A study on using jigsaw technique to enhance the students’ interaction in group work an action research at the 10th english majored class in son tay gifted high school, ha noi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIOAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES PHẠM THỊ NGA A STUDY ON USING JIGSAW TECHNIQUE TO ENHANCE THE ST

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIOAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

PHẠM THỊ NGA

A STUDY ON USING JIGSAW TECHNIQUE TO ENHANCE THE STUDENTS’ INTERACTION IN GROUP WORK – AN ACTION RESEARCH AT THE 10 TH ENGLISH-MAJORED CLASS IN SONTAY

GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL, HANOI

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG KỸ THUẬT RĂNG CƯA (JIGSAW) ĐỂ TĂNG CƯỜNG SỰ TƯƠNG TÁC CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG HOẠT ĐỘNG NHÓM – MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TẠI LỚP 10 CHUYÊN ANH TRƯỜNG

THPT SƠN TÂY, HÀ NỘI

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD:ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111

HA NOI, 2015

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIOAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

PHẠM THỊ NGA

A STUDY ON USING JIGSAW TECHNIQUE TO ENHANCE THE STUDENTS’ INTERACTION IN GROUP WORK – AN ACTION RESEARCH AT THE 10 TH ENGLISH-MAJORED CLASS IN SONTAY

GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL, HANOI

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG KỸ THUẬT RĂNG CƯA (JIGSAW) ĐỂ TĂNG CƯỜNG SỰ TƯƠNG TÁC CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG HOẠT ĐỘNG NHÓM – MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TẠI LỚP 10 CHUYÊN ANH TRƯỜNG

THPT SƠN TÂY, HÀ NỘI

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD:ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111

SUPERVISOR: DR PHẠM THỊ THANH THÙY

HA NOI, 2015

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the minor thesis entitled “A Study on using Jigsaw Technique to Enhance the Students‟ Interaction in Groupwork – An Action Research at the 10th English-Majored Class in SonTay Gifted High school, Hanoi”

is my own work and effort and that has not been submitted anywhere for any award Where other sources of information have been used, they have been acknowledged

I cede copyright of the thesis in favor of Post-Graduate Department- Vietnam National University

Pham Thi Nga

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.Phạm Thị Thanh Thùy, for her valuable comments, critical feedback, wholehearted guidance and enormous encouragement Without her support this thesis cannot be completed

My special thanks go to all the lecturers and staff of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their valuable teaching and assistance during my study at the college

Post-I would like to express my sincere thanks to all my colleagues and students

at Son Tay gifted high chool, for their assistance during the process of data collection

Particularly, I find myself in debt to all members of my family for their love, care and tolerance when I was in the process of writing this thesis

Pham Thi Nga

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ABSTRACT

The study reported in this paper investigates the using of Jigsaw technique to enhance the students‟ interaction in speaking lessons at the 10th English majored class, SonTay gifted high school, HaNoi The researcher aims to find out the causes

of students‟ weak interaction in speaking activities, the importance of using Jigsaw technique to stimulate students to speak English, and the suggestions for teachers to apply Jigsaw technique at SonTay high school To find the answers to these questions, an action research was carried out through several steps, using a combination of 2 data collection instruments (survey questionnaire, classroom observation) The results showed that the students‟ participation in speaking lessons increased significantly when the intervention was implemented Hopefully, this study will make a small contribution to the implementation of Jigsaw technique in improving speaking skills for students at Son Tay high school, Hanoi

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF CHARTS v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Aims of the study 1

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Method of the study 2

5 Research hypothesis 2

6 Design of the study 3

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.Theorical background of speaking 4

1.1 Concepts of speaking and interaction 4

1.2 Teaching speaking skills under CLT Approach 4

1.3 Problems with speaking activities 5

2 Group work 6

2.1 Definition of group work 7

2.2 Group size and Groupwork activities 8

2.3 The advantages of groupwork 8

3 Jigsaw technique……… 9

3.1 The History of Jigsaw technique 10

3.2 Definition of Jigsaw technique 11

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3.3 Steps in Jigsaw technique 13

