Application of the project based learning method to develop english skills in small groups in tran mai ninh secondary school

THANH HOA CITYTHANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING INITIATIVE Application of the project-based learning method to develop English skills in small groups in Tran Mai Ninh secon

THANH HOA CITY

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

INITIATIVE

Application of the project-based learning method to

develop English skills in small groups

in Tran Mai Ninh secondary school

Writer: Nguyen Thi Thuy HangPosition: Teacher

School: Tran Mai Ninh Secondary SchoolSubject: English

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale page 2

3 Research questions page 3

6 Scope of the study page 4

7 Significance of the study page 4

8 Structure of the study page 4

CHAPTER II: PROBLEM SOLVING

2 Findings page 7

3 Research results page 15

CHAPTER III: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

page 17

APPENDIX page 19

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Today the demand for using English to study, research, work and live in domesticand international conditions is increasing in both quantity and quality Especially inthe context of fast and strong integration, such demand becomes even more urgentfor not only individuals but also the whole nation

These necessities for teaching and learning foreign languages require acomprehensive change in all levels and disciplines, materials, facilities, methods,attitudes, motivation of all objects involved in the process of teaching and learningforeign languages, in particular, English To meet these requirements, the Ministry

of Education and Training has implemented the national foreign project 2020according to No.1400/ QDTTg dated September 30, 2008 The project has set outthe general goal of “comprehensively renovating foreign language teaching andlearning in the national education system " By 2020, the majority of Vietnameseyoung people will be able to use foreign languages independently, confidentlycommunicate and work in an integrated, multilingual and multiculturalenvironment; making foreign languages a strength of Vietnamese people, servingthe country's industrialization and modernization”

To achieve that goal, the Ministry of Education and Training has taken manyspecific measures, in which the innovation of textbooks is one of the solutions tohelp teaching and learning English to have many positive changes

The new Pilot English Series is one of the documents being taught at many schools

in Thanh Hoa city In the set of books, a remarkable difference from the old series isthe Project section, also known as the group’s exercise or project after each unit oflesson

To learn more about this section as well as promote the maximum of efficiency that

it brings back we have carried out and study the topic: "Application of the based learning method to develop English skills in small groups in Tran Mai Ninhsecondary school”

project-2 Aims of the study

With the above questioning, this study aims to achieve the following purposes:

- Research the students’ attitudes towards Project-based learning to develop Englishskills in small groups.

- Research the effective extent of the application of the assignments forthe development of skills in the use of English for students in grades 7 at SecondaryTran Mai Ninh

- On the basis, some notes are drawn when applying teaching and learningdirections through projects for teachers as well as students.

3 Research Questions

To achieve the above purpose, this study was undertaken to answer these followingquestions:

1 What is your attitude towards learning through the project assignments?

2 To what extent does the project-based learning to improve the students’ use ofEnglish in small groups?

4 Subject of the study

The research object of this topic is the method of learning through large exercises(Project-based learning)

5 Research Methods

The purpose of this study is to find out how their attitudes towards learning throughproject assignments and whether learning English through Project-based learning toimprove their abilities to use English in small groups effectively or not As

described above, we selected survey methods (survey) for this study Based on the

purpose set out in section 1.3 above, this is actually a descriptive study (Descriptivestudy) In the opinion of Best (1970), descriptive research in education is concerned

with issues such as: existential conditions or relationships; practical ways are popular; the subject's current beliefs, conceptions or attitudes; ongoing processes; effects people feel; or trends are becoming clear (p.156).

With the above definition, it is completely appropriate to choose descriptiveresearch methods to achieve the goals set out in this research.

