The Role of Project-Based Learning in Engaging Secondary School Learners to Speak English as a Foreign Language A Case Study of Second- Year Students in MekkiMenni Secondary School, Biskra

Abstract

Abstract Teachers may deal with silent, absent-minded, uninterested and passive students, in other words “disengaged students”. Those latter usually find it difficult to be involved in activities that require speaking skill. Hence, they may have a lack of vocabulary, pronunciation and communication proficiencies. The Algerian educational system has recently adopted the Project-Based Learning (PBL) in its schools as one of the education reforms. This research work attempts to investigate the role of PBL implementation in engaging second year students of MekkiMenni secondary school in Biskra in the learning process. More precisely, this study aims to show how PBL affects the students’ engagement in speaking English as a foreign language. This is based on the main hypothesis, whichsays that PBL implementation in secondary schools can enhance second year EFL students’ engagement in speaking courses. Accordingly, we adopted the mixed-method approach. In order to validate the hypothesis, the present study put into practice three data collection tools, namely, teachers’ questionnaire, pupils’ questionnaire, and a classroom observation checklist. Although some drawbacks are noticed from the sample teachers’ side, the interpretation of the obtained data revealed that integrating PBL can result in fostering EFL pupils’ engagement, more specifically in speaking. Therefore, we can deduce that the suggested hypothesis was validated and confirmed.