The reason for choosing the topic Project-based teaching is a student-centered teaching model that, through open tasks, encourages students to explore knowledge during implementing and creating our own products. In teaching English, this method is considered effective because through the implementation of a project, students grasp language skills and use foreign languages in communication activities by their own competencies. In the pilot English textbook, the Project part is included in the program as the main content accompanying the main grammar and skills of a lesson. However, for the old English textbooks that are still being applied in most high schools in rural and mountainous areas of Nghe An province, this Project part does not exist.
For 12th graders, they focus on learning grammar to focus on graduation exams, but almost ignore learning skills such as listening and speaking. Without experience in using the language, students may tend to be nervous about trying to say things. Especially in our school, the teacher’s duty is twice as hard as others because my students always have to learn under difficult conditions and very little opportunity to meet native English speakers and not access to modern up-to- date materials. In fact, my school’s students come from mountainous areas where their learning condition and facilities are remarkably limited and they lack English basic knowledge from lower grades.
This makes students have more obstacles in studying and mastering it. To overcome these difficulties, it is high time for me and colleagues to join hands to create a language environment and innovate teaching methods that develop English students’ competence so that their English skills, especially speaking skill will be better and better in the future. Via having taught English at high school for years and having applied new methodologies in my numerous classes recently, I boldly gave the initiative "USING PROJECT – BASED LEARNING METHOD IN SPEAKING LESSONS - ENGLISH 12 TO ENHANCE STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILL AT ETHNIC BOARDING HIGH SCHOOL". With the analysis of the benefits of the Project-based teaching method as well as experimenting with the method in some speaking lessons for 12th grade students, I hope to give students more excitement.
The new point of the topic The topic revolves around analyzing the benefits of the Project-based learning method studied by educational experts and using this teaching method in some specific speaking periods of the grade 12 English textbook. The project-based learning approach can, at its maximum, stimulate a student's active participation in the learning process; develop students' learning skills, problem solving, assessment skills, communication skills such as listening, speaking, presenting as well as group work skills. Also, it increases students’ ability to think independently, creatively and adjust students' perceptions, behaviors, and skills. Thus, this pedagogical method can promote democracy and dynamism to achieve the goal of teaching foreign languages.
In recent times, there have been many research topics on innovative teaching methods. The project-based learning method is a fairly new 1 skkn project. In fact, there are a number of teachers who research on project-based learning method, but mainly apply it to the pilot textbook or selected class’s students with high proficiency, not yet broadly applied to students with low English proficiency as in my Ethnic boarding high school. More specifically, the method of asking students to carry out a project to fulfill the requirements of a lesson is a relatively new method and this is a part that has not been officially applied in the old program English textbook.
Using project-based learning method that attracts excitement, the student's initiative in speaking lessons for 12th graders is the teaching method that I have used the most effectively in the school year. The aim of the study. This study is carried out to meet the following aims: 1. To experiment the applicability of project- based learning in developing grade 12 students’ speaking skills.
To measure the impact of project- based learning on grade 12 students’ speaking skills. The methods of the study This section presents the research design as well as research method, data collection and data analysis. The research context with an overview of ethnic boarding high school, the syllabus, the current teaching and learning situation are mentioned. The research approach and method of data analysis are presented later on to provide how to deal with the research questions and reach the solutions.
The scope of the study Although there are many different ways to motivate students to learn English, all these issues cannot be fully covered in this paper. Due to the limited time and the length of the thesis, I focus on exploiting students’ attitudes toward the use of PBL and its effectiveness in teaching the oral presentation skill. The subjects of the study include thirty three 12th graders at ethnic boarding high school. Questionnaires for students 6.
Pre-task questionnaire This pre - task questionnaire was designed with three parts with 6 questions Part 1 was about the students’ personal information Part 2 was designed to elicit the students’ opinions of their motivation and attitude in learning speaking English Part 3 collected some information relating to factors affecting their working time in English speaking class 6. Post-task questionnaire The post-task questionnaire consists of 5 questions which are divided into 2 parts: 2 skkn Part 1 was about the students’ personal information Part 2 was about the students’ motivation changes after applying new project- based learning in speaking English. PART II: MAIN CONTENT 1. Theoretical and practical background methods 1.
Project-based learning method 1. Definition Many definitions of project-based learning have been proposed by various authors. Moss and Van Duzer define it as an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products to develop. As is discussed in J.
