





































English Language Teaching Educational Journal   ISSN 2621-6485 

Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171  

      https://doi.org/10.12928/eltej.v6i3.9012         http://journal2.uad.ac.id/index.php/eltej/index          eltej@pbi.uad.ac.id  

The implementation of Project-based Learning in higher 

education: Students and lecturers' perspectives 

Dwi Riyanti 

Universitas Tanjungpura, Jalan Prof. Dr. H. Hadari Nawawi, Pontianak 78124   

dwi.riyanti@fkip.untan.ac.id  

 

A R T I C L E  I N F O 

 

A B ST R ACT   

 

 

Article history 

Received 20 July 2023 

Revised 15 August 2023 

Accepted 25 August 2023 

 Project-based learning, which has been widely claimed to be helping 
students build skills needed in the 21st century, has been implemented in 
various teaching and learning contexts, including in higher education 
settings. This research was intended to explore how Project-based 
Learning (PBL) was implemented in a university setting from both 
students' and lecturers' perspectives in an Indonesian University. This 
qualitative research involved 17 students who participated in various 
projects while taking university courses and two lecturers who taught 
using PBL. The data were gathered from students' written reflections and 
lecturers' interviews. Teachers' semester plans were analyzed to 
triangulate the data. The obtained data were analyzed thematically based 
on emerging themes. The findings show that both students and lecturers 
consider PBL to be beneficial in strengthening the development of 21st 
century skills. In particular, the students consider PBL to offer them some 
benefits, such as improving their critical thinking skills, promoting 
creativity, fostering collaboration, and expanding their knowledge. 
Despite its usefulness, PBL has some constraints that are time-consuming 
and provoke tensions among group members as they have different ideas 
to work on the project. In contrast to the students' perspectives, the 
lecturers have slightly different views on PBL. The lecturers consider 
PBL as a good teaching approach, yet monitoring students' progress and 
assessing the product were two challenges, especially during the 
pandemic time. 

This is an open access article under the CC–BY-SA license. 

    

 

 
Keywords 

Higher education 

Project-based learning 

21st century skills 

 

 

 

How to Cite: Riyanti, D. (2023). The implementation of Project-based Learning in higher education: Students 
and lecturers' perspectives. English Language Teaching Educational Journal, 6 (2), 124-133. 
https://doi.org/10.12928/eltej.v6i3.9012 

1. Introduction  

Project Based Learning (PBL) as a learning approach has been claimed to help build students' 
capability to develop various skills needed in students' lives (Shpeizer, 2019). As an instructional 
approach, PBL strives to combine interpersonal interactions with imaginative thinking, foster peer 
cooperation, strengthen students' problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities, and stimulate 
affective and cognitive capabilities that contribute to intellectual and creative growth (Greenier, 2020). 
It has also been considered to be one of the appropriate teaching approaches that can develop skills 
needed in the 21st century (Baghoussi & Zoubida El Ouchdi, 2019; Ghobrini, 2020; Giri, 2016; 
Mohammed, 2017). This is because PBL helps learners develop their capability in affective and 
cognitive domains (Guo et al., 2020). 

The development of various learners' skills is possible through the utilization of PBL since the 
purpose of this strategy is to increase students' engagement in learning processes while highlighting 
the practical dimension of learning and its relevance to student's lives and the society in which they 
live (Ghobrini, 2020; Shpeizer, 2019). Additionally, the unique features of PBL, such as in-depth 

https://doi.org/10.12928/eltej.v6i3.9012
http://journal2.uad.ac.id/index.php/eltej/index
mailto:eltej@pbi.uad.ac.id
mailto:dwi.riyanti@fkip.untan.ac.id%20*
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
https://doi.org/10.12928/eltej.v6i3.9012
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4140-3637
https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.12928/eltej.v6i3.9012&domain=pdf


ISSN 2621-6485 English Language Teaching Educational Journal 163 
 Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171 

 Riyanti, D. (The implementation of Project-based Learning…) 

inquiry, authenticity, active learning, freedom and autonomy, challenging problems, collaborative 
learning, product, and presentation, as mentioned by Shpeizer (2019), expose learners to possess 
various skills that cannot be developed through traditional teaching, which places teachers to be the 
center of teaching and learning. 

