Using cooperative learning approach to enhance 10th grade students english speaking competence an action research at a high school in vietnam

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI THUY USING COOPERATIVE LEARNING APPROACH TO ENHANCE 10th GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH SPEAKING COMPETENCE: AN ACTION RESEARCH

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

NGUYEN THI THUY

USING COOPERATIVE LEARNING APPROACH

TO ENHANCE 10th GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH SPEAKING COMPETENCE: AN ACTION RESEARCH

AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN VIETNAM

M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201

THAI NGUYEN - 2020

ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN

Mã số: 8220201

THÁI NGUYÊN - 2020

ABSTRACT

The action research aimed to investigate the effects of cooperative learning on the students’ speaking competence and explore the students’ attitude towards this approach Forty students of grade 10 at Pho Yen high school in Thai Nguyen province were chosen The data was collected by a speaking test, a questionnaire, and an observation checklist to answer the two research questions The findings showed that cooperative learning had a positive effect on the students’ English speaking competence Data from the pre-test and post-test scores demonstrated that cooperative learning improved the 10th-grade students’ English speaking competence Besides, through the questionnaire and observation checklist, it could be seen that most of the students expressed a positive attitude towards applying cooperative learning and an interest in group work, which demonstrated that they believed in its positive effects Based on the results, the researcher made some suggestions for teachers to apply the cooperative learning approach effectively in teaching English speaking lessons

DECLARATION

I declare that this research report entitled “Using cooperative learning approach to enhance 10th grade students’ English speaking competence:

An action research at high school in Vietnam” has been composed by

myself and described my own work unless otherwise acknowledged in the text I confirm that this work is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master at School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University This work has not been and will not be submitted for any other degree at any other higher education institution

I also would like to thank students of class 10C1, Pho Yen high school,

to provide me with a lot of useful information

And, lastly, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my family for their warm encouragement and support

Thai Nguyen, 2020

Student

Nguyen Thi Thuy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT i

DECLARATION ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES viii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationales 1

1.2 Aims of the study 3

1.3 Scope of the study 3

1.4 Significance of the study 3

1.5 Organization of the study 4

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 The Definition of Speaking Competence 5

2.1.1 Definition of speaking competence 5

2.1.2 Aspects of Speaking 5

2.2 Teaching Speaking 7

2.2.1 Principles of Designing Speaking Activities 7

2.2.2 Teacher’s Roles during the Speaking Lesson 10

2.3 Cooperative Learning 11

2.3.1 The Definitions of Cooperative Learning 11

2.3.2 Cooperative Learning Theories 12

2.3.3 Advantages of Cooperative Learning 15

2.3.4 Cooperative Learning and Speaking Competence 17

2.3.5 Models of Cooperative Learning 18

2.4 Attitude in language learning 21

2.4.1 Definition of attitude 21

2.4.2 Importance of attitude in language learning 22

2.5 Previous Studies 23

2.6 Summary 27

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 28

3.1 Research questions 28

3.2 Design of the study 28

3.2.1 Rationale 29

3.2.2 Action Research Model 29

3.3 Subjects of the study 31

3.4 Data collection instrument 31

3.4.1 Speaking test 31

3.4.2 Questionnaire 33

3.4.3 Observation checklist 34

3.5 Teaching materials 35

3.6 Data collection procedure 37

3.6.1 Planning 37

3.6.2 Action 37

3.6.3 Observation 40

3.6.4 Reflection 40

3.7 Data analysis 40

3.8 Summary 41

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 42

4.1 Results 42

4.1.1 Results of the speaking test 42

4.1.2 Data from the student questionnaire 47

4.1.3 Data from the observation checklist 49

4.2 Discussion 50

4.2.1 Research question 1: To what extent does cooperative learning approach improve the students' speaking competence? 50

4.2.2 Research question 2: What are the students’ attitudes toward the use of cooperative learning approach? 52

4.3 Summary 54

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 55

5.1 Conclusion 55

5.2 Implications 56

5.2.1 Awareness of benefits and importance of cooperative learning 56

5.2.2 Blending of traditional teaching approach and cooperative learning approach 56

5.2.3 Creating more opportunities for students to practice speaking 57

5.2.4 Guidance to students on how to play roles in cooperative learning activities 57

5.2.5 Designing and planning appropriate tasks 58

5.3 Limitations of the study 58

5.4 Recommendations for further research 59

REFERENCES 60

APPENDIX 1: SPEAKING TEST FOR STUDENTS I

APPENDIX 2: ORAL ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES III

APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS V

(ENGLISH VERSION) V

APPENDIX 4: QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENTS VI

(VIETNAMESE VERSION) VI

APPENDIX 5: OBSERVATION CHECKLIST VII

APPENDIX 6: LESSON PLAN VIII

APPENDIX 7: RESULTS OF THE TESTS XV

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Syntax model of Cooperative model learning STAD type

with NHT 20

Table 2 Converted marks for assessing speaking competence 32

Table 3 Schedule of applying cooperative learning 36

Table 4 Descriptive statistics of the pre-test 42

Table 5 Frequency of the pre-test scores 43

Table 6 Descriptive statistics of the post-test 44

Table 7 Frequency of the post-test scores 44

Table 8 Descriptive statistics of the pre-test and post-test scores 46

Table 9 Students’ attitude toward using cooperative learning 47

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 An action research cycle (Burns, 2010) 30

