Maximizing the Benefits of Teaching

English Through Projects

Who claims that theres nothing to learn in this life is thoroughly wrong. As
teachers, we are the best example to this project. The knowledge fever takes us in the
unknown, fact that brings us more questions which are desperately in need for answers.
The modern technology eases our work but we must admit that nowadays technology is
indispensable.
The theme of the course paper is Project Work in Teaching English.
The objectives of the paper are to highlight the importance of project work in
teaching English, to describe its main peculiarities and types, to discover how it
influences the students during the educational process and if it helps to learn the
language.
The problem of using project work in teaching English is of great importance. Project
work is characterized as one of the most effective methods of teaching and learning a
foreign language through research and communication, different types of this method
allow us to use it in all the spheres of the educational process. It involves multiskilling
activities which focus on a theme of interest rather than of specific language tasks and
helps the students to develop their imagination and creativity. Nevertheless, teachers are
not keen on the idea of providing project work into their lessons because of the
disadvantages this method has. The main idea of project work is considered to be based
on teaching students through research activities and stimulating their personal interest.
The projects offer authentic situations for the contextualization of the learning
activities and reasoning capacities of the upper level, regarding the main ideas. For this
reason the Intel-Teach classes will explore the possibility of using the projects through
technology, it will be determined the adequate way of a unit planning.
This generation of learners, Generation Y, need skills that will allow them to use
their technical prowess to learn how and where to search for knowledge, and they need
to be given the latitude to express learning in ways that reflect their unique ontological
and epistemological values. Project-based learning (PBL) has been viewed in the
literature as an instructional strategy that addresses the needs of todays students and
allows them opportunities to engage in the learning of authentic material autonomously.

In light of the literature, this qualitative study (n=27) examines the effectiveness
of PBL on a group freshman taking a compulsory English Communication course at a
Japanese university to determine the value of PBL as a teaching strategy. Specifically,
this study seeks to determine if students are prepared to invest more time and effort on a
project compared to a typical term test, and if they prefer PBL over teacher-centered
approaches to language learning. The data revealed that most students spent more time
on their projects compared to standardized test preparations, and they resoundingly
agree that PBL is better than standardized testing because they enjoyed learning
English, collaborating with their classmates, and communicating in English.
The problem of how to best educate this generation of students, Generation Y, so
that they develop the capacity and interest for learning on their own (autonomously) is a
dilemma common to all academic disciplines. Accordingly, autonomy theory has
received much attention across all academic disciplines, but especially in the field of
language learning because of the commonly held belief among second and foreign
language practitioners that autonomy is vital to effective learning (Benson, 2011).
Unfortunately, research to date has yet to convince educators and institutions to
aggressively promote autonomous learning practices in the classroom.
One teaching strategy that has met with success in primary and secondary schools
among students studying sciences, math and social studies is project-based learning
(PBL). In the field of second and foreign language studies, especially at tertiary
institutions, PBL has yet to be seen as a viable teaching strategy.
This study, therefore, examines the effectiveness of project-based learning at a tertiary
setting to demonstrate; (1) that PBL is an effective teaching strategy that promotes
autonomous learning; (2) that PBL is especially poignant for todays students
Generation Y, and; (3) that students engaged in project work of their own choosing are
more likely to be motivated to learn and spend more time and effort on learning.
Generation Y The term Generation Y refers to a generation of people born
between the early 1980s and early 2000s. This generation of people is unlike previous
generations of students that have progressed through our academic institutions. These
students were born into a world of information technology. The most salient
characteristic of this generation is its comfort with technology. These students are
digital natives that like to multitask (Prensky, 2001), and as a result, they see smart
phones, computers and information technology as an integral part of their lives.
Project-based learning (PBL) is an approach to language teaching that is designed
to engage students in meaningful investigations of authentic materials. Students are
given the opportunity to work on their own or in cooperation with others to learn new

