Khóa luận tốt nghiệp: The effects of project-based learning on second-year English-majored students' speaking performance at Hanoi Law University

On that account,the purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the importance of project- based learning and the impact of project-based learning on the oral skills ofEnglish learn

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI PHUONG THAO

443002

THE EFFECTS OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING ON SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH- MAJORED STUDENTS’ SPEAKING

GRADUATION PAPER

Hanoi-2023

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI PHUONG THAO

443002

THE EFFECTS OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING ON SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH- MAJORED STUDENTS’ SPEAKING

SUPERVISOR

Dong Hoang Minh, MA.

Hanoi-2023

I hereby state that I: Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, 4430, being a candidate for the

degree of Bachelor of Arts accept the requirements of the University relating tothe retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in thelibrary should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordancewith the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or

reproduction of the paper

Supervisor Student

Dong Hoang Minh Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao

April 4", 2023

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThroughout the writing of this dissertation, I have received a great deal of

support and assistance

My big appreciation goes to my supervisor, Mr Dong Hoang Minh, M.A.,

for his marvelous supervision, guidance, and encouragement throughout the

duration of the thesis

My genuine appreciation to every member of the Thesis Committee for theirfair assessment and comprehensive review The encouraging words and

thoughtful, detailed feedback have been very important to me

My thanks also go to all my respected teachers of the Faculty of LegalForeign Languages for the knowledge, and experience of a lifetime during the fouryears of training under the roof of the school

My great reverence for Legal English-majored students from course 46, who

so generously took time out of their schedules to participate in my research andmake this project possible

Also, I extend my thanks to all my colleagues at Hanoi Law University fortheir continuous encouragement and support to all of my friends outside for theiradvice

In this modern world, speaking skills play a vital role and one must have

mastery over these skills to get success in their respective fields On that account,the purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the importance of project-

based learning and the impact of project-based learning on the oral skills ofEnglish learners in order to provide meaningful teaching and learning suggestionsfor English modules at Hanoi Law University The study was conducted with theparticipation of 87 respondents and 9 interlocutors from the Hanoi Law UniversityLegal English course (course 46) The study was conducted by combiningquantitative and qualitative methods with a detailed questionnaire and interview.The research findings state that students fully recognize the impact of project-based learning on English language learners in learning English skills The resultsalso show that the students have some problems applying project-based learning.However, they use many effective methods to overcome the negative effects ofthe language learning process Overall, the study pays attention to the perceptions

of legal English learners regarding the impact of project-based learning on Englishlearning at Hanoi Law University

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2.2 Data Collection 0776 262.2.1 Data frOM HCSÍIOHIH(IÏFÔ co 5 55 0.0.0 000980606 00896 263,32.2 Data from Me CTV HH cocansiiseiaaosreisEEEE8555601316006605605045566606166594010055V8 27Cetin URE, PANGS TSibnnoreoraresEtsbsiG000100100/50.9%100010995/00029978/0930000010050050239150003070913000.99/2G05120012/03E49 282.3.1 DAL SOM HGSÍÍOHHHHTE cceeeeesseeseesosssddieseeseesiees4es4ss445640448068608546 28sầu Gas DOLE _ PUEE UILCTVICW cuanggnguaeiteosadgeitiEekIEIAWNGEA489640401'EWS8061/68000X40PA590101.60640686 282.4 SUImITAFV co (G5 5 5 55 9.9.9 0.0 0 0000 00000099000000996 29CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION -5<<<<5<<<5 303.1 Results and discussion of the questionnaire - <5 << 5 5 5 5ssses< + 303.1.1 Students’ perceptions toward the importance of project-based learning

on learning English speaking SKAIIS co s s91 0950 6 96 303.1.2 The effects of project-based learning on learning English speakingSTAYS cccnevessexecexscounnecasanssnesessrscssenssencecvarsussensserauseansassesesesivanaussnessveesevsssxessersers 343.1.3 Methods to improve the negative effects of project-based learning onlearning Enslish Speaking SHAMS cacasesssssessscesaseesdasuaaggogddtddsasodsbiitiiSirdusa20u s8 413.2 Results and discussion Of the interview cccssccscssssecsscssecsscseees 443.2.1 The Legal English-majored students’ perceptions toward theimportance of project-based learning on learning English speaking skills

3.2.2 The Legal English-majored students’ perceptions toward the effects

of project-based learning on learning English speaking skills 453.2.3 The methods employed by Legal English-majored students to handletheir problems of project-based learning in learning English speaking skills

#563 SIE UES RRS UR I 47Bids (SUTHIITNHTDY sesxapnneiriiinidekebiotstiS0E10XE0ENRESSEEYGSHINERDHIOSHSSNGUENEMEBESENISSI.SNAEEKESGAE00S06 48CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDA TION co 0c HH 895 56 504.1 Recommendations for Legal English-majored students 50

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LIST OF TABLESTable 1 Students' perceptions toward the importance of project-based learning onlearning English speaking skills ( Ï) ¿+ + +22 ***+*EE++eeseeeeseeereeeesss 30Table 2 Students' perceptions toward the importance of project-based learning onlearning English speaking skills (2) cccccccccesseeeseceseceeseeeesseeesseeesseeeseeesseeensaes oP

Table 3 The positive effects of project-based Learning on learning English

speaking SkiL]S (1) NH-(((.4((Ỏtdad 34

Table 4 The positive effects of project-based learning on learning English

Speaking SKIL]S (2) oo da 36Table 5 The negative effects of project-based learning on learning EnglishSpeaking SKIS 38Table 6 Methods to improve the negative effects of project-based learning onlearning English speaking SkiIIS cccccccsccesssceeseceeseeeeseeeessecesseeeeseeeeseeeseeensas 42

