USING COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES

TO ENHANCE YEAR FOUR PUPILS’ ABILITY TO USE CONJUNCTIONS

KANMANI A/P RENGASAMY

A project report submitted

in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the degree of

Master of Teaching

Primary English Language Education

SULTAN IDRIS UNIVERSITY

OF EDUCATION

APRIL 2019
1
1.0 ABSTRACT

Grammar is the most important part of language for English. One of the important part of

grammar is conjuction which plays important role to make any sentence sensible and

comprehensible. Conjunction is a part of speech which connects two words, phrases or

sentences with each other in a professional way. Most of the times, we are unable to realize

the mistakes we make in conjunction which results in bad impression of our speaking and

writing. As a part of speech, conjunctions are important in conveying the whole thought of

the spoken or written language.

As an English teacher, I noticed that most of the pupils do not use conjuctions actively when

they were engaging neither in communication nor in writing during an ESL classroom. The

purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of using Cooperative Learning

strategies to enhance the ability to use conjuctions among Year 4 pupils. 33 of Year 4 pupils

consist of 15 boys and 18 girls took part in this research. They were choson to conduct this

research because their English acquisition is moderate and they involve actively during

English lessons. Data will be collected using Pre-test, Post-test and Interview. The results of

this study will determine the effectiveness of using Cooperative Learning strategies to

enhance the use of conjunctions among pupils after the interventions.

Keyword : grammar, conjunction, cooperative learning strategies, ESL classroom

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2.0 INTRODUCTION

In Malaysia, English becomes the foreign language that has an important role to the

development of the country and reforming in its teaching learning process. It has been

introduced from primary school to university that gives an opportunity to acquire the

language. Nowadays, even most of the kindergartens in cities and rural places have

introduced English as one of the main subject. On the other hand, many formal education

institutions and courses also offer the same programs as the formal education do.

Teaching primary school children is not an easy job. The students sometimes face some

problems in acquiring English as their second language. Consequently, the teachers should

be creative and be a good model in teaching English for their students. The objective of

teaching English in primary schools is to prepare the children to have comparative values

in the globalization era and introduce English at early ages. By studying English, students

are expected to have a mean to develop their knowledge of Science, technology and culture

so that they can grow up with Malaysian personality. It means Malaysian whose manner

and behavior in their daily life reflect the values contained in the National Principles or the

Principles of Nationhood. The students are also expected to be able to support the

development of tourism.

The problem of teaching of English grammar can be solved by adopting and practising the

inductive method of teaching English grammar. Cooperative Learning strategy may play a

positive role in providing practice to the pupils in the use of language and in improving the

academic achievement. This study is undertaken to see weather the inductive teaching of

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conjunctions by using the Cooperative Learning strategy (inductive thinking model) has a

positive effects on the academic achievement of the primary pupils.

According to Joyce, and Weil (1996), the model has been used in a wide variety of

curriculum areas and with students of all ages. It is not confined to sciences. Phonetic and

structural analysis depend on concept learning, so do rules of grammar. The structure of

literature is based on classification. The study of communities, nations and history requires

concept learning. Even if concept learning were not so critical in the development of

thought, the organization is so fundamental to curriculum areas that inductive thinking

would be a very important model for learning and teaching school subjects. So the need to

find the effectiveness of teaching English grammar by using Cooperative Learning strategy

(inductive model).

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3.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

I have been teaching English for the past 15 years ranging from rural to urban schools. My

current school is my seventh school, located in the city of Ipoh, Perak. The enrolment of

this school is 512 which consists of 95% of Malays, 4% of Indians and 1% of Chinese-

Malays. Most of the pupils unable to converse in English fluently due to the environment,

socio- economy and their family background where most of them use thier mother tongue

(Malay/Tamil language) in their daily conversation with their family members, friends and

people around them. Even though they are poor in speaking the language fluently, they

could understand simple instructions given by the teacher during the lessons. Sometimes I

have to give instuctions bilingually (both in English and Malay language) so that they

could understand better and the learning objectives can be achieved.

I am teaching Year 4 Zuhal, consists of 33 pupils, 18 girls and 15 boys. The ability of the

pupils in English is moderate and there are four classes of Year four in the school. Since I

am teaching English for this class, I am taking them as my participants for this research.

During my teaching-learning process, especially for PPSR Paper 2, I found that my pupils

faced difficulties in constructing compound and complex sentences. This problem occured

due to the inadequate acquisition of conjunctions. Therefore they were not able to join

more than two sentences in order to build compound and complex sentences which would

help the pupils to score better marks in the examination.

5
Pupils learn conjunctions formally in schools. During the KBSR era, teachers used to apply

traditional method to teach conjunctions intrinsically for their pupils which I found less

effective and boring. The pupils tend to get bored especially those young children who

hardly can concentrate for long hours in one place. Based on KSSR (Kurikulum Standard

Sekolah Rendah) which emphasises on Lower and Upper Primary Level (Year 1-5), the

four skills has been recognised as essential components to be taught. Various studies

demonstrate that Cooperative Learning strategies has positive influence on pupils’ overall

acedemic achievements. In line with this new emergent curriculum, I would grab this

opportunity to use Cooperative Learning strategies in my study to enhance pupils’ ability

to use conjunctions.