Figure 2 Results of the pre-test scores 43

Figure 3 Results of the post-test scores 45

Figure 4 Comparison of the pre-test and post-test scores 45

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationales

As a means of communication, speaking is one of the most crucial skills

to be improved and boosted (Leong & Ahmadi, 2017) Current pedagogical practices in English language education have reflected the transformation from a teacher-centered learning model to a learner-centered learning model According

to Ning (2010), in a teacher-centered approach, teachers tend to do most of the talking, and they also work as the only source of knowledge while students are considered as passive recipients in the learning Gomleksiz (2007) also indicated that this approach has negatively affected language learners and produced incompetent English users There has been a gradual shift from a teacher-centered approach to a learner-centered approach in recent years Compared to the traditional method, the learner-centered approach gives students more opportunities to express themselves in speaking the language The shift also signifies a new era in which students should be given room to be active and express themselves in speaking environments

Over the past decade, cooperative learning has appeared as one of the leading learner-centered approaches in teaching English One critical reason for this tendency is that several studies in different settings have suggested that language learners tend to achieve higher academic performance, self-esteem, and greater comprehension when involved in cooperative group activities (Alam, 2013) Rather than working individually, the cooperative learning method can be achieved through interdependent tasks and activities This feature makes cooperative learning better for students’ achievements than conventional methods (Kim, 2005) It is clear that while students who work individually tend to compete with their peers to gain higher scores and other

rewards, cooperative learning allows all members' success and achievements Unlike individual tasks, cooperative learning boosts competition among different groups, which can solve various problems

The Cooperative Learning Approach has also proved useful and practical in teaching speaking skills to strengthen learners’ speaking capacity Ning (2010) further claimed that this method works as an alternative teaching method that allows students to have more speaking time and social interaction with others According to Al-Sohbani (2013), cooperative learning gives students opportunities to interact and vary their learning styles to develop their speaking skills naturally

In the teaching context at Pho Yen high school, there existed some problems with speaking skills that the researcher came across to help the students talk in the classroom Inhibition was the first problem that the students encountered in class They were worried about making mistakes and afraid of being criticized by other people while speaking They were also ashamed of the other students’ attention towards themselves The second problem in the speaking class was that students were still passive in participating, mostly working in small groups with other students During teaching English at Pho Yen high school, the researcher also realized the problems in the students' group work First, some students were not very hard-working and inactive to cooperate in groups and take responsibilities while working in a team Next, team members sometimes disagreed with each other, which led to a stressful learning atmosphere Besides, team members lacked the skills to assign their tasks, resulting in inefficiency for teamwork activities Furthermore, some students were still passive and lacked self-awareness when working in groups Finally, sometimes, students assigned to

be the leaders of their teams tended to follow a style that imposed their personal opinions rather than listening to ideas from other members

Based on the currently existing issues, this research was conducted to investigate the influence and effectiveness of the cooperative learning approach

to teaching speaking skills to see whether this method could enhance students’ speaking competence or not Therefore, the researcher decided to conduct the study “Using cooperative learning approach to enhance 10th grade students’ English competence: An action research at a high school in Vietnam”

1.2 Aims of the study

The researcher wanted to apply cooperative learning approach to enhance the students' speaking competence Therefore, the researcher aimed

to evaluate its effects on the students' speaking competence and explore the students' attitudes towards the cooperative learning approach Hopefully, this approach could help students improve their speaking ability

With the aims mentioned above, the current study answers the following research questions:

- To what extent does cooperative learning approach improve the students' speaking competence?

- What are the students' attitudes toward the use of cooperative learning approach?

1.3 Scope of the study

This research was quite broad, and the researcher found it difficult to handle all the problems Therefore, considering limited time and knowledge, the researcher limited the scope of the study Based on the background and the identification of the problem, this study's focus was on investigating the effects

of the cooperative learning approach on the 10th-grade students’ speaking competence at Pho Yen high school in the second semester of the academic year 2019-2020 The study's findings were expected to be meaningful in the teaching theory and practice of general teaching in Vietnam

1.4 Significance of the study

The result of this research was expected to give some theoretical and practical advantages In terms of academic advantage, this research could

provide beneficial and referential contributions in providing general knowledge of improving the students’ speaking skills Concerning practical advantages, the researcher hoped to bring some benefits:

a) to the researcher, the research could give practice in developing her knowledge and skill in problem-solving processes

b) to the teachers of English in Pho Yen high school, the research could be used as a source of information about ways to improve the students’ speaking skills

c) to 10th-grade students at Pho Yen high school, the research would make them more interested and motivated to learn and to speak English

d) to other researchers, the research could give a general knowledge of improving students’ speaking skills and as the foundation for the next study

1.5 Organization of the study

This thesis consists of five main chapters A summary of the content of each chapter is described as follows

Chapter 1: Introduction

In this part, the rationale, aims, significance, and scope of the thesis are presented

Chapter 2: Literature Review

In this section, the researcher explains some theoretical issues Besides, the related ideas in previous studies are reviewed in this chapter

Chapter 3: Methodology

In this chapter, an overview of related research methodology is reviewed, and then the selected method is discussed in detail

