PERCEPTIONS OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING BY RUSSIAN NON-LINGUISTIC STUDENTS’ IN DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILLS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

In the context of higher education, one of the main goals of teaching English is to enhance students' ability in oral communication. Therefore, in order to study the language thoroughly, it is important to provide students with opportunities for regular practice outside of the classroom. An effective solution could be the use of project-based learning. Over the past decades, empirical studies in various countries have focused on the positive impact of project-based learning. However, there is little attention in the theoretical literature to the study of Russian students' perception of project-based learning. The article explores key aspects of teaching a foreign language using project-based learning at the Institute of Natural and Exact Sciences at the South Ural State University. The research studies Russian students' perception of project-based learning in non-language majors in developing oral English skills. The following tasks were set: to develop a model of project-based learning, to evaluate students' perception of this model when implemented in practice. The following theoretical and empirical methods were applied in the research: analysis of modern pedagogical and methodical literature, questionnaires, individual interviews, mathematical processing of the obtained data. The results showed that a majority of Russian students viewed the integration of English language classes and project-based learning positively. The interviews revealed some problems that students faced in project preparation, which require further investigation. The findings can help English language teachers effectively implement project-based learning for the development of speaking skills.