The aim of this research is to display how project-based learning (PBL), one of the most innovative methodologies in the contemporary educational panorama, can be beneficial in teaching culture in English language classes at the tertiary level. Students will be due to produce a final project that examines cultural elements in several English-speaking countries combining various disciplines, such as geography, history, literature, and economics. The results will be drawn from two questionnaires: a pre-task survey that will assess the expectations and motivation levels of tertiary students in connection to this pedagogical approach and a post-task survey which will—in this case—assess the effects of these final results in students' motivation and the potential changes concerning their views on PBL.
TopIntroduction
This study’s purpose is to incorporate culture into tertiary English language instruction, for which a project-based learning (PBL) approach was applied in courses from various fields. PBL is a pedagogical framework that comprises teaching a subject through having students complete a project (Thomas, 2000). In English language learning, “this approach involves students completing a project by choosing a topic, solving problems, and generating products in the form of meaningful solutions” (Sanatullova-Allison, 2015, p. 7). Alternatively, Suzie and Krauss (2014) provide the following definition of PBL:
[PBL]—powered by contemporary technologies—is a strategy certain to turn traditional classrooms upside down. When students learn by engaging in real-world projects, nearly every aspect of their experience changes. The teacher’s role shifts. He or she is no longer the content expert, doling out information in bite-sized pieces. Student behavior also changes. Instead of following the teacher’s lead, learners pursue their own questions to create their own meaning. Even the boundaries of the classroom change. Teachers usually design the project as the framework for learning, but students have more agency and may wind up using technology to access and analyze information from all corners of the globe. Connections among learners and experts can happen in real time. That means new kinds of learning communities can come together to discuss, debate, and exchange ideas. (p. 1)
PBL has its roots in Dewy’s work (1938), which claims that humans learn by doing. Therefore, with PBL, “students will be driving their own inquiry, working collaboratively to seek viable solutions, using advanced technology, and communicating their findings to the related audience” (Bell, 2010, p. 40). Thus, it is not surprising that this innovative methodology may be more inspiring and engaging for English language learners than more conventional ones since this is a learner-centered approach in which students develop critical thinking, cooperation, communication, and other 21st-century skills.
PBL was chosen for this study because “its utilization in [English as Foreign Language] (EFL) classrooms may serve as one of the appropriate methods to incorporate culture into language contexts” (Sanatullova-Allison, 2015, p. 1). This chapter’s main goal is to put PBL into practice as a cutting-edge method through which students can design authentic final products that require the investigation of cultural aspects of English-speaking countries in combination with various transversal subjects such as geography, history, literature, music, economics, and more. This project aims to boost foreign language students’ motivation to learn more about English culture. The following subjects that were taught at the University of Almería, Spain in the 2021/22 academic year were included in this study: (1) Sociocultural Competence, as an element of programming in the teaching of a foreign language (part of the Primary Education degree program); (2) English teaching as a foreign language in infant education (part of the Infant Education degree program); (3) English III (part of the Hispanic Philology degree program); (4) English II (part of the Humanities degree program); and (5) English for Academic Purposes (part of the Hispanic Philology degree program).
In order to accomplish this general objective, several specific objectives were also set: (1) encouraging student autonomy in learning and the transversal application of knowledge; (2) promoting the use of information and communication technology (ICT); (3) examining the benefits and drawbacks of PBL in the university setting, specifically in the context of English language courses; and (4) evaluating PBL performance using a pre-task questionnaire that measured students’ motivation levels and expectations in relation to this methodology at the tertiary level as well as a post-task survey that was used to monitor the consequent effects of PBL on students after its implementation in the classroom. The findings of this research are based on a comparative analysis of the results from the first survey and the information collected in the second questionnaire. In this study, special attention was placed on both PBL’s impact on students’ motivation levels and the changes in their opinions toward this didactic method as well as PBL’s suitability and efficiency when implemented in various foreign language courses at the university level.