MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BARIA-VUNGTAU UNIVERSITY TRAN THI THU HUYEN THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN LEARNING ENGLISH AT VUNG TAU SECONDARY SCHOOL: EFL STUDENT’S PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES MASTER’S THESIS Ba Ria - Vung Tau, March 2023 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BARIA-VUNGTAU UNIVERSITY TRAN THI THU HUYEN THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN LEARNING ENGLISH AT VUNG TAU SECONDARY SCHOOL: EFL STUDENT’S PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES MASTER’S THESIS Submitted to the Postgraduate Institute in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL Course code: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: DUONG MY THAM, PH. Ba Ria - Vung Tau, March 2023 ABSTRACT The objective of this research is to explore the views of Vung Tau secondary school students on the potential benefits and difficulties of using project-based learning in their English language classroom. A mixed research approach was utilized, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, to gather data from 298 students across all eight classes. The researcher employed questionnaires and semi- structured interviews to collect data, with the former focusing on students' opinions on the advantages and challenges of using project-based learning in English language learning.
The semi-structured interviews were used to validate the results obtained from the questionnaires. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS 20.0, generating mean scores and standard deviation. The findings revealed that most of the students were in favor of project-based learning in English language learning, citing teamwork, problem-solving, student-centeredness, high-tech utilization, information collection, analysis ability, collaborative skills, and activeness as the main advantages. However, some challenges were also identified, including time management and a lack of experience in project design.
The students had neutral opinions on translation from Vietnamese to English, computer skills, domination, interaction, and information collection. The study concludes with a recommendation. Keywords: challenges, prospects, secondary school students, PBL, Vung Tau secondary EFL context. i TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF CONTENTS PAGES ABSTRACT .i TABLE OF CONTENTS.
v LIST OF FIGURES. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATION .viii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP. x RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS. xi CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY .xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 Background of the study .2 Statement of the problem.3 Rationale for the study.4 Research aim(s) and objectives .6 Significance of the Study .7 Definition of terms .8 Organization of the study.
9 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.1 Definition of projects. The concept of Project-based learning (PBL) .1 Definition of PBL .2 Phases of a project-based lesson .3 The application of PBL in EFL education.1 Prospects in the application of project-based lessons.2 Challenges in the application of project-based lessons .1 Previous studies in the international contexts .2 Previous studies in the Vietnamese EFL context .5 Conceptual framework of the study. 27 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .2 Semi-structured interview .5 Data collection procedure .2 Semi-structured interview .6 Data analysis procedure .2 Semi-structured interview .7 Validity and reliability.2 Semi-structured interview .4 The result of pilot questionnaire with students. 40 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.1 Prospects of Vung Tau Secondary School Students in EFL Classrooms with Project-Based Learning .2 Challenges of Vung Tau Secondary School Students in EFL Classrooms with Project-Based Learning".
48 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION .4 Recommendations for Further Research. 54 iv APPENDICES LIST OF APPENDICES PAGES APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE (English version). 60 APPENDIX B: BẢNG HỎI KHẢO SÁT DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH (BẢN TIẾNG VIỆT). 70 APPENDIX D: CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH (BẢN TIẾNG VIỆT).
73 APPENDIX E: THE APPLICATION OF PBL IN THE GLOBAL SUCCESS ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FOR VIETNAMESE SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 76 APPENDIX F: SEVERAL PROJECT BASED LEARNING EXERCISES FOR 8TH GRADE STUDENTS ARE PRACTICED IN ENGLISH CLASS AT VUNG TAU SECONDARY SCHOOL. 80 APPENDIX G: THE SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS TO INVESTIGATE STUDENTS' PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES IN PBL (VIETNAMESE VERSION). 95 v LIST OF FIGURES PAGES Figure 2.
Seven phases of PBL model (Nizwardi & Ramli, 2016). Conceptual framework of the study. 27 vi LIST OF TABLES PAGES Table 3. Demographic information of the students.
2: Questions in the questionnaire. Agreement Rating Scale. Descriptive statistics of the students’ prospects of the application of the project-based learning in EFL classroom. Descriptive statistics of the students’ challenges in applying project-based learning in EFL classroom.
45 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATION EFL English as a Foreign language IOE Internet-Based Olympiad of English Exam M Mean score N Number PBL Project-based learning SD Standard deviation 4C’s Four Cs skills: Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration and Creativity. viii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP To the best of my knowledge, this thesis does not include any previously submitted work that was used to fulfill the requirements of an award from this or any other higher education institution. Furthermore, I attest that the content of this thesis does not contain any material that has been previously published or written by another individual, unless proper reference and credit is given. Signature: _________________________ Date: _________________________ ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr.
Duong My Tham, my academic advisor, who provided invaluable guidance and feedback during the writing of this thesis. Without her encouragement and assistance, this work would not have been possible. I am deeply grateful for her thoughtful supervision and unwavering perseverance throughout the process. I would also like to extend my appreciation to the principals and teachers of the sample schools for their cooperation in facilitating the data collection process.
