Luận văn thạc sĩ cooperative learning in EFL reading classes at lam dong minority boarding school

NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀI HƯƠNG

COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN EFL READING CLASSESAT LAM DONG MINORITY BOARDING SCHOOL

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of TESOL

Ba Ria - Vung Tau, March, 2021

NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀI HƯƠNG

COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN EFL READING CLASSESAT LAM DONG MINORITY BOARDING SCHOOL

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of TESOL

SUPERVISOR: Assoc.Prof NGUYỄN TẤT THẮNG

Ba Ria - Vung Tau, March, 2021

means to stimulate and encourage learning In teaching reading, teachers might place emphasis on Cooperative Learning as an effective instructional method in which students of all levels might work together in small groups to achieve a common goal Hence, this study examines the effect of cooperative learning with respect to EFL learners in reading comprehension at Lam Dong Minority Boarding school, and it investigates students’ attitudes towards cooperative learning The total population of the study was 61 students in Grade 11 at Lam Dong Minority Boarding school To answer Research Question 1, a quasi-experiment was conducted over a period of 8 weeks Firstly, a standardized pre-test was given to the participants in both the control and experimental groups, and the results were analyzed The experimental group adopted a cooperative strategy while the control group did not After analyzing, another standardized post-test was conducted Finally, an Independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test were conducted to examine whether there were significant inter- and intra-group differences in reading comprehension To answer Research Question 2, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were carried out for 31 members in the experimental group Content analysis was utilized to analyze experimental group reflective reports regarding CL The results of the study revealed two things First of all, when pre-and post-tests were analyzed, cooperative learning helped students achieve significant progress; they easily outperformed students in the conventional learning group with respect to English reading performance Secondly, the findings also revealed that the students in the experimental group expressed highly positive attitudes towards the use of cooperative learning in EFL reading classes

Key words: cooperative learning, reading comprehension, atitude

outstanding people who advised, supported, and encouraged me in writing this thesis First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my academic supervisor, Assoc Prof Nguyễn Tất Thắng, who spent a lot of time guiding and assisting me throughout my work I appreciate his patience as well as his broad knowledge regarding academic excellence and achievement I also admire his consistent kindness in encouraging and helping me to accomplish this work His useful comments and encouragement helped me overcome difficulties to get this thesis done.

I owe my deepest gratitude to Mrs Pham Thi Hong, the Principal of Lam Dong Minority Boarding school, who was kind enough to give me an opportunity to carry out my study with the students of the school.

Also, I will never forget each of the students who participated in this study Without their co-operation, I could never have formulated and completed this thesis.

Last but not least, I thank my family To my parents, I express deep admiration for their sacrifice in raising me and giving me a chance to pursue a career in academics I am also indebted to my husband, my son, and my daughter for their understanding and untiring love They have been my cheerleaders all throughout the long, and sometimes difficult, academic path I have chosen to follow.

Nguyen Thi Hoai Huong

thesis “Cooperative Learning in EFL Reading Classes at Lam Dong

Minority Boarding School” contains no material published elsewhere or

extracted in the whole, or in part, from the paper by which I have qualified for

or been awarded another degree or diploma Moreover, no one’s work has been used without acknowledgment in the paper.

This paper has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other territory institution.

Dalat, March 2021

Nguyen Thi Hoai Huong

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 2

1.3 Aims and Objectives of the study 3

1.4 Research questions 3

1.5 Scope of the study 3

1.6 Significance of the study 4

1.7 Definitions of the study 4

1.8 Organization of the thesis 5

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Cooperative learning (CL) 6

2.1.1 Definition of cooperative learning 6

2.1.2 Five elements of cooperative learning 7

2.1.3 Models of cooperative learning 9

2.1.4 Advantages and disadvantages of using cooperative learning for students 11 2.1.5 Positive outcomes of cooperative learning 13

2.2 Cooperative learning and reading comprehension 16

2.3 Theories underlying cooperative learning 17

2.3.1 Vygotskian Perspective 17

2.3.2 Constructivism 18

2.4 Attitude 19

2.4.1 Definition of attitude 19

2.4.2 The role of attitude in language learning 20

2.5 Previous studies on cooperative learning 21

2.6 Summary 28

3.2 Research site 29

3.3 Sample and sampling procedures 30

3.4 Research instruments 31

3.4.1 The instrument to obtain data for the research question No 1 31

3.4.2 The instrument to obtain data for the research question No 2 34

3.5 Data collection procedures 36

3.5.1 Steps to answer research question No 1 36

3.5.2 Steps to answer research question No 2 39

3.6 Data analysis procedures 40

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 41

4.1 The effects of cooperative learning on students' reading comprehension performance 41

4.2 Students' attitude towards cooperative learning in reading classes 45

4.2.1 Desire to work in a group 45

4.2.2 Awareness of the benefits of working in a group 46

4.2.3 Behaviour when working in a group 48

Figure 2.1 Johnson, Johnson, and Smith's Elements of cooperative learning (Neo et al., 2012) 7 Figure 2.2 Outcomes of cooperative learning (Johnson and Johnson,

1999) 13 Figure 2.3 Three components of an attitude (Hilgard, 1980) 20 Figure 4.1 Mean differences between Control and Experimental group's Pre-test

and Posttest 43

Table 2.1 Modern models of cooperative learning (Zuo, 2011) 9

Table 3.1 Sample in Reasearch question 1 and research question 2 31

Table 3.2 Control and Experimental group under treatments 32

Table 3.3 Format of PET reading test (Cambridge, 2010) 33

Table 3.4 Control group and Experimental group under observations 34

Table 3.5 Conversion tables of Improvement points 38

Table 4.1 Descriptive statistics for a pre-test of control and experimental group 41