Furthermore, PBL is claimed to offer benefits that traditional teaching approaches fail to address. 
According to Shpeizer (2019), there are at least five benefits of the PBL. The first benefit is that PBL 
enhances students' motivation. This is because PBL allows learners to choose the topics and working 
methods the students prefer and the authenticity of work that is associated with PBL. Another benefit 
that PBL offers is the in-depth inquiry that requires students to work and develop various learning 
skills, such as working independently, collaborating in teamwork, and communicating to produce a 
tangible outcome. The next benefit is that PBL prepares learners for professional careers. This is 
possible because, in PBL, learners are exposed to authentic situations where they have to think 
creatively, solve problems, and produce products, just like in a professional workplace. The other 
benefit of PBL is that it accommodates students' various learning styles. Autonomy, as one of the 
features of PBL, allows learners to work using the method they prefer. The final benefit of PBL is that 
it is suitable for the age of information, where learners have access to technology and explore available 
sources on their own.   

Considering the benefits of PBL, this teaching approach has been implemented worldwide. Many 
studies show that PBL has been implemented in many countries such as the United Arab Emirates 
(Mohammed, 2017), Nepal (Bastola, 2021), Iraq (Kavlu, 2020), Morocco (Akharraz, 2021), Algeria 
(Baghoussi & Zoubida El Ouchdi, 2019), Switzerland (Terrón-López et al., 2020), Colombia 
(Alejandra & Pérez, 2018), Malaysia (Hussin et al., 2019), Thailand (Kettanun, 2015), and Indonesia 
(Mali & Timotius, 2018; Paristiowati et al., 2022; Pradanti & Muqtada, 2023; Widyaningrum et al., 
2022; Yusuf & Ali, 2023). The abundant research related to PBL indicates that it has gained popularity 
as a teaching approach. Besides, it can be because of the benefits that PBL offers. 

Within the context of higher education, there has also been much research addressing PBL in 
various fields, such as Biology (Abishova et al., 2020), Engineering (Fernandes et al., 2021), and 
English language teaching (Bastola, 2021; Gai Mali, 2016; Kartika, 2020; Kavlu, 2020; Kettanun, 
2015; Sirisrimangkorn, 2021). The abundant studies concerned with PBL in higher education mainly 
highlight PBL as a teaching approach that is useful for developing university students' skills that 
prepare them to work in the 21st century.  

Within the English language teaching field, research related to PBL has various research foci, such 
as an alternative tool for enhancing pedagogical content knowledge, creativity, and critical thinking 
in the Nepalese context from teachers’ perspectives (Bastola, 2021), students’ perspective in learning 
CALL in Indonesian context (Mali & Timotius, 2018), students’ perspective in Critical reading in 
Indonesia  (Kartika, 2020), the effect of PBL in teaching English for Specific Purposes in Iraq (Kavlu, 
2020), the effect of PBL in an EFL classroom in Thailand (Kettanun, 2015), the effect of PBL in 
speaking skill (Sirisrimangkorn, 2021). The findings of previous studies on PBL related to students’ 
perspectives were mostly positive and supported the development of 21st century skills. While there 
have been few studies related to how students perceive PBL in Indonesian context, there is still little 
information related to how both students and instructors in higher education in Indonesian context. 
Thus, the current study addresses the research gap and possibly adding the insights on how PBL is 
perceived, which is essential to contribute to existing literature on implementing PBL in higher 
education. In particular, the current research focuses on investigating How PBL is perceived by 
lecturers and students. 

2. Method  

This research design is a qualitative study in which the researcher is interested in gaining in-depth 
information related to how the research participants perceive PBL. The participants involved in this 
research were seventeen undergraduate students majoring in English Education who participated in 
Project-based Learning in the same semester in the academic year 2021-2022, ranging from semester 
two until semester six, and two lecturers who taught using PBL in a similar semester. Purposive 
sampling was used in selecting the participants in the current research. Among the criteria for 
recruiting the student participants were that they were involved in doing at least a project when taking 
university courses in the previous semester and were willing to participate in the research project. In 



164 English Language Teaching Educational Journal   ISSN 2621-6485 

 Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171 

 Riyanti, D. (The implementation of Project-based Learning…) 

a similar vein, the participants from the lecturers were selected purposively, in which they assigned 
projects for their classes and that they were willing to participate in the current research. The 
demographic information related to student and lecturer participants is shown in Tables 1 and Table 
2. 

Table 1.  Demographic Information of Student Participants 

Participants Semester Names of courses students worked on projects 

Rina 6 Research Paper, Statistics, and Drama 

Clara 6 Statistics for Educational Research, Research Paper, Drama, and Literary Work 

Ema 6 Statistics in Educational Research, Research Paper, Seminar Research Design,  
Drama, and Literary Work. 