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSHLU: Hanoi Law University

PBL: Project-based learning

SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

1 Rationale for the study

Speaking skill is regarded as one of the most difficult aspects of languagelearning Many language learners find it difficult to express themselves in spokenlanguage To become a well-rounded communicator one needs to be proficient in

each of the four language skills viz, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, but

the ability to speak skillfully provides the speaker with several distinct advantages.According to Brown (2004), speaking is an interactive process of constructingmeaning that involves producing, receiving, and processing information Whenspeaking, people be able to make meaning depending on the context of theinformation that occurs and consider some circumstances The main aim ofEnglish language teaching is to give learners the ability to use the Englishlanguage effectively and correctly in communication (Davies & Pearse, 2000).The capacity to express one’s thoughts, opinions, and feelings, in the form ofwords put together in a meaningful way, provides the speaker with theseadvantages An effective speaker can gain the attention of the audience and hold

it till the completion of his message

Speaking is very important in second language learning Despite itsimportance, speaking has been overlooked in schools and universities due todifferent reasons At present learning in schools is still more focused on learningoutcomes in the form of mere knowledge The research which was conducted byPratiwi (2015) showed most of the activities in school are including toremembering; however, only a few activities supposed students to use andimplement their knowledge and relate to analyzing level In addition, the research

which was conducted by Heriansyah (2012) shows frequent difficulties inspeaking such as students often having no ideas about what to say, students are

also shy and uncomfortable as well as not confident if they make mistakes, the

students are afraid of making errors in class and they are not used to talking in the

class since their pronunciation and vocabulary are poor and confined This meansthat in general, learning in schools has not invited students to apply, or process

each of the elements of the concept being studied to make (synthesize)

generalizations, and has not invited students to evaluate (think critically) the

concepts and principles they have learned (Mirah Setia Dewi, 2020) Many

learners state that they have spent many years studying English but cannot speak

it appropriately and understandably (Bueno, Madrid, & Mclaren, 2006)

Generally, Ur (1996) pointed out there are some factors that cause difficulty

in speaking such as inhibition (students are worried about making mistakes, fearful

of criticism, or simply shy), nothing to say (students have no motive to expressthemselves), low or uneven participation (only one participant can talk at a time

because of large classes and the tendency of some learners to dominate, whileothers speak very little or not at all), mother-tongue use (learners who share to

same mother tongue tend to use it because it is easier and because learners feelless exposed if they are speaking their mother-tongue) Before the students areable to perform effective communication, they need to acquire the elements of

good speaking In line with the demand for 21*'-century workplace soft skills, PBL

is one of the learning methods that can train skills As stated by Thomas (2000),PBL utilizes complex tasks based on challenging questions or problems thatinvolve students in design, problem-solving, decision-making, or investigativeactivities, give students the opportunity to work relatively autonomously over

extended periods of time, and culminate in realistic products or presentations

What is intended by a project in PBL 1s a wide variety of assignments that combinelanguage skills through some activities (Fauziati, 2014) Projects in PBL requirestudents to engage in inquiry, solution-building, and collaboration to help addressreal-world issues or challenges This 1s the reason why PBL 1s an effective solution

to such problems as teacher-centeredness, classroom restriction, and lack of

authentic opportunities for speaking classes

PBL is an effective approach that allows multiple skills to be developedthrough integrated and meaningful activities In other words, PBL is considered to

be an effective model to improve students’ speaking skill Nevertheless, not many

Legal English-majored students perceive the significant influence of PBL on

speaking skills For that reason, I, as a student majoring in Legal English, haveattempted to undertake a study on Legal English-majored students’ perceptionstowards the effects of PBL on learning speaking skills at HLU to figure out thatthis study partly helps students better their English speaking skills and emboldenslearners to participate and speak readily At the same time, the study may helpteachers better understand how to implement PBL in response to the changing

needs of a global society

2 Aims of the study

The purposes of the study are to examine the students’ perception towards

the importance of implementing projects on learning English speaking skills and

to identify the effects of PBL on English major students‘ speaking performance atHLU

3 Research questions

The research will be implemented to resolve the following questions:

1 How do Legal English-majored students perceive the importance of PBL

on learning speaking skills at HLU?

2 How does PBL affect English major students’ speaking performance at

HLU?

4 Scope of the study

The study's main concern is to highlight the effects of PBL on English major

students’ speaking performance Thus, the adequate sample of this study will be

students (course 46) of Legal English-majored at HLU The target samples chosen

are those who took the English credits of speaking 1 Furthermore, the students

are assumed to have gained a basic understanding of speaking skills as well ashave experienced some problems in learning English speaking skills Accordingly,

Legal English students are deemed to fit into the scope of the study

5 Significance of the study

The PBL belongs among methods, which can develop pupils thinking, createoriginal solutions, develop cooperative work, find available literary resources,present finding information, and evaluate their findings PBL 1s a key strategy forcreating independent learners and supporting the students to have many

opportunities to practice speaking English and get involved in meaningful

communication However, few studies are available that apply the advantages ofPBL to pupils’ speaking skills Hence, the fact has inspired the researcher to make

determined attempts to investigate the Legal English major students’ perceptions

towards the effects of PBL on English major students’ speaking performance

6 Organization of the study

This dissertation is divided into a general introduction, the development, and

research and reviews some of the preceding studies

Chapter 2 is Methodology which supplies the data collection instruments,

procedures of data collection, and data analysis

Chapter 3 is Results and Discussion which indicates the analytical findings

of the study and a meticulous clarification of the data gathered

Chapter 4 is Recommendations which offers sensible suggestions based onthe key findings of the study.

