Developing cooperative learning in efl contents. Introduction

Promoting Cooperative Learning at Primary School
Jacobs, Power, & Loh (2002, p. ix) define cooperative learning as "principles and techniques for helping students work together more effectively." A great deal of work has been done in the general area of the use of group activities in L2 instruction (Akcan, Lee, Ghaith, & Jacobs, 2003). Cooperative learning is a subset of that work. Following four hypotheses and theories related to L2 acquisition support the use of cooperative learning:
The input hypothesis (Krashen & Terrell, 1983) states that we acquire a L2 as we
comprehend meaning in that language in the form of written or spoken words. Thus, reading and listening provide input which our brains utilize to build language competence. Our knowledge advances as we understand input that is slightly above our current level of competence.
Three ways that cooperative learning helps increase the quantity of comprehensible input are:
1. Peers can provide each other with comprehensible input. Groupmates provide an
extra input source, in addition to teachers and instructional materials. Also, this peer input is more likely to be accessed outside the classroom than is input from teachers and some kinds of instructional materials. Furthermore, peer input may be of a particularly high interest level.
2. Input from fellow learners is likely to be more comprehensible. Indeed, peers' lack of proficiency may be a blessing in disguise, as it renders them much less likely to use vocabulary that is not yet in students' receptive repertoires.
3. Peer groups may provide a more motivating, less anxiety-producing environment for language use, thus, increasing the chances that students will take in more input. This is in line with the affective filter hypothesis which, like the input hypothesis, is a component of the Monitor Model of L2 acquisition (Krashen, 1981). Speaking in front of only 1-3 fellow students may be a more comfortable experience compared to having to speak in front of the teacher and the entire class.
A second hypothesis about second language learning that fits with cooperative
learning is the Interaction Hypothesis which states that language learners increase the quantity of comprehensible input they receive by interacting with their interlocutors (the people with whom they are speaking). This interaction can foster negotiating for meaning. Pica (1994, p. 494) defines negotiation for meaning as "the modification and restructuring of interaction that occurs when learners and their interlocutors anticipate, perceive, or experience difficulties in message comprehensibility." Second language students negotiate for meaning by such means as requesting repetition, explanation and clarification. Reid (1993) states that negotiating for meaning can also take place during peer feedback on student writing.
Cooperative learning may promote interaction in the following ways:
1. The literature on cooperative learning (e.g. Jacobs, Power,&Loh,2002) recommends that students different from each other on one or more variables become groupmates. This heterogeneity increases the likelihood that negotiation for meaning will be necessary. Furthermore, teachers often use the variable of
second language proficiency when creating heterogeneous groups. This means that
more proficient students will be available to attempt to facilitate comprehension of their less proficient peers.
2. In cooperative learning, teachers can encourage more negotiation for meaning by allowing groups to try to sort out their own communication difficulties without
teacher intervention, although teachers do stand ready to help if, after trying,
groups remain confused.
3. Cooperative learning activities provide a context in which students may be more
likely to interact than in a whole class setting.
4. Long (1996) proposes that group activities can encourage students to interact with each other in a way that promotes a focus on form, that is, "to attend to language as object during a generally meaning-oriented activity" (p. 429). Such a focus on form can be encouraged when grammar constitutes at least one aspect of group tasks. Examples of making grammar an aspect of groups' tasks include:
noticing tasks in which students analyze how a grammar point functions and formulate their own rule peer assessment in which students check each other's writing or speaking for particular grammar features, for example, in an English L2 class, the presence of plural -s.
The teaching of collaborative skills can play a crucial role in promoting peer interaction, because these skills provide students with strategies for effective interaction. Examples include collaborative skills that second language learners can use to repair communication breakdowns, such as asking for: repetition, slower speed of speaking, louder volume, and explanation of words. Collaborative skills also prove useful when students understand the input they have received but wish to disagree or ask for further information, such as examples or applications.