Application of cooperative learning strategies to improve speaking skills for non english major students in a police training institution in vietnam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES **************** TRẦN THỊ THÙY DUNG APPLICATION OF COOPERATIVE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

****************

TRẦN THỊ THÙY DUNG

APPLICATION OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS IN A POLICE

TRAINING INSTITUTION IN VIETNAM

(Áp dụng chiến thuật học hợp tác nhằm cải thiện kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên không chuyên

tiếng Anh tại một cơ sở giáo dục thuộc ngành công an tại Việt Nam)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01

Hanoi - 2020

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

****************

TRẦN THỊ THÙY DUNG

APPLICATION OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS IN A POLICE

TRAINING INSTITUTION IN VIETNAM

(Áp dụng chiến thuật học hợp tác nhằm cải thiện kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên không chuyên

tiếng Anh tại một cơ sở giáo dục thuộc ngành công an tại Việt Nam)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01

Supervisor : Assoc Prof Dr Lê Văn Canh

Hanoi - 2020

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DECLARATION

I - Tran Thi Thuy Dung, hereby certify that the thesis entitled

“Application of cooperative learning strategies to improve speaking skills for non-English major students in a police training institution in Vietnam” is the result of my own work and effort This thesis was carried out and submitted in partial fulfillment for the Degree of Master of Arts at the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University of Hanoi I also certify that my thesis has not been submitted anywhere for any award Where other sources of information have been used, they have been acknowledged and documented in the Reference list

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This graduation thesis could not have been accomplished without the invaluable assistance, encouragement and support from the number of people who all deserve my profound gratitude and appreciation

First, I owe my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Associate Professor Doctor Lê Văn Canh for his valuable guidance and advice throughout every stage of this study His support has enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject and contributed to the fulfillment of the study

My sincere thanks also go to my colleagues at the Department of Foreign Languages of the PPA, who helped me build up solid theoretical background studies and research methods through their valuable lessons I am especially grateful for their important instructions and advice at the final stage of my research

My sincerest thanks would also go to my dear friends in class QH.2018.1E3 who assisted me with many useful ideas as well as encouraged me greatly when I felt confused and all non-English major students in class N02-D44 who were also very friendly and enthusiastic to help me conduct my research successfully With such encouragement, I would like to express my thanks to all of them once

Last but not least, I would like to express my profound thanks to my family whose encouragement, support and love have strongly and consistently

motivated me to reach the thesis‟s completion

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ABSTRACT

Speaking skill seems to be one of the most challenging productive skills for most of the students in the People‟s Police Academy (PPA) Regarding to the accomplishments of the Cooperative Learning (CL) program particularly done

by thousands of teachers all over the world, the researcher decided to implement this approach in the context of teaching and learning English speaking skills for students in her workplace Therefore, the study was carried out with the aim of examining how cooperative learning strategies work in improving non-English major students' speaking skills at the PPA, together with discovering students‟ attitudes towards this approach and pointing out some difficulties which the teacher met during the application To be more specific, the research was conducted in an action research form and lasted for 12 weeks Then, a set of questionnaires was delivered to students so that the data would be collected from different viewpoints Moreover, after the post-intervention questionnaire, some semi-structured interviews were applied to get further information from some students who had finished the questionnaire The research questions were also answered by interviews with the observing teacher and the teaching journal of the researcher The result shows that there are some considerable improvements

in the students‟ speaking skills quantitatively and qualitatively Most of the students show their concern and interest in the activities based on cooperative learning structures From the findings of this action research, some difficulties have also been investigated to draw out some pedagogical implications for those who are interested in applying CL to their teaching English speaking skills

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND FIGURES viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.2 Objectives of the study 3

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Scope of the study 4

1.5 Methods of the study 4

1.6 Significance of the study 5

1.7 Organization of the thesis 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 Speaking skills 7

2.1.1 Nature of speaking 7

2.1.2 Speaking performance 8

2.1.3 Teaching speaking in a classroom 9

2.2 Cooperative Learning (CL) 11

2.2.1 Definitions of CL 11

2.2.2 Basic elements 12

2.2.3 Collaborative Learning and Cooperative Learning 14

2.3 Cooperative Language Learning (CLL) 16

2.3.1 Goals of CLL 16

2.3.2 Benefits of CLL 16

2.3.3 A model of CLL 17

2.3.4 Differences between CLL and traditional methods 20

2.3.5 Group formation 22

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2.4 Cooperative Language Learning strategies 23

2.4.1 Language learning strategies 23

2.4.2 Cooperative Learning strategies 25

2.4.3 Cooperative Language Learning activities 26

2.5 Previous studies 29

2.6 Summary of the chapter 34

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 35

3.1 The context of the study 35

3.1.1 The context of learning and teaching English in the police training institution 35

3.1.2 Materials 35

3.1.3 Participants 36

3.2 The research design 36

3.2.1 Reasons for choosing an action research design 36

3.2.2 The procedure of the action research 37

3.3 Instruments of data collection 41

3.3.1 Survey questionnaires 41

3.3.2 Semi-structured interviews 43

3.3.3 Teaching journal 44

3.4 Data collection procedure 45

3.5 Data analysis procedure 45

3.5.1 Pre-intervention questionnaire and post-intervention questionnaire 45

3.5.2 Semi-structured interviews 46

3.5.3 While-intervention teaching journal 47

3.6 Summary of the chapter 47

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 48

4.1 Findings 48

4.1.1 Pre-intervention 48

4.1.2 Intervention and Post-intervention 52

4.2 Discussion of findings 65

4.2.1 Students‟ attitudes towards the implementation of CL in English speaking lessons 65

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4.2.2 The effectiveness of CL to students‟ speaking skills 67