The Conclusion provides a summary of the study, implications of the study,limitations, and suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW1.1 Speaking performance

1.1.1, Aspects of speaking performance

The mastery of speaking skills in English is a priority for many students.Therefore, the teaching and learning of speaking skills are necessary components

of any language education classroom Spoken language represents learning media

as the primary means of communication in the classroom and is an integral part ofcurriculum content and learning outcomes Brown (1994) said that speaking is aproductive skill that can be directly and empirically observed These observationsare invariably shaped by the accuracy and efficiency of the subject's listeningskills The way students express their ideas, feelings, and thoughts orally is alsocalled oral communication Nunan (1991) explained that the most necessary aspect

of learning foreign languages and languages second was speaking Besides, the

success of a student in acquiring a language can be seen from the student's ability

to communicate using the language he is learning Furthermore, he said that themost productive language skill is speaking, wherein these skills someone willconvey meaning through systematic speech (Nunan, 2004)

Based on several definitions that have been described by experts aboutspeaking, it can be concluded that speaking is a process of oral social interactionthat can generate and express ideas or thoughts in communicating The success ofspeaking English can be seen from the activeness of students in communicatingusing English and how students can show their understanding by using intonation

and body language according to the content of the conversation (Ilinawati, 2021)

However, many students still fail to show their speaking skills because they do notunderstand the aspects of speaking performance

In recent teaching contexts, a lot of attention has been paid to design activitiesthat focus more on tasks that are balanced between the need to achieve fluency

and accuracy These criteria are also based on the assessment of oral skills Brown

(2004) proposed four aspects of speaking skills, namely grammar, vocabulary,comprehension, pronunciation, and fluency

1.1.1.1 Grammar

Grammar was the element of language that constitutes the linguistic model.Using grammar correctly in speech implies the ability to produce the distinctivegrammatical structures of the language and to use the effectively incommunication considering spoken grammar's characteristics Huddleston and

Pullum (2010) stated that grammar organizes the form of a sentence and the unit

that is smaller such as words, clauses, and phrases For example, spoken clauses,rather than complete sentences, are often joined with coordinators like "and" or

"but", or not joined through conjunction, but simply uttered next to each other,

with possibly a short pause between them Hughes (2002) and Louma (2004) said

simple phrase structure and purposeful repetition can often be markers of high

proficiency According to Brown (2001, p.62), “Grammar is the system of rules

governing the conventional arrangement and relationship of words in a sentence”’

In relation to contexts, a speaker should consider the following things:

a) Who the speaker is

b) Who the audience is

c) Where the communication takes place

d) What communication takes place before and after a sentence in questione) Implied versus literal meaning

f) Styles and registers

g) The alternative forms among which a product can choose

The knowledge of grammar rules helps students to form correct sentences It

is useful to determine communication both in written and spoken language Byacknowledging the grammatical rules, students can know the appropriate language

use where they are taking part When students speak using grammar correctly, it

will make the listener easier to understand the topic It is important to pay attention

to the arrangement of the sentences and the use of appropriate grammar inspeaking Therefore, students need to understand the implication of language to

develop their language awareness and to create meaningful communication.1.1.1.2 Vocabulary

Vocabulary becomes a very important part of language learning which can

be used to determine students' English speaking fluency They can generate

sentences only by using words so it is impossible to speak fluently without having

an ample site of vocabulary It is determined that vocabulary is a supporting factor

for language users both in receiving and producing language Students who have

alot of vocabulary will be easier to communicate with others Besides, it also helps

students to get another word or synonym of the words when they stuck or forgetwhat they want to speak Thornbury (2005, p 22) suggests three usual things used

by speakers in what they are being said:

a) When people speak, they are involving a high proportion of words andexpressions that express their attitude (stance) to what is being said

b) Speakers usually employ words and expressions that express positive and

negative appraisal because a lot of speech has an interpersonal function, and byidentifying what people like and dislike, they can express solidarity

c) A speech also usually employs deictic language, i.e words and expressionsthat point to the place, time, and participants in the intermediate or a more distant

context.

1.1.1.3 Comprehension

Brown ( 2004) argued that comprehension 1s students’ ability to understand

any conversation It means students have an understanding of the context of the

conversation They understand the discourse clearly, and they can collect new

information or share some information with others from the discourse.Specifically, accuracy deals with the grammatical structures which cover some

aspects like part of speech, tense, phrase, sentence, etc Thus to achieve the level

of accuracy the students are demanded to use the correct grammatical structures

in their speech Nunan (2004) explains that the understanding of a language itself

comes from the context in which the language appears as well as from

extra-linguistic information To conclude, comprehension is the ability to catchinformation with sufficient words to understand the meaning based on the context.The learners need to realize that they must be responsible for their learning

1.1.1.4 Pronunciation

According to Thornbury (2005, p.128-129), pronunciation refers to the

student’s ability to produce comprehensible utterances to fulfill the task

requirements Based on Kelly (2000, p.11), pronunciation is the important part inoral communication to produce accurate information and meaningfulcommunication The speaker has to produce clear language when they speak toothers to make successful communication Successful communication happens ifthe speaker can convey the ideas to the listeners The speaker can convey theirideas clearly by paying attention to pronunciation such as stress, rhythm, andintonation Overall, the technique to pronounce individual words, and the sounds

that these words are composed of, must be fully aware by a speaker Hence,

learners are conscious of pronunciation including its segmental andsuprasegmental features to speak English with fluency and accuracy

