Proje çalışmaları ne denli başarılı? Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu Temel İngilizce Bölümü' nde uygulanan ana ders proje çalışmaları ile ilgili olarak öğrenci ve öğretmenler tarafından yapılan değerlendirmeler

This study investigated the students? and teachers? assessments about MainCourse project work applied at the English preparatory classes of Yıldız TechnicalUniversity (YTU) School of Foreign Languages Basic English Department. Thestudents from upper-intermediate and intermediate levels studying English in thepreparatory classes of YTU and the teachers who supervised their projectsparticipated in the research. They were asked to assess Main Course project work inrespect to three aspects: (1) Achievement of institutional project work goals, (2)Learning gains acquired from project work, (3) Problems experienced with projectwork accompanied by suggested solutions.Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The results of thedata analysis revealed that in general, institutional project work goals weremoderately achieved. The reported learning gains included content learning;vocabulary improvement; improvement of research, oral presentation, writing,translation and computer skills; grammar reinforcement, and raising consciousnessabout the benefits of disciplined studying. The major problems found were aboutproject topics, inadequate teacher support, lack of improvement in speaking andlistening skills at a desired level, excessive use of translation, and plagiarism. Avariety of suggestions were made for these problems emphasizing the necessity ofcollaboration and negotiation between students, teachers, and administrators inaddition to the significance of a well-structured project training.Key words: Project work, project-based language learning, project-aided languagelearning, project-based learning, project-based instruction, project-based assessment,alternative assessment tools