Table 4.2 Descriptive statistics for pre-test and post-test scores of the control group 42 Table 4.3 Descriptive statistics for pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group 42

Table 4.4 Descriptive statistics for post-test of control and experimental group 43

Table 4.5 The involvement of control and experimental group during 8 weeks of EFL reading classes 44

Table 4.6 Descriptive statistics for the desire to work in a group 45

Table 4.7 Descriptive statistics for advantages of learning English in group work mode 46

Table 4.8 Descriptive statistics for behavior when working in a group 48

CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study

Nowadays, learning English has become a global phenomenon, which has been occurring in many countries Vietnam is not an exception Since the economic reform of Doi Moi in 1986, a lot has changed in Vietnam in every aspect of life As the country developed, an open-door policy created a need for foreign languages, especially English People of all ages now learn English for a variety of reasons and attempt to use it to bring themselves much further in their careers English plays a significant role in Vietnamese educational programs English is taught not only as a major in many universities but also as a compulsory subject in all schools nationwide However, Ellis (1994) examines and indicates that English teachers in Vietnam are far too dependent on traditional teaching methods In traditional teaching, teachers merely lecture, and students are not given a chance to use the target language Additionally, students are not exposed to the English language outside the classroom setting, and English teaching gets faltered and failed.

Since the end of 1970, in line with economic and political development, the demand for competence in communication with people from different countries all over the world has been increasing Linguists and educators have realized that the goal of teaching and learning a language is the ability to use the target language to interact or communicate in real-life basis Therefore, the focus has now been shifted to a communicative approach that places a strong emphasis on communicative competency, which should be the primary goal in learning a language Accordingly, it is assumed that communicative language teaching (CLT) is not only trendy, but it is the only way to learn a language properly.

In line with this new teaching trend throughout the world, CLT is highly encouraged to replace the old Grammar-Translation approach in the teaching of English in Vietnam This new approach excels by employing various innovative and effective techniques in language teaching One of the techniques to make the EFL

students maximize the use of English is cooperative learning (CL) CLT has laid a stable foundation for CL in English language teaching in modern times In CL, students are divided into small groups in order to acquire language skills in several ways: by discussing an assigned topic, by completing projects and group assignments, by finding answers to a couple of challenging questions, by exchanging and sharing ideas with group members (Holter, 1995; Porter, 2006).

Many research findings on teaching a language point out that CL is superior to other techniques According to Hamer (2004) and Stern (1983), CL promotes academic achievement and increases retention in learning This approach has also been reported to provide more opportunities for learners to support one another; to enhance their responsibility, autonomy, independence (Ur, 1996); and to foster cohesiveness and learning skills (Sahin, 2010; Slavin, 2011) Furthermore, Ward and Masgoret (2004) claim the group work mode has become a common practice in schools and tertiary institutions because it can create a more comfortable and supportive learning environment than that in solo work (Gupta, 2004).

1.2 Statement of the problem

Among the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking), reading is considered as one of the most critical skills ensuring the success of learning a language Several research reports prove that there is a strong correlation between reading and academic success However, reading is not an easy job for learners, especially for minority students who come from many areas in Lam Dong province and who have different cultural backgrounds and speak different languages These students report that it has been difficult for them to pass reading tests and that their reading test scores have tended to be relatively low However, it fairly easy to understand why they fail The central problem lies in the way English is traditionally taught Being an English teacher at Lam Dong Minority Boarding school, I am looking for a way to help my students overcome the difficulties they face in learning the English language Furthermore, meeting the requirement of the Ministry of Education and Training in innovating teaching methodologies to improve the quality

and effectiveness of education and more importantly, being aware of the enormous benefits that CL brings to learners, I decided to conduct the current investigation that focuses on examining the effectiveness of CL in promoting academic achievement in term of reading comprehension, as well as examining students’ attitudes towards CL in EFL classes in the context of Lam Dong Minority Boarding school.

1.3 Aims and Objectives of the study

This study aims at examining the effectiveness of CL in EFL reading classes and exploring attitudes toward using CL in the context of Lam Dong Minority Boarding school, Lam Dong province.

The specific objectives of the research are to examine the effectiveness of group work in improving students' reading comprehension and to determine the attitudes towards CL of EFL students in EFL classes at Lam Dong Minority Boarding school

1.4 Research questions

In order to achieve the objectives mentioned above, the following research questions must be addressed:

1 To what extent do students of Lam Dong Minority Boarding school improve their English reading skills through working in cooperative groups? 2 What are their attitudes toward cooperative learning?

1.5 Scope of the study

In education, both educational content and teaching methods are vital Both directly influence students' outcomes CL, one of the various teaching techniques, plays a fundamental role in enhancing English performance inside the classroom Thus, instructors need to study this kind of method employed in EFL classes.

CL is implemented in most subjects taught in Vietnamese high schools Nonetheless, due to constraints regarding time and length, the current study only focuses on CL in EFL classes Regarding the research site, the study was conducted at the Minority Boarding school in Dalat city, where the author has been working for more than three years The main subjects of the study were the students of grade 11.

The researcher conducted this study at Lam Dong Minority Boarding School with the hope that not only the effectiveness of CL in promoting students' achievement in reading comprehension would be revealed but also attitudes towards CL would be discovered, and thus would help both instructors and students improve English teaching and learning at Minority Boarding school in Lam Dong Province.

1.6 Significance of the study

The results of this study are expected to provide significant contributions at both theoretical and practical levels.

Theoretically, the findings of this study should contribute to the body of literature on CL regarding learning a second language in Vietnamese high schools This contribution, perhaps, will help researchers reaffirm the fact that CL is considered to be one of the leading strategies contributing to the success of the teaching and learning process (Long, 1985).