1.1.1.5 Fluency

Fluency is the extent to which the learner can speak at an acceptable speedwith few false starts and hesitations (Nunan, 2015) Speakers need to know where

he/she has to pause and stop his/her speaking in the appropriate place

Furthermore, it can be said to speak fluently if a speaker does not produce word

per word at a time in his/her speaking Lado (1961, p 240) points out that speaking

ability is described as the ability to report acts or situations, in precise words, or

the ability to converse or to express a sequence of ideas fluently Thornbury (2005,

p 8) states that people can be said as fluent speakers if they fulfill the following

features:

a) Pauses may be long but not frequent

b) Pauses are usually filled

c) Pauses occur at meaningful transition points

d) There are long runs of syllables and words between pauses

It means students as speakers have to be competent to speak quickly andautomatically Besides speaking quickly and automatically, the students shouldmake sure that the idea that they want to share with their friends has the samemeaning without reducing the content or the idea itself Hence, in the fluency part,students convey the ideas that they want to inform to their friends fluently, so theirfriends understand the idea that they convey to them

Thus, it can be seen that there are five points of scoring categories of students’speaking performance There are many different views on aspects of speakingperformance put forward by many researchers However, Brown's point seems to

be the most relevant and makes sure to consider all aspects of speaking

performance He showed the full five points grammar, vocabulary,

comprehension, pronunciation, and fluency These points can be useful for judgingstudents’ speaking performance, whether their speaking performance is good or

not.

1.1.2 Types of speaking performance

Developing of speaking performance will increased speaking skill of thestudents According to Brown (2004) there are 5 basic types of classroom speaking

performance, they are:

1.1.2.1 Imitative

Brown (2004, p 141) said that imitative is someone’s ability to imitate a word

or phrase or possibly a sentence While this is a purely phonetic level of oralproduction, a number of prosodic, lexical, and grammatical properties of language

may be included in the criterion performance In this type of speaking assessment,

the ability to imitate a word, phrase, and sentence pronunciation is the main

criterion being tested and assessed Imitation of this kind is carried out not for the

purpose of meaningful interaction, but for focusing on some particular element of

language form An example of an imitative speaking test is a word repetition task.1.1.2.2 Intensive

The second type is the production of short stretches of oral language designed

to demonstrate competence in a narrow band of grammatical, phrasal, lexical, orphonological relationships (such as prosodic elements-intonation, stress, rhythm,

and juncture) Intensive speaking goes one step beyond imitative including any

speaking performance that is designed to practice some phonological orgrammatical aspect of language Examples of intensive assessment tasks include:dialogue and sentence completion, reading aloud, directed response tasks, and

picture-cued tasks

1.1.2.3 Responsive

Brown (2004, p 141) said that responsive assessment tasks includeinteraction and test comprehension but at the somewhat limited level of very shortconversations, standard greetings, small talk, simple requests and comments, and

the like In class activities, responsiveness students' short replies to the teacher or

the other students’ question These responses are usually short and do not extendinto a dialogue Example of responsive speaking tasks includes paraphrasing,giving directions and instruction, and question and answer

1.1.2.4 Interactive

Interactive speaking is similar to responsive one, the difference between them

is the length and complexity of the interaction which sometimes includes multiple

exchanges and/or participants The interaction can take two forms transactional

language which is carried out for the purpose of conveying or exchanging specificinformation and interpersonal exchanges which are carried out more for thepurpose of maintaining social relationships than for the transmission of facts andinformation For instance: interviews, role plays, games, and discussions

1.1.2.5 Extensive

Extensive oral production tasks include speeches, oral presentations, andstory-telling, during which the opportunity for oral interaction from listeners 1seither highly limited (perhaps to nonverbal responses) or ruled out altogether Thelanguage style is frequently more deliberative (planning is involved) and" formalfor extensive tasks, but we cannot rule out certain informal monologues" such as

casually delivered speeches (for example, my vacation in the mountains, a recipe

for outstanding pasta primavera, recounting the plot of a novel or movie)

Each category above can be implemented based on the student’s level and

students’ ability Here is the summary purpose of each element: imitative for

focusing on some particular element of language form, intensive to practice somephonological or grammatical aspect of language, responsive can stimulate students

in speaking, interactive to learn how such features as the relationship in theconversation, and extensive is to practice in the form of oral reports

1.1.3 The role of speaking performance

As one of the communication systems, speaking plays an important part in

our everyday lives In any life aspect, either our social or personal interaction, the

ability to speak has been one of the significant elements of the interaction process

In social interaction, the ability to speak effectively supports how far our

interaction going and how well the relationship can be achieved In the workplace

or career lives communication skill is one of the main keys to career success For

instance, a leader needs communication ability to deliver information, influence,and direct others to take action Our personality, self-image, knowledge of the

world, and our ability to reason and express our thoughts are all reflected in ourspoken performance in the target language (Luoma, 2004)

Based on those components, someone expresses their feeling, idea, orresponse to other people by speaking Someone is able to give a response becausethey understood the speaker’s means Cameron (2001) states that speaking is theactive use of language to express meaning so that other people can make sense ofthem speak in a foreign language to share understanding with other people requiresattention to precise details of the language speaker needs to find the mostappropriate words and the correct grammar to convey meaning accurately or

precisely and also need to organize the discourse, so the listener will understand

The speaker must be able to produce the language target in spoken form becausethe process of building and sharing meaning is the aim of speaking through theuse of verbal and non-verbal symbols in various contexts

