An application of cooperative learning in teaching reading skill to non - English majors at Vinh University

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAININGVINH UNIVERSITY ********** NGUYỄN THỊ LAM GIANG AN APPLICATION OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN TEACHING READING SKILL TO NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT VINH UNIVERS

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN THỊ LAM GIANG

AN APPLICATION OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING

IN TEACHING READING SKILL

TO NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT VINH UNIVERSITY

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

Nghệ An, 2014

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

**********

NGUYỄN THỊ LAM GIANG

AN APPLICATION OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING

IN TEACHING READING SKILL

TO NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT VINH UNIVERSITY

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

TABLE OF CONTEN

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ……….i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iiiY TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 5

LIST OF TABLES 6

LIST OF CHARTS 7

LIST OF APPENDICES 8

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 9

1 Rationale of the study 9

2 Review of previous studies related to Cooperative Learning 10

3 Purpose of the study 11

4 Scope of the study 11

5 Research questions 11

6 Significance of the study 12

7 Hypotheses 12

8 Organization of the study 12

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 14

2.1 Theoretical Basis of Reading Comprehension 14

2.1.1 Definitions of Reading 14

2.1.2 The Sub-skills of Reading 17

2.1.2.1 Skimming 17

2.1.2.2 Scanning 17

2.1.2.3 Careful Reading 17

2.1.2.4 Browsing 17

2.1.2.5 Reading for General Comprehension 18

2.1.3 Approaches to Reading 18

2.1.3.1 Top-down Approach 18

2.1.3.2 Bottom-up Approach 19

2.1.3.3 Interactive Reading 20

2.1.4 Classrooms Procedures for Teaching Reading 21

2.1.4.1 Pre-reading 21

2.1.4.2 While-reading 22

2.1.4.3 Post-reading 23

2.2 Cooperative Learning Method 23

2.2.1 Definitions of Cooperative Learning Method 23

2.2.2 Principles of Cooperative Learning 27

Principle Number 1: Heterogeneous Grouping 27

Principle Number 2: Collaborative Skills 28

Principle Number 3: Group Autonomy 28

Principle Number 4: Simultaneous Interaction 28

Principle Number 5: Equal Participation 29

Principle Number 6: Individual Accountability 30

Principle Number 7: Positive Interdependence 30

Principle Number 8: Cooperation as a Value 31

2.2.3 Key Elements of Successful CL 32

2.2.3.1 Interdependence 32

2.2.3.2 Interaction 32

2.2.3.3 Achievement 32

2.2.3.4 Professional Development 32

2.2.4 Difference between Small Groups and CL 33

2.2.4.1 Traditional Small Groups 33

2.2.4.2 Cooperative Learning Teams 33

2.2.5 Some Cooperative Learning Structures 33

2.2.5.1 Roundrobin 34

2.2.5.2 Roundtable 34

2.2.5.3 Think-Pair-Share 34

2.2.5.4 Numbered Heads Together 35

2.2.5.5 Jigsaw 35

2.2.5.6 Corners 35

2.2.5.7 Three-step Interview 35

2.2.6 Benefits of Cooperative Learning 36

2.2.6.1 Academic Achievement 36

2.2.6.2 Lower anxiety 37

2.2.6.3 Esteem 37

2.2.6.4 Promoting critical thinking competences 37

2.2.6.5 Liking of classmates 38

2.2.7 Reading in L2 and Cooperative Learning 38

2.2.8 Building teams 40

2.2.8.1 How are teams formed? 40

2.2.8.2 How long should teams last? 41

2.2.8.3 How big should teams be? 42

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 42

3.1 Overview 42

3.2 Research Design and Procedures of applying CL in a specific reading class 43

3.2.1 Research Design 43

3.2.2 Procedures of applying CL in a specific reading class 44

3.2.2.1 Application of Jigsaw structure 44

3.2.2.2 Application of Numbered Heads Together structure 45

3.2.2.3 Application of Think-Pair-Share structure 45

3.3 Context of English Language learning for non – English majors at VU 45

3.4 Participants 46

3.5 Data collection 47

3.5.1 Pre-test on Reading Comprehension 47

3.5.2 Post-test on Reading Comprehension 48

3.5.3 Questionnaires 48

3.5.4 Interviews 49

3.5.5 Classroom Observations 49

3.6 Data analysis 50

3.7 Research procedures 51

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 52

4.1 Findings 52

4.1.1 The current situation of teaching and learning English as a foreign language reading skills for NEMs at Vinh University 52

4.1.2 Discussion 67

4.1.2.1 Advantages 67

4.1.2.2 Drawbacks 68

4.1.3 The effectiveness of CL in teaching reading skills to NEMs at VU 70

4.1.3.1 Analysis of Test Results 70

4.1.3.2 The Test Means’ Comparison 75

4.1.3.3 Students’ Attitudes towards Teacher’s Application of CL 76

4.2 Some suggestions to help enhance the effectiveness of the application of CL method in teaching reading skills in EFL classes for NEMs at Vinh University 81

4.2.1 Enhancing students’ motivation to learning reading and training non-English majors to become efficient readers 82

4.2.2 The importance of teacher development in CL 83

4.2.2.1 Forming groups 84

4.2.2.2 Promoting positive interdependence 85

4.2.2.3 Teachers’ changing roles 85

4.2.2.4 Suggested in-class activities 85

4.2.3 Adapting the reading text in the textbook toward CL reading activities 86

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 88

5.1 Summary 88

5.2 Teaching implications 88

5.3 Limitations 90

5.4 Further research 90 REFERENCES

APPENDICES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLL Cooperative Language Learning

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ELT English Language Teaching

ESL English as a Second Language

NEMs Non-English Majors

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Experimental Research Model

Table 4.1: Teachers’ perception of cooperative learning

Table 4.2: Factors that made application communicative methods a challenge inEnglish reading lessons

Table 4.3: Frequency of Distribution of the Pre-Test Scores of the Experimental and Control classes