Thomas, a review of Research on Project- Based Learning, is a model that organizes learning around the projects which are complex tasks, based on challenging questions or problems, involving students in design, problem- solving, decision making, or investigative activities, giving students the opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended period of time and culminating in realistic products or presentations.H Kilpatrick, “ A project is a whole-hearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment”. According to Ballord, “ A project is a bit of real life that have been imparted into school”. According to Thomas and Long, “ It is a voluntary undertaking which involves constructive effort or thought and eventuates into objective results”. Each definition points to an aspect that the author wants to address.
However, project-based teaching can also be considered as a complex form of teaching or teaching method in which, under the guidance of teachers, learners acquire knowledge and develop skills through solving a case study, following the curriculum, combining theory with practice and creating specific products. Each scholar has a different definition of project-based teaching, but they all draw the common features of this direction as follows: Project-based teaching must be part of the curriculum; Project-based teaching must focus on the questions and problems raised in order to be in the knowledge and skills of the subject; Project- based teaching enables students to see their own progress in implementing and completing projects; Project-based teaching must be done by students; Project- based teaching must be practical, not just book-based theory. To implement this empirical initiative, I myself have based on the theoretical framework that the above scholars give because these are theories that have been proven through research and have been recognized at prestigious seminars in the world. At the same time, I have also selected highly practical theoretical frameworks that can be best applied in 12th grade speaking lessons.
Characteristics of Project-Based Learning 3 skkn A project - based lesson is based on project-based learning, an approach where learners carry out project such as solving a problem or planning an activity. The language learnt comes out of the linguistic demands of the activity. Kolb (Kolb, 1984, cited in Tsiplakides, 2009) provided that a project - based lesson is structured around the need that arises during the performance of a given project. In the classroom, various elements of the project -based approach are applicable to activities in other methodologies.
For example, learners can see a model of the activity they are to do first, prepare a report on how they complete a project, and the teacher can record this report and analyze it for further work. The followings are the characteristics of project- based lesson that are emphasized by Tsiplakides (2009) 1. Project-based learning is potentially powerful and widely applicable. Suitable for learners of all ages and backgrounds.
Addressing the crucial problem-directly by using active and real project as learning activities. Ability to perform the instructional project is equivalent to the ability to use the language, so a functional ability should be a natural outcome of the instructional experience. Project-based learning can be very effective when the learners are engaged in relatively similar out-of-class activities (social or academic). Project-based learning can be especially useful for learners who are not accustomed to a more traditional type of classroom learning or who need to learn cognitive, cultural, and life skills along with the language.
Main Principles of the Project Method a. The Principle of Purpose Purpose motivates learning. The Interest cannot be aroused by aimless and meaningless activities. The child must have an ideal.
"Why is he doing certain things?". The Principle of Activity Activity is a significant feature of this method. Children select, plan, execute and evaluate their project themselves c. The Principle of Experience Experience is the best teacher.
What is real must be experienced. The children learn new facts and information through experience. The project is selected from social life situations and every project should be a social experience for the children d. The Principle of Reality The project cannot be motivating and interesting for the learners unless it is natural and real from the learner’s point of view 4 skkn e.
The Principle of Freedom The desire for an activity must be spontaneous and not forced by the teacher. The child should be free from imposition, restrictions or obstruction so that he may express himself fully and freely. He must be given freedom to choose an activity, to do an activity according to his interests, needs and capacities. The principle of motivation The selected project should be purposeful and therefore motivating for the learners.
Purpose and goal make the project meaningful and significant. The Principle of Utility Knowledge will be worthwhile when it is useful and practical the project method develops various attitudes and values which are of great significance from the practical point of view. Principle of Democratic Procedures In project method each member of the group has equal rights, duties and responsibilities. The procedures adopted for carrying out the project are democratic.
Project-based learning in foreign language education Learning a language requires a student to communicate with the other people using the same language. Thus, they take part in various real situations such as designing investigations, making explanations, modeling, and presenting their ideas to others when they conduct a project. One of the benefits of project-based learning is that students can more easily see the value and the meaning of the tasks and activities they perform. Either way, it’s hard for them to see the meaning in what they are doing.
But when they are involved in a investigation designed to answer a question that is important to them because they have a chance to practise language naturally, they can see how a language can be spoken to solve important problems. Clearly, Project-Based learning can meet this need when it is applied to a speaking lesson. The structure of project-based teaching Learner The learner is the center of project teaching, learners do not work independently but work in groups, act as people from different fields, tasked to fulfill their roles according to the set objectives. When performing the assigned task, learners decide for themselves how to approach the problem and the activities to be taken to solve the problem.