Chapter 4: Results and Discussion

In this part, the results of data analysis and the findings of the research are presented

Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations

In this part, the researcher summarizes the findings of the thesis After that, the limitation of the research and the suggestions for further research are also included

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter discusses the theory and the previous research into the areas that form the underpinnings for this study The first section defines the speaking competence and aspects of speaking In the second section, the researcher gives an overview of teaching speaking, including designing speaking techniques and teacher’s roles during the speaking lesson The third section discusses cooperative learning theories, and the fourth section gives general knowledge about attitude in language learning The last area

is a review of related studies

2.1 The Definition of Speaking Competence

2.1.1 Definition of speaking competence

If speaking is an oral form of communication, then speaking competence is defined as one’s ability to appropriately and correctly use the language to achieve communicative purposes (Hunsaker, 2000) In other words, speaking competence may be defined as the ability to use the correct words (vocabulary), in the right order (grammar), with the correct pronunciation, and in the appropriate context with the social norms and cultural rules (Burkart, 1998)

2.1.2 Aspects of Speaking

In teaching speaking, some aspects need to be considered by the teacher Brown (2001) proposes four aspects of speaking skills, namely fluency, accuracy, pronunciation, and vocabulary They become the main requirements for the teacher to design the speaking activities for his/her students Therefore, a good speaking activity has to cover all these four following aspects

a Fluency

A speaker is considered as a fluent speaker if he/she can use the language quickly and confidently, with few hesitation or unnatural pauses, false start, word searches, etc (Nunan, 2003) Speakers need to know where he/she has to pause and stop his/her speaking in an appropriate place Furthermore, it can be said to speak fluently if a speaker does not produce word per word at a time in his/her speaking Therefore a good speaker is demanded to produce words in his/her speech into groups of words that form

a meaningful unit that means phrases or clauses

b Accuracy

Nunan (2003) further states that accuracy happens when students’ speech matches what they say when using the target language Specifically, accuracy deals with the grammatical structures which cover some aspects, including speech, tense, phrase, sentence, etc Thus, to achieve accuracy, the students are demanded to use the correct grammatical structures and suitable word choices in their speech

c Pronunciation

At the beginning level, the goal of teaching pronunciation is focused on clear and understandable pronunciation Students should be able to distinguish the differences of sounds in English, including vowels and consonants Furthermore, the pronunciation goals can concentrate on elements that enhance communication at the advanced level, covering stress patterns, intonation, voice quality, reduction, linking sounds, etc

d Vocabulary

Vocabulary becomes an essential part of language learning, which can determine students’ English speaking fluency They can generate sentences only by using words, so it is impossible to speak fluently without having an ample vocabulary site Some students have only limited vocabulary, so they encounter some difficulties in expressing themselves Therefore, the English teacher must put some effort to enrich the students’ vocabulary

2.2 Teaching Speaking

2.2.1 Principles of Designing Speaking Activities

Speaking skill is a critical part of second language acquisition Although speaking is one crucial skill, teaching speaking has been underestimated, and English instructors have implemented their teaching by way of repeating and memorizing the dialogues (Nunan, 2003) Nevertheless, modern life's social contexts require speaking instructors to design activities

to improve learners’ capacity to use language to communicate appropriately based on social and cultural practices in different communicative settings Richard (2006) says that what is needed to use language communicatively is communicative competence, which involves: grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, strategic competence, and discourse competence

According to Brown and Yule (1983), the objective of teaching speaking

is to enable the learners to express their feelings, opinions, and ideas in the target language (English), use English expressions, such as greetings, apologizing, introducing, etc However, in reality, EFL learners find it challenging to boost their speaking competence because they have limited opportunities to get involved in target language environments outside of the classroom (Nunan, 2003)

Concerning the teaching of speaking, Nunan (2003) proposes some principles for designing speaking teaching activities They are p resented

practices to develop both their fluency and accuracy Teachers should not interrupt his/her students in the middle of their speaking, even though it aims to correct the students' speaking mistakes The students could not develop their fluency if they often get an interruption in their speaking

The third principle is that teachers should design various activities to enable students to speak more For example, rather than speaking most of the time in class, teachers should allow students to work in groups, work in pairs, and role play The students are usually reluctant to speak because they are afraid

to make mistakes in their speaking Many students believe that they will have to take responsibility alone if they make speaking mistakes when they speak individually in front of others As a result, they choose to be reserved and say less They will have partners in group activities, so they will not be alone if they make a mistake Therefore, the teacher should not start the speaking activity by asking the students to have a single speaking performance, but he/she can start it

in a group performance Furthermore, instead of dominating the class and talking mainly in class, the teacher should be aware that his/ her main role in speaking activity is to facilitate speaking for students and provide feedback He/she has to encourage and provide more opportunities for the students to practice speaking and give correction if he/she finds the students make mistakes

The fourth principle is planning speaking tasks that involve negotiation for meaning One important feature of communication is to understand and be understood by others These two points show us that there is a process of negotiating meaning in communication Concerning the speaking activity, the teacher is demanded to design the speaking task that can cover the practice of negotiating to mean It involves asking for clarification, repetition, and explanation Therefore, at the end of the lesson the students can have the ability

to clarify their understanding and confirm that someone has understood about they have said during the communication in the target language