1.2 Project-based learning

1.2.1 The definition of project-based learning

PBL is described by many definitions According to Duffy & Cunningham

(1996), PBL is an instructional model that is based on the constructivist approach

to learning, which entails the construction of knowledge with multiple

perspectives, within a social activity, and allows for self-awareness of learning

and knowledge while being context-dependent Project Mars, (2009) states that inPBL, students research and explore so that they develop their skills and enrich

their knowledge It focuses on the student learning experience more than the

teacher’s instructions It is a way of checking the students understanding by

answering specific questions It leads them to find out about the world and

themselves in it (Project Mars, 2009) According to Misher (2014), PBL is a

teaching and learning method based on content and 21*-century skills likecommunication and presentation skills, research and inquiry skills, reflection and

self-assessment skills, and group involvement and leadership skills PBL allows

students to reflect on their projects and knowledge, opening the door to voice their

choices Every of these definitions contains the solution to a problem by the group

of students Students learn a topic by examining and answering complex questions,

challenges, or problems over a period of time And the work of students is

commonly ended with the creation of some product, which can be a thesis, report,design plan, or model According to Blumenfeld, the essence of PBL is that a

question or problem serves to organize and drive activities; and these activities

culminate in a final product that addresses the driving question

PBL is an instructional method centered on the learner Harris JH, & Katz

LG (2001) indicated instead of using a rigid lesson plan that directs a learner down

a specific path of learning outcomes or objectives, PBL allows in-depthinvestigation of a topic worth learning more about Through the construction of apersonally-meaningful artifact, which may be a play, a multimedia presentation,

or a poem, learners represent what they've learned (Harel I, Papert S, 1991) Inaddition, Tassinari M (1996) and Worthy J (2000) agree that learners typicallyhave more autonomy over what they learn, maintaining interest and motivatinglearners to take more responsibility for their learning PBL and the construction ofartifacts enable the expression of diversity in learners, such as interests, abilities,and learning styles (Grant MM, 2002) Students work on a project over an

extended period — from a week up to a semester — that engages them in solving areal-world problem or answering a complex question Demonstrate their

knowledge and skills by creating a public product or presentation for a real

audience As a result, the students develop in-depth knowledge of the content as

well as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication skills PBL

unleashes infectious and creative energy in students and teachers

In English Language Teaching, the term PBL is considered a project or task

It could be held at the end of the semester or certain at times The project has

become a popular element within the process approach It is the extended tasks

that usually integrate language skills work by means of a number of activities that

combine in working towards an agreed goal through planning; the gathering of

information through reading, listening, interviewing, and observing; groupdiscussion, problem-solving; oral and written reporting; and display (Hedge,2008) In real workplace settings, skills such as decision-making, problem-solving, managing conflicts, team working, and being innovative are important

elements of job competence Kloppenborg & Baucus (2004) reiterate that many of

the skills learned through PBL are highly sought by today’s employers includingthe ability to work well with others and handle interpersonal conflicts, makethoughtful decisions, practice, and solve complex problems Kloppenborg &Baucus (2004) also report on the learning outcome of students as manifested in

their successful experiences gained in planning, managing, and accomplishing

projects Successful experiences include the ability to resolve conflict through acreative approach to problem-solving and the implementation of a project thatsensitizes them to real problems and issues Therefore, the PBL plays an importantrole by exposing the students to a meaningful learning process while engagingwith their projects

1.2.2 The components of project-based learning

1.2.2.1 The teacher’s role

In effective project-based classrooms, teachers support disciplinary learning,

engage students in authentic work, encourage collaboration, and build an iterative

culture The main focus 1s to help learners understand what they already know

more deeply and accurately while strengthening their dispositions to continuelearning throughout life (Lilian G Katz, 2013) Dr Candice Wilson-McCain said

that it's common to hear that a teacher's role during PBL is similar to that of a

coach When we hear the word, coach, most people think of sports A coach is an

expert in their sport They know how to be successful As players come to them

with specific skills and talents, the coach's job is to further develop the players'skills The manager's job is also to motivate the players and build effective teamsworking towards a common goal Regarding Schneider (2005), the teacher’s role

as a facilitator is to help students to select tools and resources, to explain difficultconcepts and procedures when they are stuck The teacher’s role as an orchestrator

is to implement scenarios or scripts in a way that students focus on a smalleramount of tasks, hence, it will be not difficult for students to solve them

Teachers are responsible for creating a classroom culture that supports PBL.They do not relinquish control over the teaching or student learning but develop

an atmosphere of shared responsibility The instructor must structure the proposedquestion/issue to direct the student's learning toward content-based materials The

instructor should regulate student performance with periodic and transitional goals

to ensure that student projects remain focused and that students have a thorough

understanding of the concepts being studied There is still a problem with the low

implementation of PBL in classrooms Barron (1998) suggested inadequatematerial resources, little time to create new curricula, large class sizes, and over-controlling administrative structures that prevented teachers from having theautonomy necessary to implement progressive approaches If future teachers do

not receive a sufficient amount of theoretical and practical information, they will

be not to practice PBL in their classes

1.2.2.2 The student’s role

Schneider (2005) states that the structure of PBL is changed from “teachers

telling” to “students doing”, students become problem solvers, decision, and

meaning-makers rather than passive listeners They collaborate by making groups,organizing their activities, conducting research, solving problems, synthesizinginformation, organizing time and resources, and reflecting on their learning InPBL, students must ideate, inquire, develop, refine, produce, present, explain,

justify, and defend their response to an academic challenge, culminating in aproduct that can be used for the betterment of the community or an initiative