Table 4.4: Frequency of Distribution of the Post-Test Scores of the Experimental andControl classes

Table 4.5: The statistics parameters of the two groups’ Pre-test scores

Table 4.6: The students’ attitudes towards the implementation of CL in reading classes

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4.1: Teachers’ preference of skill to teach in EFL classrooms at VU

Chart 4.2: NEMs’ skills preferred to learn at VU

Chart 4.3: The teachers’ attitude toward the role of Reading Comprehension Skill inteaching EFL

Chart 4.4: The students’ attitude toward the role of Reading Comprehension Skill inlearning EFL

Chart 4.5: Teachers’ evaluation of the reading materials

Chart 4.6: Students’ evaluation of the reading materials

Chart 4.7: Students’ evaluation of reading lessons

Chart 4.8: The students’ reasons for their evaluation of reading class

Chart 4.9: The activities students often do in reading classes

Chart 4.10: The classroom interaction used in a reading lesson

Chart 4.11: Activities teachers often use in pre-reading stage

Chart 4.12: Tasks often assigned by teachers in Post-reading stage

Chart 4.13: Skills teachers often teach their students in While-reading stage

Chart 4.14: The teachers and students' difficulties in teaching and learning readingChart 4.15: The frequency of organizing reading activities with CL in English readingclass

Chart 4.16: Frequency of applying CL in EFL reading classes

Chart 4.17: Suggestions made by teachers and students for improvement of readinglessons

Chart 4.18: Comparison of the frequency of Distribution of the Pre-Test Scores

Chart 4.19: Comparison of the frequency of Distribution of the Post-Test Scores

Chart 4.20: Students’ attitudes towards CL in reading classes

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1:Pre-test

Appendix 2: Post-test

Appendix 3: Questionnaires for teachers

Appendix 4: Questionnaires for students

Appendix 5: Questionnaires for teachers’ interview

Appendix 6: Questions for students’ interview

Appendix 7: Example of lesson plan

Appendix 8: Students’ attitude towards the application of CL method in readinglessons

Appendix 9: Reading Comprehension Achievement Pre-test and Post-test scores of theExperimental Class

Appendix 10: Reading Comprehension Achievement Pre-test and Post-test scores ofthe Control Class

Appendix 11: Observation sheet

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Developing reading comprehension skills is important for students to becomeeffective readers as it is one of the four skills to be mastered by English languagelearners Thanks to reading, students acquire knowledge that they could use later toimprove other skills such as listening, speaking and writing Therefore, when teachingEFL to non-English majors, English teachers tend to do their best to help studentsachieve as much knowledge as possible through reading

However, by observing teaching EFL reading skills process to NEMs inclassrooms at Vinh University, the author has found out that most of the teachers stillapply traditional reading approaches in which students often read alone without peerinteraction This would make reading comprehension less effective because one of itsobvious disadvantages is its lack of interaction regarded as a vital element for effectivelanguage learning Therefore, the most significant issue for ESL/EFL teachers at VUnowadays is how to teach reading to EFL students effectively to improve students’reading performance

When pursuing the M.A course the author has discovered that there are anumber of methods and approaches which can be applied in reading classes in order toenhance the teaching and learning quality One interesting method can help improvestudent-student interaction is to ask them to form groups where meaningful interactionand interactive moments can occur so as to fulfill the tasks required in reading classes:

to engage Cooperative Learning in teaching and learning EFL reading skill

Cooperative Learning techniques will help students work together to learn andare responsible for their teammates' learning as well as their own This pedagogicalapproach enhances student–student interaction via working in small groups tomaximize their learning and reach their shared goal; hence they develop their socialskills while learning English language It is believed to help avoid competitiveness and

individualism while increase opportunities to actively construct or transform theknowledge among students Furthermore, research has demonstrated that CL produceshigher achievement and positive relationships among students In short, CL is apowerful educational approach for helping all students attain content standards anddevelop the interpersonal skills for succeeding in their EFL study Bearing this goal inmind, the author thinks that CL needs to be implemented in the teaching of readingskill for NEMs at VU.

With the main reasons stated above, the author aims at conducting the study

entitled “An application of Cooperative Learning in teaching Reading skills to

non-English majors at VU” with the hope of contributing to the process of teaching and

learning English for non- English majors at VU

2 Review of previous studies related to Cooperative Learning

CL mode has been applied to maximize learner learning through student-studentinteraction Therefore, many researches on CL have been carried out both in the worldand in Vietnam up to present Following are some of the previous studies on this topic

International

In 1992, a project in Texas that sought to integrate effective practices intoliteracy education, an empirically based CL model, and a classroom managementmodel was conducted by Calderon, Tinajero & Hertz to help teachers develop theEnglish and Spanish language proficiency for their students The CL model selectedwas Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition One of the most importantoutcomes of the project was the creation of a better learning environment for thestudents learning English since they learned to value each other and to concentrate onpositive relationship Then, Ghaith (2004) studied on the effect of the cooperativeJigsaw method on improving literal and higher order reading comprehension in English

of 48 EFL students A statistically significant difference in favor of the experimentalgroup on the variable of high order comprehension was revealed

In Vietnam

In 2004, a research on students’ preferences and the effects on differentgrouping arrangements in learning English speaking skill on 30 upper-intermediatestudents at a Foreign Language Centre in Ho Chi Minh City was conducted by Vo ThiKim Thuy This study has produced some interesting findings about the excitement anddynamism in the classroom atmosphere Then, in 2009, a study on learning English ingroups at college level was carried out by Le Pham Hoai Huong The researcherpointed out that group work created great help for students to share reading strategiesand learn new words.

