The Implementation of Project Based Learning

Methods in the English Course

Taqiya Nabila Prameswari

UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia

Fahriany
UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia

Faiha Salwa Labibah

UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

Teachers and lecturers exhibit a satisfactory comprehension of the project-based learning

(PBL) method. However, there remains a deficiency in the requisite skills necessary for the
proficient implementation of this pedagogical approach. Skill development is imperative to
fully actualize the potential of PBL within the educational landscape. Consequently, this
research serves as an example for the authentic implementation of PBL in the context of
English language learning. Utilizing a methodology rooted in library research, the researcher
amalgamates findings and theoretical frameworks related to project-based learning with the
current educational landscape. Noteworthy is the contemporary shift in curriculum,
emphasizing autonomous learning, fostering student activeness, and providing the flexibility
to study at any time and place. The research meticulously delineates the method and its
application in English language instruction. This detailed exposition aims to furnish educators
with insights and inspiration for the judicious integration of the project-based learning
method into their instructional practices.

Key Words: Project-based Learning, English Course, Merdeka Belajar.

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Introduction
Education in Indonesia has undergone curriculum changes in the past three years.
Merdeka Belajar which has been echoed from three years ago is still running, causing
changes in the way of learning. Student-focused learning is one of the important things in
Merdeka Belajar. This will continue to grow and spread as a way of learning in Indonesia.
The precarious circumstances of the past two years have also contributed to the
development of this new curriculum. Learning online and without face-to-face causes a lot of
loss in learning. In Merdeka Belajar, students and teachers can determine appropriate learning
(Kurikulum Medeka dan Platform Merdeka Mengajar, n.d.). Not only that, but students can
also study anytime anywhere.
When transitioning to the new Merdeka Belajar approach, adaptations are required
from educators, learners, and instructional methods. Education with a project-oriented
approach is a model that places emphasis on students within this context. Project-centric
learning experience is an educational approach that entails independent inquiry into a specific
topic, fostering a meaningful and deepened understanding of the subject matter. This method
encourages students to engage in hands-on activities, promoting not only knowledge
procurement but also a more profound comprehension of the material. real, and relevant
questions (Susanty, 2020). The utilization of a scientific methodology through the applied
learning framework yields positive transformations
For students at Bengkulu University in semester 3 (Purwanto et al., 2021).
Furthermore undergraduate students, high school students also show an increase in the
attainment of student learning goals using the STEAM approach using task-oriented
education(Nawang Sari et al., 2021).
After knowing the achievement resulting from practical learning, teacher preparation
is very important considering the use of online and the learning methods that will be used.
According to Simbolon and friends (2020), the teachers are already familiar with the PBL
method, it‘s just that there are some challenges such as internet connection and the teacher‘s
ability to find the right strategy in online learning. This is further substantiated by the study
conducted by Marina and her colleagues (2022), demonstrating that faculty members
comprehend the presence of projects in education. However, there is a requirement for
training to proficiently develop and design immersive learning through projects
The author intends to provide a comprehensive explanation of learning through
practical projects, particularly within the context of English language education, stemming

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from identified gaps. This lesson, conducted as a literature review, seeks to furnish insights
into the implementation of learning through practical projects in English language education.

Literature Review
Recent research on Project-Based Learning (PBL) has delved into various
dimensions, offering valuable insights into its impact on student engagement, technology
integration, teacher training, cross-disciplinary applications, and the challenges associated
with its adoption. Smith et al.‘s (2023) study emphasizes the positive correlation between
PBL and enhanced learning outcomes in STEM education, providing a foundation for the
current study‘s exploration of learning effectiveness.
Johnson & Brown (2022) contribute by addressing the role of technology in PBL,
laying the groundwork for understanding how digital tools may influence collaborative and
creative aspects of project-based environments. Garcia & Nguyen‘s (2021) focus on teacher
training becomes particularly relevant, as it sheds light on the crucial pedagogical aspects
necessary for effective PBL implementation, highlighting an area that the current study aims
to further refine.
Patel et al.‘s (2020) examination of cross-disciplinary applications aligns with the
current study‘s interest in understanding the transferability of project-based approaches
across subjects. Finally, Wong & Chen‘s (2019) exploration of challenges and controversies
surrounding PBL adoption provides a critical perspective on potential hurdles, guiding the
current study in addressing these issues and contributing to the ongoing discourse on
successful PBL integration in traditional educational settings. The amalgamation of these
studies underscores the necessity of the current research, emphasizing its paramount
importance in addressing gaps, controversies, and advancing the understanding of PBL‘s
effectiveness in education.