Practically, this study should make an essential contribution to the process of learning and teaching a language at Lam Dong Minority Boarding school Firstly, this study will provide useful information about the effectiveness of CL practice in EFL settings and what attitudes students possess toward CL These findings can be used as a useful reference for language teachers in helping students to be more confident, and eventually improve students' learning in a positive way Secondly, this study can become a reliable source of reference for other researchers in the same field Finally, the findings of this study should help to improve the quality of teaching and learning English in high schools in Vietnam.

1.7 Definitions of the study

For this study, many terms must be defined to provide a specific perspective on the issues discussed.

• EFL students refer to students who are learning English in grade 11 at Lam

Dong Minority Boarding school.

• CL refers to cooperative learning, a learning activity in which 4 or 5 students

work in group to maximize their own and each other’s learning.

• Attitude is one of the significant elements impacting directly on learners'

achievement in language learning.

1.8 Organization of the thesis

This study consists of five chapters: introduction, literature review, methodology, data analysis and discussion and conclusion with references and appendices enclosed.

Chapter 1: Introduction indicates the reationale, purpose, research questions, scope, significance, definitions of the terms and organization of the study.

Chapter 2: Literature review provides the background of the study including definitions of key concepts, description of the context of applying cooperative learnig and related theories.

Chapter 3: Methodology describes the participants and instruments of the study; as well as the procedure employed to carry out the research.

Chapter 4: Results and discussion presents, analyzes and discusses the findings that the reseracher found out from the data collected according to the two research questions.

Chapter 5: Conclusion summarizes the main issues discussed in the paper, the limitations of the research, some recommendations for cooperative learning and further studies Following this chapter are the references and appendices.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides a comprehensive review of the literature relevant to the present investigation, especially to the key concepts and related studies to the research topic First, an overall picture of the background is provided with some key concepts in detail Then, some national and international studies related to CL are deeply analyzed to illustrate the concepts more clearly.

2.1 Cooperative learning (CL)

2.1.1 Definition of cooperative learning

There are different definitions which are said to be related to cooperative learning.

In the view of Brown (2001:177), CL or group work is "a generic term covering a multiplicity of techniques in which two or more students are assigned a task involves collaboration and self – initiated language".

Adding to the field of CL in terms of psychological dimension, Brumfit (1984) explains that CL is a term referring to many people who interact with one another, who are psychologically concious of one another, and who perceive themselves to be a group.

Doff (1988:138) explains CL as a teaching practice of teachers that requires his/ her students to work in a small group of four or five at the same time to perform collaborative tasks.

With more similarities than differences, Nunan and Lamp (1995) describe CL as a learning activity that is carried out by three to six students under the careful supervision of a teacher Group work is supposed to refer to activities in which two or more students participate in order to solve a particular problem, depending on the aims which an individual activity is supposed to accomplish (Nesic and Hamidovic, 2016).

Simply, Johnson and Johnson (2010: 2) defines CL as "the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning".

In conclusion, there are many different definitions related to cooperative learning Personally, the researcher highly appreciates the definition of Johnson and Johnson (2010: 2), which stated that CL is a learning activity in which learners engage in working together in small groups to boost their own and each other's learning In this thesis, “cooperative learning” will be understood in this way and work as a working definition for this thesis.

2.1.2 Five elements of cooperative learning

According to Johnson and Johnson (2009), not all groups are cooperative Putting learners at the same table, asking them to do something, does not mean they will remain cooperative effectively.

Johnson and Johnson (1989) explain that there are five criteria of CL to reach the full potential of group work including positive interdependence, individual and group accountability, face-to-face interaction, interpersonal, small group skills, and group processing.

Figure 2.1 Johnson, Johnson, and Smith's Elements of cooperative learning(Neo et al., 2012)

2.1.2.1 Positive interdependence

Positive interdependence creates the thought that "we sink or swim together" (Johnson et al., 1998) The discipline of a CL begins with forming positive interdependence Positive interdependence requires group members to work together to accomplish tasks and care about each other's learning so that the gain of one

member is associated with the gain of other members Without positive interdependence, students sometimes fall into the trap of "hitchhiking", where one student does all the work, the others "off-task" (Cohen, 1994b).

There are several ways to build positive interdependence One way is to assign a role to each student, and another is to provide a group reward.

2.1.2.2 Face to face interaction

Another element of cooperative learning is face-to-face interaction among students, whereby they promote each other's learning and success Promotive interaction means that by sharing resources, students help each other to achieve progress and obtain success Johnson (2005) points out that it is necessary to maximize the chances for learners to help, support, encourage, and praise each other's efforts to learn.

2.1.2.3 Individual and group accountability

Cooperative learning aims to enable each member to be a more vital member Individual and group accountability exists when each group member is responsible for contributing to the goal of the entire group No one can "hitchhike" on the work of others (Jolliffe, 2007) The performance of each member will be assessed, and the results are given back to the group As a result, the group knows who needs more assistance to accomplish the task Johnson & Johnson (1991) recommend some ways to structure individual accountability such as giving opportunities for testing each other, randomly choosing one member to represent the group, or having students explain what they have learned to someone else.

2.1.2.4 Interpersonal small group skills

Interpersonal, small group skills are necessary for team skills They are needed for both teamwork and task work Group members have to know how to encourage and be encouraged, how to encourage each other by making decisions, building trust, communicating, and managing conflict to make group activities run smoothly.

According to Johnson and Johnson (1990), students must be taught these skills and be encouraged to use them If group members do not have the interpersonal and small group skills, group work will not be productive.

2.1.2.5 Group processing

Group members need to feel free to communicate with each other, to express concerns as well as to celebrate success They should discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining their effective working relationships.

2.1.3 Models of cooperative learning

Cooperative learning includes a variety of models that can be used to maximize learning according to 5 key elements of CL Table 2.1 presents the various cooperative models in the context of EFL.

