<![CDATA[This study aims to determine the effect of the Project-Based Learning (PjBL) approach on students' learning interest in Indonesian Language among Grade VII students at SMP Negeri 1, Sorong Regency. The research employed an ex-post facto quantitative method with a simple linear research design. The population and sample comprised 25 Grade VII students at SMP Negeri 1, Sorong Regency; total (saturated) sampling was applied. Data were collected through interviews, observation, questionnaires, and documentation. The questionnaire was administered in two stages: a pre-intervention condition (initial learning interest questionnaire, administered 17 September 2024) and a post-intervention condition (final learning interest questionnaire, administered 27 September 2024). Instrument validity was confirmed using the Pearson product-moment correlation (r-table = 0.444 at df = 18, α = 5%); all items met the validity threshold (r-count > r-table). Instrument reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s Alpha, yielding a coefficient of 0.656, confirming reliability. Normality testing (Lilliefors/Kolmogorov-Smirnov) produced significance values of 0.200 for both initial and final conditions (> 0.05), confirming normal data distribution. The mean learning interest score improved from 64.11 (initial condition) to 73.47 (final condition), representing an improvement of 9.36 points. One-sample t-test hypothesis testing (test value = 57.9) yielded a t-count of 5.242 against a t-table of 1.734 (df = 18; α = 0.05), with a significance value of 0.000 (< 0.05). H₀ is rejected and H₁ is accepted. It is concluded that the Project-Based Learning approach has a statistically significant positive effect on the Indonesian Language learning interest of Grade VII students at SMP Negeri 1, Sorong Regency.]]>