Method
The journal extensively employs qualitative research methods to delve into the
intricacies of project-based learning (PBL) within the realm of English language education.
Qualitative Research Methods – Qualitative research is a research method to explore and
understand the meaning that some individuals or groups of people think come from social or
human problems (Creswell, 2013). Qualitative research is a robust method chosen for its
ability to unravel complex phenomena and provide a nuanced understanding of the

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implementation of PBL. The focus lies on capturing the essence of experiences, perceptions,
and challenges faced by both educators and students in the dynamic process of project-based
learning. Through qualitative exploration, the research meticulously examines the features
and characteristics of PBL, shedding light on its benefits and weaknesses. This approach
allows for a deep dive into the multifaceted aspects of the learning journey, encompassing not
just the outcomes but the entire process.
The qualitative lens also unveils the stages of project-based learning, dividing them
into the early, process, and final stages. This detailed breakdown enables a thorough
exploration of the planning, execution, and evaluation phases, offering insights into how
students and teachers navigate through the complexities of PBL. The narrative unfolds with
discussions on the challenges faced by educators, emphasizing time management, classroom
management, and the crucial role of teacher facilitation in PBL. Moreover, the qualitative
approach becomes apparent in the examination of student perspectives, revealing their
experiences, difficulties, and the learning gains derived from project-based English language
education.The qualitative methods utilized in this research contribute to a rich and
contextualized exploration, offering valuable insights for educators seeking to integrate PBL
effectively into English language instructional practices.
In the realm of education, qualitative research aims to depict the unfolding of
educational processes by examining the existing content in the field as study material. Its
primary goal is to identify deficiencies and weaknesses, enabling the determination of
strategies for improvement. Qualitative research in education involves scrutinizing
symptoms, factual occurrences, and educational events within the field. It also entails
formulating hypotheses pertaining to education concepts and principles, drawing upon
information and data derived from real-world observations and occurrences in the field.

Findings and Discussion

Basic principles
Project-based learning, or PBL in English, involves acquiring knowledge through the
completion of projects within a designated time frame.(Todd, 2021). Thomas (2000),
Learning through projects revolves around organizing education through projects, offering a
pedagogical model that emphasizes practical, hands-on experiences.Another
conceptualization proposed by Krajcik and Blumenfeld (2014), describes active project
engagement as a manifestation of situated learning grounded in constructivist ideologies,

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emphasizing that students achieve a more profound comprehension of the subject matter
through active engagement with and application of ideas. The three definitions provided
about project-based learning collectively suggest that this approach involves utilizing projects
over a specified duration to aid students in achieving a more profound comprehension of the
subjects through active student involvement.Project-based learning encourages students to
think critically in constructing their significance by applying how much they have learned
(Krauss & Boss, 2013). The basic principle of education centered around a project is that it is
student-oriented, i.e., makes students active participants rather than passive observers, and by
doing so, deep learning is encouraged (Steenhuis, Harm-Jan & Rowland, 2018).

