VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE PROMOTING EFL LEARNER AUTONOMY THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING - A CASE STUDY AT A STATE HIGH SCHOOL IN LONG AN PROVINCE A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By LE THI HONG THUY Supervised by DANG TAN TIN, Ph. HO CHI MINH CITY, April 2022 1|Page STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I certify that this thesis titled “Promoting EFL learner autonomy through project- based learning, a case study at a state high school in Long An province” is my work. Except where reference is made in the text of this thesis, this paper does not contain any materials published elsewhere or extracted on whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other author’s work has been used without acknowledgement in the main text of this thesis.
The thesis has not been submitted for any degree in any other tertiary institution. Ho Chi Minh, April 2022 LE THI HONG THUY 2|Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my appreciation and deepest thanks to all who have supported, motivated and stood by me during the long time I conducted this thesis. Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Mr. Dang Tan Tin, Ph., who are always kind and devoted to me.
He gave me great encouragement and inspiration when I had many troubles in my life, as well as when I got stuck in finding solutions for my thesis. Undoubtedly, without his valuable supports, this thesis is far from being successfully completed. Words are not enough to express my gratitude towards his kindness, encouragement and support to me. Next, I would like to send my deepest thanks to all the lectures at the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature, who are always devoted and enthusiastic in transmitting knowledge to students.
This knowledge equips me with intensive knowledge in scientific area and necessary skills to carry out this thesis. Then, my particular gratitude is sent to the school board, the students and the colleague teachers at Rach Kien high school, who always create the most favorable conditions for me to complete this thesis successfully, and always eager to participate in the implementation of PBL. Last but not least, my words of appreciation are sent to my family for their endless love, care, and support so that I could get my thesis done. 3|Page ABSTRACT Though project-based learning (PBL) has been believed to be a promising model to have great influence on students’ skill integration development, awareness towards this approach is still limited.
Therefore, this case study was conducted on an intact class of 40 grade 11th students at Rach Kien high school. It aimed at exploring the procedure of employing PBL in a high school classroom, and how this student-centered approach has impacts on three universal principles of promoting learner autonomy, namely learner involvement, appropriate use of target language, and learner reflection. The study employed semi-structured interviews with the teacher and ten students, eight classroom observations, document analysis basing on students’ end-products, such as posters, presentations, both the instructor’s and students’ peer evaluation forms to collect data. The findings of the study showed that the implementation of PBL into the curriculum was conducted successfully following 10-step procedure and main features of PBL.
With the success of PBL application into the curriculum, three universal learner autonomy promoting principles are enhanced significantly. In comparison with teacher- centered approach which students are passive receivers of knowledge, PBL lets students free to express their true selves by making them join all the activities relating to learning. By making rooms for working in groups, time for using target language is maximized. In addition, completing all steps in the procedure requires the integration of skills.
Undoubtedly, students’ use of target language is boosted greatly. Moreover, in PBL, building students’ awareness of reflection is on the top priority as the fact that learning will not be meaningful enough if students are not be able to transform the experience they went through into real practice for better learning. Therefore, the practice of reflecting happens not only at the end but also during the conduction of the projects to foster deeper understanding. Then, students are asked to join in evaluating other classmates’ products for more experience.
This approach is then concluded to be a fruitful method that provides students with benefits to improve their autonomy. Therefore, it is suggested that projects should be widely corporated in curriculum. 4|Page STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Background to the study.
Context of the study. The general context of the study. The specific context of the study. Aims of the study.
Scope of the study. Significance of the study. Organization of the study. 18 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Project-based learning in language education. Definitions of project-based learning. Key features of project-based learning. The benefits of PBL in teaching English as a foreign language.
Challenges in implementing PBL. Definitions of learner autonomy. Versions of learner autonomy. Learner autonomy promoting principles in the current study.
Review of previous studies. Conceptual framework of the study. 41 Research settings and participants. Methods of data collection.
Semi-structured interviews. Data collection procedure. Data analysis procedure. 55 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.
The implementation of PBL in an EFL high school class. How PBL promoted three conceptualized principles of LA in an EFL class. PBL and Learner Involvement. PBL and Learners’ Target Language Use.
PBL and Learner Reflection. Summary of the main findings. Discussions of the findings. 93 6|Page CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION.
