How can a task-based project enhance students’ transferable skills? An investigation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background In a time of rapid technological change, there is a need to provide students with relevant learning opportunities to support the development of their transferable skills. Purpose Set in a higher education context in Taiwan, this study sought to investigate how students perceived their engagement with a task-based, multimedia project within an English as a foreign language (EFL) course. Method Participants were 73 third-year undergraduate university students who were engaged in an 18-week task-based video-making project as part of the EFL course. Data, which were analysed qualitatively, included students’ reflective essays and post-course transcribed interviews with 15 of the students. Findings Overall, the students felt that participating in the task-based project had enhanced their literacy competencies through the process of gathering relevant information; supported their learning motivation and engagement as they sought to discover the necessary resources to generate their videos; and fostered their awareness of how they could apply the knowledge and skills they developed in the course to new contexts. Conclusions Task-based, digital projects can provide one way of helping students to develop transferable skills. As technology continues to evolve, this study highlights the need to consider more fully, in the context of tertiary education, how best to support students to acquire and hone the competencies that they will require in employment.