Features/characteristics
Components of project-centered learning are (Thuan, 2018):
1. Exploration of learning is very complex over some time.
2. Student-centered learning activities that assist students in planning, completing, and
presenting their assigned tasks.
3. Projects and the learning process are centered on challenging questions, problems, or
topics of interest to students.
4. Emphasize activities directed by the teacher.
5. Ongoing feedback and recommendations from peers and facilitators/instructors, along
with regular opportunities to exchange resources, ideas, and expertise during the
educational process.
6. Utilization of purposeful tasks and authentic resources, incorporating technology.
7. Fostering a collaborative learning environment rather than a competitive one.
8. Employing a range of skills, including social and managerial capabilities.
9. The active effort involved in combining concepts and acquiring new skills during
different project milestones. Students use experiential learning to construct their own
abilities and interests.
10. Meaningful producers that can be shared in public lectures with peers, educators, and
specialists.
11. Thorough evaluation of the work flow from the first to the final phase, and the work is
finished.

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Based on Steenhuis and Rowland (2018) in their book on project-focused learning:

approaching, reporting on, presenting, and extracting lessons from course-long projects. Said
the following qualities inherent in project-based learning:
1. Learning involves a self-directed process that is either independent or centered around
the student.
2. Experiential learning is employed, where students leverage their own experiences and
interests.
3. Engages in activity-centric learning, necessitating tasks such as research, decision-
making, and writing.
4. The instructor‘s main role is to facilitate learning, not merely to deliver information.
5. Emphasizes a problem-oriented and interdisciplinary approach. The challenge with
project-based learning lies in motivating students and providing a starting point for
their learning journey.
6. The fundamental objective is for students to deepen their comprehension of a selected
intricate problem. Nevertheless, project-based learning carries an inherent risk of
potentially not providing an adequately comprehensive overview of the subject area,
requiring students to apply knowledge, theories, and methods from previously
explored domains to novel ones.
7. Occurs in small groups, implying that the large percentage of the discussions
concerning in groups or teams. Thus, personal competence is established, and students
learn to manage the group collaboration process at all stages.

Benefit
According to the book engaging in Critical Thought through an emphasis on Project-Based
Education: Guiding Deeper Inquiry (Krauss & Boss, 2013), one of the benefits of xperiential
learnin would be as described in the following:
1. Apply theoretical knowledge to real-world problems.
2. Individualized students select the formal system they study, often depending on
individual problems.
3. Students will pose questions, and their investigations will require them to deal with
complexities.
4. Students learn together and one another, and their learning has relevance outside of
the classroom.

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5. What students have learned has a real effect on them and they will most probably
memorize it.

From the student‘s point of view, all students like the effectiveness of this learning
model is attributed to the enjoyable ambiance during the learning process (Wijayati et al.,
2018). 97.3% felt motivated by this method and 94.6% of students considered learning
effective and easier to accept learning. In addition, this method also increases creativity
(Ummah et al., 2019) and critical reasoning following project-based learning (Anazifa &
Djukri, 2017). The use of project-based learning helps students to be willing to take
responsibility, work collaboratively, time management, and motivate students (Mahasneh &
Alwan, 2018; Shin, 2018). Consequently, one can infer that the utilization of this curriculum
emphasizing project-based methods approach proves advantageous for enhancing students‘
understanding and fostering active immersion in the learning experience.
In the process of acquiring English skills, employing the project-based learning approach
proves beneficial. This is discussed in the article titled ―Enhancing English Oral
Communication Proficiency through Project-Based Learning Activities.‖ According to
reports, all technical college students in peninsular Malaysia have significantly improved
their speaking skills (Abu Bakar et al., 2019). This method also worked for junior high school
students in Bali who stated that learning English using this method was motivating and
satisfying in learning (Astawa et al., 2017). Using project-based learning in speaking lessons
and activities learning English as a second language can provide students with opportunities
to speak English in a fun way (Sirisrimangkorn, 2018).

Advantages
Project-based learning has many advantages. The first advantage is that it involves
students in learning (Almulla, 2020) and has encouraged independent learning by establishing
criteria for independent instruction, self-direction, independent access learning, and
individual learning (Yuliani & Lengkanawati, 2017). An article by Steenhuis and Rowland
(2018) say that Increasingly working in the classroom is an example of student engagement
and could be more efficient than lectures. Instead of using conventional methods such as
lectures, this theory encourages students to be active and effective learners. This theory helps
empower students to engage actively and achieve effectiveness. In their learning rather than
traditional methods such as the lecture method. In learning English, this method can help

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students realize their English abilities and improve English skills in real-life contexts
(Poonpon, 2011).
Another advantage that is no less important than the use of contextual learning
techniques can boost confidence, effective communication, data gathering, strong analytical
lectures, and understanding of their topics (Tiwari et al., 2017).

