Project tasks in English for Specific Purposes: cooperation and (self)- assessment

Abstract

A large-scale curricular reform has been introduced in the Bachelor programmes of the Budapest Business School recently. The reform was complemented by educational methodological developments whose aim was to increase the efficiency
of teaching through enhancing learner motivation. Research on the new generation’s learning styles, learning motivations and expectations indicates that instead of traditional knowledge-focussed teaching, it seems to be worthwhile to adopt activity-based, experiential and knowledge sharing methodologies. Realizing this, the university identified creating an experiential learning environment as one of its strategic aims. In order to promote the development of new innovative teaching materials and methodologies, they announced a call for proposals, which provided an opportunity for the Department of Languages for Business Communictaion to design and develop 20 project tasks for English and Spanish LSP courses. The paper presents the criteria and the structure of the project tasks and the initial experiences of introducing them into teaching. Project-based teaching/learning is a challenge for teachers and learners alike. The biggest challenge seems to be assessment since it is often impossible to measure and evaluate individual contributions to the projectoutput. The paper presents alternative assessment options that may help and support the learning processes.