3 Purpose of the study

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of applying CooperativeLearning principles in reading classrooms for NEMs at Vinh University by applyingthe principles of CL to teach reading to a group of non - English majors, thencomparing the results with those of a normal group without the application The authoralso tries to investigate the students’ attitudes toward the cooperative reading activities

by observing their interactions, and asking them about their learning experiences.Finally, it will be an attempt to serve as a useful source of reference for teachers ofEnglish at the University

4 Scope of the study

The research will be carried out merely on NEMs at VU for 15 weeks Thegroup of about 50 students is at a heterogeneous level Soars and Liz (2007) is thecoursebook being used, therefore applying CL method will be used to teach readingtexts in this coursebook

5 Research questions

The following research questions provide the specific focus for study:

1 Are there any differences in terms of reading comprehension quality betweenESL/EFL students who are instructed with CL methodology and those who are not?

2 How effective is the application of Cooperative Learning to teach EFL reading skills

in reading classes of NEMs at VU?

6 Significance of the study

The study is expected to enhance reading comprehension performance of NEMs

at VU and improve the reading classroom atmosphere In addition, it could be a goodexemplar for teachers who wish to implement CL to enhance their students’ languagelearning as well as their motivation to learn English

7 Hypotheses

Based on the related literature review and the research questions, the authorhypothesizes that the participants’ EFL reading performance would be improvedthanks to the effectiveness of Cooperative Learning method Besides, it is alsoexpected that the participants would have positive perception towards the use of thecooperative reading activities in their EFL reading and this will create a friendlyatmosphere of learning

8 Organization of the study

The study consists of the following parts:

I Introduction

This part presents the rationale for the study, a quick review of previous studiesrelated to Cooperative Learning, purpose, scope and significance of the study andorganization of this M.A thesis

II Literature review and theoretical background

Theoretical background related to the topic and surveys of articles, books andother resources relevant to the study topic will be presented This part will also providedescription, summary, and critical evaluation of each work quoted

III Methodology

This part presents the detailed procedure of the study: the methodology,population selection, data collection, and analysis.

IV Findings and Discussions

This part deals with the findings drawn out from the analysis of data Thefindings and discussion are based on describing how the Cooperative Learning method

is used, it effectiveness on teaching and learning, whether with this method, it ispossible for students to improve their reading skills If not, what is the reason?

V Conclusion and implication for teaching and learning

Main points and contents of the study will be summarized based on the results

of the study The implication of the study and the recommendation for further researchwill be presented

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The main aim of this chapter is to provide an extensive review of the literaturerelated to the overall perspectives of teaching reading and Cooperative Learninginstruction Firstly, the theoretical foundations for teaching reading are discussed,including definition of reading, the approaches to reading, the principles of teachingreading, the development of typical model of teaching reading, etc Next, an overview

of the literature concerning the terminologies used in Cooperative Learning instruction,its key components, its principles, its features and framework for learning and teaching

is provided Then, presented in the following part of the chapter is a review of theconcept of CL in reading and principles of task design in a reading lesson Finally, theauthor will mention some previous studies related to the topic of CL instruction

2.1 Theoretical Basis of Reading Comprehension

2.1.1 Definitions of Reading

It is difficult to define reading in a word Many scholars and researchers havedefined it in many different ways The definition and meaning of reading dependlargely on the purpose of the reader, on the text and textual contents, on the attitude ofthe readers towards the text, on the reading materials and on the experience andschemata of the reader However, experts have tried to define it differently in their ownway of observation and thought

While Marie Clay (1991:6) considers reading as “a message-getting, solving activity which increases in power and flexibility the more it is practiced”,Grabe (1991:378) points out that to define the term of reading is not simple: “Adescription of reading has to account for the notions that influent reading is rapid,purposeful, interactive, comprehending, flexible, and gradually developing” Nunan(2003:68) also defines reading as “a fluent process of readers combining informationfrom a text and their own background knowledge to build meaning” Therefore, it is

problem-important to bear in mind that reading is not a simple skill and there are different types

of skills corresponding to the many different purposes we have for reading

Goodman (1976:498) suggests that reading is a receptive, psycholinguisticprocess It starts with linguistic representation encoded by a writer, and ends withreader constructed meaning Reading is a process where the writer encodes thought aslanguage and the reader decodes language to thought It can be understood that reading

is not a passive skill It requires frequent practice and exercise To be an effectivereader, one should make a logical link between the language of the text and his mentalperception Therefore, the language should suit the level and perception of the reader.Students should enable themselves to enter the world of the text without seeking thehelp from the traditional teaching method of comprehension checks

Besides, reading is not just an act of going through the text It involves certainattitudes and reactions towards the text a reader is reading According to Grellet(1996:8), reading “constantly involves guessing, predicting, checking and askingoneself questions.” Additionally, it involves other factors such as knowledge oflanguage, the processing of messages the text carries, guessing power of the reader to acertain extent, perception, psychomotor movements, and emotional response

Recently, Grabe (2009, 14:16) says that reading is understood as a complexcombination of 10 processes

(10) A linguistic process

(Table 1.2: Processes that define reading Grabe (2009:14))

First of all, reading is certainly a rapid and efficient process It is rapid in the sensethat we read at about 250-300 wpm Reading is efficient in terms of the overall readingrate and the ways that various processing skills work together smoothly In addition,reading is a comprehending process, as we read to understand what the writer intended

to convey in writing Furthermore, reading is an interactive process in two waysbecause it combines many cognitive processes working together at the same time and

is also an interaction between the reader and the writer Besides, reading is a strategicprocess in that a number of the skills and processes used in reading call for effort onthe part of the reader to anticipate text information, select key information, summarizeinformation, monitor comprehension and match comprehension output to reader goals.The flexibility of reading demonstrated by fluent readers keeps the processes andpurposes aligned with each other Reading is also a continuously evaluative process