concepts. Project work requires that students apply what they have learned and
challenges them to represent their newly acquired knowledge in an authentic product. In
addition, projects require students take ownership of a project by choosing a topic that
typically involves; (a) answering a question (i.e. How do some ELT learners obtain:
perfect TOEIC scores?); (b) a discussion on a topic of interest (i.e. How airplanes fly?);
or (c) a choice to make (i.e. should taxes be raised to 10 %?).
Students are thus stimulated into autonomous learning through the gathering and
processing of information while seeking to answer their initial research question. The
results of students investigations culminate in a final product (i.e. multimedia
presentation), and conclude with peer and self-evaluations. Project-based instruction as
an autonomy-promoting strategy is bearing much fruit across various academic
disciplines (for a comprehensive list see Intel, 2007). A summary of the most salient
findings can be seen highlighted in a study conducted by Blumenfeld et al. (1991). Their
study revealed that PBL has the potential in students to; (1) increase interest in learning;
(2) enhance problem-solving skills; (3) foster deeper understanding of concepts and
information; and (4) improve competence in cognition and metacognition.
Working with Project Based Learning let me figure out how the teacher works can be
divided in different parts even with teacher guidance or only with the students creativity
and always goes longer than expected. Once the instructor guides them step by step
students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex
question problem or challenge. It is so demanding in effort, and time but the results in
knowledge and confidence are really incredible and rewarding. While allowing for some
degree of student voice and choice, rigorous projects are carefully planned, managed,
and assessed to help students learn key academic content, practice all the skills together
called 21st century Skills (collaboration, communication & critical thinking), and create
high-quality, authentic products & presentations also the Emotional Effect in confidence
is collected in specifics PBL
SUMMARY CONCLUSION
Project work is becoming an increasingly popular feature within the ELT
classroom. Common projects are class magazines, group wall displays about
students' countries and designs for cities of the future.

The organization of project work may seem difficult but if we do it step by step it
should be easy. We should define a theme, determine the final outcome, structure the
project, identify language skills and strategies, gather information, compile and analyze
the information, present the final product and finally evaluate the project. Project work
demands a lot of hard work from the teacher and the students, nevertheless, the final
outcome is worth the effort.

A project involves students in deciding together what they want to do to complete a project
whilst the teacher plays a more supporting role.

Some advantages

Some Disadvantages

Planning the project

Some possible drawbacks

Example projects

References

Some advantages of project work are:

Increased motivation - learners become personally involved in the project.

All four skills, reading, writing, listening and speaking are integrated.

Autonomous learning is promoted as learners become more responsible for their

own learning.

There are learning outcomes -learners have an end product.

Authentic tasks and therefore the language input are more authentic.

Interpersonal relations are developed through working as a group.

Content and methodology can be decided between the learners and the teacher
and within the group themselves so it is more learner centred.

Learners often get help from parents for project work thus involving the parent
more in the child's learning. If the project is also displayed parents can see it at open days or
when they pick the child up from the school.

A break from routine and the chance to do something different.

A context is established which balances the need for fluency and accuracy. Haines
(1989)

Planning the project

Opening
to give learners an idea of what projects are and what they should be aiming to produce, it is
good to have examples of past projects: a photocopy of a previous group newspaper or a
photograph of a wall display.

Proposing
After explaining the idea behind the project I ask learners to propose a scheme of work:
What they want to include in the project
What form it will take
Who will be responsible for what
An idea of the time it will take to produce each part of the project
Any material or resources they might need

o
o
o
o
o

I would then sit down with each group for 10 minutes to discuss their proposals (a copy of
which both I and the learner would keep to refer to as the project develops). At this point the
evaluation procedures would also be explained.

Time
Allocate an agreed amount of time for the project. For a summer 60 hour course of 3 hours a
day I would dedicate 5 hours to project work so approx. 6 sessions of 45 minutes each with
a round up session at the end. I would also have the sessions on the same day each week Wednesday, and Friday, for example, so learners know to bring materials to class on that
day.