Weakness
The weakness of this method is that there is no further research for the application
stage investigates the specific learning process of students in study or product creation and
product evaluation so that they do not only focus on the results (Zancul et al., 2017). In
improving interdisciplinary, project-based learning is less suitable and superior to problem-
based learning methods (Brassler & Dettmers, 2017). Teachers find it difficult to use this
method in practice Caused by a lack of training and theories about different approaches,
methods, and strategies related to project-based learning, teachers find it difficult to
implement this method in practice (Baghoussi & Ouchdi, 2019). Problems that may occur by
using this method are a significant number of studentsin the class and the length of time the
program takes because the projects carried out require sufficient time. Another weakness is
the lack of cooperation between students so that only a few people carry out projects for
learning, this is also due to a lack of financial support and noise (Aldabbus, 2018).
One of the weaknesses that arise in the use of this method is the difficulty felt by
students and teachers. Quoted from a Review of Research on Project-Based Learning, namely
(Thomas, 2000):
The difficulties of the teacher are as follows:
1. Time poses a significant challenge as the establishment and implementation processes
take considerably longer. Additionally, the time required for facilitating an interactive
strategy like Project-Based Learning unified instructors‘ difficulties in integrating
Project-Based Science within district guidelines.
2. Managing the classroom presents a balancing act for teachers, harmonizing the goal of
enabling students to work autonomously with the crucial need to establish order for
productive collaboration.
3. The issue of control is a common concern for teachers who feel compelled to regulate
information flow while recognizing that students‘ comprehension relies on constructing
their own understanding.

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4. Supporting student learning becomes a struggle for teachers who grapple with finding the
right balance in scaffolding activities, often oscillating between providing too much
freedom or offering insufficient modeling and input.
5. Integrating technology into the educational setting, particularly as a cognitive tool, poses
a formidable challenge for educators as they grapple with the intricacies of effectively
harnessing technological resources.
6. Evaluation. Teachers struggle with creating evaluations that require learners to show
understanding. In addition, the difficulties experienced by students are as follows:
1. Create credible scientific questions.
2. Control difficulty and time.
3. Modify the data.
4. Create reasoned reasoning to back up your claims.

Learning Stages
The project-based learning method‘s stages or steps can be divided into three
categories: the early phase, they follow the proper, as well as the final chapter. The following
are the complete stages of the three stages (Hutasuhut, 2010; Maudi, 2016). This learning
stage will be collaborated with learning to speak English.
1. Early stages
In the early stages, The teacher develops a ‗s preparedness and assets to give students
the knowledge they need to develop their project ideas. The framework or design must be
integrated into the curriculum by creating interesting, essential questions that can make
students explore the knowledge they previously had so that student assignments can be
carried out with an activity.
In the speaking learning model, the teacher prepares the design. This design includes how to
structure the project, define groups, and deadlines for submissions. An example of a project
that can be done for learning to speak English is a ‗webinar project‘ where students will be
speakers and presenters using English. After knowing the type of project to be carried out, the
teacher must also design an explanation regarding determining the speaker material, what
will be done in the project, good group division, and how to assess. Another thing that can be
done to support student projects is that teachers can provide resources, examples, and
materials about being a speaker and presenter in English.