Endah 6 Research paper, ESP program development, statistics  

Susi 6 Drama 

Ita 6 Research Paper, Drama and Literary Work courses 
Kevin 6 Research Paper 

Mia 6 Research Paper, Statistic in Educational Research, Drama, and Literary Work. 

Dins 4 ELT for instructional development  

Tia 4 ELT Instructional Development, Poetry in ELT, English for Tourism  

Akbar 4 ELT Instructional Development 

Vira 4 ELT Instructional Development 

Rita 4 ELT Instructional Development  

Nia 4 ELT Multimedia, ELT Curriculum, and ELT Instructional Development. 

Rio 2 ICT for EFL, Listening Comprehension, Writing Skill Development 

Marta 8 Seminar Research Design 

Toni 6 Research Paper, Statistic in Educational Research, Drama, and Literary Work 

 

Table 2.  Demographic Information of Lecturer Participants 

Pseudonym Years of teaching experience Names of courses taught using PBL 

Putri 4 Literary Work, Statistics, and Poetry in ELT 

Melani 16 Speaking  for Transactional Functions 

 

One of the main research tools used to gather information related to student's experiences and 
perceptions was students' written reflections on the projects they have been involved in the semesters 
that just ended at the time of data collection. The students were given prompts in the form of questions. 
The questions were related to what students learned from doing the projects and what they liked and 
disliked when doing the projects. The prompts were in Google form and were distributed to the 
participants through WhatsApp Group. Seventeen undergraduate students filled in the Google form 
and wrote their reflections. 

On the other hand, an unstructured interview was conducted face to-face with each lecturer to 
obtain data from the lecturer participants. In doing so, the researcher approached the lecturers in person 
and conversed with each lecturer's participants about their experience in implementing PBL in her 
classes. To ensure the rigor of the study, the researcher triangulated the data. The triangulation is done 
by obtaining data from multiple data sources. In the current study, the interview data was triangulated 
with data from the lecturers' semester plans.     

The obtained data was analyzed qualitatively. The data from the students’ reflections was first read 
carefully and then coded and put into similar categories. For example, information related to their 
positive view on PBL was put into categories of benefits. On the other hand, information related to 
the students' complaints while doing their projects was put into categories of challenges. While 
interviews were also coded and categorized, they were first transcribed. The data from lecturers' 



ISSN 2621-6485 English Language Teaching Educational Journal 165 
 Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171 

 Riyanti, D. (The implementation of Project-based Learning…) 

semester plans were used to triangulate the information obtained from the interviews. The semester 
plans were scrutinized to crosscheck whether the lecturers' perspectives on PBL were manifested in 
their semester plans. 

3. Findings and Discussion 

3.1. Students' Views on Project-based Learning 

Sun From the open-ended questionnaire, it is found that students' experiences are varied. From the 
analysis, their experiences can be categorized into the merits and the constraints of PBL. The 
following are the details of each category. 

1) The benefits of PBL 
Regarding the benefits of participating in the projects, the student respondents consider that PBL 

allows them to improve their skills needed in the 21st century. One of the benefits is that working on 
the projects they are involved in help them improve their critical thinking skills, which is part of soft 
skill, as indicated in the following excerpt: 

From the projects, I could improve my personality, including my soft skills such 
as critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, and professional 

attitude. In addition, I could also improve my sense of responsibility and 

discipline (Toni, written reflection). 

The next benefit students gain from their involvement in projects while taking several courses in 

the university context is that they become more creative in designing and creating projects, as one of 

the respondents mentioned. Tia, for example, claims that "for each of the courses I took with the 

project in them, I learned how to create them accordingly and understood their meaning/usage” (Tia, 

written reflection). Another benefit that students claim to be part of the projects is that PBL fosters 

collaboration skills. As indicated in the data from the written reflection, the students also develop their 

skill to collaborate with others through joining PBL as indicated in the following excerpts: 

I learned collaboration skills and the way to do a project in a group. I got to 

know more about what it was like to do a project together with a group of people. 
Therefore, after experiencing these projects, I knew how to share, how to discuss, 

how to combine, how to collaborate on our ideas, and how to work together more 
seriously for a project that was larger than the common group presentation 

projects we usually had (Toni, written reflection). 

