Free International Students Essay Example

Summary

A majority of international students might possess adequate knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, however, speaking in a typical atmosphere might turn out too complicated for them. In such scenarios, students may not be able to express their ideas clearly. Such communication issues may lead to problems in individual or group interactions. Nonetheless, the good news is that numerous methods exist that allow such students to master the art of understanding and speaking the English language. An even better news is that most of these techniques prove to be highly effective. In this research, I venture to discover how the cooperative learning method can be of assistance to students in enhancing their speaking skills of the English language. This study seeks to answer the question: How can cooperative learning improve speaking skills of ESL learners? To answer this question, I used a mixed method that combined quasi-experimental and qualitative research. The quasi-experimental method was used on two groups. The experimental group used cooperative learning method during their speaking class, while the control group used the traditional learning method during their speaking class. On the other hand, qualitative data was collected from students using surveys. These surveys helped me assess the impact of cooperative learning method on speaking abilities. Since this was merely a mock study, I did not have actual participants for the research. Therefore, the validly is highly limited owing to the fact that I am the only authority, critic, and evaluator of the research. However, the elements of the study depend on gathering information from students, which increases the credibility of the study.

The participants in this study included 30 students studying at the Intensive English Program (IEP). These were international students, in the age group ranging between 18 to 25 years, and having a high intermediate level. The participants were divided into two classes, with each class consisting of 15 students. I met with each class twice a week for a period lasting eight weeks. Both classes used the same materials and tests. Thus, the study used a quasi-experimental technique with pre-test and post-test design for each class. A speaking test will be used to measure the students’ performance in the speaking class.

Analysis

At the beginning of the semester, both the experimental and the control groups were required to take a pre-test in order to investigate the development in each group. There were two tasks, both in the pre-test and the post-test. The first task required talking about picture differences, while the second was about expressing an opinion on a specified topic. The grades were based on five important criteria for judging the speaking skills; pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, grammar, and interactive communication. The sample questions on pre-/post-tests included: Why do you think some people prefer magazines to newspapers?; Do you think reading a magazine or a newspaper can help you learn a language? (Why)? After the pre-test, students in the experimental group were divided into three groups, each group consistsing of 5 students. The group work required each student to choose a topic from the text book. The chosen topic had to be discussed by the group members. My role as a supervisor was to organize and facilitate the communication between the group members. On the other hand, the control group followed the traditional way of teaching speaking. In the traditional method, one student asked a question while another responded to demonstrate the ability to ask and answer questions. Also, there was one correct answer for each question. In the control group, my role as a supervisor was to control the teaching pace. Moreover, I was the major source of feedback for the class. At the end of the study, there was a post-test, which comprised of the same tasks as in the pre-test to discover the development in both classes. Finally, surveys were collected from the students who used the cooperative learning method in their speaking class. The surveys contained numerous questions to realize the students’ attitude towards the cooperative learning method. It contained seven points, with each point ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.