Study On Project-based Teaching Of English Writing

Project-based learning has been widely used at home and abroad and made certainprogress. In recent years, though it is widely applied in specialized teaching at highervocational college and recognized by many colleges and teachers, the application andresearch is still weak in project-based learning at higher vocational English writing. Underthe background of higher vocational education’s orienting on employment and ability, it isnecessary for higher vocational teaching English (HVTE) to focus on writing and otherpractical abilities. Teaching ideology and teaching methods need further reform in theirintegration with the disciplines and professions. The PBL (project-based learning) is botha teaching method and a curricula model. In fact, many problems arise in the attempt of itsapplication into teaching and further research ranges from the conversion of ideas of bothteachers and students to the arrangement and implementation of the project. Therefore,this research aims to explore the effective use of PBL in English writing at a highervocational university and to suggest a new writing teaching model, which might providestudents with opportunities for combining theory with practice and realize the new targetsof HVTE.PBL is a teaching and learning model based on constructivism, cooperative theoryand multiple intelligence theory. Based on the situation analysis of higher vocationalEnglish writing and project-based learning theories, this research designed a project-basedEnglish writing teaching model in Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology.The research adopts documentation research, experimental study, questionnaires andcontent analysis methods. Also are studied the relevant theories of English writing andproject-based learning, applied conditions and cases. During a semester, the authorsuccessfully implements the teaching activities in the experimental class selected.The author analyzes the results of experimental studies according to the data fromquestionnaire and the detailed and actual data in the final examinations, and draws theconclusion: the application of project-based learning in higher vocational writingmanifests the initiative and cooperation consciousness of students. Because of students’participation in the entire teaching process, teacher’s class leading role and student’s mainbody role are both fully strengthened. And teaching is integrated with learning by PBL,while learning is integrated with problems solving and tasks practice. By means of writingas a breakthrough, project-based teaching method will be applied in the other four basic skills in English including listening, speaking, reading and translation, and this is aneffective approach to cultivate the applied talents with social conformation.