As the excerpt above indicates, the respondents consider participating in the PBL to foster their 

collaborative skills. This is because, in the group project, the students have to cooperate with other 

team members. Another respondent, Marta, states, "I like collaborative projects because I can share 

my idea with other people and discuss it to create or get good results." In a similar vein, students 

benefit from being involved in projects, either individually or in group projects. One of the 

respondents claims: 

From individual projects, I have learned to focus more on achieving targets and 

making the best use of the available time. Also, from the group project, I learned 
how to adapt while studying and working on the project with friends who have 

unique characteristics and different opinions and how to understand the 

intentions and plans that will be carried out (Ita, written reflection). 

Ita, as illustrated in the excerpt, considers that working on the projects helps her focus on achieving 

the target, which indicates that she learns better and also learns how to deal with other students who 

are different from her.  

Another important view from the student respondents is that being involved in projects while 
taking courses at the university level expands their knowledge. Data from the written reflection 
indicates that the project makes students aware of their strengths and weaknesses. For some students, 



166 English Language Teaching Educational Journal   ISSN 2621-6485 

 Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171 

 Riyanti, D. (The implementation of Project-based Learning…) 

the projects give them the opportunity to develop themselves, expand their knowledge, and recognize 
their strengths and weaknesses, as indicated in the following excerpts. 

What I like about the project given is that it gives me the opportunity to be able 

to develop myself, expand my knowledge, and know where my weak and strong 

points are in working on a project (Ita, written reflection). 
What I like about projects is that I can improve my knowledge and skills by 

working on projects, and the projects are practically not too difficult (Nia, 

questionnaire). 

From the two excerpts above, it can be concluded that both participants consider that being 

involved in projects while taking courses is beneficial for helping them learn beyond the expectations 

of the courses they were taking, as indicated in the following excerpts: 

From the project that I was involved in, I learned many things. In doing the 

projects, I became more aware of the material in the class we were studying at 
that time. I also learned about how to build good cooperation between classmates 

in working on projects in groups (Mia, written reflection). 

From doing the projects, there were several lessons/things that I learned. Firstly, 

I could increase my knowledge, especially related to the projects I did, which can 

be useful for me in doing future projects, and I also learned to be a more 

responsible and disciplined person (Toni, written reflection). 

Overall, students view project-based learning positively. Most students consider project-based 

learning as one of the effective ways to make them understand more about the materials being taught 

in the class. In addition, the students' participation in the projects also contributes to building students' 

twenty-first-century skills, such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (4C) 

from the 4C highlighted in the 21st-century skills, particularly critical thinking, creativity, and 

collaboration. Even though communication as another 21st-century skill is not explicitly mentioned 

in the questionnaire, it implies that students also build communication skills as they collaborate with 

their friends on projects. 

2) Constraint 
Despite its benefits, the students view that PBL has some constraints. Based on the students' 

reflection results, the constraints can be categorized into two. One of them is time-consuming. Most 
of the research participants claim that projects they were involved in the courses they took required 
much time to finish. For example, one of the respondents, Nia, mentions that "sometimes it (the 
project) takes a long time to complete it." Meanwhile, another student, IB, claimed that the long time 
they spent on the project was mostly triggered by different arguments that the students in the group 
project had, as stated by one of the students, Rina. She explains that “it (the project) takes a long time 
because we have different opinions.” 

In addition to the time, respondents also consider argument differences among group members in 
doing a project as a weakness of PBL, as indicated in the following excerpts:  

What I dislike about the project is the argument difference. I remember about the 

time we did the project. I read one member gave instructions to make a part of 
RPP like this. But after making RPP like her instructions, he even changed 

everything to be different. It was different from her instructions in the first. It 

made us confused and want to give up on continuing the project because we were 

always stuck on one part of it. (Rio, written reflection). 

What I dislike about the project, sometimes, when I work on a project in a group, 
I find friends who are not cooperative in the group, which makes me have more 

of the work assigned to me. Sometimes, working on projects in groups, in my 
opinion, is not effective if you get group friends who are too lazy to work together 

(Mia, written reflection). 

As the two excerpts indicate, project teamwork is only sometimes successful. Different opinions 

and work paces among group members are one of the causes of tension when doing the group project. 



ISSN 2621-6485 English Language Teaching Educational Journal 167 
 Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171 

 Riyanti, D. (The implementation of Project-based Learning…) 

3.2. Lecturers’ Views 

From the interview data analysis, the findings indicate that lecturers, especially in English study 
programs, consider project-based learning a good teaching approach. One reason for this is that PBL 
promotes learning. As in the projects, students need to apply what they learn to practice. Lecturers can 
identify whether students understand the learning materials and whether students need any help, as 
indicated in the following interview excerpt: 

Project-based learning is a good approach for both the lecturer and the students. 