4.2.3 Difficulties of the teacher when implementing CL activities 69

4.3 Summary of the chapter 70

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 71

5.1 Conclusion 71

5.2 Pedagogical implications for better CL application 72

5.2.1 For teachers 72

5.2.2 For students 73

5.3 Limitations of the study 74

5.4 Suggestions for further research 74

REFERENCES 76 APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1 I APPENDIX 2 III APPENDIX 3 VI APPENDIX 4 VII APPENDIX 5 VIII APPENDIX 6 X APPENDIX 7 XIV APPENDIX 8 XX APPENDIX 9 XXIV APPENDIX 10 XXVI

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Language Learning

English as a Foreign Language

People‟s Police Academy

: : : :

CL CLL EFL PPA

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LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND FIGURES

Table 1 Comparisons between Traditional approach and CLL 19-20

Table 4 Results of section 1 in the pre-intervention questionnaire 44 Table 5 Results of section 2 in the pre-intervention questionnaire 46 Table 6 Results of section 3 in the pre-intervention questionnaire 47 Table 7 Results of section 1 in the post-intervention questionnaire 49 Table 8 Students‟ preferences for CL activities 51 Table 9 Results of section 3A in the post-intervention questionnaire 53 Table 10 Results of section 3B in the post-intervention questionnaire 54 Table 11 Results of section 4 in the post-intervention questionnaire 56

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

In this part, the problem and the rationale for the study, together with the aims, objectives, and scope of the whole paper are clearly stated and explained Above all, this part also builds the research questions to work as clear guidelines for the whole research

1.1 Rationale of the study

Nowadays, we cannot deny the role of English in many fields including technology, economy, business, entertainment, and education English is regarded as one of the most popular languages as it helps people communicate and interact with others even from the far-flung corners of the world Vietnam once decided to step into the globalization process, introduced English as a second language to be taught

in many schools from the very early days of the innovation era

Learning English as a second or foreign language has received a lot of attention because there are a lot of difficulties in countries where English is not their first language EFL learners face a lot of difficulties in speaking English (Rababa‟h, 2005; Zang, 2009) which results from many factors like the learners themselves, the teaching strategies, the curriculum or inadequate strategies or methods to study Therefore, teachers should always look for useful strategies to reduce the difficulties of teaching the English language (Long, 1969; Chen, 2007; Nunn, 2011) and they have to find some well-planned and organized ways

to facilitate the process of learning and teaching

Right from the early days of establishment, the People„s Police Academy has recognized the importance of teaching and learning foreign languages Foreign languages, especially English have been an indispensable subject in the training curriculum of the academy At the People‟s Police Academy, full-time students are required to learn 3-4 semesters of English from Elementary to Pre-Intermediate level (equivalent from A2 to B1 level of CEFR framework) They have to pass the exam and get a certificate of English B1 competence as a

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graduation requirement Due to the necessity of foreign language competence, it

is very essential for them to focus on studying English for their own career later

There are 155 full-time students of the course D44 studying English as a foreign language Speaking, one of the productive skills seems to be challenging for most of the students in the PPA in general and students from D44 in particular To students of the PPA, there are more difficulties due to the typical features of the academy when they have little motivation to study The researcher has realized the problems of learning English in the PPA since becoming a teacher of English in 2015 when she was annoyed with the atmosphere of

“silence” in speaking lessons Although the students were always encouraged to speak, their participation was not achieved as expected and they showed unequal work when doing tasks together In other words, there was no equal opportunity for students to participate actively in the classroom such as there were some students eagerly volunteered to answer and often dominated discussions, while others just listened, observed, and daydreamed while their classmates hold forth

As a result, the assessment is not adequate enough and the teacher cannot motivate all the students The second problem is that English competence and communicative skills varied differently among students In fact, in high school, they focus primarily on grammar and they do not have many chances to use practical English Some students had a limitation in mastering vocabulary, also had difficulty pronouncing English words, did not feel confident to speak English in front of the class or public places and were not accustomed to working together with their partners or peers in studying English The last one is they were also still dependent learners-they need teacher‟s help anytime She kept on finding the methods to get all her students equally join in the speaking activities with the hope of improving their speaking skills in terms of vocabulary, grammar, fluency, etc During the process of researching, she had found some books about implementing Cooperative Learning strategies to improve language learners‟ cooperation, participation and proficiency She

and choose the title for the graduation paper as: “Application of cooperative learning strategies to improve speaking skills for non-English major students

in a police training institution in Vietnam” with the hope of successfully

applying these strategies in achieving English speaking skill in particular and acquisition of English in general

1.2 Objectives of the study

The thesis is conducted with the aim of examining how cooperative learning strategies work in improving non-English major students' speaking skills at the PPA, including discovering both students‟ attitudes towards the method, and difficulties which the teacher coped when using cooperative learning strategies at the PPA With these research incentives in mind, the researcher formulated the objectives as follows: i) to find out whether the application of CL is able to improve students‟ speaking skills or not; ii) to investigate students‟ attitudes towards CL; and iii) to discover the difficulties the teacher encountered when implementing CL activities in speaking lessons

1.3 Research questions

In order to fulfill the purpose aforementioned, this paper is carried out to seek answers to the following questions:

Question 1: What are students‟ attitudes towards the implementation of

CL in English speaking lessons?

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Question 2: To what extent does the use of cooperative learning

strategies affect English speaking skills of students at the PPA?