Table 2.1 Modern models of cooperative learning (Zuo, 2011)

Early 1970s Teams-Games- Language Rules

Sharan and Sharan Mid 1970s Group Investigation Culture, Writing (GI)

Aronson, Blanley, Sikes, Stephan and

Student Team- Reading,

social skills and culture Cohen Early 1980s Complex Instruction Language rules

(CI) and mechanics Speaking, Kagan Mid 1980s Cooperative learning Listening, structures Reading and

Of the many methods mentioned above, the researcher applied the STAD model in the experimental group in this study to enhance her EFL students' reading comprehension.

STAD was developed at John Hopkins University by Robert Slavin and his colleagues According to Slavin (1978), STAD has been used in diverse subjects such as language, art, social studies, math, and even science The STAD model is supposed to be the most efficient and straightforward means to promote student achievement STAD is a model in which 4 to 5 learners with different levels of proficiency are arranged into a team that assists one another in understanding the given material in depth Then, each member will be tested The result of the second round will be compared to that of the first The gain score of each individual will be added to the score of the whole group Thus, "a low achiever can contribute to the team score as much as a high achiever without doing well on the test as their higher-achieving teammate" (Liang, 2002: 39) Slavin (1987) adds that there are four steps for implementing STAD in classrooms:

1 The teacher presents the material.

2 Students work in their group to complete the worksheets.

The STAD model operates on the principle that learners work together to learn and that the goals of the team are dependent on the learning effort of each member.

2.1.4 Advantages and disadvantages of using cooperative learning forstudents

Many methodologists have long supported the use of group work in EFL classrooms because it offers higher rates of success in learning.

While Huda (2013: 7) points out in the current ELT practices, the traditional teaching method has failed to produce expected results for learners Several researchers (Brown, 2001; Foster, 1998; Ghaith & Yaghi, 1998; Harmer, 2001; Ur, 1996) have emphasized that group work or CL has a positive impact in language classrooms.

First of all, according to Long and Porter (1985), and Ur (1996), CL helps enhance students' interaction because it provides them with more opportunities to work with each other Thanks to this, their communicative competence, cognitive learning, interactive skills, and interpersonal relationships tend to be developed (Zhenhui, 2001; Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec, 1994).

Second, a festive learning atmosphere is generated through group activities (Zhenhui, 2001; Brown, 2001) Brown (2001) says that when working in teams, learners are free from anxiety, they feel more secure since they cannot be easily criticized or insulted Besides, they are aiming at the same goal when working in a group As a result, motivation and self-confidence are enhanced considerably.

Another advantage is providing interactive language In traditional classrooms, giving lectures by teachers is dominant Students tend to be passive due to having less opportunity to practice the language On the contrary, the small group provides a "naturalistic environment" for learners (Brumfit, 1994: 87) This means that students in CL can engage in face-to-face meaning negotiation and conversational exchanges with the target language As a result, the more they are exposed to a particular linguistic environment, the more they can acquire the language.

Furthermore, learner autonomy can be formed from CL (Brown, 2001; Harmer, 2001; Ur, 2012) Compared to whole-class activities in which students often hide, CL facilitates student responsibility for action and progress They "are not directly controlled by the teacher" (Ur, 1996: 234) and have more chances to make their own choices or express their views about how they do group tasks Consequently, their responsibility for learning is more likely to be shaped and fostered over time.

To sum up, CL is commonly supposed to hold four main benefits: enhancing student interaction, providing a festive learning atmosphere, creating an interactive language, and shaping learner autonomy.

In addition to the benefits of CL mentioned above, there are some weaknesses in implementing CL in language classrooms that have been shown by many researchers.

One of the biggest problems of CL is that it is hard to control the students A noisy and chaotic classroom might evolve This might stem from grouping people before the performance (Harmer, 2001), or confusion about the instructions of the assigned tasks (Chan and Chen, 2010) When learners are not clear about what they should do, they might give up, or even worse, might argue among themselves.

Second, students might resort to speaking in their mother tongue Some students have a tendency to heavily rely on their first language rather than making an attempt to use the target language If students do not understand the purpose of their assignment, or if they feel that their assignment is too tricky, then they might encourage other students in the group to take a short cut via their native language (Brown, 2001, 181; Le and McDonald, 2004).

Third, the reinforcement of student errors in the classroom is unavoidable As Prabhu (1987) explains, working in a group increases the risk of being exposed to faulty and incorrect language Some might not be aware of the mistakes that they make In other words, some common errors from their members will take root in their

linguistics system, which is dangerous, since the teacher has little chance to correct Students will reinforce each other's errors (Brown, 2001).

Last but not least, CL may result in an unequal contribution of all group members (Chan and Chen, 2010) According to Harmer's view (2001), one of the reasons for unbalanced participation might lie in the tasks assigned by the teacher The assigned tasks might put some learners into a passive role, while others might dominate the entire group This can be a good chance for lazy learners to talk about irrelevant matters and fail to gain maximum practice in the target language.

Overall, it is widely agreed that CL may cause some problems such as noise and chaos in the classroom, overuse of the mother tongue, exposure to faulty language, and unbalanced participation among members in the group.

2.1.5 Positive outcomes of cooperative learning

The implementation of group work in teaching has been reported to result in three primary broad outcomes: 1) an increased effort to achieve, 2) positive relationships and 3) psychological adjustment in a social setting.

Figure 2.2 Outcomes of cooperative learning(Johnson and Johnson, 1999)

2.1.5.1 Effort to achieve

Of the three outcomes, achievement gain is highly esteemed by most educators According to Johnson and Johnson (2010:5), academic achievement has increased by group work far more than in a competitive or individualistic learning environment Individuals of the high, medium and low ability achieved a lot more in cooperative settings than they did in competitive or individualistic settings This finding is well confirmed by research.