The data collection methods used in this study include: a) student surveyquestionnaires; b) observe, record and c) interview students

6 Scope of the study

As stated above, this study was implemented to find out the attitude of thechildren and assess the effectiveness of this approach The number of participants isquite limited, who are students of a pilot English class taught by the researcher andthe teacher as well Consequently, generalization is not in the scope of this study

7 Significance of the study

Some researchers argue that learning through project assignments is ineffective andstudents are not interested in this new direction (Felix, 1999; Levy,1997) Moreover, the researcher must be very careful to avoid problems that mayarise such as the active participation of the project implementers, the evaluationprocess, implementation time,

To clarify the above concerns, this study gives necessary insights into learningthrough projects, its applicability to other subjects in general and English inparticular in the current teaching and learning context in Vietnam

More importantly, the findings of this study will help English researchers andteachers to have ways to appropriately apply this pathway to improve students'language skills

8 Structure of the study

The study consists of three parts:

Part one: Reasons for choosing the topic: Introduction of the general foundations of

the research such as: research aims, research methods, research subjects, researchscope,

Part two: Content

- Rationale: Introducing an overview of the research history of the problem,summarizing the research results of the problem in relation to national andinternational researchers.

- Findings: Overview of the situation of the unit, presenting all data analysis to giveanswers to the research questions posed to achieve the purpose of thestudy Propose main measures to solve the problem

- Discussion: discuss the research results and the effect of study

Part three: Conclusions and recommendations: Conclusions are presented, and

basic limitations, recommendations of this study as well as suggestions for furtherstudies

Finally, the references used in this study are accompanied by the facts, records, andproducts collected by the researcher during the study

CHAPTER II: PROBLEM SOLVING

I Literature review

1 Project-based learning (PBL)

There are many definitions of the way to teach through group’s assignments orprojects Each definition points to an aspect that the author wants to address

Carter and Thomas (1986, p.196) argue that learning through a group’s assignment

or project requires three conditions: There is a problem to be solved, there is control, and inter-disciplined characteristic among the members and students'autonomy According to the above scholars, to ensure the three conditions on eachgroup’s assignment or project, there must be the following characteristics:

self Taking place outside of the classroom

- Topics for the group’s assignment or project must be in the subject'scurriculum.

- The learner must set out the plan and goals to be achieved by themselves aftercompleting the project

According to Moss, D and Duzer, VC (1998), the method of learning throughprojects is a highly instructive direction The teacher must create learners’ situations

by stating a problem which students need to solve or by presenting a product modelthat students need to work on after completing the project Therefore, the mostimportant point of this direction is being able to see, measure, a particular product

or an optimal solution to a particular problem

According to Thomas, (2000), learning through projects has the most generalcharacteristic that it is based on specific tasks, specific activities, during a certainperiod of time and in the end the project will achieve a specific result To be morespecific, projects are complex tasks, based on difficult ones or difficult problemsthat need to be solved In each project, the students must have plans,have many ways to solve the problem, choose and decide the appropriate solution,specific activities to solve the problem It is important to note that the projectinstructor should give the students the opportunity to work autonomously, a

reasonable amount of time, and help them figure out what the product is supposed

to achieve

Each scholar has a different definition of Project-based learning (PBL), but they alldraw the common features of this direction as follows:

1 PBL must be part of the curriculum

2 PBL must focus on questions and problems that need to be addressed in thesubject's knowledge and skills standard

3 PBL helps students see their own progress in implementing and completingprojects

4 PBL is to be done by the student itself

5 PBL must be practical, not just plain textbook theories

To do this research, we have based on the theoretical framework given by the abovescholars because these are theories that have been proven through research and havebeen recognized at prestigious conferences around the world At the same time, wehave also chosen theoretical frameworks close to our research reality

2 Types of large projects/ assignments for use in schools

Mr Sarah North (1990) classifies the project into four main categories:

1 Community Projects: Project from community where students live The mainmethods for dealing with this type of projects are: Observe, design questionnaires,observe and take notes

2 Case studies: Project where students have to solve a typical problem In thisproject students will be provided with specific statistical information (which can beactual or hypothetical figures)

3 Practical projects: Project in which the students must carry out a specific tasksuch as creating a blueprint, build a model, conduct a pilot experience or create areal life product

4 Library project: Project that uses information sources mainly from books,magazines in the library or by individuals, the mass media A typical feature of this

type of project is that students will have to choose a specific topic, find all relevantmaterial, read and synthesize solutions in form of presentations or writing.