Question 3: What are the difficulties of the teacher when using

cooperative learning strategies in English speaking lessons?

It should be noticed that all these above research questions aimed at defining and solving the problems only in my research context

1.4 Scope of the study

Because of the limited knowledge and time from the researcher, this thesis cannot cover all fields of CL and all the students as well Therefore, the researcher just focuses on some cooperative learning activities which can help students to get the highest benefits in their learning Besides, it is intended to explore the students‟ attitudes towards CL, not teachers‟ attitudes

Moreover, a worthwhile thing to consider in this part is generalizability Because it is a kind of action research conducted in a very specific educational context and a limited number of participants - a class of only one university in Hanoi, one police institution in Vietnam This means that there is no generalization of findings can be made, or if yes, it has been made with caution with the same educational situations

The researcher also takes charge of the class from the beginning of the semester in the school year of 2018-2019 All the learning activities were designed to follow cooperative learning strategies, the curriculum, and the content of the book as well

1.5 Methods of the study

The research approach that the author employed is action research, following the procedures guided by steps in the action research cycle by Kemmis and McTaggart (1988)

This study was carried out in form of an action research with both quantitative and qualitative methods, by these following data collection

of CL Moreover, some difficulties when applying CL into speaking lessons were also revealed through an interview with an observing teacher and teaching journal

which the researcher took note during the intervention

1.6 Significance of the study

The study is conducted with the hope of improving the speaking skills of students, the teaching of English speaking skills and to serve as a useful source

of reference for the colleagues at the PPA The results of this study are intended

to provide readers with useful information In particular, this study is hoped to show evidence that the use of cooperative learning can enhance students‟ speaking skills Therefore, the study would better inform the teachers in order to achieve a closer look in the situation of using CL in teaching speaking skills and gain the highest attendance of students by a student-centered approach to teaching such productive skills

1.7 Organization of the thesis

The thesis is divided into 5 chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction - gives the rationale, the objectives, the research questions, the scope, the methods, and organization of the study

Chapter 2: Literature review - provides the background of the study, including definitions of key concepts, and discussions of related studies

Chapter 3: Research methodology - describes the participants and instruments of the study, as well as the procedure employed to carry out the research

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Chapter 4: Findings and discussion - presents, analyzes, and discusses the findings that the researcher found out from the data collected according to the research questions

Chapter 5: Conclusion - summarizes the main issues discussed in the paper, the limitations of the research, several suggestions for cooperative learning adaptation, and further studies Following this part is the Appendices

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is devoted to the literature review, especially to the key concepts and related studies to the research topic At first, this chapter proposes a review

of the literature related to speaking skills and cooperative learning In the meantime, the writer tries to focus on the definitions and characteristics of the key terms in the scope of the study based on many related studies and researches around the world in general and in Vietnam in particular with a view to illustrating the concepts more clearly

2.1 Speaking skills

In real life situations, speaking is considered as one of the most challenging skill to achieve In fact, the ability to speak is the language of speech It is just about putting ideas in language to get others to understand the meaning The word “speaking” in this study refers to one of four language-and learning-related competencies

There are many definitions of speaking according to experts and researchers Speaking is a productive language skill (Siahaan, 2008:95) It means that speaking is a person‟s skill to produce sounds that exists at the meaning and be understood by other people, so that able to create of good communication Moreover, speaking is the direct use of language and means by which people communicate (Fulcher, 2003)

According to Bailey (2000:25), speaking is perceived as a process of interaction where speakers intend to build meaning through producing, receiving and processing information It is also agreed that speaking is a skill to use a language approximately to express ideas, opinions or feelings in order to give or get information and knowledge from other people who do communication

2.1.1 Nature of speaking

As mentioned above, speaking is one of the four language skills learned

In the process of learning English, four basic skills are often integrated with

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each other For example, when teachers speak, students listen and then, write to take notes or read materials and respond to teachers by speaking Through speaking, students will express their thoughts, views, and their emotions in expression to the listeners When students want to speak, they have to focus on what is spoken and acknowledge the participation in the complement of knowledge in certain language components, such as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and fluency

The majority of language learners around the world study English to improve their speaking skills because of the roles of the discussion including sharing ideas and views, planning, bargaining, overcoming a specific problem, creating and developing interpersonal connections and partnerships, or other occupational reasons and it seems natural to say that the ability to speak plays a major role in this overall competence

2.1.2 Speaking performance

In this study, the term “performance” here means students‟ practice and their ability to perform speaking skills, not the underlying knowledge of speaking Gower, Phillips, and Walters (2005) state the two main aspects of the speaking skill including accuracy and fluency It is agreed that accuracy involves the correct use of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation Burkart (1998) asserts that speaking is an activity that involves the areas of knowledge, namely pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary It is the use of the right words

in the right order with the right pronunciation

Clark and Clark (1997) suggest that in certain systems specifying meaning of units and of sentences, a speaker expresses his thought and feeling in verbs, phrases, and sentences Students are encouraged to try and use the linguistic materials they learned to communicate accurately with controlled and guided activities

In terms of fluency, fluency in Richard and Plat's research (1993) refers to the levels of communication skills that (a) the ability to produce written and/ or spoken language with ease; (b) the ability to speak with good but not necessarily

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perfect command of intonation, vocabulary, and grammar; (c) the ability to produce continuous speech without causing comprehension difficulties or a breakdown of communication