We evaluate how well we are reading, we decide how we should respond to a text and

we like or not what the author says…etc Evaluation in reading makes it a learningprocess Finally, reading is a linguistic process It cannot be able to read withoutmaking graphemes-phonemic connections, without recognizing the words to be readand the structural phrases organizing the words, and without having a reasonable store

of linguistic knowledge

In conclusion, in learning contexts, reading comprehension can be seen as avery active and complex process involving the content of the text, the readers’ priorknowledge and purpose for reading as well as reading strategies that learners use tocomprehend the text Therefore, for a student to be a successfully independent reader,

he or she must be given opportunities to respond to the reading text individually, shareresponses with others, listen to other viewpoints, and adjust his or her owninterpretations about the text To provide such an environment, Cooperative Learningcan be considered an important option that teachers may apply in their reading classes

2.1.2 The Sub-skills of Reading

Reading consists of a number of sub-skills which are used in different situationswith different purposes Following are the main sub-skills of reading comprehension process

2.1.2.1 Skimming

Skimming refers to the way of reading in which readers quickly run their eyesacross a whole text for its gist One of the effective series of procedures forapproaching a reading text, so called ‘SQ3R technique’- Survey-Question- Read-Reciteand Review-starts with skimming the test for an overview of main ideas and thenreaders embark on more focused reading It is also common part of many reading tasks

2.1.2.2 Scanning

Scanning or searching reading is also a common reading activity when readersextract necessary pieces of information from a text without reading through the wholetext It is also useful skills especially in daily life, for example in searching through atelephone directory, reading a timetable or advertisements for getting information Thespread of the Internet may well accelerate the need of this type of reading

2.1.2.3 Careful Reading

Urquhart and Weir (1998:22) pointed out that careful reading is associated withreading to learn The reader attempts to handle detailed information in the text Thus,reading rate seems to be rather slower than other types of reading because in this type

of reading, readers often require rereading and inferencing to connect information withbackground knowledge

2.1.2.4 Browsing

Browsing is the sort of reading where readers do not have any particular goalsfor reading and parts of a text may be skipped randomly and there is little need to

integrate the information We often browse magazines or newspapers just for fun Inthe classroom, normally with limited English resources, students have fewopportunities to browse English articles It might be desirable for teachers to storesupplementary English materials for browsing and provide some opportunities tobrowse them.

2.1.2.5 Reading for General Comprehension

Grabe and Stoller (2002:14) point out this is the most basic purpose of readingfor general comprehension “requires rapid and automatic processing of words, strongskills in informing a general meaning representation of main ideas, and efficientcoordination of many processes under very limited time constraints”

2.1.3 Approaches to Reading

Which approach or approaches to use in teaching reading skill should beappropriate for each types of text and depends on the size of the text, the purpose ofreading, time allowed and so on Following are some approaches of reading proposed

by different authors:

2.1.3.1 Top-down Approach

This approach was proposed by Goodman (1976) The main feature of thisprocess is that “the reader comes to the text with a previously formed plan, andperhaps, omits chunks of the text which seem to be irrelevant to the reader’s purpose”says Urquhart and Weir (1998:42)

Nuttall (1996:16) views on Top-down approach as follows: We draw on ourown intelligence and experience - the predictions we can make, based on the schemata

we have acquired - to understand the text We make conscious use of it when we try tosee the overall purpose of the text, or get a rough idea of the pattern of the writer’sargument, in order to make a reasoned guess at next step

Expectations of the reader play “a crucial, even dominant, role” in this process.The reader brings his/her personal experiences and views with him/her, and thoseaspects largely affect the way of interpreting a text Goodman characterizes thisapproach as viewing reading as “precise, sequential identification” Top-downapproach is precisely suggested by most thinkers and researchers because it is directlyrelated to the reader’s schemata - his/her personal knowledge and experiences Itsimportance can be stretched from Nuttall (1996: 17): This enables him to predict thewriter’s purpose, the likely trend of the argument and so on, and then use thisframework to interpret difficult parts of the text The top-down approach gives a sense

of perspective and makes use of all that the reader brings to the text: prior knowledge,common sense, etc which have sometimes been undervalued in the reading class

2.1.3.2 Bottom-up Approach

Gough (1972) proposed bottom-up approach It begins with the stimulus, i.e thetext, or bits of the text In bottom-up approach, according to Nuttall (1996:17), “thereader builds up a meaning from the black marks on the page: recognizing letters andwords, working out sentence structure” Readers use this process consciously whenthey are confused with an initial reading In this approach, the reader is entirelydependable on the contextual meaning, and s/he does not need any backgroundknowledge since it is text-driven

There is a clear-cut distinction between these two approaches While bottom-upprocess is text-driven, top-down approach uses the meaning brought by the reader, i.e

it is reader-driven Parry (1987) summarized their differences in the following manner:some argue that reading is a “bottom-up” process in which graphemes are perceived asforming words, words as forming sentences, and sentences as forming paragraphs and

so on, Gough (1972); others argue that the process is a “top down” one: the readerstarts with a general idea, or schema, of what should be in the text this being derived

from the previously acquired knowledge and uses this scheme in perceiving and ininterpreting graphic cues” (Goodman, 1976)

2.1.3.3 Interactive Reading

According to experts, none of these approaches (‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’)can stand alone for an effective reading An interactive approach combined of thesetwo is actually appropriate, and efficient readers often use both these processes whenreading and shift from one approach to another depending to the demand of the readingstrategy Nuttall (1996:17) comments “a reader continually shifts from one focus toanother, now adopting a top-down approach to predict the probable meaning, thenmoving to the bottom-up approach to check whether that is really what the writersays.” Carrell (1988:239-259) seems to be more specific about it by explaining thatefficient and effective second language reading requires both top-down and bottom-upstrategies in different combinations for different purposes Therefore, in this interactivereading, a pattern is synthesized based on information provided simultaneously fromseveral sources Therefore, reading is not just a one-side approach Both the reader andthe text have their respective shares in an interactive process

Coady (1979) cited in Karakas (2000:27) comments that interactive processinvolves three factors: conceptual abilities, background knowledge, and processstrategies Therefore, for a successful reading a reader should and must possess basicintellectual ability This ability is used to make a proper relation between the textualinformation and his/her existing schemata, proper knowledge of the world, and readingstrategies including familiarity with the phonology, graphemes, and lexicon of alanguage