The fifth principle is designing classroom activities that involve guidance and practice in both transactional and interactional speaking Interactional and transactional speech is an effective inside-classroom practice to improve spoken language Interactional speech is a form of communication for social purposes, such as establishing and maintaining social relationships This kind of communication is relatively unpredictable In contrast, transactional speech is a form of communication for certain purposes to get something done, such as exchanging goods or services This kind of communication is highly predictable, like telephoning for a taxi The two types of oral production skills enable to put into role play as the possible practice conducted by students

Kayi (2006) suggests some guidance for English language teachers while teaching oral language:

a Learners are provided with various opportunities to speak the target language This could be achieved by different activities, including collaborative work, authentic materials, teamwork activities, etc

b Involved students in different activities by encouraging them to participate in speaking with others rather than working individually

c Instead of speaking in class too much, teachers should give students more time to speak and observe and provide students some feedback

d In terms of giving comments, provide students with some positive feedback first

e Asking some follow-up questions to facilitate more speaking, such as

“Who do you mean by that?” “Could you give us some examples?” so that students can speak more

f In addition to some spoken feedback like “Your presentation was really great It was a good job I appreciated your efforts in preparing the materials and efficient use of your voice ”

g Waiting until students complete their speaking, then providing them some feedback

h Besides speaking activities in the classroom context, teachers should also provide students with some speaking opportunities and environments outside of the class

i Move around the class to ensure that students follow the right direction and whether they need support from the teacher while working in a group or pair

j Giving students some vocabulary before their speaking activities

k Based on students’ performance, the teacher should recognize some troubles or difficulties in expressing themselves from students to support them

In summary, both Nunan (2003) and Kayi (2006) propose almost the same basic principles in teaching speaking Both of them suggest the English language teachers give their students enough opportunity to speak and have a

speaking practice to empower their fluency and accuracy in speaking

2.2.2 Teacher’s Roles during the Speaking Lesson

Teachers play an important role during the teaching and learning process Students cannot learn English without teachers’ guidance Sometimes,

a teacher should motivate the student to learn English The students need their teacher’s guidance in doing activities According to Harmer (2001), a teacher needs to play several different roles during speaking activities The following are the teachers’ role when we are trying to get the learners to speak fluently:

a Prompter

In this case, the teacher helps the students by offering words or phrases

to encourage them to think creatively when they lose their fluency If this can

be done supportively, without disrupting the discussion or forcing the students out of the role, it will stop some students' frustration when they come to a dead-end of language or ideas Commonly, the teachers have to prompt students in monolingual groups to speak English rather than using their mother tongue

b Participants

The teachers act as participants when they participate in the discussion

or role-plays and when they are in dialogue with the class However, the teacher’s participation should not dominate the activity The teacher should stand up in the back to watch and listen when the students are practicing the tasks By doing this, the teacher can avoid his domination in the activity

c Feedback provider

The last role is as the feedback provider The teacher can give feedback

on the students’ speaking, depending on the teacher’s tact and the situation The teacher can give feedback on the activity's content and the language used directly after completing an activity or later at the end of the meeting

2.3 Cooperative Learning

2.3.1 The Definitions of Cooperative Learning

Different researchers have different definitions of cooperative learning Among these definitions, scholars claim:

Richards (1992) points out that: “Cooperative Learning is an approach

to teaching and learning in which classrooms are organized so that students work together in small cooperative teams”

Jordan (2010) had a definition of cooperative learning as follows: “Cooperative

learning, an effective educational practice in many situations, has sometimes been proposed as the magic bullet to solve the educational debate.”

Despite the difference in definition, cooperative learning reflects a teaching technique in which groups of students use activities and tasks to strengthen their understanding of the subject and learning matters Each member of a teacher is in charge of not only their part but also supporting their group mates As a result, it creates an environment of collaboration, and then practice is required In other words, all team members work together to gain common objectives despite their different levels

Based on the references from different definitions associated with this research's objectives, the following definition is used to conduct this study

Cooperative learning might be defined as any classroom learning situation in which students of all performance levels work together in structured groups toward a common goal In the competition with every other individual in the classroom, students are responsible for creating a learning community where all students participate in a significant and meaningful way

2.3.2 Cooperative Learning Theories

Cooperative learning is well-grounded by three famous theories:

- Social Interdependence Theory

- Classical Learning Theory

- Individual Differences Theory

2.3.2.1 Social Interdependence Theory

Social interdependence theory is a classic instance of interaction theory, research, and practice The basic idea of the view is how goals are structured and how individuals interact, which creates outcomes Johnson and Johnson

(2003) claim that “There are two types of social interdependence: positive,

when the actions of individuals promote the achievement of joint goals, and negative when the actions of individuals obstruct the achievement of each other’s goal.” The concepts indicate that positive interdependence exists

when individuals realize that the goals can only be achieved when all members work cooperatively to attain their common goals Negative interdependence exists when individuals understand that they can obtain their goals if the other individuals with whom they competitively fail to achieve their goals and, therefore, disrupt each other’s efforts to achieve them

As a result, positive interdependence leads to promoted interaction, while negative interdependence results in opposite result Promoted interaction happens when individuals support each other and motivate other members to complete their tasks and obtain their common team goals