In this research, we have applied the 4th type of project The first reason is that theirtime is very limited The second reason is that around them there are many sources

of information, books, newspapers, in the library or from individuals’ sources aswell as in other media It is also very important that this type of project saves travelcosts and above all ensures the safety of students when performing tasks withoutdirect supervision of the teacher

3 The benefits of PBL

According to scholar Gallacher (2004), PBL has the following advantages:

- Increase motivation for learners

- Four language skills are integrated

- Help learners to be self-aware and responsible for their own learning

- Achieve results after project implementation

- Helping students get exposed to real situations

- Mutual relationship between members in the group is established

- The content and methodology conducted by teachers and students to discuss thusenhance the learner and the learner-centered

- Create conditions for students to have support from their families in learning Soparents will better understand their child's learning at school

- Provide an opportunity for children to break down their learning habits and learn

in a more creative way

- Practical situations will help students have the experience and knowledge topresent correctly and fluently

4 Disadvantages of PBL

Gallacher (2004) also pointed out the disadvantages of this approach, especially inEnglish classes that are primarily in their mother tongue This teaching and learning

approach also encounters many obstacles for the classroom with proficiencydifferences among students.

According to researcher Thomas, (2000), there are three major obstacles to applyingPBL Two of the three obstacles are related to the student Some students areincapable of working in groups and some students do not have the skills to conductscientific research such as asking research questions, solving difficulties in the realprocess project, analyze data as well as have critics to protect their opinions

5 Procedures to conduct PBL

The steps of a project are divided into different phases depending on the scholar Inthis paper we have chosen Gallacher's (2004) process because it is close to ouractual research This scholar divides the PBL process into three phases:

Stage 1: Orientation and planning

The purpose of this phase is to help students identify the theme of a project anddevelop an implementation plan During this stage, the teacher should help thestudents to ask specific questions such as:

1 What problem should be solved in the project and how many parts arethere?

2 How will the project be conducted?

3 Who will assume what responsibility?

4 What is the running time for each section?

5 What resources will need to be used?

Phase 2: Research and project implementation

During this stage, students have to conduct research and propose specific activitiessuch as: problem identification, research area, meeting with experts, searchingdocuments, reading documents, writing, drawing reports, drafting on computers, During this period, teachers must support students in terms of methodology,language, and experience in group work The prompts for class lessons will be veryhelpful for students in the project assignments they do on their own

Stage 3: Exchange results

This activity takes place once the children have completed the project The sharing

of the research results can take place in the form of presentations between groupmembers or between groups Mutual evaluation among members (in addition to theevaluation of teachers), within groups or between groups can be based on criteriasuch as content, layout, language of expression or presentation This evaluationprocess can be for the purpose of scoring or exchanging knowledge, evaluating theeffectiveness of the project

II Findings

1 Background knowledge

a An overview of teaching and learning English at Tran Mai Ninh Secondary School

School Secondary Tran Mai Ninh has 8 teachers at the age between 35 and 45 Most

of the teachers have many years of experience, with formal training, professionalqualifications, including 2 masters and 6 bachelors

From the school year 2015-2016 under the direct direction of the Thanh Department

of Education and Training, the school has applied a pilot textbook program issued

by the Ministry of Education and Training within the framework of the foreignlanguage 2020 Project The number of students per class ranges from 40-45students The teachers assigned to teach these pilot classes are highly qualified,responsible and have at least 5 years' teaching experience

As mentioned above, this study carried out over 92 students in grades 7C and7H at Tran Mai Ninh Secondary School in the year 2020-2021 Most of thestudents have learning capacity, good sense of learning and a high sense ofresponsibility

The school has a full range of facilities, materials and books to help children learnthe subject in the best way

In summary, Tran Mai Ninh Secondary School has full facilities, qualified teachersand students to study under the pilot textbook program in which the learning paththrough Project-based learning is introduced