There are more than 900 research studies that validate the effectiveness of cooperative learning over competitive and individualistic learning These studies have been conducted by many different researchers in settings all around the world Research participants have varied widely in cultural background, economic class, age, and gender A wide variety of research tasks and dependent variables have been applied Over and over again, the research reveals that students completing cooperative learning group tasks tend to possess higher academic test scores.

George (1994) compared cooperative learning methods and traditional learning methods for 18 weeks, with 61 students of undergraduate educational psychology classes and found that cooperative learning groups performed better than non-cooperative learning groups.

In addition to this, 122 studies have been reviewed, and 286 empirical findings by Johnson and Johnson (1999) show that students involved in group work, on average, achieve academically at the 80th percentile, well above students with competitive or individualistic learning.

The positive effects of cooperative learning are also said to exist at all grade levels, across gender lines, and among students of low, medium, and high academic achievements Slavin (1990) analyzed 68 studies and found that forty-eight out of the sixty-eight experimental and control comparisons supporting group work, accounting for 72%; but only 12% supporting control groups.

What is more, Dotson (2001) reports that out of the 67 studies on the achievement effects of cooperative learning, 61% is a significantly more remarkable achievement in it than in the traditional teaching method.

The findings of the above studies have led to intense arguments that CL is an effective teaching pedagogy for schools in promoting the academic achievement of learners In the context of Vietnam, testing and assessment of students' learning mainly depend on the scores they achieve Therefore, it is essential to examine the impact of group work on learner's achievement outcomes not only to adjust the teaching method and but also to satisfy learners' needs.

2.1.5.2 Quality of relationships

According to Johnson and Johnson (1989), learners get more committed and caring for the success of each member when they work together than they compete or work individually.

When working together as a team to obtain a shared goal, the members learn how to overcome pain, frustration to be willing to listen and be influenced by other members in the group (Johnson and Johnson, 1989) As a result, the quality relationship among group members will be fostered and strengthened gradually.

2.1.5.3 Psychological Health

There is a mutual relationship among three outcomes efforts: to achieve, quality of relationships, and psychological health (Johnson & Johnson, 1989) First, the more students care about each other, the more they work together to get the achievement On the other hand, because of the standard product, they care a lot to the group members Second, group members benefit psychological health (self – esteem, self – efficacy, personal control, and confidence) from making efforts to work together to reach the goal On the other hand, the health of the psychology of each individual contributes to the effectiveness degree of the group Third, psychological health is shaped by the caring and respect received from loved-ones On the other hand, the healthier psychology, the more incredible caring, and committed their relationships.

2.2 Cooperative learning and reading comprehension

Reading comprehension has a vital role in teaching and learning a foreign language Grellet (1981:3) states that "reading comprehension or understanding a written text means extracting the specified information from it as efficiently as possible" From his point of view, reading comprehension involves decoding a combination of words in the text in terms of meaning.

Owning the same view, Gambrell, Block, and Presley (2002:4) indicate that reading comprehension means "acquiring meaning from written texts".

Similarly, then differently, Nejad and Keshavarsi (2015:170) claim that "reading comprehension is the ability to perceive a written text to understand its contents".

Meanwhile, Wooley (2011:15) gives a further explanation about reading comprehension that is the process of reading to have an overall understanding of what is mentioned in the text rather than to catch the meaning from isolated words or sentences.

In another view, Thorndike (1917:329) makes a comparison between reading comprehension and doing math when he says "understanding a paragraph is like solving a problem in mathematics" because we have to select the right elements and put them in the right positions to create the right meanings.

To sum up, although the above opinions on reading comprehension are not the same, they all point out that reading comprehension is the ability to get both the meaning of a text and the message that the writer implies.

Academic performance is assumed to be enhanced by using cooperative learning techniques Although reading involves less interaction among second language learners than speaking and writing, lots of researchers have studied the potential benefits of reading in groups For instance, Steven et al (1987), Jacobs and Hannah (2004), Apple (2006), Faryadi (2007), Adeyemi (2008), Rahvard (2010) study on cooperative learning and validate the effect of cooperative learning on reading comprehension They conclude that in cooperative learning, learners are

exposed to an environment that gives support, interaction, and encouragement to boost their academic achievement As such, students under cooperative treatment gain significantly more than control students who work individually.

In terms of reading comprehension assessment, Duff and Susan (2009:405) classify the measures of reading comprehension into two types They are formal assessment and informal assessment Formal assessments involve in getting data from the test while informal assessments are not data but content and performance-driven.

In this present study, the author employs a standard measure to test her learners' reading comprehension achievement In Read's view (2003), a good language test must satisfy the requirements of validity, reliability, discrimination, and practicality As such, the reading comprehension tests in the present study are derived from Preliminary English Test (PET) for school 1 of Cambridge Book for Cambridge Exams, published in 2010.

2.3 Theories underlying cooperative learning2.3.1 Vygotskian Perspective

The Vygotskian perspective related to cooperative learning was the Zone of Proximal Development.

According to Vygotsky (1978), all good learning was in advance of the development and involved the skills acquisition just beyond the student's grasp Such learning occurred within the student's zone of proximal development through interaction Vygotsky gave a definition of the zone of proximal development as the discrepancy between the learner's actual developmental level (i.e., independent achievement) and his/her potential level (achievement with help from a more competent partner) Vygotsky's zone of proximal development had many implications for those who are in the educational milieu One of them was the thought that human learning presupposed a specific social nature and was a part of a process by which children grew into the intellectual life of those around them (Vygotsky, 1978) According to Vygotsky (1978), an essential feature of learning was that it awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that was able to operate only

when the child was in the action of interacting with people in his environment and cooperating with his peers.

