The English Teacher Vol.

XL: 1-10

ENHANCING ENGLISH SKILLS THROUGH PROJECT-

BASED LEARNING

Kornwipa Poonpon
Khon Kaen University,Thailand

ABSTRACT
One of the most critical problems in teaching and learning English at tertiary level in Thailand
is students’ lack of adequate language background to carry out tasks required in studying
English. In an attempt to deal with this challenging problem, the study investigated learners’
opinions about (1) the implementation of project-based learning in a language classroom to
encourage learners to apply their language skills and knowledge of their specific field of
study to complete a task, and (2) how project-based learning may enhance their four skills of
English (i.e., listening, speaking, reading and writing). Forty-seven undergraduate students
taking an English course on Information Science were required to work in groups to complete
an interdisciplinary-based project. A semi-structured 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. Results of the study revealed
how the interdisciplinary-based project should be implemented in a language classroom to
enhance the learners’ English skills.

Introduction
English instruction in Thailand aims to improve students’ language proficiency
(Wongsothorn, 2003) and equip students with useful learning processes and
strategies to enhance the use of English for social and academic purposes (Ministry
of Education, 2004). To reach these goals, Thailand has adopted a learner-centered
approach and focused on communicative language teaching as key approaches to
facilitate the language learning process and improve communicative competence in
order to prepare Thai students for regional and international workplaces. Even though
curricular and lesson plans have been designed to implement these key approaches
in language instruction, one of the most critical problems encountered by teachers
especially at the university level is students’ lack of adequate language background to
complete tasks required in studying English (Chayanuvat, 2007). Therefore, it seems
inevitable for many university teachers that they have to review basic knowledge
such as grammar usage over and over again before they can proceed to English for
daily routines and academic purposes.

In reality, however, studying English does not necessarily focus on syntactic accuracy
or competency in grammar usage. Instead, giving opportunities to students to use

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as much English as they can in real life contexts should be critically considered,
especially for Thai students who have limited chances not only to be exposed
to native English speakers, but also the opportunity to use English in their
real life settings. To deal with this challenge, language teachers in Thailand
need to employ an appropriate English teaching and learning method that should
encourage students to use language with an emphasis on communicative purposes
in real world settings, rather than solely focus on accuracy as in traditional
teaching. In other words, the students should be encouraged to convey messages
more than be concerned about grammatical rules when they use English for
communicative purposes.

Project-based learning (PBL) seems to match this English teaching and learning need.
PBL is simply defined as “an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by
presenting learners with problems to solve or products to develop” (Moss & Van
Duzer, 1998, p.1). PBL is different from traditional instruction because it emphasizes
learning through student-centered, interdisciplinary, and integrated activities in real
world situations (Solomon, 2003; Willie, 2001). In particular, PBL activities can
be characterized as follows (Fried-Booth, 1997; Simpson, 2011; Srikrai, 2008;
Stoller, 1997):
• focuses on content learning rather than on specific language patterns,
• is student-centered so the teacher becomes a facilitator or coach,
• encourage collaboration among students,
• leads to the authentic integration of language skills and processing
information from multiple sources,
• allows learners to demonstrate their understanding of content knowledge
through an end product (e.g., an oral presentation, a poster session, a
bulletin board display, or a stage performance), and
• bridges using English in class and using English in real life contexts.
More importantly, PBL is both process- and product-orientated (Stoller, 1997).
Students have opportunities to use several skills (e.g., problem-solving, creativity,
teamwork, as well as language) at different work stages, so the work and
language skills are developed (Brunetti, Petrell, Sawada, 2003; Solomon, 2003).
Since PBL is potentially motivating, empowering and challenging to language
learners, it usually results in building learners’ confidence, self-esteem, and
autonomy as well as improving students’ language skills, content learning, and
cognitive abilities (Fried-Booth, 1997; Simpson, 2011; Solomon, 2003; Srikrai,
2008; Stoller, 1997; Willie, 2001). Learning becomes fruitful for learners
because they exhibit their abilities to plan, manage, and accomplish
projects through their content knowledge and language skills (Kloppenborg &
Baucus, 2004).