In summary, it can be concluded that speaking is the ability to express something which involves utilizing words in correct order and pronunciation, right grammatical form, and meaningful context (fluency) and making a good choice of words (vocabulary) in the process of interpreting and negotiating meaning in conveying messages to establish and maintain social relationships

In addition, the responsibility of teachers is providing activities that involve interaction among learners O‟Malley and Pierce (1996) propose that different kinds of speaking activities are appropriate at different levels of proficiency Therefore teachers should give practice at all levels so that learners can express and produce spontaneous language In terms of fluency and accuracy, Byrne (1984) also states that oral fluency, the ability to express reasonably, accurately, and without hesitation, should be the primary goal in teaching the productive skill of speaking

2.1.3 Teaching speaking in a classroom

A basic model for teaching productive skills was given by Harmer (2007)

He points out that teacher‟s management role is a key element to success in classroom tasks in speaking lessons

The procedures for speaking class include the following activities as described in Figure 1 Firstly, in the lead-in stage, teachers have to involve and make students aware of the topic based on students‟ background knowledge or concerning certain contexts In presenting the task stage, teachers should give clear instructions about what they expect from the students Once students have started, the teachers need to monitor the task, go around to observe and give support if necessary This intervention does not necessarily involve the correction of mistakes, but rather to ensure students‟ progress according to the objectives of the lesson When students finish, feedback is given by teachers and

Testing of speaking skills is a method to measure students‟ strengths and weaknesses in their oral skills From the results of testing, teachers know about the situation of their students‟ speaking skills, and teaching technique is also designed based on each specific level of students In this thesis, the researcher used the result of the final test in module 1 (the module before the intervention) to have an overall background information on students‟ level, in order to choose and design suitable speaking activities which follows Cooperative Learning approach

Lead-in Set the

tasks Observe

Give feedback

Follow-up

First of all, Kagan (1990) defines CL as a methodology that employs various learning activities to enhance students‟ comprehension of a subject by means of a structured approach involving a number of steps that help students to build, evaluate and apply concepts

Richards and Rodgers (2001) suggest that Cooperative learning is an approach to teaching that makes maximum use of cooperative activities involving pairs and small groups of learners in the classroom

Cooperative learning is defined as students working together to “attain group goals that cannot be obtained by working alone or

competitively” (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1986)

Especially, according to many researchers, Cooperative Learning is not a simple way of putting students in groups, but more importantly, students have to cooperate to accomplish mutual goals and motivate, help and support each other

Kagan (1994) defines CL as “group learning activity organized so that learning is dependent on the socially structured exchange of information between learners in a group and in which each learner is held accountable for his

or her own learning and is motivated to increase the learning of others.”

According to Johnson, Johnson & Holubec (2013), CL is the instructional use of small groups to optimize students‟ learning and groups‟ learning It is an instructional program in which students work in small groups to support each other to master academic performance Similarly, Duplass (2006) and McKeachie

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(2007) suggest that CL requires students who work in teams to achieve a common goal, under conditions including positive interdependence, individual as well as group accountability, appropriate use of collaborative skills and group processing

From these above definitions, one common perception is that CL is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other‟s learning

2.2.2 Basic elements

Like other instructional methods, Cooperative learning has its main elements to be implemented As suggested by Johnson and Johnson (2002), there are 5 main elements:

2.2.2.1 Positive interdependence

This first element belongs to the theory of “sink or swim together” The students‟ understanding of the concept “sink or swim together” relies on successful cooperative learning Jolliffe (2007) noted that the students have to work to ensure that each participant has to complete the task with the others This is a “one for all, all for one” attitude Johnson and Johnson (2002) indicated that students have to obtain the assignment in cooperative learning environments

to ensure that all group members understand it Positive interdependence enables students to realize that when they work in cooperation, they have the same objectives to achieve; they also need to understand that their work helps group members and helps them with their work Students work together to help other participants learn by exchanging information and ideas to support and encourage one another and to celebrate their shared performance Finally, positive interdependence must ensure that every team member's actions are important to group success and that every group member contributes to the mutual effort

2.2.2.2 Face to face interaction

Face-to-face interaction is the practice of students who help and encourage each other in their efforts to reach, execute, and generate tasks to achieve the group's objectives Face-to-face experiences take the form of

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clarifications, descriptions, or even the sense of common words as individuals offer help and assistance Students can also exchange information and material for well-organized face-to-face interactions They can help each other to share their thoughts and opinions with their groups to get meaningful information that serves the topic Effective face-to-face interaction allows students to correct errors or feedback to each other to enhance their learning performance Last but certainly not least, students should be encouraged and supported to make them less nervous and depressed (Johnson & Johnson, 2002)

2.2.2.3 Individual accountability

Individual accountability is the third basic element in cooperation education The idea that students need to consider groups that need support and encouragement to achieve this goal is reinforced by Johnson and Johnson (2002) Group members should fulfill their group obligations and not rely on the efforts of others Each student's strengths are established by collaborative learning groups For educators, individual accountability can be organized commonly: teachers should keep the group's size low since small collective groups promote individual accountability Teachers will assess each student to make sure each student contributes to the class Teachers can be organized into the individual accountability of groups to appoint students from each class to advise and demonstrate to their group members what they have learned

2.2.2.4 Interpersonal and small group skills

Interpersonal and small group skills (Johnson & Johnson, 2002) are the fourth fundamental element of cooperative learning Teachers and students should make good use of the interpersonal and group skills for well-structured cooperative training; it is not by accident if interpersonal or smaller group skills are required Teachers have to learn about the “social skills” needed for collaboration in order to ensure that students are ready and motivated to make better use of them These skills include giving constructive feedback, reaching consensus and communicating accurately and unambiguously and involving every member in the learning process