Summary of the study. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further research. 103 REFERENCES APPENDICES 7|Page LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Key features of PBL ……………………………………………………….2: Three pedagogical principles to promote learner autonomy ……………….3: Conceptual framework of the study ……………………………………….1: 10 steps to implement a project, advocated by Stoller (1997) …………….2: Thematic network for data analysis ………………………………….……58 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Summary of the research methodology …………….2: The procedure of data collection of the study …………….………………… 56 LIST OF ABBREVIATION PBL: Project-based learning LA: Learner autonomy MOET: Ministry of Education and Training CEFR: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages DOET: Department of Education and Training EFL: English as a Foreign Language CHC: Confucian Heritage Culture 8|Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter introduces the background to the study, its general and specific contexts which lead to the research gaps, and the need to conduct this study.
It is also concerned with the research aims, the research questions, the significance of the study on how the study will contribute, the scope of the study, and the organization of this thesis. Background to the study The role of English is becoming more and more important. As claimed by Kirkpatrick (2012, p.131), English is accepted as the official working language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It is also a “visa” for Vietnamese people to integrate into the world (H.
Thus, mastering the English language is unquestionably a must for Vietnamese students. Many efforts have been made to improve Vietnamese students’ English language proficiency. Typically, in 2008, The Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (MOET) launched the project, so-called “the National Foreign Languages Project 2020” with the aims of enhancing foreign language proficiency of Vietnamese human resources and making graduates of intermediate schools, colleges, and universities more independent, autonomous and confident in communication. Being one of the most prominent parts of the project, a lot of training sessions and courses have been provided to heighten the quality of teachers throughout the country.
This project is a great encouragement for educators to renovate curriculum and teaching approaches (T. By the same token, many Vietnamese researchers have agreed that it is required to shift from the traditional teacher-centered to student-centered teaching approach. By doing so, Vietnamese learners’ English language competence as well as their autonomy, a lifelong learning goal in education by MOET, can be developed properly and effectively (T. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in project-based learning (PBL), a student-centered approach, claimed to focus on students while teachers act mainly as facilitators and motivators (Gubacs, 2004; Dale, 2019).
Regarding its learning activities, 9|Page they are student-centered and real-life, which makes learning experiences more interesting and meaningful to students (T. This approach with its benefits has enormous potential to boost students’ Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication skills (Beckett & Miller, 2006). In addition, the improvement in students’ ability to work collaboratively, resolve conflicts properly, and communicate effectively by the implementation of the PBL approach has also been explored (Beckett & Miller, 2006; ChanLin, 2008; Saenab et al. Hence, it is believed to be a promising model for promoting learner autonomy (LA) (A.
Nevertheless, the implementation of PBL in teaching English as a foreign language in Vietnam is still unpopular (T. Furthermore, being strongly influenced by the teacher-centered approach, referring to direct and explicit teaching techniques with its focus on academic tasks and high expectations for students, employing PBL in teaching English is considered time-consuming by teachers (Cao, 2018). For a better understanding of the research gaps and the need for this pedagogical attempt, it is fundamental to discuss the contexts of the study in terms of the PBL approach and LA. Context of the study 1.
The general context of the study Vietnamese students are viewed as obedient and passive learners (Littlewood, 2000; T. T, Dang, 2010; Tran, 2013; Truong, 2017). Having been presented in many papers, the cultural background is one of the main causes for this obedience and passiveness. Specifically, Vietnamese students are affected by the Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC), which appreciates obedience and respect to those who have higher ranks (Tran, 2013; Ngo, 2015).
In addition, Confucian ethics dominates the mindsets of both teachers and students. Thus, students are taught to be obedient from a very young age. As a result, rote learning has become increasingly prevalent among students from primary to university (Tran, 2013). This dependent learning style, characterized by learning by listening, note-taking, and reproducing memorized knowledge in exams, has contributed to the formation of students’ passiveness and obedience (Tran, 2013; V.
Another cause lies in the exam-oriented education system in Vietnam, focusing on test scores more than students’ 10 | P a g e learning process and growth. It places a lot of stress on students to achieve high grades. The combination of both internal and external factors puts students under a lot of invisible pressure, which makes them hardly raise their voices in class (Tran, 2013). The fast growth of international economic integration in the context of Trade Globalization in the 21st century requires high quality human resources who are able to work in multicultural and multilingual environments.
Thus, it is high time Vietnamese students took specific actions to improve their English language proficiency if they do not want to be left behind. The changes are first started with English language teaching and learning, since it is a key to the door of human knowledge treasure, contributing to industrialization and modernization (Do & Le, 2020). A, Le (2018), to promote the development of English competence, it is necessary to shift from the traditional teacher- centered to student-centered approach with teaching methods that enhance LA. Regarding this issue, a long time ago, MOET recognized the need to review English pedagogy (Wright, 2002).
Instead of employing the traditional teaching approach with its great emphasis on the accuracy of written language rather than the acquisition of fluency in spoken language, which is now no longer considered appropriate (V.