For the lecturer, project-based learning is good for seeing the students what do 
we call students' progress from one material to another material because in 

doing a project, students need to include most of the materials into one project. 

So, we can see if they (students) really understand the material, and also, because 

we teach language, we can see the progress of the language (Putri, interview). 

The excerpt above shows that for Putri, PBL allows lecturers to see the students' progress in 

understanding the materials and applying the target language students learn through their involvement 

in the project. One reason for this is that in doing a project, the students need to communicate among 

group members. In an ideal situation, this can be the time for the students to practice using the 

language they are learning.   

In addition to being a good teaching approach, lecturers also consider PBL as a teaching method 
that is suitable for improving 21st-century skills, as explained by one of the lecturers in the English 
study program in the following excerpt: 

Project-based learning is one of the teaching methods that can improve the 

students’ 21st-century skills, which is known as 4C: communication, 

collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. When the students work together, 
they communicate to complete the project and then analyze the work. They 

question each other about the project they are working on, and they synthesize 

all the things they do to become the complete project (Melani, Interview). 

While the previous excerpt from Putri, indicates that PBL enables lecturers to see the student's 

progress in language learning and learning materials, the excerpt from Melani explains in more detail 

how PBL addresses 21st-century skills, which cover communication, critical thinking, collaboration, 

and creativity. Thus, lecturers have a positive view on PBL to be implemented in courses in university 

contexts. Another evidence that lecturers have a positive view on the implementation of PBL was in 

the lecturers' semester plan, in which both Putri and Melani explicitly mentioned that PBL is part of 

the teaching approach that they planned to implement in the courses they taught during the semester. 

Melani, for example, outlined the plan for the students’ projects starting from week three. Meanwhile, 

Putri assigned students to group project assignments in week two. 

Even though PBL is considered a good approach that helps students develop 21st-century skills, 
the lecturers admit that PPL is challenging. One of the challenges lecturers faced in implementing 
PBL was checking students' work progress. This happened because it was still in the pandemic time, 
as indicated in the following excerpt: 

I know it was difficult, so I did not check for the offline version. That is why I 

conducted an offline meeting to check their progress and whether they really 

worked together or not. I found those problems because I knew the students 

would not really work together. If they were online, they wouldn't work. Honestly, 

I didn't trust the students if they did the work together, and I am sure one of them 
only did the work whole work, so that is the question that is hard for me to answer 

because, yeah, you know, online cannot be checked (Putri, interview) 

The challenge of monitoring students' work progress, as mentioned by Putri is because, at the time 

of data collection, the pandemic was not over. Thus, the class meetings were a combination of online 

and offline meetings. A similar challenge of monitoring students’ work progress due to the lack of 

offline meetings, another lecturer also considers that not being able to meet face to face offline makes 



168 English Language Teaching Educational Journal   ISSN 2621-6485 

 Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171 

 Riyanti, D. (The implementation of Project-based Learning…) 

it difficult for the lecturer to monitor the students' progress and to provide students examples directly 

as indicated in the following excerpt: 

Another challenge is that it is difficult to control their work. I ask them about the 

progress of all the projects they have that they are working on. Having problems 
maybe  before they didn't have any experience in making the video in editing the 

video maybe it just makes an ordinary video taking the video  maybe they will not 

face any problems but because this one is yah we can say that they should have 
reasonably good ability in technology in editing the video for example in 

inserting the background in the video in making the caption for example in the 
video and some (Melani, interview) 

3.3. Discussion   

In terms of the students' views on their involvement in projects, while taking courses in a higher 
education context, the findings of the current study resonate with previous research (Aifan, 2022; 
Astawa et al., 2017; Baghoussi & Zoubida El Ouchdi, 2019; Bastola, 2021; Dincă et al., 2023; 
Ghobrini, 2020; Ginusti, 2023; Giri, 2016; Mohammed, 2017; Paristiowati et al., 2022; 
Sirisrimangkorn, 2021; Tran & Tran, 2020; Yuliansyah & Ayu, 2021) in which PBL supports building 
21st-century skills such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. In addition, 
the findings are also in line with the studies by Mali and Timotius (2018) and Turcotte et al. (2022), 
in which students have positive attitudes toward implementing PBL. While Mali's and Timotius' study 
focuses on the attitude, confidence, and anxiety level in a particular course, the current findings focus 
on various courses where students are involved in doing projects. Nevertheless, the result is similar. 
Thus, it can be concluded that students' perspectives on PBL are generally positive. The current 
finding also supports previous research by Allison and Do (2018) in which participants develop soft 
skills while participating in PBL. 