Space
Show the learners the space they will have for the project, it could be wall space or a corner
of the classroom, so they have some idea how much material they should produce and can
plan the layout.

Materials and resources

Provide the learners with materials they might need: card, scissors glue, paper etc. It is
fairly common now for learners to want to use the Internet to find information for their
projects. Encourage a keen student with Internet to do this at home! If there is time and
Internet available in the school make sure the students have informed you of exactly what
they're looking for - photos- or that they have prepared a list of information they want to
find. Simply giving the learners time on the computers can lead to them aimlessly surfing the
net. If the facility is available learners often like to write finished drafts of their work on the
computer.

Presentation
Projects need to be seen, read and admired so schedule the last project session as a
presentation. Ask the group to prepare a task for the others in the class to do connected to
the project: it could be a quiz with questions for a wall display, a crossword using vocabulary
for the project or comprehension questions for a video that learners have made.

Evaluation
as with any piece of work a project needs to be acknowledged and evaluated. It's not enough
to just say 'that's great' after all the work learners have put in. I use a simple project
evaluation report, which comments on aspects of the project such as content, design,
language work and also evaluates the oral presentation stage of the project.
DISADVANTAGES

The disadvantages of project work are the noise which is made during the class, also
projects are time-consuming and the students use their mother tongue too much, the
weaker students are lost and not able to cope with the task and the assessment of
projects is very difficult. However, every type of project can be held without any
difficulties and so with every advantage possible.
The types of projects are information and research projects, survey projects, production
projects and performance and organizational projects which can be performed
differently as in reports, displays, wall newspapers, parties, plays, etc.
Though project work may not be the easiest instructional approach to implement, the
potential pay-offs are many. At the very least, with the project approach, teachers can
break with routine by spending a week or more doing something besides grammar drills
and technical reading.
We have showcased the details of one project designed for an ELT setting. Although the tramcar
theme itself may not be transferable to other settings, because of its very local relevance, basic
features of the project could easily be transferred to other ELT classrooms. These transferable
features, in the form of recommendations for ELT teachers and materials writers who attempt to
integrate project-based learning into their own curricula, appear below.
Devise projects with students immediate and future language needs and content interests in mind,
while at the same time remaining vigilant of institutional expectations and available resources.

Specify language, content, task, skill, and strategy learning objectives in line
with students needs and institutional expectations to maximize the benefits of
the project.
Strive to engage students in all stages of the project. Begin by giving students
the chance to structure parts of the project, even if those contributions are small, with
the aim of building a sense of student ownership and pride in project engagement.

 Design and sequence tasks with great care. Make sure that (1) skills are integrated to
achieve real communicative purposes, (2) students are obliged to use various strategies
for meaningful aims, (3) critical thinking is required for successful task completion, and
(4) students are held accountable for content learning.

Integrate tasks that require both independent and collaborative work. Help students
reach agreement about different team member responsibilities. Students should view
each other as single links in a chain that unite, through exchanges of information and
negotiation of meaning, to produce a successful project outcome.
Be sure to plan an opening activity that promotes students interests, taps
background knowledge, introduces important vocabulary, and builds up expectations for
the final activity.
Take advantage of Steps 4 (Instructor prepares students for information
gathering), 6 (Instructor prepares Ss for compiling and analyzing data), and8 (Instructor
prepares Ss for the final activity ) to provide explicit instruction so that students not
only improve their language abilities but also excel in the information gathering,
processing, and reporting stages of the project.
Allow time for feedback at the conclusion of the project and at other critical junctures
as well. We close by directing readers to Appendix 3 for a list of questions for teachers
to consider as they assess the viability of projects for their Classrooms and develop
actual projects for and with their students.
Example of Project Work Activities for the Elementary Level:
If a Table Could Speak
1. Draw an object, e.g. a table, on the board. Tell the students that your object is the
starting point for a picture you would like the class to create and that you would like
them to come up to the board one at a time and add more things to it. Tell them that they
can draw absolutely anything except people and that quality of the drawing does not
matter. The picture is finished when there are about a dozen items in it.
2. Put the chalk or board pen where everyone can reach it easily make sure they know
where it is. Then get out of the way and let them draw the picture.
3. When the picture is reasonably complete declare the picture ready. If your class has
had to come out to the front, send them back to their usual places.

