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

2.3.6 Advantages of Project Work in ELT
Several advantages can be captured when implementing project work in the field of ELT. Two of these advantages are listed below:
2.3.6.1 Motivation
"Most language teachers will agree that the motivation of the students is one of the most important factors influencing their success or failure in learning the language" (McDonough 2005:149).
Psychology distinguishes between two types of motivation. It is motivation from without and motivation from within. In the learning process both types are usually involved and combined. Still, motivation from without often prevails (Ur 1996: 276). In the course of everyday education it is easy to lose the aim of the learning process. The circle of learning and testing is never-ending. Teachers feel they do not have time enough to explain the aims and objectives of each lesson to their students. And students lack time to think about the objectives as well. They are happy to manage homework and learning for the next school day. Students often learn to avoid bad marks because of their parents and teachers. Emphasizing learning for life then sounds as an empty cliché.
Project-work is often seen as a method which naturally increases the motivation of students. According to Fried-Booth (1990: 5) "recent approaches to language learning and teaching (particularly those broadly termed humanistic) stress the importance of cooperation among learners as a motivating factor. such approaches (e.g. Community Language Learning) focus not only on interpersonal relationships but also on the involvement and development of the individual. (...) It is this sense of personal involvement that gives the impetus to project- work. For the students, the motivation comes from within not from without.
Hutchinson (1994: 11) adds: "If could give only one piece of advice to teachers it would be this: Get your learners to enjoy learning English. Positive motivation is the key to successful language learning, and project-work is particularly useful as a means of generating this positive motivation." He also answers the question: But why is project-work so motivating? Hutchinson (1994: 11) emphasizes three factors:
1- Project work is personal. The students are writing about
themselves, their relatives, friends experience and
wishes.
2- Project work is an active process. The students are
learning by doing.
3- Project work enables the students to experience success.
All students can contribute to a production of a valuable
product.