Similar to students' perspective, the current study's findings reveal that lecturers also have positive 
views on implementing PBL in their classes. The current study resonates with previous studies 
(Almulhem & Almulhem, 2022; Hsieh, 2013), in which both students and facilitators at the university 
level generally have positive views toward implementing PBL. The current study's finding is also in 
line with a previous study (Aifan, 2022) in which PBL improves students' 21st century skills. 

In terms of the challenges, students face in completing their projects, the current research findings 
provide new insights into the constraints of doing the projects. For the students in the current study, 
the major problems they encountered in participating in the projects are related to the time spent on 
the relatively long project and the tension among the group members due to different ideas. This 
finding is in line with a previous study (de la Torre-Neches et al., 2020) in which intragroup conflicts 
are unavoidable in PBL.  

The lecturers’ challenges, however, are different from the participants from the students. The 
current study found that the lecturers faced challenges implementing PBL, especially checking 
students' work progress and assessing students' products. These findings align with the study by 
Shpeizer (2019), in which assessing students' projects is challenging for teachers. In the current study, 
however, the challenges of monitoring students' project progress are also due to pandemic times when 
face-to-face meetings were restricted. 

4. Conclusion 

Project-based learning is an important teaching method that fosters students' 21st-century skills. 
The current study's findings show that both the students and the lecturers have positive views on 
implementing PBL in higher education, especially in English study programs. While the lecturers' 
positive views on PBL emphasize the use of PBL as a promising approach that promotes 21st-century 
skills, the students' positive views on PBL provide evidence that PBL enhances the students' 21st-
century skills. With the coverage of the implementation of PBL, understanding both students' and 
teachers' views on PBL is also essential. From the data analysis, it can be concluded from the current 
research that students and lecturers have positive views on implementing PBL in higher education. 
PBL has been found to offer many benefits for the students to develop their 21st-century skills. The 



ISSN 2621-6485 English Language Teaching Educational Journal 169 
 Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171 

 Riyanti, D. (The implementation of Project-based Learning…) 

main challenges in doing the projects for the students are related to the time for accomplishing the 
projects and the tensions among group members as they were working on the project.  

Considering students' positive views concerning their involvement in the projects while taking 
university courses, lecturers may use PBL as one of the teaching approaches in the teaching and 
learning process. In line with the findings that time consumption and tensions during completing the 
projects were the major constraints, it is recommended that lecturers and students communicate well. 
That way, lecturers may mediate the students and provide better instructions in facilitating students to 
work on the projects. In addition to the lecturers, future researchers should also consider the current 
study's findings. As the current study is narrow in scope and only involves one study program in a 
higher education institution, further research involving more participants and a more extensive study 
is important to be conducted to better understand how students view project-based learning. 

 

Acknowledgment 

This project relies on existing published works and employs empirical data. Being grateful to the 
academics whose works are cited and the participants involved in the study, the author of this article 
would like to thank all the participants involved. 

 

Declarations 

Author contribution : Dwi Riyanti is the sole author and hence responsible for all the writing 
process of this manuscript. 

Funding statement : This study was supported by institutional funding from FKIP Universitas 
Tanjungpura. 

Conflict of interest : The author declares no conflicts of interest. 

Ethics declaration 

 

 

 

 

Additional 
information 

: 

 

 

 

 

:    

As the sole author acknowledges that this work has been written based on 
ethical research that conforms with the regulations of Universitas 
Tanjungpura and that I have obtained the permission from the participants 
to use the data for this publication. I support English Language Teaching 
Educational Journal (ELTEJ) in maintaining high standards of personal 
conduct, practicing honesty in all our professional practices and 
endeavors. 

No additional information is available for this paper. 

REFERENCES 

Abishova, G., Andreeva, N., Issayev, G., Issayev, A., & Mynbayeva, B. (2020). The application 
problem of project-based learning technology in higher education of Kazakhstan. EurAsian 
Journal of BioSciences, 14(1). 

