Ed.). (2005). Second language needs analysis. Cambridge University Press..
MacIntyre, P. D., & Charos, C. (1996). Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication.Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15(1), 3-26.
MacIntyre P. D., Clément R., Dönyei, Z., & Noels K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation.The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545-562.
Martin, D. (2003). Talk a lot. EFL Press..
McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1987). Willingness to communicate. In J. C. McCroskey & J. A. Daly (Eds.), Personality and interpersonal communication (pp. 129-156). Sage.
McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1990). Willingness to communicate: Differing cultural perspectives.Southern Communication Journal, 56(1), 72-77.
McCroskey, J. C. (1992). Reliability and validity of willingness to communicate scale.Communication Quarterly, 40(1), 16-25.
Nunan, D. (1988), Syllabus design. Oxford University Press.
Peng, J.-E., & Woodrow, L. (2010). Willingness to communicate in English: A model in the Chinese EFL classroom context.Language Learning, 60(4), 834-876.
Phillips D.1996. Longman introductory course for the TOEFL test: The paper test. Longman.
Pica, T. (1994). Research on negotiation: What does it reveal about second-language learning conditions, processes, and outcomes? Language Learning, 44(3), 493-527.
Prabhu N. S.(1987). Second language pedagogy. Oxford University Press..
Pratista, G. Y. (2023). Presentation practice production vs task-based language teaching: A comparison of two teaching templates.Edupedia, 7(1), 1-13.
Richards J. C.,& Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching, Cambridge University Press.
Richards J. C.,& Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press..
Samuda, V., & Bygate, M. (2008). Tasks in second language learning. Palgrave Macmillan.
Sato, Y. (2008). Oral communication problems and strategies of Japanese university EFL learners. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Reading, Reading.
Schmidt, R. (1990). “The role of consciousness in second language learning.”Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 129-158.
Schmidt, R. (1993). Consciousness, learning and interlanguage pragmatics. In G. Kasper & S. Blum-Kulka (Eds.), Interlanguage pragmatics (pp. 21-42). Oxford University Press.
Schmidt, R. & Frota, S. (1986). Developing basic conversational ability in a second language: A case study of an adult learner of Portuguese. In R. R. Day (Ed.), Talking to learn: Conversation in second language acquisition (pp. 237-326). Newbury House.
Scrivener, J. (2011). Learning teaching (3rd ed.). Macmillan Education.
Shintani, N. (2013). The effect of focus on form and focus on forms instruction on the acquisition of productive knowledge of L2 vocabulary by young beginning level learners.TESOL Quarterly 47(1), 36-62.
Shintani, N. (2015). The incidental grammar acquisition in focus on form and focus on forms instruction for young beginner Learners.TESOL Quarterly 49(1), 115-40.
Soars J.& L. Soars (2016). American headway 2 (3rd edition). Oxford University Press..
Swain, M. (1995). “Three functions of output in second language learning.” In G. Cook & B. Seidlhofer (Eds.), Principle and Practice in Applied Linguistics (pp. 125-144). Oxford University Press.
Taylor, S. (2020). Factors affecting the speaking fluency of Japanese EFL learners. Language Education and Research Center Journal, 15(1), 3-25.
Teng, M. F. (2024). Young beginning learners' vocabulary learning via input and output tasks: The role of working memory.Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 14(4), 731-767.
Toyoda J., Yashima T., & Aubrey S. (2021). Factors influencing situational willingness to communicate in English among Japanese youth.JALT Journal, 43(2), 185-204.
Tridinanti, G. (2018). The correlation between speaking anxiety, self-confidence, and speaking achievement of undergraduate EFL students of private university in Palembang.International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 6(4), 35-39.
Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching: Practice and theory. Cambridge University Press.
Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based Learning. Longman.
Willis, J. (1998), Task-based learning: What kind of adventure? The Language Teacher, 22(7), 17-18.
Willis J.,& Willis, D. (2007). Doing task-based teaching. Oxford University Press..
Yamada, H. (1997). Different games, different rules: Why Americans and Japanese misunderstand each other. Oxford University Press.
Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context.The Modern Language Journal, 86(1), 54-66.
Yashima T., Zenuck-Nishide L., & Shimizu K. (2004). The influence of attitudes and affect on willingness to communicate and second language communication.Language Learning, 54(1), 119-152.