3.4 Benefits of Jigsaw technique 14

3.5 Reasons to choose Jigsaw technique 16

CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY……… 17

2.1 An action research 17

2.2 The informants 18

2.3 The action research procedure………18

2.4 Description of Data Collection Instruments 21

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS 23

3.1 Data collected from preliminary investigation stage – Questionnaire 1 23

3.1.1 Students‟ attitude towards speaking skill 23

3.1.2 Factors causing students‟ low participation in speaking activities 25

3.2 Intervention 27

3.2.1 The aims of the intervention 27

3.2.2 The intervention of Jigsaw tasks 27

3.3 Data collected from the intervention stage 33

3.3.1 Data collected from Observation sheets 33

3.3.2 Data collected from Questionnaire 2 34

PART THREE: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 37

1 Summary of the study 37

2 Suggestions for the teachers 38

3 Limitations and suggestions for further research 39

REFERENCES 40 APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire 1 I APPENDIX 2: Questionnaire 2 III APPENDIX 3: Observation sheet 1 – Overall class participation IV APPENDIX 4: Data on overall class participartion V

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

ESL: English as a Secondary Language

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

L2: Second Language

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PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

It is undeniable that English has been an essential means of communication and more and more Vietnamese students are aware of the importance of English to their study and their future The ability to communicate in English clearly and efficiently contributes to the success of the learners at school and success later in every phase of life Speaking plays an important role because without it, communication cannot take place directly between people However, speaking is generally considered the most difficult to learn among the four skills in English language learning

In order to teach students English speaking so that they become more interested in and maintain their interest in speaking learning English teachers should provide a rich environment where meaningful communication can take place Communication occurs when there is a lack of information between or among

a group of people They have to exchange to share the information they have with other people One efficient technique to motivate students in speaking is Jigsaw Technique which makes students more active in learning process and at the same time makes their learning more meaningful and interesting The benefits of this technique to my students have aroused my interest and encouraged me to carry out

this research “A study on using Jigsaw Technique to enhance the Students’

Interaction in Group work- An action research at the 10 th English majored-class

in Son Tay gifted high school, Hanoi”

2 Aims of the study

The study is aimed at using Jigsaw Technique to motivate students in speaking lessons for the 10th English majored-students at Son Tay Gifted High school, Hanoi Hopefully, this study will make a small contribution to the

3 Scope of the study

Due to the limit of the thesis, the study focuses on using Jigsaw Technique to enhance the students‟ interaction among groups in speaking lessons The study was conducted on the 10 English-majored students at Son Tay gifted high school, Hanoi

4 Method of the study

The method employed in this study is an action research, with the uses of two instruments: survey questionnaires and classroom observations All comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusion are based on the data analysis

The combination of different instruments used in this research would help to gain reliable data and a close investigation into the problems that the students were having

5 Research hypothesis

Students‟ lack of motivation in speaking English in real communicating situations is one of the main reasons for the students‟ inability to make a meaningful conversation One solution is using Jigsaw technique to motivate students The questions to be dealt with are:

1.What are some causes of the students‟ weak interaction in English speaking activities?

6 Design of the study

The study consists of three parts as follows:

Part one is the introduction which gives reasons for choosing the thesis,

aims and objects and scope of the study as well as the methodology and research hypothesis of the study

Part two is the development which is divided into three chapters:

- Chapter I (LITERATURE REVIEW) provides the concept of Teaching Speaking

as well as the concepts of Group work and Jigsaw Technique

- Chapter II (METHODOLOGY) provides the readers with the definitions of the action research, the data collection instruments Detailed information about the research procedure and the participants of the study is also presented

- Chapter III (DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS) analyzes the data collected from the preliminary investigation stage to form the hypothesis of the study An intervention plan is worked out and implemented The data from the intervention stage are collected and analyzed to make an evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention

Part three is the Conclusion which reviews the study, presents the

suggestions for the teacher, the limitations of the study and suggestions for further study

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PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Theoretical background of speaking

1.1 Concepts of speaking and interaction

Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994b; Burns &

Joyce, 1997) Chaney and Burk (1998, p.13) also argues that speaking is "the

process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" Referring to speaking or communication in

language teaching and learning, Brown (1994b) affirms that interaction is the heart

of communication; it is what communication is all about, for example in the cases

of sending messages; receiving them; interpreting them in a context; negotiating meanings; and collaborating to accomplish certain purposes And interaction is a collaborative exchange of thoughts, feelings, or ideas between two or more people resulting in a reciprocal effect on each other Bygate (1997, p.115) emphasizes that