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Similar to many EFL contexts, PBL in Thailand is not new in teaching and
learning English. There is an increasing number of PBL-related research in
Thailand. Chayanuvat (2007), for instance, explored the implementation of PBL in
a basic English course aiming to develop students’ four skills for communicative
purposes. Her questionnaire data revealed that more than 50% of the students were
confident that PBL can help improve their English although most of them (74%)
were not ready for PBL in their English class. Srikrai (2008) examined English-
minor students’ opinions about conducting an interview with native English-
speaking teachers (NEST). She found that the students perceived the value and the
benefits of completing the project. They also learned about different cultures
from the NEST and learned how to work cooperatively with classmates. They
gained more motivation and confidence in using English, especially in listening
and speaking skills. Simpson (2011) investigated whether PBL could enhance
English major students’ English language proficiency, their learning skills
and self-confidence in an English for Tourism course. Both qualitative and
quantitative data showed that PBL had a significant effect on the development of
the low and medium ability groups of students. The high ability students showed
progress in speaking and writing, but not for their listening and reading skills.
The findings also indicated that PBL enhanced their learning skills (teamwork,
higher-order thinking and presentation skills) together with self-confidence. The
study concluded that PBL could be an effective means of teaching English as a
foreign language and that it can be successfully employed with students who
have only been exposed and subjected to a background of traditional forms of
teaching and learning.

The PBL research studies in the Thai context to date have tended to focus on teaching
English as a subject and using PBL with no emphasis on content knowledge of students
in their fields of study (e.g. engineering, business, or agriculture). There has been little
evidence supporting the effectiveness and implementation of PBL in an English class
where the English language is linked to students’ content knowledge. For this reason,
the present study aims to investigate opinions of Thai learners of English toward the
implementation of PBL, in the form of an interdisciplinary-based project, in a
language class and their opinions about how PBL can enhance their English skills.

Research Questions
In an attempt to encourage Thai learners of English to apply their language skills and
knowledge of their specific field of study to complete a language task, this study was
guided by two research questions.
1. What are Thai university students’ opinions about the implementation of
problem-based learning, in the form of an interdisciplinary-based project,
in an English language class?

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2. What are Thai university students’ opinions about how problem-based

learning can enhance their four skills of English (i.e., listening, speaking,
reading and writing)?

Method
Participants
The study included 47 undergraduate students, 36 females and 11 males, majoring
in Information Science and enrolled in an English course at a Thai university during
the second semester of the 2009 academic year. All the students were second year
students who had taken and passed two foundation English courses offered in the
2008 academic year. They were young adults with an average age of 20.

An Overview of the English for Information Science Course

English for Information Science is a 45-hour English course designed for Information
Science students. The main objective of the course is to have students practice the
four English skills (i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing) for understanding
through materials (e.g., newspaper, print) on Information Science. The course was
first offered to Information Science major students in the second semester of the
2009 academic year. Lessons focused on integrated skills and authentic materials
used in different types of media (e.g. newspaper, blogs, and websites). Grading
of the course relied on five scores: attendance and in-class participation (10%),
midterm examination (30%), final examination (30%), speaking tests (10%), and
group project (20%).

An Interdisciplinary-Based Project
As a requirement of the course, one interdisciplinary-based project was planned to
be used to allow the students to apply both knowledge of Information Science and
their language skills in completing the project. Devoting 20% of the class scores
to this project, the teacher asked the students to work in a group of three or four
to create a unique presentation on the theme: The Role of Information Science in
Our Society. The presentation project could be performed in a number of ways
(e.g., a video presentation, a play, a showcase, a website, a chart, a card board, or
a PowerPoint presentation) as long as their work demonstrated use of Information
Science knowledge and language skills (i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and
writing) they had learned from the English class. For example, a group of students
developed a website presenting information about digital libraries and asking web
visitors to share their opinions about digital libraries. Another group created a TV
program and videotaped interviews with other students on campus about the role
of Information Science in their daily life. Another group of students presented a
stage performance reflecting the negative effects of Information Science on Thai

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families. Evaluation criteria were based on three areas: content of the presentation,
language, and creativity. All projects were scheduled to be presented in the final week
of the course.

