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CHAPTER II.
IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT BASED LEARNING
IN TEACHING ENGLISH
2.1 Project based learning in teaching English
When studying foreign languages, the most significant results are given by the
project method. It allows you to create a creative atmosphere in the lesson, where
each student is involved in an active cognitive process based on the methodology of
cooperation. The methodology of project training is widely used in educational
institutions to generalize knowledge and skills on the topic studied. In our
understanding, the project is a creative activity of a student, corresponding to
his physiological and intellectual abilities, taking into account the
requirements of
the state standard. The fundamental researches in the given field were carried
out by such prominent scientists and methodologists as Legutke M.,Thomas H.,
Heines S., Brumfit C., Hutchinson T., Fried-Booth D. and others.
Legutke and Thomas in their book suggest and analyse three types of projects:
encounter projects, which enable students to make contact with native speakers;
text projects which encourage students to use English language texts, either a range
of them to research a topic or one text more intensively, for example, a play to read,
discuss, dramatize, and rehearse, class correspondence
projects which involve
letters, audio cassettes, photographs, etc. as exchanges between learners in different
countries.
The aim of the projects is to contribute to the formation of a system of
knowledge and skills embodied in the final intellectual product; to promote
independence, the ability to think logically, see problems and make decisions,
receive
and use information, plan, develop literacy and much more.
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First of all, a foreign language teacher teaches children ways of speech activity, so
we talk about communicative competence as one of the main goals of learning.
Another explorer of the Project Work Method, Brumfit, provides the analysis of
projects in which advanced adult students elect to work in groups to produce a
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Fried-Booth, D. L. Project Work: Project in action. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 2008. p28
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radio programme about their own country. A range of topics, for example, ethnic
groups, religion, education, are assigned to the groups, who research their topic and
write and rehearse a script. The main idea of such an approach to teaching a foreign
language is to shift the emphasis from various types of exercises to the active mental
activity of students, which requires proficiency in certain linguistic means for its
design. Hutchinson dwells upon a project on ‘Animals in Danger’
for secondary
school students, in which they use knowledge from Science and Geography to
research threatened species, write an article, and make a poster.
Only the project
method can solve this didactic task and turn foreign language lessons into a
discussion, research club.
What is the essence of project training?
The design method appeared in 1919 in America. This method is based on the ideas
of Dewey, Lai, Thorndike and other American scientists.
The main idea is as follows:
1. With great enthusiasm, the student performs the activity that he himself freely
chooses;
2. Activities are sometimes built not in line with the subject.
3. The slogan of this activity: "Everything from life, everything for life."
The project method, as a pedagogical technology includes a targeted focus, scientific
ideas, which are based on the system of actions of a teacher and student, evaluation
criteria and a qualitatively new result.
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By the number of project participants, personality, pair and group are distinguished.
Groups are most often used in our practice.
In this case, it is necessary from the
methodological point of view to correctly organize the activities of the project
participants in the group of students, and the role of the coordinating teacher in this
case is especially important.
The group project method has the following rules and principles:
10
Lam, N. T. (2011). Project-based learning in teaching English as a foreign language. VNU Journal of Science,
Foreign Languages , p140
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1. There are no leaders in the team. All team members are equal.
2. Teams do not compete.
3. All team members should enjoy
communicating with each other, because they
complete the task together.
4. Everyone should be proactive and contribute to the common cause.
5. Responsibility for the final result lies with all team members.
Groups of students are formed taking into account psychological compatibility,
while in each group there is a strong student, medium, weak. The group selects
one task, but when it is performed, the roles are distributed. Each student receives
an independent piece of work in the project.
In the process of project implementation, students come to the conclusion that the
success of the entire project
depends on the success of each, therefore, each
