Abstract

This research aimed to explore the impacts of project-based learning on promoting preservice teachers’ communicative capabilities. A survey research design was employed to collect data, using an online questionnaire consisting of seven closed-ended and four open-ended questions. There were two target groups of preservice teachers who were second-year teacher trainees and enrolled on the course of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. The first target group consisted of 23 preservice teachers from the Faculty of Education, Khon Kaen University, Thailand, while the second target group consisted of 25 preservice teachers from the Faculty of Arts, Southwest University, China. Both target groups attended the project-based learning lessons for 15 cycles in the first semester of the academic year 2021. The quantitative results indicated that all participants’ Chinese language communicative capabilities in listening and speaking skills were increased, from a total score of 45.47 to 68.25. Besides, the quantitative results showed that their vocabulary acquisition and communication skills improved, from a mean score of 2.62 to 3.33 and 2.67 to 3.29, respectively. In addition, the qualitative results of the 25 preservice teachers from Southwest University revealed that project-based learning is a successful teaching approach, because it provides preservice teachers with an opportunity to develop their Chinese language knowledge and skills through the project engagement set around challenges and problems in the real world. Finally, the qualitative results of the 23 preservice teachers from Khon Kaen University revealed that project-based learning has improved their communicative capabilities in understanding questions and using modern media in their teaching management.

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