An Action Research On The Effect Of Project-based Learning On Third-year Middle School Students’ English Learning Motivation

Project-based learning is a mode of learning in which students solve problems and get English skills through students’ independent research,group work and presentation of the project results in English.Project-based learning has been widely used abroad as an effective way of second language acquisition in education research.There is relatively little research in mainland literature on project-based learning.In recent years,with the continuous promotion of basic education curriculum reform and the implementation of new curriculum standards,project-based English learning has received more and more attention from English teachers.For example,project-based learning activities had appeared in the English textbooks of People’s Education Press senior high school.Compared with traditional English learning modes,project-based learning helps students cultivate comprehensive language skill and develop their creative thinking.Because of the situation that the third-year middle school students have low learning enthusiasm and the teachers’ teaching methods are relatively traditional,this study was adopted the method of action research.To confirm the aforementioned questions,this author designed both quantitative and qualitative research tools to collect data and information for the study.First,this author designed Questionnaire 1,"Project-based Learning Implementation Status Questionnaire",to survey the current status of students’ understanding and participation in project-based learning and their expectations for project-based learning activities before the action.Second,Questionnaire 2,"Student English Learning Motivation Questionnaire",is designed to measure students’ motivation for second language learning before conducting the project.Finally,this author used the interview to investigate the current situation of junior English teachers’ understanding and implementation of project-based teaching in township secondary schools.Based on the data and information obtained from the questionnaire survey and the interviews,it is confirmed that the above mentioned problems of teaching truly exist.Students’ English learning motivation is low.Moreover,students have little understanding of English project learning as well as low participation.In order to solve the problems mentioned above,this author has decided to conduct active research with the aim of exploring the effects of project-based learning on junior high school students’ English learning motivation.The specific research questions are as follows:1.What is the impact of project-based learning on third-year middle school students’ English learning motivation?2.How are the elements of project-based learning related respectively to third-year middle school students’ English learning motivation?3.Are there any differences in terms of the effect of project-based learning on the English learning motivation of students with different levels of English proficiency?The object of this study is 54 students in Class 1,Grade 3 of township middle school.Action Research had been conducted for more than four months in this school.The project-based learning activities in Action Research are designed by combining the unit objectives and themes of the ninth grade English textbook.(full volume,People’s Education Press).Questionnaire 2:"English Learning Motivation Questionnaire(Pre-Test)and Questionnaire 3:"English Learning Motivation Questionnaire(Post-Test)",were used to investigate the English learning motivation of the third-year students before and after the implementation of the Action Research.Both these questionnaires and interview of students answered research question one.In order to investigate the relationship between the five characteristic elements of project-based learning(authenticity,cooperation,multidisciplinary integration,assessment diversity,and autonomy)and the elements of English learning motivation(integrative English learning motivation and instrumental English learning motivation),the author designed and analyzed the Questionnaire 4: "The Relationship Between Project-based Learning Elements and English Learning Motivation Elements Questionnaire".In order to explore whether project-based learning has a different impact on the English learning motivation of students with different levels of English language proficiency,the author had divided the students into three groups according to their English scores: high,middle,and low.The pre-test and post-test data collected from the Questionnaire of English Learning Motivation are recorded in groups,and then ANOVA is used to analyze the data using SPSS27.0.At the end of the sixth project-based learning activity,this author interviewed six students with different language scores so as to supplement the qualitative data.The interview information analysis supports the results of the questionnaire investigation.The results had shown that project-based learning significantly increases third-year middle students’ English learning motivation.The study showed that the authenticity,multidisciplinary integration and evaluation diversity of project-based learning feature elements are significantly positively correlated with students’ integrative English learning motivation.It means that the more obvious these elements of project-based learning,the higher the motivation of intergrative English learning motivation.The positive correlations between the cooperative,multidisciplinary integration,and diversity of assessment elements of project-based learning and instrumental English learning motivation are also found to be more significant.The more significant the cooperative,multidisciplinary,and assessment diversity features of project-based learning,the higher the instrumental English motivation.No significant differences were identified in terms of the impact of project-based learning on students’ overall English learning motivation and instrumental English learning motivation,but significant differences were found in students’ integrated English learning motivation among students with different levels of English proficiency.Project-based learning has the most significant influence on the integrated English learning motivation of high grade students.There are some limitations of the study due to the insufficient number of subjects and the time of Action Research.The author suggests that the effects of project-based learning on students’ learning strategies,learning attitudes and learning interests should be studied in depth by English teaching researchers.