Lastly, I am indebted to my family, particularly my parents who have been a constant source of support and assistance in taking care of my son while I attended MA classes and worked on my thesis. I am also grateful to my parents-in-law for their understanding and timely encouragement. Additionally, I express my special thanks to my husband for his continuous spiritual support in both my career and personal life. x RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS As a TESOL degree candidate, I, Tran Thi Thu Huyen, acknowledge and accept the University's guidelines regarding the archiving and use of deposited theses in the Library.
I consent to the availability of my thesis for research and academic purposes, subject to the standard protocols and regulations set by the Librarian pertaining to the maintenance, borrowing, or duplication of theses. Ba Ria – Vung Tau, March 2023 Signature TRAN THI THU HUYEN xi CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY This is to certify that the work titled: “THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN LEARNING ENGLISH AT VUNG TAU SECONDARY SCHOOL: EFL STUDENT’S PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES” submitted by TRAN THI THU HUYEN is original and has been created solely by the author. No previously published work or other sources have been used without proper citation and acknowledgment. The author certifies that the work is original and has not been previously submitted for any other academic program or award.
Ba Ria – Vung Tau, March 2023 Signature TRAN THI THU HUYEN xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the introduction of the research, which includes the background of the study; the statement of the problem; the rationale; the research aim and objectives; the research questions; the significance of the research; and the definition of the key terms. The structure of the research is presented at the last of the chapter.1 Background of the study Currently, with the trend of development and world integration, Vietnam as well as other Asian countries are very necessary to train human resources who know how to use English at work. In some countries in the region such as Thailand; Malaysia and the Philippines, the Governments have introduced policies on foreign language training for students to prepare for access to the regional and international market. However, according to Hong T.
(2010), the quality and effectiveness of English teaching and learning in Vietnam today are still very low compared to the requirements of society and the global context. It shows that the majority of Vietnamese people’s ability to meet the requirements of work, transaction, research, and study in English is still limited. (2015) said that it can be seen from the perspective of language policy that there is no country in the world that emphasizes the role of foreign language competence in training and using human resources like Vietnam. In recruitment, foreign language proficiency is one of the important requirements for selecting and appointing personnel at state agencies and organizations.
In most other countries, the teaching of foreign languages is only done in high schools; however, in Vietnam, foreign languages are considered compulsory subjects to be taught at the primary level, secondary level, high school level, and university level. One of the major goals of the new general education program, as described in Circular No.32/2018/TT-BGDĐT, is to help build a generation of students capable 1 of developing their potential and individual creativity (Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training, 2018). When students are given opportunities and encouraged to apply their knowledge in practice, apply lessons; and develop their own creative ideas; the knowledge in the program will become vivid and real, practical and easy to understand; and students will have more interest in learning. Personalization, creativity, and application can be considered as important new points emphasized in the innovation of teaching methods under the new general education curriculum.
These are also common points that can be seen in the content of education in the 21st century, supported by many organizations and educators around the world. The international organization for education affirmed that education in the 21st century needs to equip learners with four skills including communication; collaboration; critical thinking; and creative thinking, referred to as the 4C’s (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2019). These skills not only help students learn more effectively in school but also play an important and necessary role for learners to succeed in life. According to the language education policy in Vietnam, foreign languages hold a significant position.
However, despite this emphasis, the overall foreign language competency of students at various educational levels has yet to meet the developmental needs of the country (Tran, 2019). The results of the analysis of scores on the English high school graduation exam in the whole country in 2022 showed that there were 866,196 candidates taking the English test, of which the average score was 5.15 points, the median score was 4.8 points; the score with the most candidates was 3. The number of candidates with score <=1 was 423, accounting for 0. The number of candidates scoring below average was 446.
The results showed that the teaching and learning quality of English in Vietnam is not high (Thanh H.2 Statement of the problem English became a mandatory subject in primary schools across Vietnam in 2008. The Vietnamese government also approved the “Teaching and Learning of 2 Foreign Languages (TLFL) in the National Formal Education System (NFES) from 2008 to 2020” (Decision No. Modernize foreign language teaching and learning at all levels of education; improve young Vietnamese’ ability to communicate effectively and confidently in a foreign language (primarily English); meet the needs of the country’s industrialization and modernization; and achieve the project’s objectives (Hoang V. The NFLP 2008-2020 was revised and expanded in December 2017.
The project has been extended from 2017 to 2025 as a result of these approved amendments. Despite the significant attention paid to the teaching and learning of English, the outcomes of English education in Vietnam have not met the expected standards. There are numerous factors that contribute to the ineffective quality of English teaching and learning in Vietnam. According to Nguyen's (2012) research, recent surveys have revealed that the outcomes of foreign language instruction in schools are not satisfactory.
Although most students are able to understand and use basic English expressions such as greetings and names, they struggle to retell a story of around 100 words or even fewer words. This lack of progress has caused frustration for both students and parents alike.