Previous studies have shown that cooperative learning promotes effort and determination to realize the positive relationship among members The power of cooperative learning depends on the influence of the interdependence

in group activities, leading to encouragement and interaction among members According to Social Interdependence Theory, several studies have demonstrated that cooperation tends to motivate students to make more effort and achieve more positive relationships, more significant psychology than competitive activities, and individual tasks Besides, the effectiveness of cooperation relies on the coordination of obvious and positive interdependence, including individual responsibility that involves using social skills and the group work process These consequences provide a strong confirmation of social interdependence theory, as the validating research encompasses considerable diversity and generalizability Having a supported approach, however, does not imply that it will direct or even influence practice Effective practices can be derived from sound ideas, but they can also be validly derived from unsound theories or no theory Moreover, the practical way can be derived from a validated approach only if the idea is stated with sufficient accuracy that effective procedures can be deduced for practitioners to use

2.3.2.2 Classical Learning Theory

Classical learning theory encompasses four dimensions: reinforcement, correction opportunity, practice opportunity, and transference

a Reinforcement

Kagan and Miguel (2009) claim that “when a reward follows behaviour, it

is more likely to be repeated The quote implies that students will get the higher motivation to complete their tasks early if their teacher provides them with a small prize in class with the same number of assignments

It is demonstrated that to transform from delayed reinforcement to frequent reinforcement and from low motivation to high motivation, cooperative learning with the coordination of immediate rewards and prizes, students will get higher desires to accomplish their tasks and purposes

b Correction Opportunity

Students tend to acquire feedback and suggestions from their classmates naturally through various activities together compared to teachers' feedback Hence, cooperative learning enables peer corrections to happen more frequently In cooperative learning, corrections and feedback are more contexts relevant, frequent, and more supportive

so the acquisition situation resembles the conditions in which the students implement the skills they have learned Cooperative learning shows a more positive influence since it deals with the transference gap among students Students are simultaneously learning essential skills that they need in their real lives through cooperative learning activities

2.3.2.3 Individual Differences Theory

Individual differences are the differences from one person to another on different criteria: personality, learning style, motivation, cognitive ability, and multiple intelligences Each student has his or her way of learning However, among different variables, the most apparent differences are numerous intelligence and learning styles

According to Freeman (2000), some students are better with visual effects than those who listen to the material It depends on the structures of multiple-intelligence This is related to linguistic and verbal students, including debate, dialogues, discussion, and team interviews

Kagan (1998) highlights the connections between cooperative learning and multiple intelligences He further emphasizes that simple multiple intelligences instructional strategies can be incorporated into lessons easily

Watkins (2007) also argues that learning styles remind teachers that young learners learn in different ways and methods Therefore, the teacher should design learning activities variously For example, some students are very good at getting involved in conversations; others are better at convincing others, so the activity and style designed in the classroom should be different

Joliffe (2007) explains that it is dangerous to consider individuals as having fixed learning styles

In addition to valuable concepts and ideas from previous studies and theories, the researcher in the current study also supported using various teaching strategies and techniques to provide students with opportunities for practicing the language and enhance their fluency

2.3.3 Advantages of Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning brings not only social advantages but also educational benefits One of the critical benefits of cooperative learning is to develop various social skills, including communication, confidence, leadership skill, and conflict management skill Those social skills make a positive contribution to the general learning contentment

Students with different backgrounds, attitudes, personalities, and skills can learn from each other through cooperative learning activities Watkins (2007) mentions that in the first step of cooperation, learners expand their knowledge and understanding by explaining each other's meaning Students make sense of the challenges and present their understanding of the problem

in their way Watkins (2007) stresses the significance of explaining students’ abilities to each other Since by doing this, students not only enhance their knowledge but also improve their social skills Besides, group activities enable individuals to express and share their personal experiences with everyday group tasks

Mixed-level classes achieve other advantages of cooperative learning Several previous studies indicate that mixed-ability grouping is one of the best ways to help students succeed in education In a class with mixed-ability groups, teachers can take advantage of peer tutoring and students’ facilitation to create positive learning experiences for all members When learners interact with other members at different levels, they become more interested in learning and gain more knowledge With this dynamic of collaborative activities, students get exposed to experience and work together Therefore, lower-level students receive support and encouragement from members at a higher level

Higher-level students can benefit from learning when assuming leadership roles and explaining their understanding to other members Jones (2007) highlights that in mixed-ability classes, they vary the language mastery and remember different things when working and learning together The researcher thinks that mixed-ability courses are not of great importance, and the idea is such vague and low expectations in terms of accountability of teaching In this case, some students who pay attention in class will be more cooperative; others who misbehave tend to show disinterested attitudes and behaviors Also, many teachers are worried that some activities might not be challenging enough for high-achievers, and at the same time, teachers are not giving enough support for students who are not doing well in class Hence, it

is incorrect to say that cooperative learning is all positive Additionally, different learners have different learning styles and progress Therefore, while some students find it very simple to handle the same task and activity, others may find it challenging to understand and address

