Andargie Abebaw, Amogne Dawit, Tefera Ebabu
Department of Language Education, College of Education, School of Teacher Education, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Department of English Language and Literature, College of Language Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 31;20(1):e0317518. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0317518. eCollection 2025.
Connecting language classrooms with 21st-century skills could be the potential framework for enhancing EFL learners' performance in writing classes. However, investigating whether project-based learning, as a new field within ELT with unique pedagogical affordances, can enhance learners' writing skills still needs to be improved in the literature. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the impact of project-based learning on EFL learners' writing performance. It sought to determine whether and to what extent project-based learning could enhance writing skills in an EFL context. The study employed a quasi-experimental design with an interrupted pre-test-post-test time series design with single group participants. Twenty-three third-year EFL undergraduate students enrolled in the Advanced Writing Skills I course were selected using a comprehensive sampling method. An essay writing test and interview were used to gather data. The participants of the study were given a series of three problem-solving essay writing tests before and after the intervention, which employed project-based essay writing instruction. In addition, to discover their attitudes toward the impacts of project-based learning and its applications on the ground, three randomly selected students were interviewed at the end of the intervention. The data collected through the tests were analyzed through a one-way repeated measure ANOVA; narration was also used to analyze the qualitative data gathered through interviews. Accordingly, the quantitative data suggested that project-based learning significantly enhances EFL learners' writing performance. Moreover, interview data showed that students felt optimistic about the impact of project-based learning on their writing performance, idea generation, and cooperation among themselves. Therefore, project-based learning is suggested as another method in ELT writing classes because it enhances learners' writing via idea generation, data collection, organization, cooperation, and general communication skills. As students work on worthwhile projects, its emphasis on real-world applicability and realistic activities can help them become better writers. Hence, teachers can reinforce the relationship between form and purpose by incorporating a variety of genres and collaborative writing to reflect real-world or professional situations.
将语言课堂与21世纪技能相联系可能是提高英语学习者写作课表现的潜在框架。然而，作为英语教学中具有独特教学优势的一个新领域，探究基于项目的学习是否能提高学习者的写作技能，这一点在文献中仍有待完善。因此，本研究旨在调查基于项目的学习对英语学习者写作表现的影响。它试图确定基于项目的学习在英语环境中是否以及在多大程度上能够提高写作技能。该研究采用了准实验设计，即单组参与者的中断前测-后测时间序列设计。使用综合抽样方法选取了23名参加高级写作技能I课程的英语专业三年级本科生。通过一篇作文写作测试和访谈来收集数据。在干预前后，研究参与者要完成一系列三道解决问题的作文写作测试，干预采用基于项目的作文写作指导。此外，为了了解他们对基于项目的学习的影响及其实际应用的态度，在干预结束时随机挑选了三名学生进行访谈。通过测试收集的数据采用单向重复测量方差分析进行分析；叙述法也用于分析通过访谈收集的定性数据。因此，定量数据表明基于项目的学习显著提高了英语学习者的写作表现。此外，访谈数据显示，学生们对基于项目的学习对他们写作表现、想法生成以及彼此合作的影响感到乐观。因此，基于项目的学习被建议作为英语教学写作课中的另一种方法，因为它通过想法生成、数据收集、组织、合作和一般沟通技能来提高学习者的写作能力。当学生从事有价值的项目时，其对现实世界适用性和实际活动的强调可以帮助他们成为更好的写作者。因此，教师可以通过纳入各种体裁和合作写作来反映现实世界或专业情况，从而强化形式与目的之间的关系。
