Project-based Foreign Language Learning: Theory and Research

Project-Based Foreign Language Learning is underlain by the principle that learners can learn a language by acquiring knowledge about a specific content through interactive and investigative tasks extending beyond the classroom. This learner focused, process and product based, experiential language learning model synthesizes the principles of Content and Task Based Language Learning and is advocated as a promising means for promoting meaningful and purposeful language use. However, there are few works on the theory of project work in foreign language education and even fewer studies on students' and teachers' perceptions of it. This book not only presents an extensive literature survey on project work in foreign language instruction but also reveals the findings of one of these few studies which investigated the students' and teachers' assessments about a sample project work experience at a Turkish university. By reporting the learning gains and problems of this model along with the suggestions and pedagogical implications the researcher hopes to set the groundwork for more efficient and more spirited project-governed practices in all foreign language learning contexts worldwide.