Generally, the researcher believed that by getting involved in the cooperative learning activities, students could explain things and knowledge better to each other In this way, learners learn how to explain,

teach, and share knowledge with others in their own words Besides, questions are raised and addressed in a group, positive interdependency happens, and each individual feels that they cannot succeed unless every

member of their group succeeds

2.3.4 Cooperative Learning and Speaking Competence

Regarding speaking competence, when students work together in groups, their speaking can be improved by learning to exchange information, discuss some new ideas, and express their viewpoints in language and communicative in socially acceptable manners By interacting with each other

in discussions, students learn how to use language flexibly to explain and express their thinking

Despite the advantages mentioned above of cooperative learning activities, teachers need to realize how cooperative learning can help obtain better learning results in general and speaking competence One crucial element is how much output each student is provided to produce the language because it is the central part of language acquisition, and communication takes place According to Brown (2000), classroom goals are communicative competence, grammatical, and linguistic competence Therefore, language techniques should be designed to engage learners in a practical, authentic, and functional language Organizational language forms focus on the different aspects of language that allow students to achieve various purposes

In communicative techniques, fluency and accuracy are considered complementary elements In some cases, fluency may play a more critical role than accuracy to keep learners engaged in language use However, in a communicative classroom, the ultimate purpose is to help students produce the language receptively and productively in contexts

Regarding communication skills, Kagan and Miguel (2009) claim that students tend to be more communicative when they are in a cooperative classroom and develop better communication skills to be more capable of talking out and addressing conflicts that happened in classroom contexts In other words, students with cooperative learning styles might be trained with different components of communicative competence to solve those problems All aspects of at least the oral side of communicative competence are involved when they work through cooperative learning

2.3.5 Models of Cooperative Learning

The cooperative learning models are large in number; however, the researcher chose the two following models:

a Numbered Heads Together (Kagan & Kagan, 2009)

In Numbered Heads Together (NHT) strategy, first of all, teammates will work on tasks within a given time limit The study will be based on textbook learning materials It might be a 5-minute class activity (e.g., brainstorming animals living under the sea) or a team assignment to be completed within a couple of weeks For example, students prepare a speech within 10 minutes on a specific topic based on their understanding, information from textbooks, and cooperative research after class The teacher will b e available to provide scaffolding when necessary Second, one team will randomly be selected as a presenting team, and then a particular code -name will randomly be chosen for the team Third, the student with the code-name chosen from the team will present his/ her home teams’ work

in front of the whole class Based on the pre-set criteria, students will be evaluated by peers and the teacher through giving feedback and grades The fifth step is that students follow the same procedures in the second, third, and fourth steps; they will be invited to present their teams and perform in front of the class

b Student Teams Achievement Division (Slavin, 2014)

The general organization of sessions will take the adapted Students Teams Achievement Division (STAD), including three components - class presentation, structured teamwork, and team assessment The teacher's class presentation will be via whole-class instruction related to reading texts, writing skills, vocabulary, or grammar, or a replay of audiovisual materials

if it is in the listening and speaking class The whole-class instruction will be brief compared with that in the traditional teaching group because many learning materials will be set aside to be completed by teamwork For teaching assignments, members need to reach an agreement in advance on when and where to meet and divide the shared task and assignment based on individual members’ strengths, interests, and competence

This study's cooperative learning model was STAD type (Student Teams Achievement Division), which was combined with NHT type (Number Head Together) Cooperative learning model STAD type has a great value that can increase students’ cooperation because students are allowed to discuss heterogeneous groups The weakness of cooperative learning model STAD type

is when students make a study group; sometimes, several students do not participate It can be prevented by combining the cooperative learning model STAD type with the cooperative learning model NHT type Cooperative learning model NHT type is developed for increasing students’ responsibility Every student in a group is given a different task for discussing and then exercises them for uniting opinion Table 1 shows the phases of the model of cooperative learning, combining both STAD and NHT types

Table 1 Syntax model of Cooperative model learning STAD type with NHT

(Daulay, 2017)

PHASE I

Delivered goals and Student motivated

Teacher telling about all subject’s goal what to achieve on that subject and motivating students in

PHASE II

Given/ Delivered Information

Teacher served the information to student by demonstrating or from something in the book

PHASE III

Student organizing into study group

Teacher divided student into several group in 4-5 people heterogently (mixed from them achievement, gender, tribe, etc) and giving a number so that every student in a group having a different number

Evaluation

Teacher called a number and all students in every group by the same number standing and answering the question which has given to all student class

PHASE VII

Giving Appreciation

Teacher looked all the way for appreciating their efforts individually and group

There are seven main phases of cooperative learning (Daulay, 2017) In the model of cooperative model learning, cooperative learning starts with the teacher’s information on the goals and encourages students to learn It is followed by the teacher’s oral or written communication The next step is to work together under the teacher's guidance and support to achieve their tasks The final stage of cooperative learning is that students present their final products or test the knowledge that they have learned

2.4 Attitude in language learning

2.4.1 Definition of attitude

In common, attitude is constructed by some different aspects Wenden (1991) divides attitude into three components, namely cognitive, affective, and behavioural The first one, the mental element, consists of the beliefs and thoughts about an object, people, behaviour, event, and knowledge This component seems to affect the learning very much since it relates to one’s mind, in this case, perception The second one, the affective component, covers the person’s emotions and feeling towards an object This affects one’s preferences, such as to stand for or against, or to like or dislike The last one, the behavioural aspect, deals with an individual’s actions or disposition to practice special behaviour(s) when one is in certain situations