2.1.4 Classrooms Procedures for Teaching Reading

Classroom activities are very important for the development of teaching readingskills Teachers should help and encourage the students to read effectively in the class

To perform the job, teachers have to design effective activities for teaching reading inthe class as a successful teaching of reading in the class depends largely on the properplanning of reading lessons Teaching techniques should be designed according to thelevel of the perception of the students An experienced and efficient teacher knowswell when a particular technique should be used and how However, in the teaching ofreading, there are some tested teaching techniques by recommended experts, and thesetechniques can be followed in the classroom

Williams (1996:37) has suggested that for effective teaching of reading in theclassroom, the lesson should be divided into three consecutive phases: Pre-reading,While-reading and Post-reading Moreover, we consider these the main phases of theteaching Reading process

2.1.4.1 Pre-reading

Pre-reading stage is important because it can help to ‘whet’ the students’ appetites

to read Greenwood (1998:15) argues that this procedure can help provide a “need toread to complete an activity or conform an idea; and it can persuade the students that asfar as perception or hypothesis is concerned there are no right or wrong answers, onlydifferent ones” In Pre-reading stage, the teacher should carefully design the activities

that prepare the students mentally to accept what he/she is going to teach in the nextstage Urquhart and Weir (1998:184) have suggested some Pre-reading activities asfollow:

(1) thinking about the title

(2) checking the edition and date of publications

(3) reading appendices quickly

(4) reading indices quickly

(5) reading the abstract carefully

(6) reading the preface, the forward and the blurb carefully

The aims of the phase are to introduce and arouse interest in the topic, to motivatelearners by giving a reason for reading and to provide some language preparation forthe text

2.1.4.2 While-reading

Greenwood (1998:59) writes: “Students must be taught how to read and respond tobooks” in the While-reading phase Students should be involved in activities duringthis phase, which enable them to respond cognitively, emotionally and imaginatively toimaginative writing

Some useful activities should be conducted in this phase for the better output fromthe students in the next stage The activities in this stage should be designed according

to the level and standard of the students Shahidullah (1995-1996) has suggested some

of the While-reading activities as following:

(1) guessing meaning from context

(2) analyzing sentences

(3) surveying text structures

(4) extracting specific information

(5) getting detailed information

(6) answering pre-set questions

(7) matching texts with picture, diagrams, etc.

(8) guessing meaning of unfamiliar words

The While-reading phase is significant and is the most active stage among the threebecause according to Williams (1996:38), proper activities in this phase “enable thestudents to understand the writer’s purpose, to understand the text structure and toclarify text content

2.1.4.3 Post-reading

This stage is designed to evaluate what the teacher has taught in the while-readingstage In the post reading stage the teacher may ask the students about their reaction tothe text, for example, the students may answer whether they have likes and enjoyed it,

or found it useful or not If the text is found useful, the meaning and content of it may

be extended to the students’ known social phenomena, personal interests andknowledge or experience In short, activities at this stage do not refer directly to thetext, but ‘grows out’ of it

This stage is also important in teaching reading skills since it is supposed toevaluate and examine the output and feedback from the students Moreover, according

to Williams (1996: 39), the Post-reading phase enables the students to consolidate orreflect up on what has been read and to relate the text to the learners’ ownknowledge, interest, experience or views

2.2 Cooperative Learning Method

2.2.1 Definitions of Cooperative Learning Method

Cooperative Learning (CL) has been recognized with its significant role in abroad range of endeavors, including education for many decades However, the term

CL seems to be well-known from the 1970s when a great deal of research and practicalwork began on discovering how best to harness peer power for the benefit of learning

Over the past forty years, different researchers have developed differentapproaches to CL Thus, CL takes many forms and definitions Following are some ofthe definitions by the most famous scholars:

In general, CL is one strategy for group instruction, which is under the centered approach In Slavin’ (1980:315) view, “the term refers to classroomtechniques in which students work on learning activities in small groups and receivethe reward or recognition based on their group’s performance” Olsen and Kagan(1992:8) proposed the following definition for CL: “Cooperative learning is grouplearning activity organized so that learning is dependent on the socially structuresexchange of information between learners in group and in which learner is heldaccountable for his or her own learning and is motivated to increase the learning ofothers”

learner-Johnson (1999:5) defines C Las the instructional use of small groups so thatstudents work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning The idea of

CL is described by the author in a very simple way: Class members are organized intosmall groups after receiving instructions from the teacher They then work through theassignment until all the group members successfully understand and complete it.Cooperative efforts result in participants striving for mutual benefit so that all groupmember gain from each other’s efforts (your success benefits me and my successbenefits you), recognizing that all the group members share a common fate (We allsink or swim together here), knowing that one’s performance is mutually caused byoneself and one’s colleagues (We cannot do it without you), and feeling proud andjointly celebrating when one group member is recognized for achievement (We allcongratulate you on your accomplishment!) because a group member’s successdepends on both individual effort and the efforts of the other group members whocontribute needed knowledge, skills, and resources No group member will possess allthe information, skills, or resources necessary for the highest possible quality result

Macaulay and Gonzalez (1996:2) characterize CL as “The instructional

of small groups so that learners are able to work together in a manner that enhancesboth group and individual learning.”

