A study of Chinese young learners' beliefs in eil project-based language learning in rural schools

Abstract

This study explored �learners' beliefs about English as an international language through project-based language learning in a Chinese rural school. Three English teachers and 102 Grade 6 Chinese EFL learners participated over two separate phases. Phase I explored how teachers implemented the project-based language learning via classroom observation and semi-structured interviews. The findings from this phase were used to construct the six aspects of the EIL project-based language learning questionnaire in Phase 2. The questionnaire was developed to explore learners beliefs about EIL and project-based language learning in a Chinese rural school. The questionnaire revealed that the learners strongly believed in learning English as an international language through project-based language learning. Five aspects received similar positive responses, namely, collaboration, authenticity, intellectual challenge and accomplishment, and project management and reflection. However, only the aspect of public product received a more negative response.

The Implementation of Project-Based Learning in Chinese Basic Education: Challenges and Recommendations

“…In addition, some schools develop PBL lessons merely for public demonstration to showcase their advantages in educational methods. That poses negative impacts on teachers' attitudes towards PBL in that these projects are mainly for publicity purposes rather than genuine explorations, severely deviating from PBL's instructional value (Zheng, 2021).…”