According to Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), “attitudes are a function of beliefs” (p.7) Based on this theory, believing that performing a task will mainly result in positive outcomes results in a favorable attitude towards the task On the other hand, mistrust of the success of performing a task will lead

to taking an unfavorable attitude Therefore, if participants believe that, for example, cooperative methods will have a significant effect on their reading comprehension, then this method will be to their benefit Attitudes, once formed, can shape the way students think, understand, feel, and behave Generally, about language acquisition, attitude can be divided into three

types: attitude towards the language, attitude towards the native speaker of the language, and attitude towards language learning Attitude towards language learning was the focus of this study Besides, the researcher chose Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1980) definition of attitude to explore the students’ attitudes towards cooperative learning

2.4.2 Importance of attitude in language learning

In addition to other aspects, language attitudes may have significant impacts on second language acquisition The evaluation of attitudes in learning language is essential and necessary in language teaching and learning Smith (1971) also indicates that “attitude exists through the learning process because it is learned, it can be unlearned Since it is learned, it can be taught Liking a foreign language can be learned No student is born liking or disliking it” (p.81) According to Ellis (1994), both negative and positive attitudes towards the second language are learned As

a result, the teacher needs to focus on the students' attitudes Attitudes can be positive or negative They can also be changed They can either facilitate or hinder the learning process effectively

Similarly, Nunan (1991) pointed out that “students might get success in learning if they are encouraged and motivated to adopt the right attitudes, motivation, and learning interests in the language, culture and learning environment.” (p.234) Indeed, students’ negative attitudes can also be changed positively to facilitate their learning results Having a positive attitude in language learning is believed to be a good start in their learning process

In conclusion, students’ attitude plays a vital role in maximizing learning and teaching output, and it is one of the key factors influencing the success of second language learning It would be meaningful when the researcher could help her students develop and maintain their positive attitudes in the language classroom through cooperative learning

to get non-academic insights relating to the current study These data were compiled from the questionnaire, interviews, and observation The second type of data used in the present research was the quantitative data, which took the forms of academic data compiled through holding a series of tests comprising pre-test, cycle I post-test, and cycle II post-test The present research unveiled some findings Amongst them was that the use of cooperative learning could improve the students’ speaking competence Improvement took place in four speaking competence indicators being investigated in the present research: grammar competence, discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence Another finding of the current study also revealed that the right application of cooperative learning principles in the present research greatly influenced the students’ speaking competence

In Sekti’s research (2014), the data collected were qualitative and quantitative The qualitative data were obtained by observing, interviewing students and the teacher, making field notes, and having a discussion with the teacher Meanwhile, the quantitative data were obtained from the pre-test and the post-test scores The research procedure identified the problems, planned

the actions, implemented and observed the action, and reflected the actions done The result of this research showed that the implementation of cooperative learning activities (Think pair share, two stay two stray, inside the outside circle, and numbered head together) and other accompanying actions (i.e., using the classroom English, using the teaching media, and giving rewards) were successful in improving the students’ speaking skills The improvements cover: (1) the students’ ability to understand the lesson, (2) the students’ involvement in the speaking teaching-learning process, and (3) the students’ participation in the speaking teaching-learning process The findings were supported by means of the students’ speaking scores, which had improved from 68.38 in the pre-test to 71.32 in the post-test

Lucena (2016) investigated how cooperative learning enhanced students' speaking skills in the case of a phenomenological approach The study's core was to examine whether cooperative learning was and practical approach to improving students’ speaking skills at Vicente Hizon Sr Elementary School, Bangoy District, Davao City The research used focus group discussions as the tools to get the needed information Results indicated that cooperative learning enables students to interact and express themselves more often to their friends in class This approach was the source of motivation for fearful students to share their opinions and understanding regarding class concepts In this way, students could strengthen their self-confidence since they were aware that they were responsible for representing their groups in front of the teacher and the class

A study was conducted by Jepkosgey (2018) to investigate the effects

of cooperative learning on speaking skills in Nandi central sub-county, Kenya The participants in this study were mixed public secondary school learners All the forms of three learners from the two classrooms of the

selected schools were collected The study was carried out to examine how Cooperative Learning influences secondary school learners’ English-speaking skills in Nandi central sub-county Both learners’ questionnaire and learners’ English speaking achievement test were utilized with a pre-test and a post-test for both groups Additionally, the researcher used an observation guide to observe and monitor the learners' activities in cooperative groups Findings in this study made significant contributions to language learners, language educators, curriculum developers, and the Ministry of Education

Another research was conducted by Alrayah (2018) to examine the relationship between cooperative learning and EFL learners’ fluency Descriptive approach, recorded interviews were selected as the tools to collect data, and the SPSS software was also used as a tool to analyze the data The research sample included 48 first-year students studying the English language in the Faculty of Education at Omdurman Islamic University - Sudan All students were divided into experimental and control groups for the requirement of the research - paper The data from the experimental group were collected in one month Students were provided with much practice during the data collection period through cooperative learning activities to enhance their fluency One of the most essential suggestions from this study was to address the concerned problem of training EFL teachers to use cooperative learning activities to generalize their use in different schools and institutions

