The impact of interdisciplinary Project Based Learning on young learners’ speaking results

Abstract

The aim of this research study is to analyse the impact of interdisciplinary Project Based Learning (PBL) for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching on speaking skill results. A quasi-experimental design was selected to that effect, with a control group (24 participants) and an experimental one (22 participants) from the 5th grade of Primary Education, in the bilingual region of The Basque Country (Spain). The intervention for the control group was founded on a traditional method, whereas the experimental one was developed through interdisciplinary projects. Furthermore, the effect of the method on students’ motivation was measured as well. There was no initial difference between the groups, but there was a statistically significant difference, associated with the instruction method, in the experimental groups’ post-test speaking results. Moreover, data showed a significant difference in motivation in favour of the control group. Notwithstanding, the variance of the groups for the results in motivation were different. The findings revealed that the effect of the interdisciplinary PBL to EFL teaching was greater on the speaking results. Nevertheless, the difference in motivation could not be directly attributed to the training method.