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To coordinate efforts to achieve mutual goals, students have to get to know each other and trust each other, to know one another's temperament and thought They also should sustain their faith over time and understand that each participant is responsible for the work that he/she does in the classroom Students need to interact accurately and explicitly, in order to make other group members understand the problems associated with the subject more profoundly Group members should be mutually supportive and supporting

2.2.2.5 Group processing

Group processing (Johnson & Johnson, 2002) is the fifth main element of cooperative learning Group members affect successful collaborative efforts and the manner in which they assess their forms and strategies of performing class assignments Students need to test how they work together on a project Students measure the group by explaining each member's activities and whether they are constructive and advantageous and by agreeing on actions to be taken by the group members

With regard to the role of the teachers, they will closely observe the operative working groups by walking around groups and understanding how students operate on the task Students‟ discussions provide important information on how students understand the teaching, principles, and implementation of the essential elements of cooperative learning by teachers To conclude, the whole understanding of the main elements that build up cooperative learning is all that makes a team or group work together

co-2.2.3 Collaborative Learning and Cooperative Learning

In the teaching and learning context, the terms Collaborative learning and Cooperative Learning are often used interchangeably Both these learning theories require students to actively join in groups to complete a task or project

In both approaches, teaching interpersonal skills is necessary and student talks

or interactions are emphasized as a means for achieving the speaking skill-the ultimate goal

of approach, the group is assessed as a whole and students are also individually accountable for their work Moreover, cooperative groups work face-to-face whereas in collaborative students discuss a lecture or even work together over the Internet

Although they all have many benefits in language teaching, effective cooperative and collaborative learning do not necessarily come easy From the real context of this action research, the author decided to choose cooperative learning for the following reasons Firstly, using cooperative learning in lessons means teachers structure all the activities and each student has been given a specific role that can create a learning environment where students actively participate in the task and achieve group goals together Secondly, cooperative learning helps learners practice the language they are learning in a very comprehensible way When cooperative groups are guided by clear objectives, students engage in numerous activities, draw upon past experience and knowledge and become the master of their own knowledge Finally, in cooperative learning, diversity is celebrated, and all contributions are valued and respected In cooperative groups, students can share strengths and also develop high levels of thinking skills by analyzing, evaluating and using the new information provided by others in the group From that, they also develop their interpersonal and social skills and learn to cope with conflict

of curriculum settings; to provide opportunities for learners to develop successful learning and communication strategies; to enhance learners‟ motivation and reduce learners‟ stress and to create a positive affective classroom climate; and to enable focused attention to particular lexical items, language structures, and communicative functions through the use of interactive tasks

2.3.2 Benefits of CLL

According to Slavin (1999), cooperative learning techniques have led to some of the greatest success stories in the educational world Researches have documented many benefits of using cooperative learning techniques in the classroom Cooperative learning approaches and its key elements have significantly contributed to the development of the results and level of accomplishments of students Therefore, as described by Zhang (2010), cooperative learning has numerous advantages

- Offers the incentives for input and output:

Cooperative language training offers an appropriate and engaging environment in order to allow students to listen and deal with certain issues (problem resolution) Cooperative language learning allows students to obtain understandable input and output and communication processes

- Creates effective climate:

Students should practice and repeat their responses with their group members as a way to decrease anxiety and fear before joining the whole class

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- Fosters learners‟ responsibility and independence:

The main objective of cooperative learning is to improve the chances of the participation of all students when working together Cooperative learning thus tends to reinforce the responsibility of individuals

2.3.3 A model of CLL

2.3.3.1 Roles of teachers

In a foreign language learning environment, teachers play significant and different roles James, C et al (1994) suggested some responsibilities of teachers as planning lessons, activities, and evaluation; grouping students, physical placement of students; presenting and explaining the tasks to the students; monitoring group activities and intervening when necessary; helping students to improve social skills; and evaluating students

The teacher as a designer of cooperative learning situations

They have to stress the benefits of cooperative learning in order to show the importance of working together for students They need to be well-prepared for the lesson plan, design activities, evaluate which ensures integrate the cooperative learning elements

The teacher as a facilitator

It is very significant that students should acknowledge their teacher‟s concern over them and thus the teacher should become the best facilitator to them in all the aspects As a facilitator, he/ she has to direct and support students

in learning for themselves as a self-explorer Teachers should lay a strong foundation for their personal growth by developing the best learning environment which reflects the students‟ life in societal, intellectual, and linguistic occurrences Harel (1992) suggested that facilitators are the ones who give feedback, redirect the group with questions, encourage the group to solve its own problems, encourage thinking, manage conflict, observe students, and supply resources

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The teacher as a participant

From time to time, teachers should be present to discuss or give ideas for the whole group work In this sense, teachers play the role of a participant like other members of the group

The teacher as a manager

The teacher‟s role as a manager is very significant and imperative in managing a class A teacher has to plan well in advance regarding handling the

classes within the stipulated time, covering academics as well as interpersonal

skills with various teaching techniques which are obviously a path to practical approach An experienced teacher can manage the timings according to their

own experience Perfect classroom management by a teacher using the major

mechanisms will lead to the success of teaching-learning methods

2.3.3.2 Roles of students

Foreign language students should have mutual roles along with the process of learning the target language in order to understand their responsibility

toward the language they wish to master

James, C et al, (1994) also suggest some responsibilities like contributing to the group‟s efforts, encouraging their fellow group members to contribute, keeping each other on task, working toward their shared goal, treating each other with care

and respect It means students nowadays play the role as a teacher besides other learners to teach their friends and they can learn a lot from this position