Aifan, H. (2022). Implementing a project-based collaborative learning approach using PowerPoint 
to improve students’ 21st- century skills. E-Learning and Digital Media, 19(3). 
https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211030642  

Akharraz, M. (2021). The impact of Project-based Learning on students’ cultural awareness. 
International Journal of Language and Literary Studies, 3(2). 
https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v3i2.601  

Alejandra, Y., & Pérez, A. (2018). Linguistic integration in English teaching in Colombia through 
project-based learning. REVISTA CHAKIÑAN, 5. 

https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211030642
https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v3i2.601


170 English Language Teaching Educational Journal   ISSN 2621-6485 

 Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171 

 Riyanti, D. (The implementation of Project-based Learning…) 

Allison, E. S., & Do, T. (2018). Contextualized culture integration through Project-based Learning 
in EFL classrooms in Vietnam. Journal of NELTA, 20(1–2). https://doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v20i1-
2.19771  

Almulhem, M. A., & Almulhem, J. A. (2022). Evaluation of Problem-based Learning 
implementation in a College of Medicine, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a cross sectional 
comparative study. BMC Medical Education, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03347-
1  

Astawa, N. L. P. N. S. P., Artini, L. P., & Nitiasih, P. K. (2017). Project-based learning activities and 
efl students’ productive skills in English. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8(6). 
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0806.16  

Baghoussi, M., & Zoubida El Ouchdi, I. (2019). The implementation of the Project-based Learning 
approach in the Algerian EFL context: Curriculum designers’ expectations and teachers’ 
obstacles. Arab World English Journal, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no1.23  

Bastola, G. K. (2021). Project-based Learning (PBL) in Nepalese EFL Classroom. Dristikon: A 
Multidisciplinary Journal, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.3126/dristikon.v11i1.39133  

de la Torre-Neches, B., Rubia-Avi, M., Aparicio-Herguedas, J. L., & Rodríguez-Medina, J. (2020). 
Project-based Learning: An analysis of cooperation and evaluation as the axes of its dynamic. 
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-
00663-z  

Dincă, M., Luştrea, A., Craşovan, M., Oniţiu, A., & Berge, T. (2023). Students’ perspectives on team 
dynamics in Project-based Virtual Learning. SAGE Open, 13(1). 
https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221147269  

Fernandes, S., Dinis-Carvalho, J., & Ferreira-Oliveira, A. T. (2021). Improving the performance of 
student teams in project-based learning with scrum. Education Sciences, 11(8). 
https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080444  

Gai Mali, Y. C. (2016). Project-based Learning in Indonesian EFL classrooms: From theory to 
practice. IJEE (Indonesian Journal of English Education), 3(1). 
https://doi.org/10.15408/ijee.v3i1.2651  

Ghobrini, R. E. A. (2020). Sharpening students’ 21st century skills through Project-based Learning 
in an EFL context at Abdelhamid ibn Badis University, Algeria. Journal of Studies in Language, 
Culture and Society, 03(1). 

Ginusti, G. N. (2023). The implementation of digital technology in online Project-based Learning 
during pandemic: EFL students’ perspectives. J-SHMIC : Journal of English for Academic, 
10(1). https://doi.org/10.25299/jshmic.2023.vol10(1).10220  

Giri, D. R. (2016). Project-based Learning as 21st century teaching approach: A study in Nepalese 
private schools. US-China Education Review A, 6(8). https://doi.org/10.17265/2161-
623x/2016.08.004  

Greenier, V. T. (2020). The 10Cs of Project-based Learning TESOL curriculum. Innovation in 
Language Learning and Teaching, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2018.1473405  

Guo, P., Saab, N., Post, L. S., & Admiraal, W. (2020). A review of project-based learning in higher 
education: Student outcomes and measures. International Journal of Educational Research, 
102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101586  

Hsieh, L. W. K. (2013). Technology-Supported Project-based Learning in a Taiwanese university 
oral communication course: A case study. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: 
Humanities and Social Sciences, 74(2-A E). 

Hussin, H., Jiea, P. Y., Rosly, R. N. R., & Omar, S. R. (2019). Integrated 21st century science, 
technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) education through robotics project-based 
learning. Humanities and Social Sciences Reviews, 7(2). 
https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2019.7222  

https://doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v20i1-2.19771
https://doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v20i1-2.19771
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03347-1
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03347-1
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0806.16
https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no1.23
https://doi.org/10.3126/dristikon.v11i1.39133
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00663-z
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00663-z
https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221147269
https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080444
https://doi.org/10.15408/ijee.v3i1.2651
https://doi.org/10.25299/jshmic.2023.vol10(1).10220
https://doi.org/10.17265/2161-623x/2016.08.004
https://doi.org/10.17265/2161-623x/2016.08.004
https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2018.1473405
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101586
https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2019.7222