“interaction is the use of language for maintaining communication between

participants and interaction skills are skills of deciding what to say, when to say it and how to say it clearly” Therefore, in speaking process, learners are required to

know not only how to use specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary (linguistic competence), but also when, why and in what ways language is produced (sociolinguistic competence)

1.2 Teaching Speaking skills under CLT Approach

Now many linguists and ESL teachers agree on that students learn to speak

in the L2 by interacting Communicative language teaching (CLT) and collaborative learning serve best for this aim CLT is based on real-life situations that require communication By using this method in ESL classes, students will have the

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opportunity of communicating with each other in the target language (Kayi, 2006) CLT has been an influential approach for the last decades with the aim of “learn to communicate by communicating” (Larsen-Freeman, 1986, p.131) According to Canale (1983, p.5), communicative competence - the final target of CLT - refers to

“the underlying systems of knowledge and skill required for communication” Moreover, “communicative competence is the aspect of our competence that

enables us to convey and interpret messages and to negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific contexts” (Brown, 1994a, p.227) The concept of

communicative competence is also described in terms of four dimensions which are grammatical competence (grammatical and lexical capacity), sociolinguistic competence (the ability to understand and produce appropriate language in the social context which the communication happens) and discourse competence (the ability to employ communicative strategies to initiate and redirect communication)

Besides, three key pedagogical principles that developed around CLT were the presentation of language forms in context, the importance of genuine communication and the need for learner-centered teaching Hadfield (1990) suggests that a meaningful use of language over its form means that accuracy and acquisition of the formal features of L2 are less a measure of successful language learning than are fluency and ability to get something across comprehensibly to a native speaker In order to encourage meaningful language use, many communicative activities involve elements of puzzle-solving or simulation

1.3 Problems with speaking activities

Classroom activities that develop learners‟ ability to express themselves through speech are an important component of a language course where CLT is applied However, it is more difficult to design and administer such activities than

to do so for listening, reading or writing According to Ur (1996, p.121), teachers

often come across the following problems:

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* The first is “inhibition” It is explained that unlike reading, writing and listening activities, speaking skills require some degree of real-time exposure to an audience Learners are often inhibited about trying to say something in a foreign language in the classroom because they are worried about making mistakes, fearful

of criticism or losing face, or simply shy of the attention that their speech attracts

* Nothing to say is the second problem Teachers often hear learners complain that they can not think of anything to say They may have no motivation

to express themselves The problem is also mentioned by Lawtie (2004) and it is necessary to be tackled

* Last but not least, uneven or low participation of the students is among the teachers‟ obstacles Only one participant can talk at a time if he or she is to be heard In a large group, this means that each one has only very little time for talking This problem is compounded by the tendency of some learners to dominate the group, while the others speak very little or not at all

To deal with the problems, Lawtie (2004) believes that a teacher needs to take a closer look at the type of speaking activities in order to make the activities interesting enough to capture students‟ interest and create a real need for communication

In a word, overcoming these obstacles in speaking class to create successful speaking activities where learners talk a lot, participation is even and motivation is high certainly requires a lot of teachers‟ efforts in designing and carrying out speaking activities

2 Group work

The EFL literature indicates that to improve our students' speaking skills, we must reduce learners‟ anxiety and ensure meaningful communicative exchanges in the classroom And group work is one of the valuable techniques can help achieve the above goals for the purpose of fostering speaking ability Group work can create

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a comfortable atmosphere and the intimate community necessary for learners to take

risks in speaking

2.1 Definition of group work

Rod Killen (2004) indicates that “Group work occurs when you ask two or

more students to work together” Davis (1993) sorts out three types of group work

which are called: informal learning groups, formal learning groups, and study teams

Informal learning groups are ad hoc temporary clustering of students within

a single class session Informal learning groups can be initiated, for example, by asking students to turn to a neighbor and spend two minutes discussing a question you have posed You can also form groups of three to five to solve a problem or pose a question You can organize informal groups at any time in a class of any size

to check on students' understanding of the material, to give students an opportunity

to apply what they are learning, or to provide a change of pace

Formal learning groups are teams established to complete a specific task,

such as perform a lab experiment, write a report, carry out a project, or prepare a position paper These groups may complete their work in a single class session or over several weeks Typically, students work together until the task is finished, and their project is graded