As such, in language learning, the affinity between its participants and the authenticity of the environment were essential elements to make the learners feel that they belong to this environment Unfortunately, these elements rarely exist in conventional classrooms.

By explaining cognitive development and human language development, Vygotsky's theory served as a strong foundation for the modern trends in applied linguistics It gaves support to more natural and less structured, communicative, and experiential approaches and pointed to the importance of early real-world human interaction in foreign language learning (Vygotsky, 1978).

2.3.2 Constructivism

The constructivist approach was not a brand-new theory but a holistic approach to the teaching and learning process developed by incorporating concepts from Vygotsky, as discussed in the previous section Constructivism rooted in philosophy and had been applied to sociology and anthropology, as well as cognitive psychology and education (Brunner, 1973, 1986; Yager, 1991) A major theme in constructivism was that learning was an active process in which learners constructed new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge (Bruner, 1966, 1973) Learners selected and formed information, constructed hypotheses, and made decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provided meaning and organization to experiences and let the individual to go beyond the information given to them (Brunner, 1973, 1990) As far as instruction was concerned, the instructor should make an attempt and encourage students to discover principles by themselves (Brunner, 1966) The curriculum should be designed in a spiral manner so that the student continually built upon what they had already learned (Bruner, 1966).

The independent theories of Vygotsky and constructivism complimented each other The former promoted social interaction in learning while the latter advocated

active learning of the learners Both were essential elements in the realization of cooperative learning in a real-life classroom There was not theory alone which was able to provide a complete explanation for the implementation of cooperative learning.

2.4 Attitude

2.4.1 Definition of attitude

So far "attitude" has been defined by many researchers from various perspectives in the field of psychology, education, and especially language learning In the view of Lambert (1987), attitude is defined as responses and reactions to people, groups, social issues, and even evaluations Such evaluations are often positive or negative, and it is supposed to be different from person to person, and from time to another Besides, attitudes can promote or hinder the choices that people often make in daily life.

Similarly, Gardner (1985, 267) states that attitude is an evaluative reaction of an individual to a sure thing based on the individual's belief A similar view exists in Ajzen (1988), who adds a language will not survive if a speech community considers it unfavourably Baker (1992) also emphasizes the role of attitudes in the restoration, preservation, decay, or death of language.

Wenden (1991) views attitude differently by giving a comprehensive definition of attitude consisting of three components, namely affective, cognitive, and behavioural The first component is affective, which involves our emotions and feelings towards the object The second one is cognitive, which is related to our beliefs about the object, and the last one is behavioural, referring to the way an individual act and behaves towards the object.

In summary, attitude is a tendency to think or act in a certain way in respect of some object or situation, often go with feelings Wenden suggests three different components make up attitudes They are practical, cognitive, and behavioural The cognitive component is related to the information or knowledge of a person, whereas the affective component is based on the feelings It deals with emotions that are

brought to the surface about something, such as fear or hate The behavioural component reflects how attitude affects the way we behave Attitudes are vital for the goal to succeed Each one of these components is not the same, and it can build from one another to shape our attitudes and then affect the real way we relate to the world.

Figure 2.3 Three components of an attitude (Hilgard, 1980)2.4.2 The role of attitude in language learning

Many studies have shown that there is a relationship between learner's attitude and language learning.

Many studies have shown that there is a relationship between learner's attitude and language learning.

According to Gardner and Lambert (1972), besides motivation, an attitude has long been considered as one of many influential variables in the field of language learning Oxford and Shaerin (1994) also highlight the importance of that attitude in language learning Kouros and Abrami (2006) stress the importance of attitude in the educational process They state that when formed, attitudes will decide the way learners think, feel, and behave (p.5) It means that attitudes impact many aspects of learners in the learning process start from learning behaviour to their quality of learning.

In the view of psychologists, learners' attitudes may be positive, negative, or neutral In language learning, both positive and negative partly determine success or failure There’s a saying of Winston Churchill that although attitude is a little thing, it can make a big difference.

It is widely believed that people who keep positive attitudes towards language learning can gain higher achievement In extensive studies, Gardner and Lambert

(1972) prove that positive attitudes towards a language can enhance students' proficiency.

Holding the same view, Brown (2000:18) draws a conclusion about the effects of attitudes on language learning in his research that "positive attitudes towards the self, the native language group, and the target language group enhanced proficiency" Karahan (2007) gives a further explanation that positive attitudes contribute to guiding the way for learners to access the language He believes that when learners possess favourable attitudes, they will become active and perform better in class.

This opinion was supported by Brown (2000) and Ellis (1994) when they claim that learners benefit from negative attitudes may have fewer chances to access to the target language It means that those with negative attitudes find it is not easy to acquire the expected level of proficiency in language learning because of less motivation; their input and interaction during their learning process will be decreased to a certain extent.

With the above views, it can be concluded that attitude is one of the significant elements impacting directly on learners' achievement in language learning Positive or negative attitudes can set the tone for the learning process itself People who maintain positive attitudes will benefit more than those who do not As such, it is crucial to explore the student's attitude towards language learning to meet their expectations and avoid their resistance to teaching approaches or activities in the classrooms

2.5 Previous studies on cooperative learning

Wichadee (2005) researches the effect of cooperative learning on English reading skills on first-year students at Bangkok University The author applies the STAD model to the experimental group in over eight weeks The comprehension tests are delivered to the experimental group and the control group before and after teaching The pre-test and post-test scores of the two groups are compared by using a T-test dependent The findings indicate that the students under STAD have higher reading comprehension scores for the post-test than the pre-test.

Similarly, Kazemi (2012) attempts to seek the effects of the jigsaw teaching method on the Iranian EFL learners' s success in terms of their reading comprehension Thirty-eight participants are exposed to the jigsaw technique, and another 38 are under the traditional teaching method After gathering the required data from pre-test and post-test, the results show that the students' post-test reading scores improved significantly when compared with their pre-test scores.