ISSN 2621-6485 English Language Teaching Educational Journal 171 
 Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2023, pp. 162-171 

 Riyanti, D. (The implementation of Project-based Learning…) 

Kartika, A. (2020). Indonesian undergraduate students’ perceptions of Project-based Learning in 
critical reading class. ELT Worldwide: Journal of English Language Teaching, 7(1). 
https://doi.org/10.26858/eltww.v7i1.11976  

Kavlu, A. (2020). The effect of Project-based Learning on first-year undergraduate students in 
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Courses. International Journal of English Linguistics, 
10(4). https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v10n4p227  

Kettanun, C. (2015). Project-based Learning and its validity in a Thai EFL classroom. Procedia - 
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.094  

Mali, Y. C. G., & Timotius, A. I. (2018). Project based activities in a call classroom: EFL students’ 
experiences. International Journal of Education, 11(1). 
https://doi.org/10.17509/ije.v11i1.10177  

Mohammed, N. (2017). Project-based learning in higher education in the UAE: A case study of Arab 
students in Emirati Studies. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, 
14(2). https://doi.org/10.18538/lthe.v14.n2.294  

Paristiowati, M., Rahmawati, Y., Fitriani, E., Satrio, J. A., & Hasibuan, N. A. P. (2022). Developing 
preservice Chemistry teachers’ engagement with sustainability education through an online, 
Project-based Learning summer course program. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(3). 
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031783  

Pradanti, P., & Muqtada, M. R. (2023). Students’ perceptions on learning, motivation, and 
performance through project-based learning: Undergraduate students’ case. Pythagoras: Jurnal 
Program Studi Pendidikan Matematika, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.33373/pythagoras.v12i1.5011  

Shpeizer, R. (2019). Towards a successful integration of Project-based Learning in higher education: 
Challenges, technologies and methods of implementation. Universal Journal of Educational 
Research, 7(8). https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2019.070815  

Sirisrimangkorn, L. (2021). Improving EFL undergraduate learners’ speaking skills through Project-
based Learning using presentation. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 12(3). 
https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.12n.3.p.65  

Terrón-López, M. J., Velasco-Quintana, P. J., Lavado-Anguera, S., & del Carmen Espinosa-Elvira, 
M. (2020). Preparing sustainable engineers: A project-based learning experience in logistics 
with refugee camps. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/SU12124817  

Tran, T. Q., & Tran, T. N. P. (2020). Attitudes toward the use of project-based learning: A case study 
of Vietnamese high school students. Journal of Language and Education, 6(3). 
https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2020.10109  

Turcotte, N., Rodriguez-Meehan, M., & Stork, M. G. (2022). This school is made for students: 
Students’ perspectives on PBL. Journal of Formative Design in Learning, 6(1). 
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41686-022-00066-0  

Widyaningrum, L., Rizal, D., & Prayogo, A. (2022). Multimodal Project-based Learning in listening 
and speaking activities: Building environmental care? EduLite: Journal of English Education, 
Literature and Culture, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.30659/e.7.2.209-223  

Yuliansyah, A., & Ayu, M. (2021). The implementation of project-based assignment in online 
learning during Covid-19. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 2(1). 
https://doi.org/10.33365/jeltl.v2i1.851  

Yusuf, F., & Ali, A. (2023). Exploring students’ perspectives on using live streaming on Facebook 
as project-based learning in Indonesian EFL classes. Journal on English as a Foreign Language, 
13(1). https://doi.org/10.23971/jefl.v13i1.4571  

 

https://doi.org/10.26858/eltww.v7i1.11976
https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v10n4p227
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.094
https://doi.org/10.17509/ije.v11i1.10177
https://doi.org/10.18538/lthe.v14.n2.294
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031783
https://doi.org/10.33373/pythagoras.v12i1.5011
https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2019.070815
https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.12n.3.p.65
https://doi.org/10.3390/SU12124817
https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2020.10109
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41686-022-00066-0
https://doi.org/10.30659/e.7.2.209-223
https://doi.org/10.33365/jeltl.v2i1.851
https://doi.org/10.23971/jefl.v13i1.4571

	1. Introduction
	2. Method
	3. Findings and Discussion
	3.1. Students' Views on Project-based Learning
	1) The benefits of PBL
	2) Constraint

	3.2. Lecturers’ Views
	3.3. Discussion

	4. Conclusion

