Abstract:

Aware of the necessity to innovate, engage students in their learning process, and offer a methodology consistent with needs the students require to insert in a demanding working environment, a group of professors of English from the Escuela de Secretariado Profesional at Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, decided to implement a new methodology in the ESP (English for specific purposes) courses through Project-Based Learning. To implement this new methodology, the researcher considered it necessary to conduct an assessment of the process by means of an inquiry in the classroom. This study is intended to review and discuss the findings of classroom research after the application of the methodology during three periods of class in ESP courses. The study was conducted using the qualitative and quantitative approaches and based on written reflections and experiences from the students collected through questionnaires, observations, and data analysis. Comparing the outcomes in the three periods will show how the application of the methodology has impacted on their learning process of the students. In addition, the proposal aims to strengthen the academic activity that takes place in classrooms, to innovate, and enhance the training of students and to update the work in university teaching. Still, some corrective aspects such as instructions, time constraints, and group work have to be analyzed to make improvements. With this in mind, recommendations will be offered to guide other research topics that can polish the implementation of even more Project-Based Learning.

Keywords:

Learning process, new methodology, project-based learning, classroom research.