Evaluating the Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning in Soft Clil Context

Teaching students an unfamiliar scientific discipline using an unaccustomed methodology like CLIL, combined with the challenges of a technologically advanced world that often hinders communication, inspired this research. It focuses on utilizing project-based learning (PBL) to engage students in group discussions and real-life contexts in a foreign language within a trilingual educational setting, aiming to facilitate both foreign language acquisition and content learning for the pre-service teachers of English. A qualitative method was applied through structured observation to assess the impact of project-based CLIL on the English proficiency of 20 pre-service English teachers. The observation focused on predefined indicators: motivation, language proficiency, engagement, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. A descriptive analysis was then conducted using checklists to track participants’ behavior objectively. The study reveals that project-based CLIL improved students’ speaking fluency and vocabulary, but overall language proficiency, especially in writing, grammar, and listening, showed limited progress. Motivation increased for most students. However, a lack of project and research skills hindered full engagement and critical thinking skills at some point. Translanguaging was of great help in dealing with problems in terms of specific terms deficiency and speaking fluency that promoted engagement and collaboration. The project plans used in conducting the research can be added and used in the discipline’s syllabus, and teachers can choose the specific topics that coincide with the lesson plan and implement PBL in their lessons.