Instrument
The semi-structured interview was used in order to allow the participants to reconstruct
the details of their experience with the presentation of the interdisciplinary-based
project through a series of open-ended questions that enabled the interviewer to
build upon and explore the answers to each question. The semi-structured interview
allowed the researcher to supplement other relevant questions to obtain more
information, apart from a written list of guided questions. The interviews were
conducted in the students’ native language (i.e., Thai) to avoid a language barrier in
conveying a message.

Procedures
Since the interdisciplinary-based project required students to work collaboratively,
students were asked to form their teams on a voluntary basis. There were a total of
13 groups (two groups of three members and 11 of four members) representing 13
projects in this English course. After introducing the theme of the project, every
group of students was asked to interpret the theme and decide how they would
present their ideas on the role of Information Science in society. Each group had two
weeks to work on their presentation before performing or presenting their project
in class. After their presentation, each group was interviewed about their project
using the guided questions which were related to project title, presentation style,
and students’ satisfaction with the presentation, benefits and obstacles in doing the
project. Interview data were recorded, fully transcribed, and translated into English
by a research assistant. For reliability purposes, the translated data were double
checked and corrected by the researcher.

Data Analysis
Transcripts from the interviews were coded by themes related to project
implementation and skills enhancement issues.

Results
Students’ Opinions about the Implementation of PBL, in the Form of the
Disciplinary-Based Project, in an English Language Class
PBL was implemented as the disciplinary-based project in the English for the
Information Science course in order to encourage the students to use the English
skills they had learned in class as a medium to present content and exchange
information in the field of Information Science. The interview data revealed four

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major issues concerning the implementation of the project. As shown in Table 1, the
implementation-related issues include presentation schedule, balance of language
and content used in the project, students’ language skills preparation, and project
recommendation. Some students (e.g., students of Group 3) thought that the
presentations should not have been scheduled in the final week because the students
had to do presentations in other classes as well. Due to time constraints, students
of Group 5 felt dissatisfied with their project. Regarding the balance of language
and content learning, the students believed that they used both language skills and
content knowledge to carry out their project. Some were surprised by their own
ability to find information and do their presentation in English. However, one group
of students was not confident with their language in doing their presentation. They
preferred some lessons to prepare them to do a presentation in English. Finally, most
students thought that the interdisciplinary-based project should be retained in the
English course because it was appropriate and useful for them.

Table 1: Examples of Interview Data on Implementation-Related Issues

Issues Interview Data Examples
Presentation schedule G3: “We had a lot of works and many other assignments from
different courses to do.”
G5: “We’re not happy with it. We didn’t have much time to
prepare and rehearse. There were a lot of assignments to do.”
Balance of language G2: “We did the project from what we have studied: Information
and content Science. We use it in our daily lives.”
G7: “We applied our IT knowledge in the project.”
G11: “Doing the final project like this is useful because content
knowledge we learned could be applied in this project.”
Language skills G1: “Our presentation level is moderate….there should be
preparation lessons in advance.”
Project G3: “Yes, I think it’s beneficial and applicable. It relates to what
recommendation we have studied.”
G6: “I think it’s appropriate because you can apply it from your
background knowledge: Information Science and present it
in English.”
G8: “We intended to do the presentation at our best. We were
so proud.”
G9: “I think there should be a report to hand in…. Slides and the
report should be combined. There is limitation of time in
presentation. If the report consisting of scripts is included, it
might be clearer.”
Note: G stands for Group. For example, G1 represents interview data from Group 1; G2
represents interview data from Group 2.

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Students’ Opinions about How the Implementation of PBL, in the Form

of the Interdisciplinary-Based Project, Enhanced Their Language Skills
Based on the interview data, the students believed that their language skills were
enhanced. Table 2 shows some of students’ opinions about skills enhancement. Most
of them thought that the interdisciplinary-based project helped them practice their
reading, writing, and speaking skills. At the preparation stage of their presentation,
the students believed that their reading skill as well as vocabulary knowledge was
enhanced when they searched for information from different sources because they
had to read and compare a lot of information before selecting what was appropriate
for their project. Their writing was also enhanced when they prepared their Power
Point slides or cardboards and when they wrote scripts for their presentation. For
example, students of Groups 9 and 10 used both reading and writing skills to
complete their work. In addition, their speaking was definitely enhanced when they
rehearsed their speech as well as at the presentation stage when they performed or
presented their project. Students of Group 4, thought that they applied speaking
skills when completing their project. Apart from the four language skills, translation
seemed to be another skill the students used a lot in doing the project. For example,
students of Groups 3 and 10 read information in Thai and translated it into English
when preparing for their presentation. None of them said that the project helped
them with their listening skill.