Study teams are long-term groups (usually existing over the course of a

semester) with stable membership whose primary responsibility is to provide members with support, encouragement, and assistance in completing course requirements and assignments Study teams also inform their members about lectures and assignments when someone has missed a session The larger the class and the more complex the subject matter, the more valuable study teams can be

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2.2 Group size and Group work activities

It seems prudent to keep groups as small as possible to promote positive interdependence, yet as large as necessary to provide sufficient diversity of opinions and backgrounds as well as resources to get the job done The size of groups formed

is directly dependent on the activity to be pursued and the length of time the group will stay together Typically, for in-lecture informal activities, group size is often kept small (in the range of two to four students) since larger groups have insufficient time to become cohesive In contrast, a complex semester long project may require the resources of a larger group (four to six students) and there is enough time for the group to become effective

There are some activities for group work activities: Games, Question

construction, Guided practice, Dictation, Role play, Guess ahead, Speculative

question, Discussion, Project, Information gap, Jigsaw, Problem solving,

Discussion making, Opinion exchange

2.3 The advantages of group work

The literature argues that group work creates and comfortable atmosphere and the initiate community necessary for learners to take risk in speaking So, how can group work reduce anxiety, increase communication, and thus, foster greater speaking atmosphere? Koichi (2003) points out that group work allows students to take the initiative in controlling their communicative activities, thus, reducing anxiety, facilitating responsibility, creating communitive, and smoothing progress

of fluency as a result Above all, group work with fewer students than a whole class

as one large group, create an intimate atmosphere

A second, related, benefit is that group work creates a sense of security As discussed, students are afraid of looking silly in front of the other students though they have a desire to improve their English However, once they are in a small group, where they realize their peers feel the same, Doyon (2000) believes that

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there is a tendency for students to use more of their target language Nimmannit

(1998) offers another analysis of why students feel secure in group work: „they

[individual students] will not be the only ones to shoulder the blame or to lose face

if they answer incorrectly‟

The third advantage of group work is that it allows students to participate

more and to do so more actively Tsui (2001) and Lee (1999) find that „group work

provides more opportunities for learners to initiate and control the interaction, to produce a much larger variety of speech acts and to engage in the negotiation to meaning‟ and that „being responsible for their peers‟ learning in a group makes students more active‟

To sum up, it is clear from the literature that group work offers potential advantages which the teacher-centered class lacks: a friendly community, a relaxed atmosphere with a sense of security ; and a more active and responsible attitude with more opportunities to speak out

3 The Jigsaw Technique

The Jigsaw Technique is a research-based cooperative learning technique invented and developed in the early 1970s by Elliot Aronson and his students at the University of Texas Since 1971, thousands of classrooms have used Jigsaw with great success The Jigsaw classroom reduces racial conflicts among school children, promotes better learning, improves students‟ motivation and increases enjoyment of the learning experience Just as in a jigsaw puzzle, each piece-each student's part-is essential for the completion and full understanding of the final product If each student's part is essential, then each student is essential; and that is precisely what makes this strategy so effective A jigsaw classroom is not a loose, “anything goes”

in situation It is highly structured Interdependence is required It is the element of

"required" interdependence among students which makes this a unique learning method, and it is this interdependence that encourages the students to take an active part in their learning, each student becomes a valuable resource for the others

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Learning from each other gradually diminishes the need to try to out-perform each other because one student's learning enhances the performance of the other students instead of inhibiting it, as is usually the case in most competitive classrooms Within this cooperative paradigm, the teacher learns to be a facilitating resource person, and shares in the learning and teacher process with the students instead of being the sole resource Rather than lecturing to the students, the teacher facilitates their mutual learning, in that each student is required to be an active participant and to be responsible for what he learns

3.1 The History of Jigsaw Technique

The Jigsaw is a teaching technique that is applied in the classroom It was

first applied in 1971 in Austin City, Texas by Elliot Aronson According to

Aronson the Jigsaw was implemented in the school to help teaching material It

was used by collaborating students‟ Austin, African and American

The Jigsaw technique continued to be developed by Elliot Aronson and his

friends as cooperative learning method This technique can be used to learn reading, writing, listening, or speaking The students cooperate with their friends and have many opportunities to improve their communication ability