Febryanto, Nurkamto, and Susilohadi (2013) investigate the effect of group work mode on students' reading comprehension The eighth-grade students of SMP N 4 Magetan in the academic year 2011/2012 are the participants of this research The researchers' design action research to teach reading comprehension using group work To collect the data, the researcher employs qualitative and quantitative methods The research results show that the students' mean score in the pre-test is 55.71, in post-test one is 70, and in post-test two is 83.58 Then, the authors give a conclusion that the students' reading comprehension is strongly enhanced by learning in group work mode.

Pan and Wu (2013) are also interested in investigating the effects of using cooperative learning to enhance the English reading comprehension of EFL first-year students There are 44 participants in the experimental group and 34 in the control group in their study The researchers use a pretest-posttest in a quasi-experimental design The quasi-experimental group receives a reciprocal cooperative learning instruction, whereas the comparison group receives a traditional lecture instruction Both groups have three achievement tests The findings reveal significant differences in terms of cooperative learning instruction on English reading comprehension In conclusion, the researcher strongly suggests that teachers use cooperative learning instruction in university-level EFL reading classes.

Alshammari (2015) investigates the effects of cooperative learning on the academic performance of college students in Saudi Arabia This experimental study tries to seek the answer for the research question: How would a jigsaw cooperative learning strategy affect college students' reading performance in Saudi Arabia

compared to the traditional teacher-centered approach? The study consists of 40 females ranging in age from 20 to 25, in an education course in Hail City For four weeks, the researcher conducts the study in two classes: one class was the control group, and the other was the experimental group The control group is taught by using a traditional teacher-centered lecture while the experimental group is taught by using a jigsaw strategy The results show that students who are taught by the jigsaw strategy have a better understanding of the content as compared to the students who are taught by lecture Therefore, this study concludes that cooperative learning has a positive impact on students' academic performances in Saudi Arabia.

In another study conducted in 2015, Endeshaw (2015) aims to investigate the effect of CL on students' reading comprehension The total population of the study is 320 students One group (160 students) is assigned experimental, and the other is the control group In this study, the researcher uses pre-test and post-test as an instrument After three months, the results of this study reveal that the experimental group gains more significant progress in reading comprehension post-test than that of the control group.

Another research is done by Nejad and Keshavarzi (2015) conducted at Islamic Azad University in Iran The study aims to look insights into the effect of cooperative learning on reading comprehension of pre-university students by comparing cooperative learning instruction and traditional instruction Seventy participants participate in the study (35 participants in the experimental group and other 35 participants in the control group) The experimental group is under the influence of CL, and the control group is under the influence of traditional teaching methods in the reading comprehension classes in over eight weeks The pre-test and post-test collect the data in terms of reading comprehension The findings of the study show that It is CL that enhances the performance of experimental groups in reading comprehension post-tests.

Maduabuchi and Chukwu (2017) research the effect of cooperative learning strategy on SS11 students' comprehension of reading passages in the Ebonyi State of

Nigeria Non-equivalent control group design is adopted as the research design The population of the study is 9185 students in 48 government co-educational secondary schools in the area of the study A sample of one hundred and twenty students from four classes was selected from four co-educational schools The English Language Achievement Test on Comprehension is the instrument The results of the study reveal that cooperative instructional strategy has a positive effect on students' comprehension of reading passages in the English language and there is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught comprehension passages with cooperative learning strategy and those taught with the conventional method Based on these findings, the study recommends that a cooperative instructional strategy should be adopted in the teaching of reading comprehension passages in English.

Yavuz and Arelan (2018) investigate the effect of cooperative learning on language skills in an English course The study is carried out for five weeks and the participants in this study are sixty-six 10th grade students at an Anatolian high school in the district of Karadeniz Eregli in Zonguldak during the fall term of the 2015-2016 academic year The main instruments used in this study are pre-test and post-test Data gathered from an achievement test show that learning had a more substantial effect on vocabulary knowledge, grammar, listening, and reading compared to the traditional method.

Remache, Labre, and Valle (2019) carry out a study on the influence of cooperative learning in reading comprehension performance of high school students at Unidad Educativa "Riobamba" To ensure the validity and effectiveness of this research, a pre-test and a post-test are derived from the Cambridge PET (Preliminary English Test) exam, reading section The teacher's guide is designed to put cooperative learning strategies such as jig-saw, think-pair-share, and reciprocal questioning into action Data gathered from the tests reveal that the students improved their reading comprehension through cooperative work in pairs and groups as well It is recommended that teachers employ cooperative learning in the classroom to

improve students' reading comprehension to optimize their development in English language learning.

In Nigeria, Ugwu (2019) investigates the effect of two cooperative learning strategies, Think-Pair-Share (TPS) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) on secondary school students' achievement in reading comprehension The participants are 78 students (43 males and 35 females) are divided into three groups: experimental EG1, EG2, and control group CG The instrument is Reading Comprehension Achievement Test The results indicate that the students in the EG1 and EG2 gains higher achievement than those in the CG, but not across gender The findings advocate the existing evidence on the efficacy of cooperative learning over the traditional teaching method.

In Vietnam, Tran and Lewis (2012) investigate the effects of jigsaw cooperative learning on knowledge retention and the achievement of 80 final-year Vietnamese mathematics students, as well as reporting their attitudes toward this form of learning These students are divided into two groups of 40 and to be taught by the same lecturer In the control group, lecture-based teaching is used while jigsaw learning is employed in the experimental group over the six weeks of instruction The results show that students in the experimental group own greater improvement on both retention measures and achievement than the students in the control group A survey also reveals a favourable attitude toward jigsaw learning.

