Project work : How well does it work? : Assessment of Students and Teachers about Main Course Project Work at Yıldız Technical University School of Foreign Language Basic English Department

This study investigated the students’ and teachers’ assessments about Main Course project work applied at the English preparatory classes of Yıldız Technical University (YTU) School of Foreign Languages Basic English Department. The students from upper-intermediate and intermediate levels studying English in the preparatory classes of YTU and the teachers who supervised their projects participated in the research. They were asked to assess Main Course project work in respect to three aspects: (1) Achievement of institutional project work goals, (2) Learning gains acquired from project work, (3) Problems experienced with project work accompanied by suggested solutions. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The results of the data analysis revealed that in general, institutional project work goals were moderately achieved. The reported learning gains included content learning; vocabulary improvement; improvement of research, oral presentation, writing, translation and computer skills; grammar reinforcement, and raising consciousness about the benefits of disciplined studying. The major problems found were about project topics, inadequate teacher support, lack of improvement in speaking and listening skills at a desired level, excessive use of translation, and plagiarism. A variety of suggestions were made for these problems emphasizing the necessity of collaboration and negotiation between students, teachers, and administrators in addition to the significance of a well-structured project training.