The Effect of Project Work Teaching Technique on the Institute of Fine Arts students' efl reading and Writing Performance a thesis submitted to the Council of the College of Education Ibn Rushd

The Effect of Project Work
Teaching Technique on the
Institute of Fine Arts students' EFL
Reading and Writing Performance
A Thesis
submitted to the Council of the College of Education Ibn Rushd. University of Baghdad in Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements of the Degree of Master in Education
(Methods of Teaching English)


Supervised by
Asst. Prof.
Bushra sa doon M. AL-Noori, Ph.D.

2013 A.D. 1434A.H.
Abstract
Many benefits of incorporating project work in second and foreign language settings have been suggested. First, the process leading to the end-product of project-work provides opportunities for students to develop their confidence and independence. In addition, students demonstrate increased autonomy especially when they are actively engaged in project planning (e.g. choice of topic).
A further frequently mentioned benefit is related to students increased social, cooperative skills, and group cohesiveness. Another reported benefit is improved language skills. Because students engage in to complete authentic activities, they have the opportunity to use language in a relatively natural context and participate in meaningful activities which require authentic language use Another set of reported benefits pertains to the development of problem-solving and higher order critical thinking skills.
The present study aims at finding out the effect of project-work teaching technique on the Institute of Fine Arts EFL Students' Reading and Writing Performance.
The following two null hypotheses are put forward:
1. Project work has no effect on EFL students reading
performance
2. Project work has no effect on EFL students'
writing performance
The total number of population of the present study is 1125 which consists of the EFL students at the Institute of Fine Arts for Girls- Baghdad, Al Kharakh and as distributed on the following departments: Department of Drawing, Department of Music, Department Calligraphy, Department of Drama, Department of Sculpture, Department of Department of Graphic, Department of Ceramics, Department of Audio and Video Instruments, and Department of Design
The total sample of the present study is 43 (23 experimental and 20 control) students of 4th year enrolled at the Institution of Fine Arts for Girls-Baghdad Al-Karkh.
The experimental design is a pre- post experimental control design. The two groups are equalized in certain factors of great influence on the experiment.
Concerning the pre-post tests and programme, as being the instruments of the present study, face validity has been determined after exposing both of them to a group of jury members in the field of ELT and linguistics. Reliability coefliuents of the pre-post tests have been computed using Alpha-Cronbach which were found to be 0.76 and successively.
Some of the major results of the study reveal that:
l- There are statistically significant differences in the total performance between the experimental group and the control. 2- one project work To verify the first null hypothesis which was "The has no effect on students EFL reading performance it is found that there are statistically significant differences between the group and the control one in their reading performance. Accordingly, the first null hypothesis is rejected. 3- To verify the second null hypothesis which was "The project work has no effect on students' EFL writing performance", it is found that there are statistically significant differences between the experimental group and the control one in their writing performance. Accordingly, the second null hypothesis is also rejected.
Finally, suitable conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for the future studies are put forward.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Problem and its Significance:

Content-based instruction is becoming increasingly popular in general education as well as in second and foreign language teaching . It has a number of characteristics which make it particularly effective in language instruction. One of its most important benefits is that it lends itself to the natural teaching of the four language skills. For example, within content-based instruction students are required to read authentic reading materials, to interpret and evaluate the information contained in them, and to cooperate, so that they can respond either orally or in writing . Such an approach also takes it for granted that writing follows from listening and reading and thus c "requires students to synthesize facts and ideas from multiple sources as preparation for writing" (Stoller, 1997: 29) The findings of the empirical research show that students find it easier to learn materials which are thematically organized (Singer, 1990: 48), and that meaningful information, a principal feature of content-based instruction, can lead to deeper m S processing (Anderson, 1990: 54). In addition, content-based classes usually stimulate students' interest and engagement, leading to enhanced motivation. The integration of project-based learning into second and foreign language instruction is considered a natural extension of content-based instruction. It originates from Dewey and Kilpatrick's work, and has often been heralded as an effective approach that promotes student centered learning. At the core of project-based learning lies "wholehearted purposeful activity on the part of the learner" (Beckett, 2006:3), as it involves students dealing with real-life problems and engaging in purposeful, real-world tasks and activities in authentic contexts. The underpinning philosophy behind project-based learning can be found in the concept o "experiential learning", which is based on the close relationship between experience and learning. Experiential learning refers to "the sense-making process of active engagement between the inner world of the person and the outer world of the environment" (Beard & Wilson, 2006:19).
In experiential learning the learner's active involvement is important and the point of departure for the learning experience is the learner's personal experience. As a result, experiential learning has been described as "a rubric that conveniently captures the active, experiential nature of the process is learning by doing"', which contrasts with "transmission' approach to education in which the learner acquires knowledge passively from the teacher" (Nunan, 2009:12)
Despite the reported benefits of content-based learning that incorporates project-work, however, many English language teachers hesitate to exploit its content and language learning benefits. In addition, there is a lack of studies which not only provide teachers with a theoretical foundation for project-based learning in the context of content-based instruction, but also offer practical suggestions for integrating project-based learning into their own curricula.
The present study is practical in nature. Its aim is to help English teachers maximize the full potential of project-work.

Thus it can be concluded that both CBI and ESP are suitable teaching approaches to the Project work as a teaching technique.