The effect of technology-integrated project-based learning on EFL learners’ social identity and vocabulary development

Due to the changes in education, online learning has become the predominant mode of instruction. There may be a gap between what students learn in school and what they need to survive in the real world. This is due to the constant change in the world and educational system. This puts schools under a lot of pressure to develop their educational instruction processes in an innovative manner that helps students to acquire and develop the needed life skills. These skills can help individuals in leading a meaningful life. One of these strategies is project-based learning. As the name implies, project-based learning involves students refining and honing their language skills by completing projects in and out of the classroom. To accomplish this, teachers must cultivate a culture of creativity and engagement in the classroom. By sharing their work and reflecting on their processes, students can improve their work. This style of teaching moves away from teacher-centered methods, where students sit passively in a classroom and are rarely given opportunities to express themselves or practice their language skills. The act of inquiry is what engages students in project-based learning. This instructional approach is designed to give students the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills through engaging projects and set around challenges and problems they may face in the real world. The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of technology-integrated and traditional project-based instruction on vocabulary development and social identity of English language learners.

In the current quasi-experimental quantitative study, two intact classes were assigned to traditional and technology-integrated project-based learning. The independent variable in this study was technology integration, and the dependent variables were learners' social identity and vocabulary development. Over 6 months, two groups of 30 learners (15 students in each group) were exposed to two forms of project-based instruction: traditional and technology-integrated. The instruction in both groups was based on doing projects. In the technology-integrated group, the projects were done using technology potentials, and in the traditional group, the projects were done using classroom potentials. Pre-tests and post-tests were used to measure learners’ improvements in vocabulary development and social identity level.

The results revealed that the learners involved in technology-integrated instruction proved superior compared to the traditional learning group in their English vocabulary and social identity. It showed that projects done in technology-integrated environments surpassed the projects done in traditional learning contexts. The findings suggested that technology-integrated projects were more effective than traditional ones, possibly due to the enticing features of technology that enhance learners' motivation and interest.

PBL has been regarded as influential in the development of vocabulary development and social identity of students but integrating projects with the power of technology provides opportunities for more effective vocabulary development and identity construction. Implementing technology in projects in the current study is beneficial to the realm of school health and adds to a growing body of work exploring how technology-integrated projects impact school students’ academic achievements and identity construction. Inspired by the advantageous effects of technology interventions on learners and the paramount significance of becoming emotionally engaged and accountable during the process of learning, we hope the current study contributes to the realization of technology-engaging school pedagogical agents.