An investigation of project work implementation in a university EFL preparatory school setting

This study is aimed at investigating the effectiveness of an existing project work program through the perceptions of the teachers and the students in the preparatory classes at Muğla University School of Foreign Languages (MU SFL). In this study, the actual implementation procedure was compared to the relevant literature in order to find out the mis-matches between the literature, and the actual implementation at MU SFL. Then, the teachers and the students’ perceptions of project work were investigated. Data used in this study were collected through classroom observations, questionnaires, and interviews. Data collected with the questionnaire was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics. For this purpose, SPSS, 11.0 (Statistical Programming for Social Sciences) was used to analyze the questionnaire. Data collected through observation and interviews were analyzed qualitatively. The results of the classroom observation revealed that there are mismatches in implementation between the literature and the preparatory classes at MU SFL. These results revealed that neither the students nor the teachers thought that the students benefited from project work to the extent claimed by the literature. The analysis of the interviews and the implementation procedures revealed that the level of the project tasks at MU SFL is above elementary level students, and that the students do not receive enough guidance during the process of conducting project work. The students felt that they were able to improve their vocabulary and grammar knowledge more than other language skills. In order to maximize the benefits of project work implementation in preparatory classes at Muğla University School of Foreign Languages, it is suggested that the tasks should be modified in accordance with the students’ proficiency level. In addition, the allotted time for project work in the curriculum should be increased in order to increase teachers’ ability to support project work. Finally, it is suggested that both the teachers and the students should be given training about the rationale of the project work and the implementation procedure of project work.