Tang (1998:116) emphasizes the practices and effects of Cooperative Learning:this method provides a non-threatening learning context for interaction betweenstudents During CL process, students are exposed to other perspectives andalternatives, the share and exchange ideas, criticize and provide feedback Peerfeedback can help students increase their awareness of their learning aims, and of thestrategies to employ to achieve those aims Cooperation provides “scaffolding” formutual support and enables students to learn from each other The function is teachingfunction, although the major interaction is student-student, rather than teacher-student

It can be clearly seen from these definitions that the key to CL is the carefulstructuring of learning groups Generally, CL methods share the following fivecharacteristics:

(1) Student work together on common tasks or learning activities that are besthandled through group work

(2) Students work together in small groups containing two to five members.(3) Students use cooperative, pro-social behavior to accomplish their commontasks or learning activities

(4) Students are positively interdependent Activities are structured so thatstudents need each other to accomplish their common tasks or learning activities

(5) Students are individually accountable, responsible for their work, orlearning

Besides, CL activities can help enhance student learning by a number of factors suchas:

(1) providing a shared cognitive set of information between students,

(2) motivating students to learn the material,

(3) ensuring that students construct their own knowledge,

(4) providing formative feedback,

(5) developing social and group skills necessary for success outside theclassroom

(6) promoting positive interaction between members of different cultural groupsFurthermore, applying CL activities in small groups provides a place where:

(1) learners actively participate;

(2) teachers become learners at times, and learners sometimes teach;

(3) respect is given to every member;

(4) projects and questions interest and challenge students;

(5) diversity is celebrated, and all contributions are valued;

(6) students learn skills for resolving conflicts when they arise;

(7) members draw upon their past experience and knowledge;

(8) goals are clearly identified and used as a guide;

(9) research tools such as Internet access are made available;

(10) students are invested in their own learning

The process depicted below shows how group goals might operate to enhancethe learning outcomes of CL:

As mentioned above, cognitive processes might be affected directly byprovision

of group goals based on the individual learning of all group members which motivatesstudents to engage in peer modelling, cognitive elaboration, and/or practice with oneanother Group goals may also lead to group cohesiveness, increasing caring andconcern among group members, making them feel responsible for one another'sachievement, thereby motivating students to engage in cognitive processes, whichenhance learning Finally, group goals may motivate students to take responsibility forone another independently of the teacher, thereby solving important classroomorganization problems and providing increased opportunities for cognitivelyappropriate learning activities

Actually, there exist disparate theoretical perspectives on learning such asbehaviourism, socio-cultural theory, humanist psychology, cognitive psychology, andsocial psychology and Piagetian developmental psychology have informed thedevelopment of different approaches to CL as there is no one generally acceptedversion of this theory Therefore, various principles have been put forward in the CLliterature (e.g., Jacobs, Power, & Loh, 2002, Johnson & Johnson, 1999, Kagan, 1994and Slavin, 1995) In the next section, eight CL principles and how these informteaching practice will be discussed.

2.2.2 Principles of Cooperative Learning

Principle Number 1: Heterogeneous Grouping

Heterogeneous groups are believed to outweigh homogeneous teams, byencouraging peer tutoring, providing a variety of perspectives, helping students come

to know and like others different from themselves, and fostering appreciation of thevalue of diversity This means that the groups in which students do CL tasks are mixed

on one or more of a number of variables including sex, ethnicity, social class, religion,personality, age, language proficiency, and diligence

In CL, groups often stay together for five weeks or more To achieveheterogeneous groups for reading activities, teachers might want to look at their classand make conscious decisions about which students should work together, rather thanleaving the matter to chance or to students’ choice The latter option often results ingroups with low levels of heterogeneity

Furthermore, when we opt for heterogeneous groups, we may want to spendsome time on ice breaking (also known as teambuilding) activities, because as Slavin(1995) notes, the combination of students that results from teacher-selected groups islikely to be one that would never have been created had it not been for ourintervention

Principle Number 2: Collaborative Skills

Collaborative skills are those needed to work with others Students may lackthese skills, the language involved in using the skills or the inclination to apply theskills during a reading aloud session Most books and websites on CL urge thatcollaborative skills be explicitly taught one at a time Which collaborative skill to teachwill depend on the particular students and the particular task they are undertaking? Just

a few of the many skills important to successful collaboration are: checking that othersunderstand, asking for and giving reasons; disagreeing politely and responding politely

to disagreement and encouraging others to participate and responding toencouragement to participate Collaborative skills often overlap with thinking skills,e.g., asking for and giving reasons pushes students to think more deeply, anddisagreement when handled properly encourages students to explain what they havesaid

Principle Number 3: Group Autonomy

This principle encourages students to look to themselves for resources ratherthan relying solely on the teacher When student groups are having difficulty, it is verytempting for teachers to intervene either in a particular group or with the entire class

We may sometimes want to resist this temptation, because as Roger Johnson writes,

“Teachers must trust the peer interaction to do many of the things they have feltresponsible for themselves” Yes, teachers will sometimes intervene, but perhapsintervention should not always be the first option

Principle Number 4: Simultaneous Interaction

Kagan (1994) says that in classrooms in which group activities are not used,including in the typical reading aloud by teachers session, the normal interactionpattern is that of sequential interaction, in which one person at a time – usually theteacher – speaks For example, the teacher stops at some point while reading aloud,

asks a question to check students’ comprehension, calls on a student to answer thequestion and evaluates that student’s response.

In contrast, when group activities are used, one student per group is, hopefully,speaking In a class of 40 divided into groups of four, ten students are speakingsimultaneously, i.e., 40 students divided by 4 students per group = 10 students (1 pergroup) speaking at the same time

Therefore, this CL principle is called simultaneous interaction If the same class

is working in groups of two (pairs are also groups), we may have 20 students speakingsimultaneously Even when teachers use groups, it is common at the end of a groupactivity for each group, one at a time, to report to the class and the teacher When thistakes place, we are back to sequential interaction In order to maintain the simultaneousinteraction that existed during the group activity, many alternatives exist to this one-at-a-time reporting For instance, one person from each group can go to another group.These representatives explain (not just show or tell) their group’s ideas Of course,simultaneous and sequential interaction may be usefully combined

Principle Number 5: Equal Participation

A frequent problem in groups is that one or two group members dominate thegroup and, for whatever reason, impede the participation of others CL offers manyways of promoting equal participation in groups The first way is the use of rotatingroles in a group, such as facilitator, checker (who checks to see that everyoneunderstands what the group is doing/has done), questioner, praiser, encourager, andparaphraser The second is the use of multiple ability tasks (Cohen, 1994; Gardner,1999), i.e., tasks that require a range of abilities, such as drawing, singing, acting, andcategorizing, rather than only language abilities

Principle Number 6: Individual Accountability

Individual accountability is, in some ways, the flip side of equal participation.When we encourage equal participation in groups, we want everyone to feel they have

opportunities to take part in the group When we try to encourage individualaccountability in groups, we hope that no one will attempt to avoid using thoseopportunities Techniques for encouraging individual accountability seek to avoid theproblem of groups known variously as social loafing, sleeping partners or free riding.