Through these processes, students engage in multiple assessments and havemyriad opportunities to improve skills and knowledge to demonstrate proficiency.There is no single measure to assess the key knowledge and skills necessary tocreate a solution to an open-ended academic challenge Students must worktogether, developing their active listening skills and getting them to engage inintelligent and purposeful communication

To sum up, a student should be willing to participate in the team, build up theteam, and learn teamwork “Free-riding” is one of the biggest problems in projectlearning (Joyce, 1999; Ashraf, 2004) It is the responsibility of each student tosubordinate their own preferences to the goals of the team and to work for the good

of the team There is no substitute for a team-player attitude because mechanisms

to control free-riding are imperfect and the controls themselves can be distracting.1.2.2.3 The environmental role

Schools adopting PBL should be specifically designed to foster creativity and

innovation These workspaces allow the student to produce cooperatively,showing their work in curated exhibits (Boss & Krauss, 2007) The communityfactor is very important in learning The social field like a network of people who

provide cognitive and affective support, instruction, evaluation, and recognition

encourages students’ creativity (Schneider &Synteta, 2007)

From the student’s side, the use of technology fosters interest and activepresentation structures the process by providing strategic support, diagnoses and

corrects errors, manages complexity, and aids production (Blumenfeld et al, 1991;

cited in Yunyta, 2017) Technology makes the environment more authentic to

students because, among others, the computer affords entrance to data andinformation and increases communication and collaboration with others vianetworks (Krajcik et al, 1994 cited in Schneider, 2007) When students usetechnology as a tool to communicate with others, they take on an active role and

a passive role in transmitting the information through a teacher, a book, or a

broadcast Technology enables students to be engaged in tasks that ease taowledge

construction like semantic network software, expert systems, databases, andmicro-worlds The student is constantly making choices on how to obtain, display,

or manipulate information Technology allows students to actively think about thedecisions they make and implement Each student has the opportunity to getinvolved individually or in groups

1.2.3 The importance of project-based learning

The PBL technique offers many advantages when it is implemented in the

classroom Based on Boss, Krajcik, and Patrick (1995), some of the advantages of

the PBL technique In learning are:

Increase in motivation: learners can choose their topics, the extent of content,and the presentation mode Learners build their projects to suit their interests andabilities These kinds of activities are highly motivating for learners

Increase in problem-solving abilities: PBL encourages learners to engage incomplex and ill-defined contexts Students begin by identifying their questions

and problems and then research possible solutions By participating in both

independent work and collaboration, learners improve their problem-solving skills

thereby developing their critical thinking skills

Improves media research skills: PBL provides a real-world connection tocontext Learners conduct research using multiple information resources By

simply finding resources, their research skills develop and improve

Increases in collaboration: During the elaboration phases, the students form

and organize their groups They share their knowledge and build artifacts together

By working together, they develop social communication skills and acquire many

perspectives

Increases in resource-management skills: successful PBL provides learnerswith experience in project organization and time management with the necessaryscheduling of resources

PBL can solve students' speaking problems by providing activities that

demand students' creativity that challenges the students to make something

extraordinary, and provide real-world materials in a real-life situation that caneasily stimulate and motivate them to promote real communication because thematerial is near them, then at the final student’s should present the result of theproject to the other friends (Bok, 2007, p.6) In addition, several advantages ofincorporating project work in second and foreign language settings have also been

recommended by other experts Fried Booth (2002) mentioned that the process

leading to the end product of project work offers chances for learners to improvetheir confidence and independence Stoller (2006) said that students exhibit

increased self-esteem, and positive attitudes concerning learning Students’

independence is improved especially when they are actively involved in projectplanning, for instance when they choose the topics of their project

1.2.4 Common challenges of project-based learning

The challenges associated with PBL implementation can be recognized

through the difficulties faced by teachers, students, administrators, parents, andother factors such as classroom and external factors (Thomas, 2000) In applying

the PBL technique in the classroom, Marx (1997) set out problems teachers mayhave with enactment during the class as below:

Time: projects often take longer than anticipated Instructional time is one ofthe perennial challenges teachers face Simply put, teachers never have enough of

it With mountains of state and local standards that need to be taught and little time

to do it, spending large chunks of time on a project that seemingly addresses only

a few standards may be seen by many as an unpractical use of instructional time

As has already been pointed out, there is much to consider when planning a PBL.Teachers must select the standards, create the driving question, plan formative andsummative assessments to include rubrics, plan daily timelines with learning

activities, plan the project kickoff, manage student collaborative teams andconflict, and help students investigate, design, and execute their projects

Classroom management: some school administrations preferred simpler

methods of teaching to avoid noise, spending money, and adhering to the teaching

plan Either they did not welcome any shift or they put obstacles in the path of

teachers so they did not use unfamiliar methods of teaching

Control: Teachers often feel the need to control the flow of information whilebelieving that understanding students requires building their own understanding

Support of student learning: some parents did not help students to search for

information or provide them with the necessary materials and facilities that

enabled them to conduct the project This was maybe because parents were notaware of the importance of PBL

Technology use: teachers may have difficulty incorporating technology into

the classroom, especially as a cognitive tool Technology plays an important role

in enhancing student and teacher motivation to do projects From the student’s

side, the use of technology fosters interest and active presentation structures the

process by providing strategic support, diagnoses and correcting errors, managing

complexity, and aiding production (Blumenfeld et al, 1991; cited in Yunyta,

2017)