Richards and Rodgers (2001) stated that the primary role of the learner is

a member who must work collaboratively on tasks with others in a group It means that students themselves have to prepare skills related to working in a

team And simultaneously, they are also directors of their own learning, they are

taught to plan, monitor, and evaluate their studying They also said that pair grouping was the most typical CLL format because it ensured the maximum

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amount of time both learners spend on learning tasks Pair tasks ask students to

be tutors, checkers, recorders, and information sharers

2.3.3.3 Types of learning and teaching activities

The use of cooperative learning groups in instruction is based on the

principle of constructivism, with particular attention to the contribution that

social interaction can make In essence, constructivism rests on the idea that individuals learn through building their own knowledge, connecting new ideas

and experiences to existing knowledge and experiences to form new or

enhanced understanding (Bransford, et al., 1999)

Cooperative learning is characterized by positive interdependence, where

students perceive that better performance by individuals produces better

performance by the entire group (Johnson et al., 2014)

Johnson and Johnson (1994) (two well-known pioneers in modern methods of

cooperative learning) have identified three main types of cooperative learning,

including formal cooperative learning groups, informal cooperative learning groups, and cooperative base groups (Johnson & Johnson, as cited in Wong (2001)

First, formal cooperative learning groups

It is considered as the most widely used method in which students work

together for one or several units in order to accomplish the learning goals and

complete the tasks and assignments together (Johnson et al, 2014) Some typical activities can help these groups work well like giving the learning objectives for

activity, assigning students to cooperative groups, directing the necessary skills

or criteria for the success in the task, monitoring the groups, making intervention

to improve the task and evaluating students learning and group performance

The goal of teachers is to maximize interdependence and active involvement

among students

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Second, informal cooperative learning groups

In this type of teaching and learning activities, students work as a group in

a very short time like just a few minutes or a period of class to answer questions

or respond to prompts posed by the instructor to gather students‟ attention

Third, cooperative base groups

These groups are long-lasting and heterogeneously formed with a stable membership This kind of group is established to support, encourage, and assist members to achieve the academic performance As a result, it improves attendance, personalizes the works, and improves quality and quantity of learning (Jacob, 1994) It lasts at least one semester or year

2.3.4 Differences between CLL and traditional methods

There are three basic ways students can interact with each other as they learn During the learning process, students can work alone towards independent goals to achieve individualistic goals Or they can follow traditional methods based on competitive goals where students work against each other towards some goals or rewards The final way is cooperative approach activities are organized where students work with each other towards a common goal

Although there are many opposite ideas to Cooperative language learning, its effectiveness in supporting students where they work as team members have been proved through these following comparisons to Traditional approach

Table 1 Comparison between traditional approach and CLL

Interdependence Students are not

interdependent There is no meaningful sense that students will work as a group

to create a successful piece

of work

True cooperative learning encourages students to work together to succeed

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Accountability The structure of individual

responsibilities is not offered

by a conventional learning group The majority of work will be distributed to those who have a strong motivation to get a high mark for all team members

Through rubrics, instructor feedback, and peer reviews, a shared learning community offers mutual accountability

Leadership One student is appointed to

be a group leader

All team members share leadership positions

Responsibility Students are homogeneously

formed so they only take responsibility for themselves

Students have to share responsibility through the process of doing group work Social skills Social skills are often

ignored

Teamwork and social skills are directly well instructed and evaluated through the tool of assessment

Teacher

involvement

Teachers just give out a task and give the time allowance for this task

Teachers observe and evaluate more to ensure that each group operates effectively as a team

Group

evaluation

Evaluation occurs with the assessment of the success of the task given

Evaluation occurs with the assessment of not only the success of the task given but also the effectiveness of group work, rate other team members,

and discuss teamwork issues

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2.3.5 Group formation

Johnson and Johnson (2009) stated: “not all groups are cooperative” To cooperative learning, group work is carefully divided, planned, organized, and monitored (Jacobs, 1997; Johnson and Johnson, 1994) Therefore, how to form a group is a matter which needs to be considered It is suggested that group formation and variation in group inputs (member abilities/skills/relations) nurture different types of group interactions and outcomes (Hishina, Okada and Suzuki (2005) The act of putting students in groups or choosing their peers, therefore, is essential to successful cooperative learning There are 3 grouping strategies in applying CLL as follow:

- Randomly assigned groups

In this type of group formation, students are put together randomly This

is a simple way of forming groups since it does not require prerequisites For example, if students sit next to each other in class, they may be assigned to the same group This brings the advantages is that it seems fair and unbiased to students when everyone has an equal chance to be selected to form a group And all students have to take part in activities, therefore, no one is left behind However, in reality, sometimes, randomly assigned groups tend to be less or no longer random when students who sit near together have the same level

- Homogeneously-assigned groups

This type of group is aimed at creating a working environment with similar abilities and skills which is often based on academic performance Johnson and Johnson (1999) suggested that instructor-assigned groups usually result in the best student mix because teachers are better than students to form optimal combinations

- Heterogeneously-assigned groups

Like homogeneous-assigned groups, heterogeneously-assigned ones also base on the record of academic performance However, on the contrary to homogeneous-assigned groups, heterogeneously-assigned ones are formed of members from a wide range of abilities, skills, gender, or ethnic background