The Jigsaw technique is a cooperative learning technique appropriate for

students between 3rd and 12th grade This technique is an efficient way of teaching material that also encourages listening, engagement, interaction, teaching, and cooperation by giving each member of the group an essential part to play in the academic activity The technique involves breaking the classroom into small groups; each group consists of five to six students Each group is responsible for a specific piece of knowledge that they will discuss with other classmates

Jigsaw is an efficient way to facilitate learning In this technique, students

learn material quickly, share information with other groups, minimize listening time, and be individually accountable for their learning Since each group needs its

members to do well in order for the whole group to do well, Jigsaw maximizes

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interaction and establishes an atmosphere of cooperation and respect for other students

In Jigsaw technique, the students have the opportunity to improve their

responsibility to their learning and they can cooperate with the other students to learn the material

Jigsaw technique is used to improve students‟ responsibility to their learning

The students not only study the given materials, but they also must give and teach the materials to the other members So the students will depend on the other students They must cooperate to learn the given materials

Jigsaw technique is a specifíc cooperative learning Each student is essential

for the completion and full understanding of the final product

3.2 Definition of Jigsaw Technique

There are a number of definitions about Jigsaw that have been given by experts, some of them are:

Wikipedia states Jigsaw is a teaching technique use in small group instruction Student of a normal sized class (26 to 33 students) are divided into competency group of four to six students, each of which is given a list of sub topic

to research Individual members of each group then break off to work with the

“expert” from other group, researching a part of the material being studied, after which they return to their starting body in the role of instructor for their subcategory

Bennett B.,Rolheiser,C., Stevahn,L in their book “ Cooperative Learning :

Where Heart Meets Mind” write that Jigsaw is cooperative learning structure that

promotes the sharing and understanding of idea or texts Jigsaw facilitates learning

in two area positive independence and equal participation and the academic skill of acquiring knowledge and understanding Expert group members share that

Clarke J in his book” cooperative Learning: The Jigsaw Strategy

(1985)” said that Jigsaw is one method which makes the independence of group

members possible, promotes interaction and cognitive elaboration, takes into consideration, the principle of the multiple perspective and context as well as the construction of common knowledge

Heather Coffey said “Jigsaw is a cooperative learning technique that was created with the goals of reducing conflict and enhancing positive educational outcomes The Jigsaw technique helps students realized they are essential components of a whole and encourages cooperation in a learning environment”

Slavin describes learning process by jigsaw technique as follow: One format for cooperative learning jigsaw, emphasize high interdependence Each group member is given part of material to be learned by the whole group and become an

“expert” on that piece Students teach each other, so, the defend on each other and everyone‟s contribution is important More recent versions, Jigsaw expert meeting

in which students who have the same material consult to make sure they understand their assigned part and then plan how teach the information to their group After the expert meeting, students return to their group and bring their expertise to the learning session Finally student takes an individual test on all materials learns point for their learning team score Team work other for rewards or simply for recognition ( Retrieved from http/www digilib.stainbatusangkar.ac.id)

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Hemingway in her book entitle “The use of the Jigsaw in hypothesis testing”

states that the jigsaw is a cooperative learning technique in which the class first divided into expert groups that are assigned different but related task New home group consisting of one member from each expert group are formed Each expert instructs the other member s of this new group about what they have learned

Basing on the above opinion, we can conclude Jigsaw is model learning technique of cooperative learning, with students learn in small group consist of four

or six persons, diverse inter gender ethnicity, race and ability, cooperative in positive interdependence and responsible to present the task for each member

3.3 Steps in Jigsaw Technique

According to Aronson (2005) there are ten steps considered important in the implementation of the Jigsaw classroom

1 Students are divided into 5 or 6 persons in a jigsaw group The group should be diverse in terms of ethnicity, gender, ability and race

2 One student should be appointed as the group leader Those persons should initially be the most master student in the group

3 The day‟s lesson is divided into 5-6 segment (one for each member)

4 Each student is assigned one segment to learn Student should only have direct access to only their own segment

5 Student should be given time to read over their segment at least twice to become familiar with it Students do not to memorize it

