INSTRUCTIONAL

APPROACH IN ESP
COOPERATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING

Lovely Mae P. Romero

MEd- LT2
Cooperative
Language
Learning
✤ Also known as Collaborative Learning

✤ Learning depends on the socially

structured exchange of information
between learners.

✤ The use of small group learnings that

get students to work together to make
best use of each other’s learning
(Johnson & Johnson, 1994).

✤ Developed and promoted by the

educator John Dewey in United States
in 1960s and 1970s.
History

• Pre World War II

Social theorist Allport, Shaw, Mead, and Watson established cooperative
learning theory after they realised that group work was more efficient and effective
as compared to individual work.

• In 1937
Researchers May and Doob found out that people working in groups achieves
goals and attain outcomes better than individual working alone.

• In 1975
Johnson and Johnson characterized CLL with five common elements.
KEY ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL GROUP IN
COOPERATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING
GOALS

✤ Build positive relationships.

✤ Give experiences for social, psychological and cognitive development.

✤ Replace competition for cooperation.

✤ Promote communicative interaction in the classroom.

✤ Learner-centered approach.

✤ Develop learning and communication strategies.

✤ Reduce learner stress and create a positive classroom climate.

Theory of Language

✤ The interactive/cooperative nature of language.

✤ Communication is the primary purpose of language.

✤ Most speech is organized as conversation.

✤ Conversation operates according to a set of

cooperative rules.

✤ This rules are learned in conversational interaction.

Theory of Learning

✤ Central role of social interaction in learning (Piaget & Vygotsky).

✤ Development of communicative competence.

✤ Development of critical thinking skills.

✤ Use the language in different types of interaction.

✤ Students assume a more active role in their learning.

✤ Emphasis on cooperation:

“Students work together to accomplish an academic goal

maximizing their own and  each other's learning”.
TYPES OF LEARNING AND
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
1. Formal cooperative learning groups.

2. Informal cooperative learning groups.

3. Cooperative base groups.

CLL ACTIVITIES BY
OLSEN AND KAGAN

✤ Three step interview.

✤ Round table.

✤ Think pair- share.

✤ Solve pair-share.

✤ Numbered heads.
LEARNER’S ROLE

✤ The primary role is to be a member of a group who must work collaboratively on tasks with other group
members.

✤ Learners can assume roles as:

✤ Directors

✤ Monitors

✤ Tutors

✤ Checkers

✤ Recorders

✤ Information shares

✤ Tasks are performed in pair groupings.

TEACHER’S ROLE
✤ The role
Important roles for teacher
of the the teacher
in CLL is to create a highly structured and
well organized learning environment in the classroom, setting goals,
planning and structuring tasks. Facilitator of learning.

Supporting behaviors which are

utilized in feedback,
redirecting the group with
questions.

Providing broad functions to

challenge thinking.

Preparing students for the

tasks they will carry out.

Assisting students with the

learning tasks.
The role of instructional
materials
MATERIALS:

Are important in creating opportunities for students to

work cooperatively.

Can be used in other types of lessons but variations are

required in how the materials are used.

May be specially designed for CLL learning, modified

from existing materials, or borrowed from other
disciplines.
Steps which
involve teacher
roles
1. Take your existing lessons,
curriculum, and sources and
structures them cooperatively.

2. Tailor cooperative learning

lessons to your unique instructional
needs, circumstances , curricula,
subject areas, and students.

3. Diagnose the problems some

students may have in working
together and intervene to increase
learning groups’ effectiveness.
 Students work in pair or in group and each member verify each
member’s composition.

They make corrections in each other’s composition on different

aspects of writing.

They also give each other suggestions for revision.

The students then reread each other’s composition, revise and sign
their names to indicate that each composition is error-free.

Then they receive an individual or a group score based on the

quality or on the number of errors made in their compositions.

During this process, the teacher monitors the pairs, intervening

when appropriate to help students the needed writing and
cooperative skills.
Conclusions

In Cooperative Learning, group

activities are the major mode of learning
and are part of a comprehensive theory and
system for the use of group work in
teaching. Group activities are carefully
planned to maximize students’ interaction,
for example the use of discussion groups,
group work , specially in teaching
languages that facilitate students’
contributions to each other's learning to
increase the amount of student’s
participation in the lesson. CLL activities
can also be used in collaboration with other
teaching methods and approaches so as to
have a better learning impact.