Assessment: teachers may have difficulty designing assessments that require

students to demonstrate their understanding

1.3 Some approaches before project-based learning

Many types of research are dealing with PBL The first reference to PBL wasmentioned in the work of Kilpatrick (1918), who believed that using literacy inmeaningful contexts provided a means for building background knowledge and

for achieving personal growth He suggested that projects be interdisciplinary in

math, science, and social studies to provide learners with a rich array of conceptsand ideas He intended that topics come from students' interests, maintaining thatgroup projects, proposed, planned, executed, and evaluated by students, would

help learners develop an understanding of their lives while preparing to work

within a democracy

Simpson (2011) found that besides PBL helping the lecturer to give tasksover an extended period of time and systematically based on the specific need ofthe students, PBL also gives benefits to the students, such as enhancing teamworkskills, higher-order thinking skills, presentation skill, and increasing self-confidence in using the language In addition, Bas (2011) has also conductedresearch to investigate the effect of PBL through experimental research He

reported that the students in the experimental group which are taught by PBL as

seen from the average score, have a higher score than the control group, while

statistically, the result of the analysis using SPSS shows the significant differences

between the experimental group and control group

Research done by Febriawati (2012) also showed that there was a significant

improvement in the speaking performance of students who were taught by usingthe PBL technique and those who were taught through a conventional method The

students made good improvements in some aspects of speaking skills such as

pronunciation, vocabulary, accuracy, and fluency Moreover, it also changed the

students’ behavior They were more confident to speak English and got more

actively involved in the teaching-learning process In addition, they had manymore opportunities to speak Furthermore, they were motivated to bringdictionaries to help themselves in the learning of speaking skills Also, theactivities of the PBL technique made the class atmosphere more enjoyable

To support this research, some previous studies were reviewed by

Permatasari (2013) in her journal She found that the teacher’s role changed from

that of a lecturer to a guide leading-learners The learners also assumed new roles

in learning They became collaborators and active participants rather than beingonly passive knowledge receivers The class mode also changed from teacher-

centered to learner-centered With these changes, most of the class time became

devoted to the learners, which allowed for a greater quantity and richer variety of

language practice Consequently, the structures and the features of the speaking

tasks in the group work made the college English classes more attractive

Research conducted by Maulany (2013) whose findings showed students’

positive responses to the PBL technique in class These PBL techniques to

improve speaking skills (H Dewi) 345 contributed to a significant increase in thestudent’s participation in their speaking class The general results obtained alsoindicated some improvements in students’ speaking when they were assessedindividually Hence, the PBL technique could have significant pedagogical

implications and could be a practical technique if it is carefully planned to teach

speaking skills to students

Kornwipa Poonpon, a lecturer at Khon Kaen University, Thailand conductedresearch entitled Enhancing English Skills Through PBL Forty-sevencollege students taking an English in Computer Science course had to work

in teams to complete an interdisciplinary project A semistructured interview was

used to elicit students’ opinions about the implementation of the project and how

such a project may enhance their English skills The interview data were

qualitatively analyzed The results of the study showed how an interdisciplinaryproject should be implemented in language teaching in order to improve thelanguage competence of the students Referring to the previous research above,the researcher conducted a classroom-based action research study to improve thequality of her teaching performance and to improve the students’ speaking skillsusing the PBL Technique

Taking all the previous studies into account, the researcher realizes that themajor purpose of these studies is to clarify the considerable importance of PBL instudying In addition, these investigations shared suggestions for learners to pay

greater heed to the process of learning In comparison with these preceding

research papers, my study has a deep concentration on students’ perceptionstoward the importance of PBL on learning speaking skills Moreover, I payattention to the effects of PBL in learning English speaking skills amongst thesestudents so as to offer valuable suggestions for learners to enhance student’s

language ability Besides, my study is a descriptive, explanatory research that aims

to investigate and provide an in-depth understanding of the learners’ perceptions.Accordingly, my current research seems to fill the gaps in the aforementioned

studies

1.4 Summary

PBL is relatively a long-time presented learning method, but it is still lowly

used in schools To conclude, the current chapter attempted to provide an overview

of speaking performance and PBL When it comes to PBL, the researcher paysheed to the definition of PBL, the components of PBL, the importance and

common challenges of PBL What makes projects based on PBL different from

the regular projects that students usually carry out at the end of the term oracademic year is that the projects do not end up with predefined results or takerestricted paths decided in advance by the instructor

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY2.1 Participants

The participants in this study were Legal English-majored learners fromcourse 46 at HLU For the survey questionnaire, the researcher utilized Slovin’s

formula as a sampling technique to calculate the number of respondents with a

desired degree of accuracy 87 Legal English-majored students engaged in the

survey with their highly positive responses using Google Forms For the interview,

the researcher asked 9 students of the mentioned 87 survey informants, who are

willing to provide valuable information related to the study’s subject matter, toparticipate in it For the interview, the researcher asked 9 students of the mentioned

87 survey informants, who are willing to provide valuable information related tothe study’s subject matter, to participate in it Among the participants, the number

of females providing information was 65 out of 87 (74.7%), which was nearly 4times more than that of males (20.7%) In addition, 4 participants prefer not toreveal their genders, which accounts for 4.6% of the total

An explanation for selecting the target group is due to the appropriateness oftheir academic levels The majority of students learn English from 6 to 10 years

(accounting for 55.2%) In addition, students who have studied English for more

than 10 years and less than 5 years account for 39.1% and 5.7%, respectively

Specifically, about 32% of students said that they often give presentations in class

and this proportion is similar to that of students who occasionally participate inpresentations Besides, the of students who often give presentations is lower (about25%) In contrast, only 6 students said that they always have to give presentations(accounting for nearly 7%) and 3 students said that they rarely have to givepresentations (about 3%)