4.0 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND RATIONALE

The focus of the study is to determine the effectiveness of using cooperative learning

strategies to enhance the ability to use conjuction among Year 4 pupils and to see whether

this strategy has a positive effect on the academic achievement of the primary school

pupils in a national primary school. For most primary schools, the traditional methods of

teaching English are being practised since Year 1. More time and importance is given to

the teaching of English texbook and only casual reference is made to them during teaching

the prescribed textbook. This study may prove helpful in bringing a positive change in the

classroom. The English teachers working in the field can utilize the Cooperative Learning

activities by using the inductive teaching model for the pupils. It may bring positive results

because the pupils may be practically involved in the lesson.

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Pupils can gain tremendous benefits because Cooperative Learning approach can give

them the chance to learn from one another rather than receive information from the teacher

or using the textbook alone. The teachers , curriculum planners and others who want to be

sensitive to the needs of the pupils they serve, cannot always rely on their unaided

intuition. They rely on the findings of the relevent researchers. So the findings of the study

may be used by curriculum planners and curriculum developers in suggesting the given

method for effective teaching in English Language. Findings of the study may prove

helpful to the trainers. The prospective teachers may be given practice in using group work

activities along with the other methods of teaching English and it may be popularized in

the schools while these teachers go to the field.

According to Nazir Ahmad (1987, p.90) grammar is the “Practical analysis of a language.

It classifies a language under different categories and formulates a few general laws and

principles of usage for guidance of the learner”. Conjunctions are an integral part of the

English language. If used properly, they can improve almost any type of writing from

business writing to acedemic writing, conjunctions help create better sentences. However,

using them incorrectly or not using them at all results in choppy and incoherent writing. A

conjunction is a part of speech that functions as a connector between two sentences,

clauses, phrases, or words.  We often use conjunctions in speech without realizing it. In

writing, they can be effectively used in lieu of starting a new sentence. The proper use of

conjunctions allows for more natural flow and rhythm in your writing. The improper use of

conjunctions often results in writing that sounds choppy and disjointed. Conjunctions may

7
breathe creative life into our writing by allowing us to combine ideas and compare clauses

without having to break up our sentences into choppy fragments.

Writing two essays is a compulsory component in English Paper 2 for level two pupils

especially for PPSR examination. More marks will be awarded if a pupil is able to

construct compound and complex sentences. In order to write compound and complex

sentences, pupils need to acquire the use of conjunctions correctly. In the context of this

study, the focus is on the use of ‘so’ and ‘because’ because many pupils tend to get

confused whether to use these conjunctions for ‘reason’ or ‘result’.

5.0 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The purposes of the research are:

1. To enhance pupils’ interest in learning grammar in more fun ways than traditional

methods.

2. To enhance pupils’ ability to learn conjunctions through Cooperative Learning

Strategies.

3. To improve pupils’ ability to use conjunctions in writing compound and complex

sentences especially for PPSR English Paper 2.

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5.1 OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

5.1.1 Research objectives

The main objective of the study is to investigate whether the use of Cooperative Learning

strategies can enhance year four pupils’ ability to use conjunctions in an ESL classroom.

5.1.2 Research questions

The research questions to be answered in this study are as follows:

RQ 1 : Can Cooperative Learning Strategies help year four pupils to enhance their ability

to use conjunctions?

RQ 2 : How Cooperative Learning strategies can help the pupils to learn conjunctions?

6.0 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

A conceptual framework is not merely a collection of concepts but, rather, a construct in

which each concept plays an integral role. According to Miles and Huberman (1994), a

conceptual framework “lays out the key factors, constructs, or variables, and presumes

relationships among them” (p. 440). In addition, according to Grant & Osanloo (2014), a

conceptual framework provides a picture or visual display of how ideas in a study relate to

one another and it is arranged logically in a structure.

9
 Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of the study

Cooperative Learning Strategies

conceptual framework is a structure which
the researcher believes
can best explain the natural progression of
the phenomenon to be
studied (Camp, 2001). It is linked with
the concepts, empirical
research and important theories used in
promoting and systemizing the
knowledge espoused by the researcher
(Peshkin, 1993). It is the
researcher’s explanation of how the
research problem would be
explored. The conceptual framework
presents an integrated way of
looking at a problem under study (Liehr &
Smith, 1999). In a statistical
perspective, the conceptual framework
describes the relationship
between the main concepts of a study. It is
arranged in a logical

10
structure to aid provide a picture or visual
display of how ideas in a
study relate to one another (Grant &
Osanloo, 2014). Interestingly, it
shows the series of action the researcher
intends carrying out in a
research study (Dixon, Gulliver & Gibbon,
2001). The framework
makes it easier for the researcher to easily
specify and define the
concepts within the problem of the study
(Luse, Mennecke &
Townsend, 2012). Miles and Huberman
(1994, p.18) opine that
conceptual frameworks can be ‘graphical
or in a narrative form
showing the key variables or constructs to be
studied and the presumed
relationships between them.’
The Importance of Conceptual Framework in
Re

11
Conjunctions Cooperative Learning
 because so
Activities Incorporated

Join and Pick and Numbered

Rally Table
Stick Speak Heads Together

Enhancing Year 4 pupils ability in using conjunctions.

