The Effects of Task Repetition and Task Recycling on Iranian EFL Learners’ Grammar Acquisition

One of the major criticisms leveled at task-based language teaching (TBLT), despite itscountless merits, is developing fluency at the cost of accuracy. The post-task stage affords anumber of options to counteract this downside through task repetition and task recycling. Thesetwo options are considered to positively affect learners' grammar performance in terms of,accuracy. The purpose of the present study is to compare the relative effect of task repetition andtask recycling on Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) learners’ grammar acquisition. Tothis end, two intact groups were selected as the experimental groups of study. The participants inboth task repetition and task recycling groups were assigned to perform a total of eight tasks.Each session included one task plus its second performance, namely repetition for the first groupand recycling for the second. Parallel Nelson test was administered at the end of the treatment toboth groups. The results revealed that task repetition group outperformed task recycling group.Task repetition is hence advised to be incorporated in teaching English, particularly in EFLcontexts as a viable tool to boost learners’ grammar acquisition.

Keywords:

task repletion , task recycling , grammar acquisition