6 Temporary experts group should been formed in which one student from each jigsaw group join other student assigned to the same segment Student in this expert group should be given time to discuss the main points of their segment and rehearse the presentation they are going to make to their jigsaw group

7 Student comes back to their Jigsaw group

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8 Student presents his or her segment to the group Other members are encouraged

to ask question for clarification

9 The teacher needs to float from one group to an other in order to observe the process Intervene if any group is having trouble such as a member being dominating are disruptive There will come a point that group leader should handle this task Teacher can whisper to the group leader as to how to intervene until the group leader can effectively do it themselves

10 A quiz on the material should been given at the end so students realize that the sessions are not just for fun and games but they really count

3.4 Benefits of the Jigsaw Method

* Competition vs Cooperation: One of the primary advantages of the Jigsaw

Method and most other cooperative learning strategies is that they tend to eliminate competition in the classroom and increase the cooperation among the students Jacobs (1990) stated that it is necessary for students to see each other as collaborators and not as competitors Singh (1991) recognized the goal is not to entirely eliminate competitiveness from students so that they will not be successful

in a competitive world, but to teach cooperation as a skill that can be called upon in useful situations Also, Holliday (2002) found that depending on classmates for success places peer pressure on lower achieving students to increase the level of their work Peer pressure due to interdependence became an excellent source of motivation for these students Slavin (1987) discovered that occasionally students working harder on class material were seen as "teacher's pets" and thus discouraged

to put forth large amounts of effort Using cooperative learning creates a kind of team atmosphere among the groups, which is more acceptable to peers Academic work is valued because it leads to the success of the group

* Academic Benefits: Academically, the Jigsaw Method is likely to have a

positive impact on academic achievement according to Thompson and Pledger (1998) Aronson (2005), the original developer of the Jigsaw Method, found that

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students taught using the Jigsaw Method showed a greater academic improvement than other students Dori, Yeroslavski, and Lazarowitz (1995) discovered that teaching the cell topic to middle level students using the Jigsaw Method showed a significant improvement in their scores compared to students taught the same topic using the traditional frontal method Students using the Jigsaw Method increased pretest scores by 70.91% while students who were taught using the traditional format only increased 61.28% Similarly, Stearns (1999) reported that a middle school in El Paso, Texas showed an improvement from 19.9% of eighth grade students passing the math, reading, and writing assessments to 71% The difference was that a new principal arrived and decided to incorporate a school wide change to increase cooperative learning in the classroom Lee, Ng, and Jacobs (1997) found that cooperative learning could be an effective mode of instruction for higher level thinking tasks This is because positive interdependence and individual accountability created the conditions for groups to think together Cooperative learning can even be used with gifted and talented students Robinson (1991) stated that the motivation of academically talented students could be affected by the kind

of task given to them If a task is challenging to talented students then they are more likely to work together to achieve their goals

* Social Benefits: The Jigsaw Method and other cooperative learning styles

help students not just academically but socially as well Manning and Lucking (1991) declared that learning cooperatively could lead to social benefits for students

of heterogeneous ethnic and achievement backgrounds The Jigsaw Method is an effective way to create a feeling of equality among students According to Singh (1991), prejudice may be reduced by equal status contact between majority and minority students in the pursuit of common goals If competition is a variable in racial tension, then methods such as Jigsaw, which eliminates competition, can only decrease racial tension Slavin (1988), discussed how cooperative learning methods have become more common in ESL classrooms They can be used as a way to improve relationships among students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds

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According to Ross, Seaborn, and Wilson (2002) in a research group composed entirely of African Americans, no academic difference was shown between one group learning with traditional lecture methods and another group using cooperative learning methods However, students responded that they were more comfortable using cooperative learning methods due to the social aspect This confirms what Slavin (1981) stated about racial differences He stated that African Americans gained tremendously in achievement as a result of cooperative learning

* Student Attitude toward the Jigsaw Method: Overall, students of all ages

and levels find the Jigsaw Method to be an enjoyable and beneficial experience Dori, Yeroslavski, and Lazarowitz (1995) discovered that students who were taught using the Jigsaw Method expressed a willingness to use the strategy again in class and even recommended using this method to their friends These findings were similar to those found by Fennel (1991) By surveying 208 students who were taught using both lecture and cooperative learning formats, Fennel discovered that students found their Jigsaw experience to be enjoyable and useful Only 05% of the participants indicated that they preferred the lecture format The Jigsaw Method can also affect a student's attitude toward school Aronson (2005) stated that students who were taught using the Jigsaw Method were absent less often than other students