These techniques, not surprisingly, overlap with those for encouraging equalparticipation They include giving each group member a designated turn to participate,keeping group size small, calling on students at random to share their group’s ideas andhaving a task to be done individually after the group activity is finished

Principle Number 7: Positive Interdependence

This principle lies at the heart of CL When positive interdependence existsamong members of a group, they feel that what helps one member of the group helpsthe other members and that what hurts one member of the group hurts the othermembers It is the “All for one, one for all” feeling that leads group members to want

to help each other, to see that they share a common goal

Johnson & Johnson (1999) describe nine ways to promote positiveinterdependence Six of these are discussed below

a Goal positive interdependence: The group has a common goal that they worktogether to achieve

b Environmental positive interdependence: Group members sit close together

so that they can easily see each other’s work and hear each other without using loudvoices This may seem trivial, but it can be important

c Role positive interdependence: In addition to the roles mentioned above, thereare also housekeeping types of roles, such as timekeeper who reminds the group oftime limits and ‘sound hound’ who tells the group if they are being too loud in theirdeliberations

d Resource positive interdependence: Each group member has uniqueresources These resources can be information or equipment, such as paper or aparticular color marker.

e External Challenge positive interdependence: When the same group staystogether over a period of time – this is recommended by most books and websites on

CL partly as a means of allowing groups to work to improve their group dynamics –students can aim to improve on past performance

f Reward positive interdependence: If groups meet a pre-set goal, they receivesome kind of reward Rewards can take many forms: grades, sweets, certificates,praise, and the choice of a future activity the class does, the chance to do their teamcheer or handshake or just a feeling of satisfaction

Principle Number 8: Cooperation as a Value

This principle means that rather than cooperation being only a way to learn, i.e.,the how of learning, cooperation also becomes part of the content to be learned, i.e., thewhat of learning

This flows naturally from the most crucial CL principle, positiveinterdependence Cooperation as a value involves taking the feeling of “All for one,one for all” and expanding it beyond the small classroom group to encompass thewhole class, the whole school, on and on, bringing in increasingly greater numbers ofpeople and other beings into students’ circle of ones with whom to cooperate

We have just looked at the definitions as well as principles of CL, in the nextparts, some key elements of successful and some common CL structures andtechniques will be presented with the aim of setting the clear and helpful reference forthe CL training and implementing program in the next chapter

2.2.3 Key Elements of Successful CL

2.2.3.1 Interdependence

The first key element of successful CL is interdependence which is considered

as the heart of CL, because it can help develop and maintain positive interdependenceamong group members A sense of interconnectedness can help them transcend thegender, linguistic, and other differences they may sense among themselves

2.2.3.2 Interaction

The second element of CL is interaction among group members as academicand language learning requires that students have opportunities to comprehend whatthey hear and read as well as express themselves in meaningful tasks And CL createsnatural, interactive contexts in which students have authentic reasons for listening toone another, asking questions, clarifying issues, and re-stating points of view

2.2.3.3 Achievement

CL represents a valuable strategy for helping students attain high academicstandards After nearly fifty years of research and scores of studies, there is strongagreement among researchers that cooperative methods can and usually do havepositive effects on student achievement However, achievement effects are not seen forall forms of CL; they depend on the implementation of CL methods that arecharacterized by at least two essential elements: positive interdependence andindividual accountability

2.2.3.4 Professional Development

Because group work dramatically changes the teacher’s role, professionaldevelopment is vital to the implementation of CL To learn and employ cooperativestrategies, teachers need access to extensive professional development that includes (1)

the theory and philosophy of CL; (2) demonstrations of cooperative methods; and (3)ongoing coaching and collegial support at the classroom level.

2.2.4 Difference between Small Groups and CL

2.2.4.1 Traditional Small Groups

In traditional small groups, the instructor merely tells class participants to formgroups to complete a class assignment There is no structured interdependence, noindividual accountability, and communication skills are either assumed or ignored.Sometimes the group or the instructor may appoint a single leader The emphasis is onthe task to be performed and there is no process for group processing In the end, eachperson is responsible only for themselves Often the instructor sets the groups and thenleaves them to work on their own until the time allotted to the task is completed

2.2.4.2 Cooperative Learning Teams

In CL teams, positive interdependence is structured into the group task activitiesand members are responsible for each other’s success Individual accountability is anexpected outcome Communication skills are identified, directly taught, and expected

to be used by all group members There are designated roles with shared leadershipassigned and monitored by the group and the instructor The group regularly processeshow they are working together and adjusts their personal and group behavioursaccordingly Both task and maintenance roles and outcomes are emphasized Theinstructor observes and intervenes if necessary to ensure that the process is followed

2.2.5 Some Cooperative Learning Structures

What are Cooperative Learning structures or techniques? Structures/Techniquesare very specific CL strategies that teachers can use to establish interaction betweenstudents Most structures can be used with almost any academic content, but somestructures are better than others for certain tasks Some structures regulate interactionbetween pairs, some are better for group work, and others involve the entire class The

key is learning structures are best suited for a particular instructional purpose.Following are some of the structures Cooperative Learning most commonly used inlanguage class.