6.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

 Sociocultural Theory of Development

i) Cooperative learning Strategies

Cooperative learning strategies is a strategy that focuses on the use of small groups to

promote students working together to maximize their own and each other’s learning

(Johnson, et al., 2008). Cooperative learning strategy also highlights on students abilities

and to ensure the success of the group formed by building in ways for students to scaffold

for one another. Even, the teachers’ role changes from giving information to facilitating

12
students learning. Students would have face to face promotive interaction where students

must fully participate and put forth effort within their group in order to accomplish the task

assigned by teacher. In short, this theory is used by researcher to engage pupils in

discussions and to enhance pupils ability in differentiating between conjunction ‘so’ and

‘because’.

 Conceptual change theory

ii) Using Conjunction ‘so’ and ‘because’

Conceptual grammatical knowledge range from simple subject verb agreement to

syntactically complex structures. This theory will be used by both teachers and pupils in

ESL classroom to further reinforce of grammatical concepts. Conceptual change theory can

be in establishing a new grammar teaching method for conjunction ‘so’ and ‘because’. So,

in this research pupils will have to show their understanding of the conjunctions by

completing exercises given. . Then, the researcher will express the grammatical concepts

of the conjunctions through charts and power point presentation to help students apprehend

the difference between the two. By following students’ language learning process, the

researcher will gain a deeper understanding of pupils’ grammatical knowledge.

7.0 RELATED LITERATURE

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In this study, the researcher used Cooperative Learning strategies to enhance the pupils’

ability to use conjunctions. Research has shown that pupils who work in cooperative

groups do better on tests, especially with regard to reasoning and critical thinking skills

than those that do not (Johnson and Johnson, 1989). One reason for improved academic

achievement is that students who are learning cooperatively are more active participants in

the learning process ( Lord, 2011). They are about the class and they are more personally

engaged. Cooperative Learning also helps pupils increase their self-esteem and confidence.

Cooperative Learning model is a group of teaching straytegies involving teachers and

students to collaborate to achieve a common goal and make it easier to understand the

material. According to Felder and Brent (2007: 1) say that learning is an approach to

groupwork that minimizes the occurrence of those unpleasant situations and maximizes the

learning and satisfaction that resulted from working on a high-performance team. Khan

and Innamullah (2011: 211) state that Cooperative Learning is a method used by educators

that can help students develop neccesary social skills. While, Tsay and Brady (2010: 78-

89) mention that cooperative learning is one of the most commonly used forms of active

pedagogy. Therefore it can be concluded that cooperative learning would help students in

accomplishing an assignment given to them by working in a team.

In Cooperative Learning, pupils work together in small groups on a structured activity.

They are individually responsible and accountable for their work, and the work of the

group as a whole is also assessed. Therefore each member of the group puts in efforts in

order to achieve their goals. Since the researcher is teaching a moderate group of pupils,

she/he found that this is the best strategy which would help his/her pupils to share their
14
strengths and also develop their weaker skills. They are also able to develop their

interpersonal skills and learn to deal with conflicts. This class consists of mixed ability

pupils therefore the good learners can help the weaker ones to participate actively in the

activities conducted. This indirectly builds more positive relationships among pupils.

7.1 What is conjunction?

According to Oxford Dictionaries, a conjunction is a part of speech that is used to connect

words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. Conjunctions are considered to be invariable

grammar particle, and they may or may not stand between items they conjoin.

Conjunctions are used to join two sentences into one sentence by showing a relationship

between the two. There are a number of conjunctions used in English including co-

ordinating conjunctions and subordinate conjunctions. There are several different types of

conjunctions that do various jobs within sentence structures. Since conjunctions is a wide

topic and time consuming, I have narrowed my research on studying the use of ‘so’ and

‘because’ among the pupils. Both ‘so’ and ‘because’ are conjunctions which comment on

actions. They appear quite similar at first. However, ‘because’ provides the reason for the

action, and ‘so’ gives result of or response to an action.

According to Bernad in Ginting (2008:6), conjunctions are words which join other words

of groups of words. Whereas, Wren and Martin (1989: 128) explains that conjunctions is a

word which merely joins together sentences and some words. Conjunctions is also can be

classified as member of small class that have no characteristic form and their function are

15
chiefly as non-moveable structure words that join such unit as parts of speech, phrases or

clauses, Frank (1985: 206).

7.2 Types of conjunctions

Conjunctions can categorized into three types: coordinating conjunctions, correlative

conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. For this research study, the researcher

touches on only two types of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions for ‘so’ and

subordinating conjunctions for ‘because’.

7.2.1 Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions may join single words, or they may join groups of words, but

they must always join similar elements: e.g. subjects + subjects, verb phrase + verb phrase,

sentence + sentence. When a coordinating conjunctions is used to join elements, the

elements becomes a compound element. The types of coordinating conjunctions are: for,

and, nor, but, or, yet, so (also known as FANBOYS for acronym). In most of their roles as

joiners, coordinating conjunctions can join two sentence elements without the help of a

comma, depending on the types of the sentences.

7.2.2 Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are words or phrases that connect a dependent clause or

adjectives or adverbial phrase to an independent clause. The dependent clauses provide

context and description for the independent clause, it adds information that isn’t the direct

focus of the sentence but is important in adding time, place, or reasons to the sentence.

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Instead of having two short independent clauses that make for a choppy, difficult to read

style, subordinate conjunctions allow to connect sentences and to show relationships.

Subordinating conjunctions can show that one idea is more important than another. The

idea in the main clause is more important, while the idea in the subordinate clause is less

important.

Wren and Martin (1989: 142) say that a subordinating conjunction joins a clause to another

clause or which it depends for its full meaning. Bender and Emerson (1908: 66) state that

subordinating conjunctions can join the main clause with the subordinate clause.

Furthermore, Frank (1985: 215) says that a subordinate conjunction introduces a clause

that depends on main or independent clause. The subordinate conjunction is grammatically

part of the clause it introduces. Basically, a subordinate conjunction will connect a main

clause and a subordinate one.

There are many kinds of subordinate conjunctions. They are time, reason or cause, place,

manner, purpose or result, condition, concession or contrast and comparison.

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8.0 METHODOLOGY

This chapter provides an overview on the research design. Descriptions on the population

and sample, data collecting instruments and procedure of the data collection as well as

methods of data analysis are explained.

8.1 Research participants

In this research, the participants are the pupils of Year 4 Zuhal of Sekolah Kebangsaan Jati,

Ipoh, Perak. Since the reasercher is teaching English for this class, the whole class is taken

as participants for this research which consists of 33 pupils, 15 boys and 18 girls (Table 1).

The rationale of choosing Year Four pupils is because they are not involved in any national

examination and the study would not interfere with their preparation for the Year Four

assessment. Besides, the use of English in the classroom is very limited and their only

contact hours with English is during English lessons. This factor contributes to the low

proficiency level of the pupils. Their understanding on grammar rules are also lack due to

the difficulties to express themselves in the target language.

8.2 Location of School

This study will be conducted at a national primary school located in a small town called

Jelapang, Ipoh, Perak. It is situated about 15 kilometers from Ipoh town. Most of the

residents in Jelapang are from middle class or working class, mostly working as

government servants, self-employed and a few of them are low incomers. This school is

chosen because it is where the reseacher is working and the participants are my her/his

18
own pupils, so it will be easier to carry out the study as the researcher knows the pupils

best and to complete it in a short time-frame given.

The information about the pupils is shown in the table below:

Table 1 :P rofile of Pupils

Gender Number Percentage

Boys 15 45.45%

Girls 18 54.55%

Total 33 100%

8.3 Research Procedure

This study will be carried out for a total of four weeks and aimed to enhance Year Four

pupils' ability to use conjunctions using Cooperative Learning strategies. For this study, a

class is chosen which consists of 33 pupils, 15 boys and 18 girls.

In the first week of the study, a pre-test will be conducted (refer Appendix A) which

consists a set of 30 grammar questions and the time allocated is 50 minutes. The questions

are taken from several work books that were written on the latest PPSR examination

format and Year Four English KSSR Textbook (Unit 8 – The Prince and the Thieves). All

the questions will be checked by two English teachers for face validity. The test is selected

19
for their practicality, reliability and validity. The aim of the pre-test is used to find pupils’

grammar rules knowledge on conjunctions in the early stage of teaching and learning

process. After marking the pre-test exam papers, marks will be collected and the pupils

will be categorized into three groups: high, moderate and low. This streaming is done at

early stage so that it would help the researcher to put the pupils in respective groups later

during the group activities in the classroom.

Before carrying out the interventions, all the pupils will be taught the rules and methods of

using conjunctions ‘so’ and ‘because’ so that they have prior knowledge before they

implement it during the activities. In this study, Cooperative Learning will be implemented

in teaching and learning in the form of language games to enhance the pupils’ ability to

acquire the use of conjunctions. Language games are chosen bacause it is an effective

means to make the learning more enjoyable, relaxed and interesting compared to normal

(traditional) teaching methods.

8.3.1 First Intervention

On the second week, to implement the strategy in the study, first intervention will be

carried out. The pupils will be guided to use conjunctions using ‘Rallytable’ and ‘Join And

Stick’ activities.

8.3.1.1 Rallytable

In ‘Rallytable’, pupils will work in pairs and they will take turns to comple a task. Each

pairs consists of mixed ability pupils so that they could work cooperatively helping each

20
other in completing the task given. The pairs will be given worksheets containing

sentences with blanks. Without any guidance from the teacher, the pairs discuss and

complete the sentences using the conjunctions ‘so’ and ‘because’. After that, they will

exchange the worksheets with other pairs to compare their answers. The exchanged

worksheets will be corrected by the new pairs. Less guidance will be provided to the pupils

in order to see whether they have acquired the skills in using Cooperative Learning

strategies. After the respondents have completed the worksheets, the worksheets will be

collected to analysis pupils’ performances.

8.3.1.2 Join And Stick

This is a group activity. Pupils will be divided into five groups consisting of seven pupils

in three groups and six pupils in the remaining two groups. Each group will be given an

envelope containing pharases strips and a manila card. In groups, pupils will work

together to join the pharases strips to form six correct sentences. When everyone in the

group agree with answers, they will paste the completed sentences on the manila card and

display them in front of the classroom. The first group with all correct answers will be

announced as the winner of the game.

8.3.2 Second Intervention

On the third week, the second intervention will be carried out aiming to guide the pupils to

use conjunctions using Cooperative Learning. In this intervention, the teacher will conduct

another two activities, ‘Numbered Heads Together’ and ‘Pick And Speak’.

21
8.3.2.1 Numbered Heads Together

In ‘ Numbered Heads Together’, pupils within the team will be numbered off from 1-4.

When the teacher pose a question on conjunctions, the pupils will put their heads together

and discuss the answer. Then, the researcher will randomly call a number and from each

team the pupils with that number will write the answers on the team response board.

8.3.2.2 Pick And Speak

In this game, pupils will sit in groups in a circle facing each other. For each group, a box

containing parts of sentences will be given. When the music is played, the box will go

around the group until the music is stopped. The pupil who is holding the box will pick a

strip from the box and read it aloud to the members of the group. Then he/she will

complete the sentence with his/her own words using conjunctions. The group members

will listen and help him/her when needed.

All the interventions will be carried out within the three weeks of time frame. In the fourth

week, the pupils will be given a post-test (refer Appendix B) to see whether the

interventions have any effect on the pupils’ acheivements in learning conjunctions. The

pupils will complete the post-test which is consistent with the pre-test. The pupils will be

asked to answer a set of 30 grammar multiple choice questions (MCQ) and the time

allocated is 50 minutes. All the question items used are based on the Year Four English

KSSR Textbook (Unit 8 – The Prince and the Thieves). Pupils will answer all the post-test

22
questions individually without any guidance from the teacher. After the pupils have

completed the post-test, the test papers will be collected to analyse pupils’ performance.

8.3.3 Interview

After that, I will choose three pupils (A, B and C) randomly and carry out an interview

with them in order to gain their opinion, feedback and their perception in using

Cooperative Learning strategies in the teaching-learning process. The research procedures

are summarized in step-by-step in Table 2.

Table 2 : Research Procedure

Week Activities

Week 1 Pre-Test

Week 2 Intervention 1
Rallytable
Join And Stick

Week 3 Intervention 2
Numbered Heads Together
Pick And Speak

Week 4 Post-Test
Interview

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8.4 Data Collection

This research will be conducted to a particular group of pupils only. In this study,

Cooperative Learning strategies will be used to enhance the ability to use conjunctions

among Year Four pupils. The pupils will be given a pre-test and a post-test consist a set of

30 grammar multiple choice questions (MCQ). A pre-test will be given to the pupils to see

their ability in using conjunctions before the interventions. The questions will be based on

conjunctions of “so” and “because”. The questions will be taken from several work books

that written based on the latest PPSR examination format and Year Four English KSSR

Textbook (Unit 8 – The Prince and the Thieves) that will help the pupils to reinforce their

grammatical usage.

Later, after the interventions using Cooperative Learning strategies, a post-test will be

given to the pupils. The post-test will be used to measure the academic achievement of the

pupils using Cooperative Learning strategies in learning conjunctions. All the test papers

will be checked for face validity by two English teachers. In this study, an observation in

the form of pre-test will be given first, then interventions will be carried out during lessons

for the pupils. Finally, a post-test and an interview will be recorded.

Finally, a designed interview will be conducted with the pupils after the interventions to

see the pupils’ interest in learning grammar especially conjunctions : “so” and “because”

using Cooperative Learning strategies. The interview will be carried out by selecting three

pupils randomly to find out their feelings, perceptions and thoughts about the learning

process. A set of questions will be used to carry out and record the interview. In this study,

24
qualitative (interview) and quantitative (pre-test and post-test) methods of collecting data

will be used. The design could be summarized as Figure 1 below:

Pre-test

Interventions
(Cooperative Learning Strategies)
+
(Interview)

Post-test

Figure 2 : Research Design

According to Saat Md Yasin (2008), “…Quantitative research is about quantifying the

relationships between an independent variable and a dependent or outcome variable...”.

The purpose of a quantitative study is to collect data which to extract the quantities

relevant to the purpose of the research. Data collection and analyses will be simultaneous

and on-going activities which be allowed for important understanding to be covered.

8.5 Method of data analysis

In this study, the pre-test and post-test questions will been given to the pupils by the

researcher during English lessons. The data from the results of the tests will be analyzed

25
quantitatively. The scores for the pre-test would determine pupils’ understanding of

grammar rules whereas the differences in scores between the pre-test and post-test will

reveal the pupils’ achievement on the use of Cooperative Learning approach in learning

grammar. The interview will be used to know the pupils’ learning habits and interest.

8.6 Summary

This chapter will explain the methodology used in the present research which includs the

research design, location of study, the subjects of study, the research instruments and the

procedure for data collection and analyses.

9.0 SIGNIFICANCE

Firstly, the study on learning conjunctions through Cooperative Learning strategies is to

identify whether educational games in groups can help in improving primary school pupils'

academic performance in English subject. The significance of the study is to determine

whether the use of Cooperative Learning strategies can help in improving and enhancing

the pupils' ability in learning conjunction. If the use of Cooperative Leraning strategies can

enhance the ability to learn conjunction for primary school pupils is proven, thus teachers

can apply these strategies as their teaching aid and it will benefit all pupils.

Apart from that, this study will help to determine how educational games in Cooperative

Learning can help primary school pupils to improve their academic performance especillay

in learning grammar in an ESL classroom. For example, by using educational games in

26
Cooperative Learning, the pupils will be able to improve their thinking skill, creativity

skills, moral values by helping each other and being cooperative thus help to understand

the lesson easily compared to using traditional ways. Therefore, it is importrant for the

teachers as well the pupils to know the role of Cooperative Learning strategies in

improving primary school pupils' academic performance in English. In addition, this study

will determine whether the use of Cooperative Learning strategies in learning conjunction

would help the pupils to write compound and complex sentences for their essays in English

Paper 2 examination and gain better results.

If the theory is proven, pupils have new alternatives of learning conjunctions using

Cooperative Learning strategies which can aid them in writing essays better and can score

high marks in their examination instead of using the traditional ways. From the results

obtained from the research, the researcher can make a comparison. For example, results

obtained after the pupils use Cooperative Learning strategies as their learning aid and when

they are not used. This can be identified based on the pre-test and post-test which will be

given before and after the interventions. In consequence, the pupils would have the

opportunity to use Cooperative Learning strategies as their learning aid in acquiring

English in a better and fun way through the innovative learning process.

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10.0 LIMITATION

This study will be conducted to 33 pupils in an urban national primary school in Jelapang,

Ipoh, Perak. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to all primary pupils in

Malaysia. The data which will be collected over a period of 4 weeks which means that the

time given for carrying out the reasearch is limited. The number of Cooperative Learning

activities are limited to four activities only therefore the pupils are not able to get enough

practices in the class especially the interpersonal and same level group skills. Due to the

time-constraints, the actual time needed for each activitiy have to be shortened and this

might have effects on the outcome of the lessons conducted.

Furthermore, pupils who actively engage in the lessons only will gain the benefits of the

activities conducted in the classroom. Pupils who play roles as sleeping partners do not

benefit from the study conducted and they will take longer time to learn grammar. Another

limitation of this study is the sample size. The sample size is only limited to 33 pupils from

a small town school therefore the sample size is too small in order to make a general

conclusion based on the effectiveness on learning conjunction using Cooperative Learning

strategies among pupils at primary school in pupils’ academic performance. In order to

make general conclusion based on the effectiveness of Cooperative Learning to teach

conjunctions, the sample size should be in large amount. The researcher need to take into

consideration that the study is focuses in Malaysian context only therefore the result will

be based on the sample and it might be not same for other countries.

28
11.0 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION

Ethics refers to moral principles or values that generally govern the condust of an

individual or group. A researcher is fully responsible for his/her profession, participants

and institution, and must adhere to high ethical standards to ensure that both the function

and the information are not brought into disrepute when conducting the research. Letter of

consent from the school will be given by the researcher to the participants’ parents

informing them about their children’s involvement in the study. Parents will sign a letter of

permission behalf of their children whether they allow their children to participate or

disagree to any form of involment in the study and they are free to withdraw their

participation at any time. In this letter, the researcher states clearly that the identity of the

parcipants will be kept confidential to avoid any issues in future. Only the researcher has

the accessibility for the participants’ details such as name, age, gender, name of school and

class, so that it does not harm the participants physically, mentally or psychologically.

Apart from that, a letter of permission will be sent to EPRD MOE and the school

headmistress to get an authorization to conduct the study in the school.

29
REFERENCES

Lim Eng Seong., Lee Poh Lin., Khor Hui Min. (2014). English Year 4 Sekolah

Kebangsaan. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kuala Lumpur, 2014

Arshad. (2005). Testing and Evaluation in an ESL Context. Kuala Lumpur:OUM.

Brown, H.D. (2001), Teaching by Principle: An Interactive Approach to language

Pedagogy. (2nd ed). White Plains, NY: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Chitravelu, Sithamparam & The. (2004).ELT Methodology Principles and Practise. Kuala

Lumpur:Fajar Bakti Sdn. Bhd.

Chomsky, N(1965). Aspects of the Theory of syntax: Cambridge, mass:M.I.T.Press.

Christison and Bassanos (1981). The theoretical Relevance and Efficacy of Using

Cooperative Learning in the ESL/EFL Classroom, TESL Reporter 38, 2 (2005), pp.

14-28

Collaborative Language Learning and Teaching. (1992). Editor:Nunan,D.

Hadley, A.O. (1993). Teaching Language in Context.(3rd ed.).Boston, MA:Heinl & Heinl
30
 Publishers.

Conwell, C.R. (1986), November). Students' Perceptions When Working in cooperative

Problem Groups. Paper Presented at the North Carolina Science Teacher

Association Convention. Ashville,NC (ERIC Document Reproduction

Service No. ED 313 455)

Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, R.T.& Holubec, E. (1988). Advanced Cooperative Learning.

Edina, MN:Interaction Book Company.

Kagan, S. (1990). Cooperative Learning Resources for teachers. San Juan Capistrano, CA:

Resources for Teachers.

Kagan, S. (1994). Cooperative Learning. San Clemente. California.

Krashen,S. (1982). Principles and Practice in Second Language

acquisition:Oxford:Pergamon Press

McLaughlin,B.(1987). Theories of Second Language Acquisition. London:Edward Arnold.

Morrow,K,and K.Johnson (1979).Communicate. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.

31
Slavin, R.E. (1995). Cooperative Learning. Boston:Allyn and Bacon.

Savignon,S. (1983). Communicative Competence:Theory and Classroom Practise.

Reading. Mass:Addison-Wesley.

Munsell and Thomas (1981). "Monitoring the monitor:A Review of Second Language

Acquisition Second Language Learning. "Language Learning 31, 493-502.

Slavin, R.E. (1988). Cooperative and Student Achivement. In R.E.Slavin (Ed.), School and

Classroom. Organization.Hillsdale,NJ:Erlbaum.

Kagan,S.(2000). Structures for Standards. Kagan Online Magazine, Summer,2000.

http://www.kaganonline.com/Newsletter/index.html.

Kagan,S.(2001). Kagan Structures Research & Rationale. Kagan Online Magazine,

Spring 2001. http://www.kaganonline.com/Newsletter/index.html.

Kagan,S.(2001). Kagan Structures Research & Learning Together-What is the Different

KaganOnline Magazine, Summer 2001.

http://www.kaganonline.com/Newsletter/index.html.

Kagan,S.(2003). Kagan Structures Research & Rationale in a Nutshell. Kagan Online

Magazine, Winter 2003. http://www.kaganonline.com/Newsletter/index.html.

32
APPENDICES

Appendix A : Pre-Test

Name:........................................................................... Class:..........................

GRAMMAR TEST
Conjunctions “so” and “because”
Year 4
50 minutes Fifty minutes

DO NOT OPEN THIS PAPER UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

1. This paper contains 30 questions

2. Answer all questions

3. Each question is followed by four alternative answers, A, B, C and D. For each

question, choose one answer only. Blacken your answer on the answer sheet provided.

4. If you want to change your answer, erase the blackened mark that you have made. Then
blacken the new answer.

33
Instruction:
Each question in this paper is followed by three or four possible answers. Choose the best
answer from that answer marked A, B and C or A, B, C and D. Then on your answer sheet,
blacken the answer that you chosen.

1. It had been raining heavily _________ the village was flooded.

A so
B but
C because
D although

2. Melissa did not come _____________ she missed the bus.

A because
B therefore
C and
D so

3. Raju woke up late _______he was late.

A if
B so
C because
D as

34
4. Martin was tired ________ he slept early.

A until
B because
C so
D although

5. Eliza is sick ____________ she often skips her lunch.

A and

B although

C so

D because

6. Nazif was crying ___________ he wanted to watch ‘Tom & Jerry’.

A so

B although

C because

D. but

7. Jerome was very hardworking _______ he did well in his examination.

A because

B so

C but

D unless

35
8. It rained heavily _________we couldn’t go to school.

A if

B and

C because

D so

9. The dog barks ___________ somebody is at the gate.

A so

B and

C because

D or

10. A tree fell across the road _______ we were trapped in the traffic jam.

A so

B but

C because

D although

11. It was raining ________we did not go out.

A but

B if

C so

D because

36
12. The pupils are happy ___________ next week they are going to visit Cameron
Highland.

A because

B and

C but

D so

13. She came late _________ the teacher scolded her.

A or

B and

C because

D so

14. She looks tired __________ she is sick.

A so

B because

C or

D then

15. He said that he was thirsty ________ he asked for hot drinks

A and

B because

C or

D so

37
16. I went to the store _____________ I needed some eggs.

A because

B or

C but

D so

17. I listen to music, __________it relaxes me .

A but

B because

C or

D so

18. Darren is unable to go to school __________ he is having a high fever.

A so

B because

C or

D if

19. The tyre of his car had burst, _________he had to change it before he could
continue his journey.

A so

B although

C if

D because

38
20. I brought the washing in ____________ it was raining.

A so

B but

C because

D until

21. She could not find the black shoes, _______she wore the brown pair.

A so

B but

C as

D because

22. She sleeps with lights on __________she afraid of the dark .

A while

B because

C so

D but

23. He loves football ___________ you can be sure he will come and watch the match.

A because

B but

C or

D so

39
24. Jessie woke up late, _________she missed the plane to New York.

A because

B as

C so

D while

25. We were worried __________he missing the bus.

A since

B so

C because

D or

26. I need to work hard _________ I can pass the exam.

A so

B because

C or

D unless

27. They said that the movie was fantastic,__________ I watched it.

A because

B or

C and

D so

40
28. Everybody likes him ________ he is nice and helpful.

A since

B so

C because

D although

29. I went to the party ___________ I wanted to see Peter

A unless

B so

C although

D because

30. I can’t sleep,__________ I’m going to drink a glass of hot milk.

A until

B so

C or

D because

41
Appendix B : Answers for Pre-Test

1. A 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. C

6. C 7. B 8. D 9. C 10. A

11. C 12. A 13. D 14. B 15. D

16. A 17. B 18. B 19. A 20. C

21. A 22. B 23. D 24. C 25. C

26. A 27. D 28. C 29. D 30. B

42
Appendix C : Post-Test

Name:........................................................................... Class:..........................

GRAMMAR TEST
Conjunctions “so” and “because”
Year 4
50 minutes Fifty minutes

DO NOT OPEN THIS PAPER UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

1. This paper contains 30 questions

2. Answer all questions

3. Each question is followed by four alternative answers, A, B, C and D. For each

question, choose one answer only. Blacken your answer on the answer sheet provided.

4. If you want to change your answer, erase the blackened mark that you have made. Then
blacken the new answer.

43
Instruction:
Each question in this paper is followed by three or four possible answers. Choose the best
answer from that answer marked A, B and C or A, B, C and D. Then on your answer sheet,
blacken the answer that you chosen.

1. Ruby enjoys cooking ____ she prepared special dish for dinner.

A. so
B. or
C. because
D. and

2. The teacher scolded Farah __________ she was late to school today.

A. so
B. or
C. because
D. but

3. Tania ate two plates full of food __________ he was very hungry!

A. so
B. and
C. because
D. but

4. Larena and Tanusha shared a plate of food  __________ they like the same things.

A. so
B. because
C. but
D. since

44
5. Maria is a professional artist __________ she draws beautiful pictures for her
customers.

A. so
B. yet
C. because
D. and

6. There were lots of lemons on the table __________ Sam gave a few to his
neighbours.

A. so
B. since
C. or
D. because

7. Sara is a musician __________ she played the piano and sang for her family.

A. since
B. or
C. because
D. so

8. Leo and Kamila danced in the middle of the livingroom  __________ they love to
dance.

A. because
B. and
C. but
D. so

45
9. Filiz asked for the recipe __________ she loved the dinner.

A. so
B. but
C. since
D. because

10. Denish broke a vase  __________ his mother scolded him .

A. because
B. and
C. so
D. but

11. Ruby's pet dog had an accident  __________ she was very sad.

A. since
B. because
C. so
D. and

12. Faris and Dino loved watching the movie __________ it was very trilling.

A. so
B. because
C. and
D. but

13. Ruby worked hard the whole day __________ she was very tired.

A. yet
B. because
C. since
D. so
46
14. Lenny, Sandy and Sassy cleaned the house __________  their mother was sick.

A. so
B. because
C. since
D. although

15. Anu and Shima missed the bus __________ they took a taxi to work.

A. because
B. since
C. and
D. so

16. Everyone thanked Hamid  __________ he gave them sweets and chocolates.

A. so
B. and
C. because
D. but

17. It was getting late  __________ everybody started leaving the party.

A. since
B. because
C. so
D. and

18. Ruby slept for four hours  __________ she was exhausted!

A. so
B. because
C. and
D. since
47
19. When we are giving a reason, we use ________ .

A. and
B. but
C. so
D. because

20. When we are showing results, we use ________ .

A. so
B. because
C. since
D. and

21. I felt sick _____ I stayed home from school.

A. but
B. and
C. so
D. because

22. Mandira got a new bike for herself _____ she wants to ride on her own.

A. so
B. because
C. for
D. though

23. My dog is excited _______ I'm taking him for a walk.

A. besides
B. because
C. so
D. yet
48
24. It was sunny _______ we went to the beach.

A. so
B. because
C. although
D. and

25. I love flowers _____ I planted a lot of them in my garden.

A. but
B. yet
C. so
D. because

26. My hand hurts ______ I've been writing a lot today.

A. s
B. because
C. for
D. yet

27. Mani got a bad grade in the Math test _______ he didn't understand the sum.

A. so
B. because
C. although
D. or

28. Jamal has been practicing his trumpet music _____ he has a concert coming up.

A. or
B. because
C. and
D. so
49
29. I wanted to win the match_______ I practised a lot.

A. yet
B. because
C. so
D. since

30. Today is my dad's birthday _______ I baked him a cake.

A. since
B. so
C. yet
D. because

50
Appendix D : Answers for Post-Test

1. A 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. A

6. A 7. D 8. A 9. D 10. C

11. C 12. B 13. D 14. B 15. D

16. C 17. C 18. B 19. D 20. A

21. C 22. A 23. B 24. A 25. D

26. B 27. B 28. B 29. C 30. B

51
Appendix E : Interview transcription for the pupils

Teacher : How are you today?

Pupil A :

Teacher : Have you taken your breakfast?

Pupil A :

Teacher : Okay good. Please introduce yourself.

Pupil A :

Teacher : I will ask you a few questions about our lesson today. Can you answer?

Pupil A :

Teacher : Did you enjoy the group activity today?

Pupil A :

Teacher : Which activity did you liked the most?

Pupil A :

Teacher : Do you like this method or the old way of learning English?

Pupil A :

Teacher : Did you understood what you had learnt today?

Pupil A :

Teacher : Okay. Good. Thank you.

Pupil A :

52