These learners self-assess their English proficiency into three main levels,

namely “Intermediate”, “Upper Intermediate”, and “Advanced” “Upper

Intermediate” accounted for the highest percentage, at nearly 38% Next,

“Intermediate” and “Advanced” were rated high with approximately 33%, and28%, respectively Only one learner considered himself to be at the level of

“Proficient.” It can be seen that English language learners have self-assessed theirEnglish level and they have a good knowledge base, which is suitable for theirmajor They are also fully understanding PBL so that their perception can berepresented All the participants underwent the same data collection procedure.This was an ideal opportunity for students to solve realistic and meaningfulproblems In order for students to experience what they could do in their dailylives, the class provided students with an opportunity to move into practicalactivities outside the classroom

2.2 Data collection

2.2.1 Data from questionnaire

Regarding the survey questionnaire, 36 questions were segmented into twoprimary parts The former is the respondents’ information, and the latter is themain content of the questionnaire In the first part, 4 questions in relation to thesamples’ genders, years of learning English, frequency of making Englishpresentation in class, and English levels were fully developed The second part has

three subdivisions, namely, “Students’ perceptions toward the importance of PBL

in learning English speaking skills”, “The effects of PBL in learning English

speaking skills”, and “Methods to improve the positive effects of PBL in learning

English speaking skills” with 36 closed questions The researcher chose the closed

questions for the questionnaires with the purpose that students should give their

perceptions toward the statements and they showed their agreement or

disagreement Furthermore, a five-criteria Likert scale was used in the research

The five-point Likert scale consists of five description categories, namely (1)Strongly disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) Neutral, (4) Agree and (5) Strongly agree

After having sought approval from the Dean of the Faculty of Legal Foreign

Languages, as well as the personal consent of the prospective participants to

undertake the investigation; the questionnaire was then delivered to Legal majored students (course 46) via Google Forms The respondents were asked to

English-return their answers over a period of seven days The researcher offered detailed

explanations about the sole aims of the study, a brief description of how to reply,

along with a guarantee of preserving participants' confidentiality Afterward, thedata screening was conducted to discover the relevant answers for data analysis.Accordingly, 87 pertinent responses were adopted for the analysis of data

2.2.2 Data from the interview

For the in-depth interview, 4 questions were invented to examine the

learners’ perception towards the effects of project-based learning in learning

English speaking skills These questions deal with three central themes of the

study, namely “Students’ perceptions toward the importance of PBL in learning

English speaking skills’, “The effects of PBL in learning English speaking skills”,and “Methods to improve the positive effects of PBL in learning English speakingSkills” An interview is conducted to investigate the students’ opinions on theeffects of PBL and the problems they encounter while doing the projects Thevalidity and reliability of the instruments were tested as well through the research

of Di Yang & Nattaya Puakpong (2016)

The in-depth interview was executed to gain a thorough grasp of the findingsfrom the survey 9 out of 87 participants from the survey were willing to beinvolved in the interview through the video conferencing platform MicrosoftTeams In each online interview, the researcher commenced with a short overview

of the current study and then asked the participants to be genuine during the entireprocess so as to achieve the expected outcome The interview was recorded with

the personal permission of the interviewees for later information transcripts

2.3 Data analysis

2.3.1 Data from questionnaire

In the first place, the quantitative data collected under this study were first

entered into Microsoft Excel and then transferred to the SPSS software forstatistical analyses The quantitative data of the survey questionnaire was handledwith the aid of IBM SPSS software version 20 In particular, frequency anddescriptive statistics were employed to discover the Legal English-majored

students’ perceptions towards the importance of PBL on learning English speaking

skills First of all, frequency analysis in SPSS was adopted to figure out the

proportion of students’ responses to close-ended questions concerning their

personal information The same frequency analysis procedure was used todiscover the percentage of students' answers from multiple-choice questionsregarding PBL affecting English major students’ speaking performance Secondly,

descriptive statistics on SPSS were performed to gain insight into the major

content with the aid of 37 Likert scale items in this manner:

Range of mean score Descriptive value

4.21 - 5.00 Strongly agree3.41 — 4.20 Agree2.61 — 3.40 Neutral1.81 — 2.60 Disagree1.00 — 1.80 Strongly disagree

2.3.2 Data from interview

The qualitative data of the interview was examined through the content of the

answers Before commencing the analysis process, the audio files of eachinterviewee were numbered from one to nine so as to ensure their anonymity and

then transcribed in writing Based on the interview transcription, the researcher

carried out a frequency analysis of the results to investigate the common tendency

among participants’ answers to each question

2.4 Summary

In chapter 2, the researcher has provided an explanation of the samples of the

study, and the procedures for data collection and analysis, which helps clarify the

research methods and find out the answers to the questions of the study

CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION3.1 Results and discussion of the questionnaire

3.1.1 Students’ perceptions toward the importance of project-basedlearning on learning English speaking skills

To study students' perceptions toward the importance of PBL on learningEnglish speaking skills, the researcher posed 10 different items From the resultsobtained in the survey questionnaire, the researcher used SPSS to analyze the dataand gave the results in Table 1 Deviation of 12 Likert items ranging from 679 to.956 clearly shows a statistically significant difference amongst learners' options.Considering the generated mean score into equivalent Descriptive values, five out

of ten Likert items fall into the description response of “Agree", namely 1, 2, 4, 6,

9 In addition, the remaining statement was “Neutral” consisting of items 3, 5, 7,

8, and 10

Table 1 Students’ perceptions toward the importance of project-based learning

on learning English speaking skills (1)

N | Minimum | Maximum | Mean | Std