EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNING GROUPS ON THE SECOND LANGUAGE ACHIEVEMENT OF LIMITED - ENGLISH-PROFICIENT STUDENTS (NATURAL APPROACH, PEER INTERACTION)
Abstract
This study investigated the effectiveness of cooperative and individual learning groups on the oral language acquisition of limited-English-proficient students in third grade through an English as a Second Language (ESL) Module. The cooperative learning groups were structured to enhance learning through group discussion and interaction among peers in groups. The individual learning groups were formed to increase students' learning through independent work. The subjects for this investigation consisted of Spanish-dominant students in third grade bilingual classes in a community school district in Brooklyn, New York. The sample consisted of 58 students: There were 30 students (15 girls and 15 boys) in the cooperative learning group which was divided into six groups of five students each. Twenty-eight subjects made up the individual learning group (14 girls and 14 boys) which was divided into two groups of 14 students each. The English as a Second Language (ESL) Module was used in the two treatments (cooperative and individual). The activities in the module were designed to enable students to work cooperatively or individually. The module followed the comprehensible input and natural approach philosophy of second language acquisition. The Language Assessment Scales (LAS) were administered to determine oral language proficiency in English; in particular, English listening and speaking skills were measured. The subjects were pretested and posttested with the LAS (lexical, comprehension, and oral production) to determine growth in oral language proficiency. The My Class Inventory (MCI) was employed to ascertain interpersonal relationships among pupils. The MCI reliably measures students' perception of interaction in the group as well as the group's structural characteristics. The subjects were pretested and posttested with the following MCI scales: Satisfaction, difficulty, cohesiveness, friction, competitiveness. Two-way analysis of variance on the pretest scores were performed to compare equivalence of the two learning groups and the two sex levels. Since analyses of variance indicated significant main effects and interactions between learning groups and sex, analyses of covariance were applied to all test score data. The results of this investigation demonstrated significant differences between learning groups on the LAS and MCI posttest scores. Significant differences were also found between male and female students on the LAS and MCI posttest scores.
Subject Area
Curriculum development
Recommended Citation
GONZALEZ, MIGUEL ANGEL, "EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNING GROUPS ON THE SECOND LANGUAGE ACHIEVEMENT OF LIMITED - ENGLISH-PROFICIENT STUDENTS (NATURAL APPROACH, PEER INTERACTION)" (1986). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8624484.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8624484
