authority (church or state) determines an appropriate subject matter and the teacher strictly
“lectures” on the subject. Tests, without books or notes, are used to determine if the student
has “memorized” the information. Passing the test has become the primary focus and an end
to learning. As a result, there was/is little reason for the student to express real thoughts and
feelings. Of course other methods of instruction have been included in American educational
curricula, but no other method of teaching has remained so prevalent.
Today, Project-Based Learning is widely recognized as an effective methodology. Its
advantages are well documented: students are known to develop greater communicative,
thinking and problem-solving skills with PBL than with regular lecture-based education. PBL
often also excels in making the relationship between various concepts within a subject more
clear, and has with success been used in interdisciplinary courses.
Since learners depend on vocabulary as their first resource (Huckin and Bloch 1993), a rich
vocabulary makes the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing easier to perform.
Therefore, there has been continuing interest in whether there is a relationship between having
sufficient vocabulary knowledge for successful language communication.
Statement of the Null Hypothesis
In this study the following null hypothesis is formulated, the rejection of which is the aim of
this study:
Project-based Learning does not have any significant effect on increasing EFL/ESL
students’ vocabulary knowledge at the intermediate level.
Communication
Classroom activities may be of various types. They may center primarily on usage or use.
They may require the student to receive a message or produce one. They may involve whole
class activities, small group interaction, or individual work. They may be based entirely on
the text, related directly to the material in the text, or selected purposefully from other
sources.
Classroom activities may enable the students to develop communication skills along with
increasing their vocabulary knowledge. The crucial factor seems to be type of practice, not
amount of practice.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A Brief History of PBL
For over 100 years, educators such as John Dewey have reported on the benefits of
experiential, hands-on, student-directed learning. Most teachers, knowing the value of
engaging, challenging projects for students, have planned field trips, laboratory investigations,
and interdisciplinary activities that enrich and extend the curriculum. "Doing projects" is a
long-standing tradition in American education.
The roots of PBL lie in this tradition. But the emergence of a method of teaching and learning
called Project Based Learning is the result of two important developments over the last 25
3
years. First, there has been a revolution in learning theory. Research in neuroscience and
psychology has extended cognitive and behavioral models of learning–which support
traditional direct instruction–to show that knowledge, thinking, doing, and the contexts for
learning are inextricably tied. We now know that learning is partly a social activity; it takes
place within the context of culture, community, and past experiences. In addition, education
has benefited from this research, as teachers have learned how to effectively scaffold content
and activities to amplify and extend the skills and capabilities of students.
Second, the world has changed. Nearly all teachers understand how the industrial culture has
shaped the organization and methods of schools in the 19th and 20th centuries, and they
recognize that schools must now adapt to a new century. It is clear that children need both
knowledge and skills to succeed. This need is driven not only by workforce demands for
high-performance employees who can plan, collaborate, and communicate, but also by the
need to help all young people learn civic responsibility and master their new roles as global
citizens.
The most important recent shift in education has been the increased emphasis on standards,
clear outcomes, and accountability. But this process will continue to evolve. PBL is a field
that should be created by the practitioner in the classroom.
Teaching Content through Skills
PBL is highly context-specific. It serves to teach content by presenting the students with a
real-world challenge similar to one they might encounter were they a practitioner of the
discipline. Teaching content through skills is one of the primary distinguishing features of
PBL.
The Instructor’s Roles in PBL
A PBL Instructor DOES: