The impact of cooperative learning approach on the development of EFL learners’ speaking fluency

Abstract

The current study investigated the impact of using two cooperative learning strategies on the development of oral English language fluency among Iranian intermediate EFL learners. First, 72 learners studying at a private English language institute were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group, each of equal size (n = 24). An equivalence of language proficiency between the members of the three groups was confirmed with the results from an Oxford Placement Test. Next, all participants undertook an oral fluency pre-test prior to either an eight-week treatment intervention or control phase. Over the eight-week study duration, the two treatment groups were each engaged in different cooperative learning approaches either Numbered heads or Think-pair-share while the control group was engaged in conventional teacher-centered learning activities. One week after the last treatment session, all participants undertook the oral fluency post-test. A comparison of mean oral fluency score gains between the two treatment and control groups suggested that both cooperative learning approaches were valuable in supporting learners’ spoken English fluency, with treatment group members significantly outperforming those in the control group. This study offers an important case of how the implementation of cooperative learning approaches can be valuable in developing important capacities like oral fluency over relatively shorty periods of time. Further, we emphasize the strong potential that such learner-centered, communicative approaches can have in imparting innovation and revitalization to teaching approaches that are not optimal for fluency development.

Keywords

• cooperative learning
• groupwork
• think-pair-share
• numbered heads
• speaking fluency