Regarding the influence of cooperative learning on oral proficiency motivations toward English learning, Namaziandost (2019) conducted a study

on intermediate EFL learners in Iran In this study, 90 participants were selected and divided into two groups, including one experimental and one control group First, both pretest and post-test of speaking skills were carried out to compare the differences between before and after cooperative learning

instructional activities took place in class A seven-point Likert scale-questionnaire was then implemented to the participants before and at the end of the course to check students’ motivations towards the use of cooperative learning activities After analyzing the process, the results indicated that students showed a significant improvement in their speaking performance after using cooperative learning techniques in class In addition to speaking improvement, students also enhanced their intrinsic motivation significantly However, other sorts of motivation showed no differences The findings in this study suggested that integrating the cooperating learning activities in English classroom contexts might bring benefits to teachers, leading to students’ progress in speaking performance and motivations

The previous studies differed in some ways concerning methodology and tools, but they generally showed some similar findings and results To the best of our knowledge, previous studies have provided significant insights into the importance of implementing a cooperative learning approach in education generally and especially for learning English speaking The previous studies also provided a background of theories and understanding of cooperative learning influences on different aspects of English language acquisition The researcher also acquired various benefits in developing the research instruments and enriching the theoretical knowledge to apply to the current study However, although the present research went in line with the studies mentioned above in some aspects like the scientific design and the used tools, it dealt with a different sample and used other materials and strategies Besides, the studies' scope was often limited to ELF learners and secondary school students, not high school students Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the cooperative learning approach on English speaking competence of 10th-grade students at Pho Yen high school with prior studies

2.6 Summary

Chapter 2 has summarized the literature related to the study The first part reviewed definitions of speaking competence and aspects of speaking The second one gave an overview of teaching speaking, including designing speaking techniques and teacher’s roles during the speaking lesson The third section discussed cooperative learning as well as the researches about this teaching approach The fourth section gave general knowledge about attitude

in language learning The last one presented previous studies on cooperative learning and their findings The next chapter presents the methodology employed for this study

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the research design, research questions, and participants, followed by elaborating methods of data collection and data analysis Specifically, section one presents the research questions Section two elaborates on the design of the research Section 3 describes the details of the subjects of the study Section 4 describes the data collection instruments, including a speaking test and a questionnaire The materials of the instruction are reported in section 5 Section 6 describes the data collection procedure Lastly, section 7 shows the way of data analysis

3.1 Research questions

As stated in chapter I, the study aimed to investigate the effects of cooperative language learning approach on 10th-grade students’ speaking competence at Pho Yen high school Besides, the researcher would like to investigate the students' attitudes toward using cooperative learning to improve their speaking competence Therefore, the specific research questions addressed in this study were as follows:

- To what extent does cooperative learning approach improve the students' speaking competence?

- What are the students’ attitudes toward the use of cooperative learning approach?

3.2 Design of the study

The researcher adopted the action research approach to examine the effects of cooperative learning approach on 10th-grade students’ English speaking competence at Pho Yen high school in the second semester of the school year 2019-2020

Action research is defined as a process of three elements or components: (1) a question, problem, or hypothesis, (2) data, and (3) analysis and interpretation (Nunan, 1992:3) According to Wallace (2000), action research is conducted by teachers and for teachers It is a small scale to discover, develop,

or monitor changes to practice Mertler (2009) restated, “Action research is characterized as research done by teachers for themselves.” Teachers examine their classrooms, instructional strategies, assessment procedures, and interactions

with students to improve their quality and effectiveness

3.2.1 Rationale

The action research was conducted because of some reasons First, it helps to identify problems, solve the issues, and improve classroom activities Moreover, it enables teachers to recognize everything happening in the classrooms, students’ thinking, feeling, and reactions They also know what aspects of the classroom they need to focus on to develop their teaching in class and modify it to organize the course more effectively

Because of its outstanding advantages discussed above, this action research was conducted appropriately and logically In reality, through teaching experience and observation, the researcher discovered that her students had speaking competence problems Therefore, an effective method needed developing and putting into action to bring better change for the students’ speaking performance A general overview of an action research design and action research procedure would be explained in detail in the following sub-sections

3.2.2 Action Research Model

Action research has some models Burns (2010: 8) proposes a model of classical action research The model was illustrated in Figure 1 The four stages of an action research cycle are (1) Planning - identify a problem and

create a plan of action, (2) Action - intervention in the teaching context over a certain amount of time, (3) Observation - the data collection phase, (4) Reflection - reflect on and evaluate the effects of the action (Burns, 2010)

In this study, the researcher would adopt Burns’ action research cycles because although some other action research models are too fixed and inflexible Burns’ model is useful because it briefly expresses the more important ideas about the essential phases in an action research study Besides, the students' and teachers' problems in speaking classes had been detected for a long time, so the elaborate framework's initial step could be skipped A basic model of action research was useful for the study Finally, it matched the limitation of time for the research

Figure 1 An action research cycle (Burns, 2010)

Each of these four action research components plays an essential role

in this study The researcher identified a specific problem from her professional practice: the students performed poorly during their speaking class Next, a plan of action was established to investigate the effects of cooperative learning to enhance the learners’ speaking competence The researchers’ collection of quantitative and qualitative data comprised the third stage of the action research process Finally, the reflection element enabled the researcher to evaluate what worked and areas needed to be modified during the next cycle