4. Divide the class into pairs. Ask the pairs to choose any two items. In the picture write
a dialogue between them of about ten lines. Tell your students they must not mention
the name of their items in the dialogue. For example, if it is a dialogue between the table
and a plant, the plant must not say, Hello, table. How are you today? but just, Hello,
how are you today? Give a time limit of fifteen minutes. First reaction to this task
would usually be a gasp of shock, but they should quickly get used to the idea. Keep out
of the way for about five minutes while they settle. Then be available to help with
vocabulary, etc. If you are not needed, do not hover, just sit down out of the way. As
they are finishing, go round and check they have not mentioned the names of the
speakers in their dialogue as this will ruin Step 5.
5. When they have finished, ask the pairs in turn to read aloud their dialogue, each
partner taking a part. The others in the class must guess which item is talking to which.
This phase is very good for making students read loud and clearly as colleagues will not
otherwise understand.
In conclusion, PBL is a fruitful teaching strategy. This one strategy helped interject new
energy into the classroom, as evidenced by 89% of the respondents stating that they felt
projects are better than standardized testing because they were motivated to study and
speak in English with and in front of their classmates. In addition, they became role
models for each other, and they demonstrated independent problem solving skills in that
they needed to figure out how to convey their ideas and thoughts in English, a skill that
will stay with them long after they have graduated and left teachers behind. The
students were engaged in autonomous learning. That is, the authentic tasks that they
chose resulted in higher levels of motivation, which will strengthen their sense of self
efficacy so that they are now more mentally equipped to preserve over the long term at
the acquisition of English as a foreign language. This study also concluded that PBL is
an excellent strategy for teachers to use so that pedagogies are in line with character
traits of the demographic of students who reside in tertiary institutions today
Generation Y. Lastly, the students demonstrated patterns of motivated learning in that
they enjoyed learning and were willing to spend more time and effort studying English
than they would have had they been preparing for a typical term test.
The most important question could be:
Whats the most efficient way to use technology for supporting and evaluate the
students performances?
As we can see, the most important aims of this course are:
* Using technology to develop students' skills in this century

* Identify ways in which students and teachers can use technology to foster learning
through research, communication and collaboration
* Encourage the use of differentiated instruction strategy
* Develop critical thinking to solve problems
* Promote teamwork to optimize training
Throughout the class we had the opportunity to find answers for these questions and
aims according to the ways that apply to our students. We are aware of the fact that the
most important lessons of our life could be taught without the help of a computer. In
conclusion, the class was based on a curricular planning developed theoretically and
continuum evaluation practice throughout the process of planning a unit.
Throughout the course paper we can see that project work has more positive sides
than negative and is effective during the educational process. Students are likely to learn
the language with the help of projects and have more fun.
To conclude, project work is effective, interesting, entertaining and should be used at
the lesson.

List of References:
1. Alan, B. & Stoller, F. (2005). Maximizing the benefits of project work in foreign
language classrooms. English Teaching Forum Online, 43(4). Retrieved
December 13, 2006 from
http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol43/no4/p10.htm
2. Beckett, G. (2002). Teacher and student evaluations of project-based instruction.
TESL Canada Journal, 19(2), 52 -66.
3. Stoller, F. (1997). Project work: A means to promote language content. English
Teaching Forum Online, 35(4). Retrieved December 13, 2006 from
http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol35/no4/p2.htm
4. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/project-work-teenagers
5. . Phillips D., Burwood S., Dunford H. Projects with Young Learners. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1999. 160p.