Engineering Students’ Views on the Task-Based Project Learning Approach and the Effectiveness of Task-Based Project Learning toward English Courses
Dr. Mantana Meksophawannagul

Abstract
The objectives of this study were to identify students’ perceptions on the project-based learning (PBL) and investigate the effects of the PBL on language achievement, as well as the students’ perspective on English, favorable characteristics of English teachers and English language teaching strategies. The sample included students from King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Thailand. There were two groups of students. The first group consisted of 495 first-year students and the second group 325 third- and fourth- year students. To examine the students’ perception on the PBL settings, all respondents in this study were asked to complete the questionnaire at the end of the semester. To investigate the effect of the PBL environments, intra-rater reliability was employed. Quantitative data were analyzed via analysis of descriptive statistic and inferential statistic, using the computer program SPSS 17.0. The open-ended information was grouped and qualitatively reported. The results of the study indicated that the students believed that their language skills had improved and they had positive attitudes towards the PBL. The results also revealed that the PBL instruction helped improve the students’ creative thinking skills, and collaborative (team work) skills. Importantly, the students reported that they had fun and were happy learning with the PBL activities. These findings can be a valuable resource for language teachers who would like to use the PBL. Discussion and suggestions of the study are included.

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