It is an important requirement for education and individual development to apply the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) + Problem-Based Learning (PBL) teaching principle to cultivate college students’ autonomous English learning ability in modern society, which has become a new development trend in foreign language teaching in the new era to optimize the teaching structure of college English courses and transform students’ English learning results. Based on the concept of OBE + PBL, this study adopts a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis methods to reveal whether the four components of self-directed learning files, namely learner desire, learner wit, learner initiative, learner perseverance, and 22 sub-components, have a positive and significant correlation with college students’ English scores. This paper explores the internal needs of college students for independent English learning. It guarantees the steady improvement of college students’ independent English learning ability by introducing a student-centered project system.