2.2.5.1 Roundrobin

Students in teams take turns orally responding to a question or prompt You canhave questions on slips of paper in the middle of the team, or you can call the questionaloud For example, you could have team members Roundrobin their predictions for ascience experiment before you do the activity

2.2.5.2 Roundtable

Roundtable is the activity from the structural Approach of Kagan (1994) In thisactivity, students in teams take turns passing a paper around and writing on it orcompleting another task This structure can also be used with sorting activities Forexample, you could have the names of various organs of the body on slips of paper,and the kids could take turns sorting them into categories according to body system

2.2.5.3 Think-Pair-Share

This is a cooperative learning strategy developed by Lyman in 1987 It can bedefined as “a multi-mode discussion cycle in which students listen to a question orpresentation, have time to think individually before talking to each other in pairs, andfinally share responses with the larger group” (Lyman, 1987, p.1-2) Students aredivided into pairs First, he teacher calls out a discussion topic and students THINK oftheir own answer Then students PAIR to discuss their ideas Finally, the teacher calls

on one student to SHARE their ideas with the class

2.2.5.4 Numbered Heads Together

The teacher calls out a question and students put their heads together in teams todiscuss the answer Then a number is called, and one person from each team responds(without help from the team.)

2.2.5.5 Jigsaw

Students are on "base teams" of four Each student is assigned a different role as

an "expert." All experts with the same topic meet in a corner of the classroom to learnabout their topic Then they prepare a brief presentation on the material and return totheir base teams They teach their base team members the new material they learned

2.2.5.6 Corners

The teacher calls out a question or a prompt and names 4 possible answers orresponses The teacher designates a corner of the room for each response Studentswrite down their personal answer and move to the corner of the room that representstheir choice They pair up with another student to discuss why they chose that answer

2.2.5.8 Co-op Co-op

In this structure, students work in groups to produce a particular group product

to share with the whole class Each student makes a particular contribution to thegroup The main purpose of this structure is that students learn and share complexmaterial, often with multiple sources Students will learn how to deal with conflicts,and find resolutions and will achieve presentation skills

This concludes the introduction to CL as an overall approach to teaching thatcan be used with any subject area The next section looks more specifically at CLconcerning language pedagogy As can be seen clearly, there are a number of CLstructures and not all the structures are useful for teaching reading skills for NEMs.Therefore, the author decided to use only three of the 3 structures in her teachingreading skills: Think-Pair-Share, Numbered Heads Together and Jigsaw based on thecontent of the reading texts in the coursebook mentioned before

2.2.6 Benefits of Cooperative Learning

CL has been gaining broad acceptance in language learning classrooms,principally because of it contributions to improving the overall

2.2.6.1 Academic Achievement

According to Kagan (1994), CL promotes higher achievement than competitiveand individual learning structures across all age levels, subject areas, and almost alltasks In traditional group work, students are assigned to work together and given littlestructure to facilitate their cooperation with each other (Slavin, 1990) This kind ofgroup work does not create interdependence and accountability among students.However, CL methods attempt to structure group activities so as to increase students’responsibility and encourage group members to participate, improve motivation andcontribute to a feeling of cooperation and warmth in the class

2.2.6.2 Lower anxiety

A constant threat to interaction in the language classroom is fear of feeling,especially when only a few students can answer questions asked by teachers However,that the possibility of providing a correct or acceptable answer is increased and anopportunity to try out their contributions with each other before being asked to offersthem to the entire class can reduce this debilitating anxiety or fear Time to think,opportunities to rehearse and receive feedback from their groupmates, and the greaterlikelihood of success reduce anxiety and can result in increased participation andlanguage learning According to Kagan (1994), if people are anxious, but allowed toaffiliate, their anxiety level is reduced and Oxford (1990) included Cooperativelearning as a classroom procedure which can lower anxiety in the language classroom

2.2.6.3 Esteem

According to Slavin (1990), one of the most important psychological outcomes

of cooperative learning is their effect on student self-esteem Students believe that theyare valuable, important, and productive individuals to be confident decision makers.Students are more likely to feel successful academically when they feel they aremaking significant contributions to the group process and these contributions arevalued by the group members Two of the most important components of students' self-esteem are the feeling that they are well liked by their peers because of the increasedopportunities to interact and the feeling that they are doing well academically

2.2.6.4 Promoting critical thinking competences

According to Johnson & Johnson (1987), the self-learning in groups requiresstudents to grasp information, examine it, evaluate it for soundness, and apply itappropriately Sharan & Sharanb (1976) also argues that cooperative learning alsofosters the development of high level reasoning and problem solving skills In workingtogether to accomplish a task, group members need to plan, organize themselves for

the activity, make decisions, defend positions and resolve differences of opinion, andsolve problems.

2.2.6.5 Liking of classmates

Slavin (1990) complemented that, in addition to its foregoing benefits,cooperation surely not only involves close contact among students and their sharedsimilarities and differences in learning, character, or experience but also engagesstudents in pleasant activities together These advantages, therefore, foster theirfriendship and get them to be more intimate

2.2.7 Reading in L2 and Cooperative Learning

Alderson (1984) states that reading in a foreign language is both a reading and alanguage problem, especially for lower proficiency students Students who haveproblems in reading in their L1 have problems in reading in L2, too Students whohave fewer problems in reading in L1 may read slower in L2 than they read in L1.They also may have comprehension problems which result from difficulty withunderstanding syntactic structures, grammar, vocabulary, and reading strategies in aforeign language A number of research studies suggest that use of CL activities assistslower-level students in solving their language problems in reading

Grabe (1991) urges the regular use of CL activities in reading instruction topromote discussions of readings and to work with information from the readings,exploring different solutions for complex activities Jacob et al (1996) found that theLearning Together form of CL allowed students to ask questions to one another anddiscuss answers to understand the academic language in the reading materials As aresult, CL activities assisted learners in understanding the information in the textswhile they were studying the difficult academic terms and concepts in the readingmaterial

An experimental study (Ghaith, 2003) conducted with the participation of 56Lebanese high school learners of English as a foreign language has shown that the