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There are certain advantages regarding the heterogeneous grouping of students

in CL Promoting heterogeneous groups can lead to a positive effect on students‟ achievement since cultural diversity can become a source of learning materials for students to explore Students can have chances to develop elaborative thinking, explanations skills like improving relations within the group One typical disadvantage is the work in this kind of group is not equally divided as in student-selected groups

- Student-selected groups

In this group, students have the supreme right to choose their partners Because of the familiarity among members in self-selected, they easily communicate, discuss with each other, therefore, the information exchange has improved Chapman et al (2006) conducted an experiment on marketing students at a residential American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business

to assess the two most commonly used methods of cooperative learning: selected and random assignment (i.e., student-selected and randomly-assigned) The experiment responses suggested that members of student-selected groups were generally better at getting along, communicating, and were more enthusiastic about working together However, they appeared to be less task-oriented than the members from groups formed by other grouping methods

self-2.4 Cooperative Language Learning strategies

2.4.1 Language learning strategies

Cohen (1998:5) provides the following statement: “Second language learner strategies encompass both second language learning and second language use strategies Taken together they constitute the steps or actions consciously selected by learners either to improve the learning of a second language, the use

of it, or both Moreover, according to Rigney (1978), second language acquisition

is a long and complicated process This process is focused on the utilization of language learning strategies, which are described as operations used by learners in order to aid the acquisition, storage, or retrieval of information

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Basically, “learning strategy” is an individual‟s approach to complete a task In other words, a learning strategy is an individual's way of organizing and using a particular set of skills in order to learn content or accomplish other tasks more effectively and efficiently in school as well as in nonacademic settings (Schumaker & Deshler, 1992)

The concept of strategies has been proved difficult to define in an agreed fashion, like Ellis, R (1994:530) comments Oxford (1990:49) stated that there

is no complete consensus on what strategies are, how many strategies exist, how they should be defined and classified Dansereau, 1978, cited in Olga, 2003, p.4) acknowledges that strategies are a set of processes or steps for storing and utilizing the already acquired information Weinstein and Mayer (1986, cited in Olga, 2003:10) described learning strategies as “behaviors or thoughts that a learner engages in during learning that are intended to influence the learners‟ encoding process” (p.315)

“Language classroom is like a problem-solving environment in which language learners are likely to face new input and difficult tasks given by their instructors, learners‟ attempts to find the quickest or easiest way to do what is required Using language learning strategies is inescapable” (Ha, 2008:240-241) Oxford (1985) and Oxford and Crookall (1989) stated that whatever names are given (techniques, devices, steps, ways, behaviors or actions) the aims of learning strategies are to facilitate the learning process by assisting the learners

to learn, solve problems and develop study skills

A great body of research confirms the relationship between learners‟ language learning strategies and their English proficiency (Park, 1997; Peacock and Ho, 2003; Nisbet et al., 2005; Adbullah and Seyyed, 2012) Oxford (1990), Wenden (1991) and Chamot (2004) have suggested that learners might be able

to learn the language more effectively thanks to the use of learning strategies

Taken these above issues into the consideration, it is concluded that language learning strategies could be understood as the specific steps students

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take to improve their progress in learning a second or foreign language and optimizing learning strategies improves language performance

2.4.2 Cooperative Learning strategies

Language learning strategies are not equally effective, meaning that some strategies will allow the language learner to acquire the new language better and faster than others (Oxford, 1989; Gerami and Baighlou, 2011; Lavasani and Faryadres,2011) Especially, many educational studies have verified the significant impact of the implementation of the concept of cooperation on the learning of students

In reality, modes of Cooperation in language learning classrooms are considered as cooperative structures, cooperative strategies or cooperative activities According to Steiner et al (2014), CL strategies employ formally structured groups of students working together to maximize their own and other students‟ learning This pedagogical approach transforms the classroom from one in which students are passive recipients of the teacher‟s knowledge, to one

in which they are active participants in their own education

There are two major theoretical perspectives associated with cooperative learning: motivational and cognitive (Swortzel, 1997) In this study, the researcher decided to base on the theoretical framework of CL as Johnson, Johnson & Holubec (1986) suggest

Firstly, since students perceive that their success or failure depends on their ability to function as a member of groups, students are likely to motivate each other to help the groups succeed They are even more willing to support each other with accessible tasks Therefore, cooperative learning increases student motivation to do academic work (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1986)

The other theory is that cooperative learning enables students to acquire critical thinking skills A better understanding of the material is obtained because cooperative learning produces a situation in which students need to explain and explore different viewpoints Elaborative thinking is promoted

Although different terms namely “techniques, strategies, operations, ways, methods, thoughts, structures, activities…” have been employed, the researcher condenses this variety into the term: “Cooperative Learning activities” to contextualize Cooperative learning approach in accordance with English speaking lessons conducted in this study

2.4.3 Cooperative Language Learning activities

Many activities that belong to certain approach are unique to certain stages, while others are generally applicable (Slavin, 1991) Cooperative learning is also the case On the one hand, most cooperative learning strategies are tested for their efficacy On the other hand, it is not automatically guaranteed to succeed in cooperative modes of learning It is important for teachers to understand and look at the entire picture of the method and strategy to make appropriate use of CL in the foreign language teaching and learning context That is the reason why the author tries to figure out some following CLL activities

Student Teams-Achievement Divisions

Students are formed into four or five members in each group in STAD (Student teams-achievement divisions) in which each group is a “microcosm” for the entire class In this way, a lecture or discussion will be given by the teacher every week The group members then have a role to play in the job; they will work

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together on problems one at a time Afterward, students will have to turn around, discuss problems as a group, or use the means to master the task Group members are assigned to work on the job until all group members know clearly about the work Once students complete the task, they should be checked individually for that practice The individual grades are shown in the overall accomplishments

