How Vietnamese EFL Student Learner Identity Is Shaped Through Project-Based Learning: Research Perspectives

Introduction

Learner identity (LI) is regarded as the development of learners’ attitudes and habits having impacts on their learning process and the ways in which learners come to comprehend themselves as learners (Anwaruddin, 2012). Furthermore, learners are aware of their learning roles to overcome challenges they face during learning process instead of feeling incompetent to dealing with them. Apparently, LI plays important roles in language teaching and learning process as “learning involves the construction of identities” (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p.53). Teng (2019) confirms that the formation of LI has great influence on the learning. During the learning process, learners may manifest both positive and negative attitudes and orientations. He adds when learners retain their positive orientations towards their own learning, they are willing to exert more attempts at their learning. Moreover, when learners are orientated the creativity and self-motivation towards educational challenges, the conditions for learners to demonstrate themselves in their learning are formulated. Carr et al. (2008) state that positive learners enhance learners’ knowledge and skills as well as their outcomes. On the contrary, when learners express negative identity, they seem to make fewer efforts into their learning acquisition. Learners are unable to achieve desired outcomes with a feeling of anxiety during learning process (Robinson & Clardy, 2012). This means learners have less motivation in their learning and achieve unexpected outcomes. Therefore, it is of essence for teachers to develop LI in positive ways, in which learners conceive their creativity and self-motivated future learning.

So as to stimulate positive LI, it is of paramount importance for teachers to take an active part in their teaching process by engaging learners in coping with problems, using the 21st-century skills. One of the effective ways to foster LI is to implement project-based learning (PBL) in classroom environment. According to Thomas (1998), PBL constitutes a powerful tool to bring learners substantial benefits as it enhances learners’ higher-order thinking skills. Additionally, researchers (e.g., Dori & Tal, 2000; Nguyen, 2011; Pham, 2014) assure that through PBL implementation, learners reinforce their 21st-century skills such as creative skills, critical thinking skills, collaborative skills, problem-solving skills, decision making skills, communicative skills. What is more, Levine (2004; as cited in Nguyen, 2011) confirms that thanks to PBL, learners enhance the use of their language skills. When learners collaborate to resolve their real-life problem learners during PBL process, they take part in substantial and meaningful activities which acquire authentic language use, standing a chance of utilizing language in relatively natural situations.

In the context of Vietnam, the use of PBL is mainly implemented for students at colleges and universities. Some empirical studies have shown that one of the factors that fosters teachers to implement PBL for their students is the desire of enhancing learner autonomy in teaching and learning language among students (e.g., Tran & Tran, 2019, 2020). Some studies by Pham (2014) and Tran and Tran (2019) have clarified that the students’ attitudes towards the use of PBL are positive. Nevertheless, Tran and Tran (2019) acknowledge that the utilization of PBL in English language teaching and learning in the Vietnam context, especially in the context of a high school, is not prevalent. According to Hoang (2014), PBL might constitute the controversial approach in the Vietnamese context since the traditional approaches are in deeply-rooted perspectives of the universities and authorities, basing on the theory-based curriculum.