3.5 Reasons to choose the Jigsaw Technique

In this research, the writer chooses Jigsaw technique in the topic because:

1 Jigsaw technique is an interesting technique of English learning to activate the

students in learning process

2 Jigsaw technique can improve the students' responsibility in the teaching learning

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the students, something that is difficult to achieve in large-group discussion Each student develops their skill and has something important to contribute

5 Jigsaw technique can create the class atmosphere in such a way that the students

cooperate with each other

For the above reasons, Jigsaw is chosen as an effective technique to enhance the students‟ interaction among groups The study seems to be practically and potentially carried out at the 10 English- majored class, Son-Tay gifted high school where students are good at grammar and reading skills but they are weak at speaking skills and especially week at participating into discussion with their peers

It is hoped that the study will have strong impact on the real teaching and learning ESL speaking skills in high school

2.2 The informants

The study was conducted with the participation of 36 students in the 10th English-gifted class, Son Tay gifted high school They are English-majored students, whose grammar is quite advanced but speaking skill is weak They are all

at the age of fifteen They have learned English for four years at different secondary schools in Son Tay Most of them are good at English, because they had to take a difficult examination to be admitted into the school In that examination, there is only English written test The problem here is that all of them are good at reading and writing English but not all of them are good at speaking since there is not any oral test for them

The textbook used in their course is English 10 (advanced level) The class has six 45-minute periods a week These conditions seem to be favorable to the success of the research

2.3 The action research procedure

There are several ways in which the steps of action research have been analyzed Kemmis&Mc Taggart (1988) suggests that action research has four steps

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which progress as a spiraling and evolving process: planning, action, observation and reflection Susman (1983) distinguishes five phases to be conducted within each research cycle: (1) Diagnosing: identifying or defining a problem, (2) Action planning: considering alternative courses of action, (3) Taking action: selecting a course of action, (4) Evaluating: studying the consequences of an action, and (5) Specifying learning: identifying general findings Burn (1999) considered the action research process as a sequence of cycles which consists of eleven phases: exploring, identifying, planning, collecting data, analyzing/reflecting, hypothesizing, intervening, observing, reporting, writing and presenting

In this study, Nunan‟s action research model (1992) was applied as it is easy

to carry out in the teacher's own classroom in limited time and the steps are clear cut

to follow This model includes six small steps: initiation, preliminary investigation, hypothesis, intervention, evaluation, and dissemination, which were presented in the table below

Initiation The teacher notices a problem in class

Preliminary

investigation

The teacher spends time observing the class and taking notes of their behavior

Hypothesis After observation, the teacher forms a question or

hypothesis as to the cause of the problem Intervention The teacher tries several solution to solve the problem

Evaluation

After some weeks, the teacher consciously observes or measures the class again to see if there has been any improvement

Dissemination The teacher shares his findings with others

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This research was implemented during 12 weeks starting from week 1 of the course Based on the selected model, the following steps were done one after the other The description of the six step procedure is presented as follows:

* Step 1: Initiation (week 1 to week 2)

Observing the first three speaking lessons, the researcher realized that the students‟ learning motivation and their participation in speaking activities were low Therefore, she decided to identify factors affecting the students‟ interaction in

speaking lessons and the first research question formed was: What are some causes

of the students’ weak interaction in English speaking activities?

* Step 2: Preliminary investigation (From week 3 to week 4)

Data about the learners which may be factors affecting students‟ participation in English speaking activities were collected in week 4 in order to confirm the problem stated in step 1 and find out the causes of the students‟ weak interaction (using questionnaire 1, see Appendix 1)

* Step 4: Intervention (from week 5 to week 12)

Based on the analysis of the data collected from questionnaire, the writer wrote lesson plans and prepared for plan implementation Speaking lesson plans for units 3,4,5 and 6 were designed In these speaking lessons, Jigsaw Technique was used a main technique to motivate the students to speak

In speaking lessons of units 3, 4, 5 and 6, the newly designed lesson plans were applied with the same group of students During the 8 weeks of the intervention, the speaking lessons were handled in a different way, using Jigsaw