Implementing Project-Based Learning to Enhance EFL Students’ Speaking Skills in Higher Education
Keywords:
Project-Based Learning, EFL Speaking Skills, Higher Education, Indonesia, Quasi-ExperimentalAbstract
Project-Based Learning (PBL) has gained considerable traction as an active, learner-centred pedagogical approach in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, yet systematic evidence of its effectiveness for speaking skill development in Indonesian higher education remains limited. This quasi-experimental study investigated the impact of a structured eight-week PBL intervention on the speaking proficiency of 60 undergraduate EFL students at a state Islamic university in East Java, Indonesia. Participants were assigned to an experimental group (n = 30) receiving PBL instruction and a control group (n = 30) receiving conventional lecture-based instruction. Speaking performance was assessed using a validated rubric across five criteria: fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and content organisation. Independent-samples t-tests and ANCOVA revealed that the experimental group achieved significantly higher post-test scores (M = 78.6, SD = 5.7) than the control group (M = 67.2, SD = 6.1), with a large effect size (d = 0.73, p < .001). Fluency and vocabulary demonstrated the most pronounced gains. Thematic analysis of student reflection journals and semi-structured interviews identified four facilitating mechanisms: authentic communicative purpose, collaborative scaffolding, iterative feedback cycles, and identity investment in real-world outcomes. These findings affirm PBL as a pedagogically robust approach for fostering speaking proficiency in EFL higher education contexts and carry implications for curriculum design, teacher professional development, and language policy.
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