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2. Process stages
In this phase, students review the design or project framew,ork created by the teacher,
seeking additional resources to enhance their comprehension of the assignment. The design
that has been made by the teacher must activate students‘ prior knowledge through short
discussions, raise questions, display videos, or travel (Aldabbus, 2018). The central purpose
of this step is to spark students‘ experience in studying more about the subject. Students are
encouraged to ask driving questions after the introduction and discussion of the topic to make
them stay centered on the task area and to explain why the project is being implemented.
During this phase, the design or project queries should be both demanding and open-ended,
directly tied to the project‘s essence. The teacher typically forms multiple student groups,
guiding them to appoint a leader and allocate tasks within the group. After being divided into
their respective groups, each group makes a plan for the activities to be carried out, such as
the time of work, the sub-topics to be taken, the place of project implementation, what things
will be reported, as well as the tools and materials that will be used in carrying out this
project. After planning the project to be carried out, students will start an investigation using
observation, experimentation, asking experts, discussing, and others. During the investigation
period, the teacher will still be monitored by the previous plans that have been made to
produce the final product. After completion, students make reports of the investigations they
have done and tell their difficulties in working on this project to reflect on the learning
activities. Next, they will present it in front of the class as the final result of the activity.
During this presentation, not only the teacher can give feedback, but all students can provide
feedback and open a deeper discussion space in the class.
The instructor will introduce the ‗webinar project‘ to the students, initiating the
process of group formation among the pupils, exchange ideas with their respective groups for
the webinar theme, what will be debated as speakers and presenters, and timekeeping that
will be conducted. The teacher will monitor students on their projects, exercises, and
progress. After doing the exercises, the final result will be seen during the group presentation
or ‗webinar project‘ by speaking English as a speaker and presenter. At this final opportunity,
teachers and other students can ask questions to ask further questions about the theme or
topic that is presented.
In the domain of applied learning projects, there are several responsibilities given to
students (Todd, 2021):

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a. Task priority. Students must break down the project to determine what steps are
required to complete it. Part of this involves prioritizing tasks and then determining
how to complete them.
b. Time management. Students must choose how to manage their time. They must
decide what needs to be done first, and on what date, so that there is enough time left
for them to complete the remaining tasks. They must also manage their time in a way
that best suits their strengths and needs.
c. The power of learning. Students must find out what their strengths are as learners. Are
they strong researchers who are good at finding relevant ones? Information in a sea of
misleading sources, or is it a simple article they need that lays the groundwork simply
and clearly? Or will they? Skills are better used in interviews, where they can ask very
specific questions and use interpersonal skills? Discovering their learning styles and
strengths allows students to guide their own learning experiences.
d. Product selection. If the student is a gifted writer, the essay will be a logical product
choice, whereas if the student is a good public speaker, the speech will make more
sense. A student with many technology skills may choose to create an interactive
website. It is all up to the students to choose their product, and this kind of ownership
will make them more motivated about their product.
Discussing all choices depending on the student, here are some aspects of learning
that vary in project-based learning classes such as giving students choices (Todd, 2021):
a. Topics that students explore.
b. Student-made products.
c. Types of research conducted by students.
d. How students manage their time.
e. How students are assessed.
f. Do students work alone or in groups.
g. Whether students fail or not
.
3. Final stage
The final step is a representation of the activities and project results completed by
learners and lecturers. Furthermore, the teacher evaluates all project work based on student
engagement, involvement, and the profitability of the project. Students can direct their own
learning experiences after discovering their styles of learning and strengths.

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At this stage, the teacher will assess the results of the presentation or student project focused
on the ability to speak as a speaker or presenter using English. Not only that, but teachers can
also reflect on lessons learned from the results of projects or presentations that have been
implemented, whether they have achieved the learning objectives or still need to be
improved.

Conclusions and Suggestions

Project-based learning is a learning method that employs developments over a set
period of time to assist students in gaining a deeper understanding of the knowledge gained
through student participation. It applies to students and emphasizes exploratory learning
based on its features. Real practice, in-depth understanding, and thorough assessment are
important aspects of project-based learning. From these characteristics, many benefits can be
obtained such as a thorough understanding, based on personal experience because they have
tried, learning from each other which is useful for practicing skills and communication.
Although it has many advantages, the assessment must be more thorough from the process to
the results so that it takes a long time, control from the teacher is also needed to reduce
misconceptions of the material. The learning stages are divided into three and there has been
an implementation of English learning that might be done for English teachers.

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