Apart from perceptions of group work in language learning, other researchers are also interested in exploring student's attitudes towards group work For instance, Walker (2001) conducts a study on students' perceptions of group work and peer assessments One hundred fifty-six first-year students take part in the study Students are asked to complete a questionnaire regarding participating in group and peer assessment both before and after joining the group project The results show that the students' attitudes towards group work are positive However, there are some concerns about inequalities in workload distribution.

In the same year, the goal of the study conducted by Basta (2011) is also addressing the attitude of students of Economics, at the University of Nis, towards the introduction of group work as well as the efficiency of such work through the use of a questionnaire The findings of the study reveal that students hold a positive attitude towards group work such as critical thought and teamwork, while negative attitudes refer to unequal workload distribution.

A related study identifies the different views of Kurdish students on the advantages and disadvantages of group work in the classroom of Othman and Murad (2015) The sample of the research is one hundred Kurdish university students at Universities in Kurdistan who experience at least two years in group work A questionnaire was completed Then, 20 students from the ones who participated in filling in the questionnaire are chosen to interview The findings reveal that "better communication", "group work is a mutual interest", "group members clarify difficult things to each other" and ''it takes a short time to finish a task in group work'' is students' positive opinions In contrast, their negative opinions concerning group work are "some members do not like to work", "students depend on each other", "some members prefer to relax and stay silent", and ''group work is a waste of time because students talk about external things and they cannot reach any agreement' The research concludes by suggesting further considerable studies on attitudes of students concerning group work.

Another article that also looks into group work is done by Nesic and Hamidocvic (2016) In this paper, the author tries to give insight into students' perception of group work when learning English Research is conducted utilizing a questionnaire administered among students from the Business School of Applied Studies in Blace upon completing the business English course in 2014 The findings show some advantages of group work are creating team spirit, developing creativity as well as improving communicative competence At the same time, the adverse effects are the unequal contribution of all group members, as well as the time

necessary for organizing activities At the end of the paper, the author proposes several pedagogical implications for the improvement of teaching a foreign language.

Ababneh (2017) carries out a study to identify the attitudes of Jordanian students towards using group work in EFL classes There are 179 students of Huson University College who participate in this study A questionnaire is used as the main instrument The findings indicate that 2/ 3 of the participants hold a positive attitude towards group work in EFL classes.

The purpose of Bushisso's (2019) research is aiming to find out the attitude towards learning and teaching in group work of grade 9 students and teachers at Addis Ketema and Alamura secondary schools of Hawassa city of Administration Ninety-four students and six teachers are selected by employing simple random sampling Questionnaire and interview are used as instruments in this study After analyzing the gathered data, the findings show that both teachers and students own a favourable outlook to learning and teaching in group work although students lack of practice in group work and have a low level of language ability.

In term of national studies, Thuy (2010) conducts research which aims to find out the students' attitudes towards CL at Nghe An College There are 83 second-year major English participants To obtain the data for the study, the author employed two instruments: the questionnaire and follow-up interviews After conducting a pilot study, a 20-item questionnaire is delivered to 83 students in different classes The results reveal that the majority of the students at Nghe An College are happy with the CL mode in learning English lessons as well as being aware of the benefits that CL brings back for them.

A related study conducted by Dat (2012) investigates the effects of cooperative learning on knowledge retention and the achievement of 80 Vietnamese mathematics students, as well as reporting their attitudes toward this form of learning These students are classified into two groups (40 students per group) Over the six weeks of instruction, CL is employed in the experimental group, while lecture-based teaching is applied in the control group The findings show that students in the experimental

group achieve more significant improvement than that of the students in the control group Besides, the survey also reveals favourable responses toward CL mode.

2.6 Summary

In summary, a lot of national and international studies on cooperative learning have been done in different countries all over the world, and the list of related studies is still going on While a large body of research in cooperative learning has found that cooperative learning has a significant impact on learners' reading comprehension and learners embrace positive attitudes towards the use of group work and, limited research has been conducted in the context of teaching and learning English in Vietnamese At Minority Boarding school, Lam Dong, there has not been any research on the use of cooperative learning in English teaching.

As such, the present study aims to fill this gap with the hope to explore the cooperative learning on EFL student's performance in terms of reading comprehension as well as to have profound understandings of students' attitude to group work It is expected that the findings of the study will reflect the actual situation at Minority Boarding school, which can be beneficial to the teaching and learning English at the school Further, cooperative learning could and would receive more attention in EFL teaching in Vietnam in the current wave of educational reform.

CHAPTER 3METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology of the study to explain the research in details First of all, the research design will be clarified Secondly, in the setting and participants section, general information about the school and the students will be given The participant groups will be described briefly Next, materials and instruments used to collect data will be described in general, including reliability and validity Finally, in data collection procedures, the researcher will give information about the process.

3.1 Research design

In this study, quantitative, descriptive and qualitative method were implemented First, this study examines the effect of cooperative learning with respect to EFL learners in reading comprehension at Lam Dong Minority Boarding school; It dealt with empirical and statistical data analyses Hence, quantitative and descriptive methods were used Second, this study focused on determining the attitudes towards group work of EFL students As such, qualitative method was also engaged in this study.

3.2 Research site

The study was conducted at a Minority Boarding school in Dalat City-Lam Dong Province Founded in 1989, Lam Dong Minority Boarding school is one of fourteen high schools in Dalat, Lam Dong.

At the time being, there were more than 45 teachers and about 425 students The school had three grades: grade 10, grade 11, and grade 12; each had five classes The number of students in each class ranged from 25 to 30 The total number of English teachers is 5 (5 females) All of them graduated from the Pedagogical Faculty of Dalat University The average age of English teachers was 38.

The situation of learning English in school cared especially because the Ministry of Education and Training has determined the importance of English in the globalizing trend of the world and English is chosen to be one of six subjects in Graduation Examination.