Identifying Basic Aircraft Structures Using Project-Based Learning in ESP Context: Is It Effective?

Abstract

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong> English for specific purposes (ESP) is a branch of English instruction prepared to facilitate the students master English used in a particular field. In aerospace field, one of the objectives of ESP is mastering basic aircraft structures as the fundamental knowledge for further development such as aircraft maintenance and management. Mastering a number of technical terms in aerospace is challenging since they are not commonly used in daily life. Thus, a strategy is needed. Project-based learning (PBL) is proposed as an appropriate technique for engineering students due to its advantages; facilitating communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. Nevertheless, identifying whether it really gives any impact and how much it gives impact are important. Therefore, an experimental study was carried out with one experimental group in mechanical engineering class and one controlled group in industrial engineering class. To investigate the effects, the achievement from the pre-test and post-test of employing the PBL in the experimental group and employing the conventional technique in the controlled group were investigated using t-test of SPSS. Based on the data analysis, the score in each group depicted the achievement increases however in comparing both groups the significant value of the experimental group was higher than in the controlled group. In conclusion, PBL is more effective in increasing the students’ achievement in identifying basic aircraft structures.</p>