In addition, the test results are used to determine the performance of each pupil A system called score enhancement is preceded by STAD This system allows each group member to add the greatest number of points to their group

In this case, students should do their best to make substantial progress in the fulfillment of the job (Slavin, 1991)

Jigsaw

The groupings of 5-6 students are divided into sections of Jigsaw (Aronson 1978 cited in Slavin 1991) Every group member in a group named

“Home team” initially offers its own section the ability for two students to share

a section The next meeting is to discuss and examine their parts by members of different groups working on the same sections in “expert groups.” Then students

go back to their groups and continue to tell their group partners about their topics Students should be attentive to their fellow students so that they know and achieve more

Think-pair-share

The targets are like the “rally table” in order to make the students pair shares The way it is done is only slightly different Students are split into pairs in this system The teacher calls up a topic for debate and students give their own responses Students then speak to each other about their thoughts Finally, the professor tells the students to share their ideas with their groups and then the professor will call a student to share their ideas This is a perfect way to discuss how to fix problems

think-The teams of five to six students are part of the Jigsaw system (Aronson,

1978 quoted in Slavin, 1991) The assignment is divided into parts In the beginning, each group member poses a possibility that two students will share a

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section in their own class The next step is the discussion and review of the participants of “expert groups” from different groups that worked on the same pieces Afterward, students come back to their classes to talk about their sections for colleagues Students should be respectful of their fellow students to understand better

Numbered heads together

It is a cooperative strategy in which students work together and check that all group members can explain what their group has done (Kagan, 1992) In this structure, each student has a number, then works alone to do a task and finally, work together to go to a common answer At the end of the discussion, the number called by the teachers will answer the questions on behalf of their team

Group investigation

It is one of the main modes of CL This structure means that students work together on projects Sharan and Sharan (1992) stated each group has a certain assignment in which they decide the way to conduct and finally is evaluated by themselves, their group mates, or the teachers

Games

Students play some relaxing games related to the content of the lesson, and in Hadfield (1987) ideas, language games can be divided into 2 categories: linguistic games that focus on accuracy and communicative games focus on the successful exchange information or ideas Some specific types of language games are listed as matching games: find a match for words, pictures; Sorting games: students are given a file of different crimes and are asked to arrange it in some subgroup of criteria; Information gap game: one student has all information, the other has none and they have to cooperate to complete information successfully; Guessing games, etc

Discussion

Students gather in groups to discuss a topic given by the teachers They learn negotiation skills and support for each other

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Problem-solving and decision making

The teachers give a situation or a problem that needs to be solved, and then students cooperate with each other in an amount of time allotted to find out the solutions for the problem

Peer tutoring or peer check

Students work in groups to help each other, give feedback to partners These are simple and easy activities to apply in speaking lessons of non-major English students However, in this study, the author integrated some types

of cooperative activities (like jigsaw, think-pair-share, numbered head together, games, discussion, peer check, etc.) to the content of the lesson However, due

to the scope of the study and the limitation of the curriculum, some activities could be applied with high frequency and some with less

2.5 Previous studies

When mentioning about the relationship between using CL and speaking classes, Wee and Jacobs (2006:186) stated: “Almost anytime cooperative learning is used, oral skills come into play.” Tang (2000) suggested that CL approach may possibly have benefits in second or foreign language learning

Few studies have been conducted on the impact of cooperative learning (CL) on the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) at the tertiary level

in four language skills

Firstly, in order to research the development of language skills for students via cooperative training, Holmes (2003) carried out an empirical study

in a Malaysian university The study compared students working alone and in pairs through the application of CL in language skills development He discovered that college students achieved better results and had better attitudes Furthermore, his data analysis revealed that students‟ language skills were improved while working in groups, the ability to express their ideas, in particular There have, however, been some weaknesses in manipulation or disappointment The overall research results showed that most students had positive feedback about working in pairs Fifty-five (80%) of the pairs reported

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that they had had a good experience with a partner and thirty-eight (57%) said they enjoyed doing the project

The study of Ning, H., and Hornby, G (2010) examined the influence of

CL on the English speaking, reading, and vocabulary abilities of Chinese EFL learners 100 first-year English school students from a university in northern China were attendees In order to study the impact of the CL approach to student language competences compared to conventional instruction, a pre-test and post-test community quasi-experimental framework has been used The findings showed clear differences in the fields of reading, speaking, and listening for CL, but there were no gaps in writing and vocabulary between the two methods

Wichadee S (2005) conducted research titled “The effects of CL on English reading skills and attitudes of the first-year students at Bangkok University” by applying Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) in a period of eight weeks The tools for data analysis are the reading comprehension test, the questionnaire of attitudes towards cooperative learning, the cooperative learning behavioral assessment form, and the interview The pre-test and post-test scores of the group were compared using a t-test dependent measure Results indicate that the students obtained higher reading comprehension scores for the post-test than the pre-test scores at the 05 level of significance As to their attitudes towards cooperative learning, the findings indicate that most students rated cooperative learning moderately positive Also, assessment forms show they performed good cooperative learning behaviors in their tasks

Moreover, the effectiveness of CL was also proved through students from different levels of achievement The progress of college business students of different achievement levels was compared by Hampton & Grundnitski (1996) after they had engaged in CL A ratio of the average post-cooperative learning test scores to the average pre-cooperative learning test scores for each student showed the improvement in an introductory course The result showed that 215 achievement-diverse participants in cooperative learning did not benefit equally