Table 2: Examples of Interview Data about Skills Enhancement

Interview Data Example
G1: “We thought about what sentences or speech we were going to write in the project.”
G3: “We searched for information which was written in Thai. Then we translated it into
English.”
G4: “We read some information before posting it on the blog….We thought we applied
the speaking skill. Some words we have never spoken before such as in addition.”
G6: “[We learned] English language and technical terms relating to library.”
G7: “I haven’t thought that many skills can absolutely apply for it. It the past, My
English was not really good. It’s now better, and it’s really fun. … Our English
language skills are better, I suppose.”
G9: “Speaking, reading, and writing summaries”
G10: “[We used] translation, writing, and reading both Thai and English texts”
Note: G stands for Group. For example, G1 represents interview data from Group 1; G2
represents interview data from Group 2.

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Discussion
In the current study, PBL in the form of the interdisciplinary-based project was
implemented in the English for Information Science course to encourage the students
to link their language skills to their content knowledge. The most interesting finding
regarding the implementation of the project-based activity was that the students
found a balanced use of their language skills, knowledge about Information Science
and information technology skills in their project.

This finding corroborates findings from a large number of studies in this field, which
show that PBL activities allow students to integrate language skills and content
knowledge to complete the projects (Fried-Booth, 1997; Simpson, 2011; Solomon,
2003; Srikrai, 2008; Stoller, 1997; Willie, 2001). However, this study has been
unable to demonstrate a good implementation plan. The finding showed that the
students needed better preparation for English presentations. A possible explanation
for this might be that even though the students practiced English skills in class, they
were not familiar with doing an English presentation in front of the class. Thus an
adjustment of the implementation plan and an addition of instructional activities
regarding English presentation practice are needed for future implementation.

With respect to enhancement of students’ language skills, the findings of the study
are consistent with those of Srikrai (2008) and Simpson (2011) who found that
students’ language skills were enhanced through project-based activities. In the
present study, the students perceived that their reading, writing, and speaking skills,
as well as vocabulary knowledge and translation skill, were improved because they
used these skills to acquire, analyze, and synthesize information as they worked on
their project. These findings indicate that authentic integration of language skills and
processing information from a variety of sources can enhance language skills, and
this mirrors real-life tasks (Stoller, 1997).

Conclusion
This study explored learners’ opinions about how PBL in the form of the
interdisciplinary-based project can be implemented in a language classroom to
encourage learners to apply their language skills and knowledge of their specific
field of study to complete a task. It also investigated learners’ opinions about how
the interdisciplinary-based project enhanced their language skills. The analysis of
students’ interview data revealed project implementation and skills enhancement
issues. The students believed that the implementation of this project was appropriate
for the course because they can apply both their knowledge of Information Science
and English skills they learned from the English class when they carried out the
project. They found that the project can help them aware of their own English
ability and improve English skills in real life contexts. They also suggested future

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implementation of the disciplinary-based project in the English course. However,

the students’ opinions have revealed some limitations of the study. The teacher did
not provide the students with good preparation to carry out their presentations and
enough time to help them prepare their project. So, better-planned implementation
procedures in these two aspects are needed.

The study provides two important pedagogical implications. First, it is reasonable

to include such a disciplinary-based project in an English class especially in
EFL contexts where opportunities to use English are limited. Second, since PBL
can encourage learners to use language skills learned from the English class and
support learners’ confidence in using English, using the project as part of the grading
system seems reasonable. However, this study is an exploratory investigation about
enhancement of learners’ language skills through PBL. Generalizability of the
study is thus limited. Future studies may focus on using a variety of project-based
activities in the classroom and using other measures to examine learners’ language
skills enhancement.

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