Incorporating cooperative learning in Taiwan English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms (China)

The purpose of the study is to provide a measure of the effectiveness of cooperative learning in English as foreign language (EFL) technological university classes in Taiwan in terms of students' achievement, oral production, and improvements in students' attitude towards language learning. As students in Taiwan were brought up in an educational pedagogy that places strong emphasis on competitive and individualistic learning, this study sought to discover whether cooperative learning could better help technological university students in the process and outcomes of English learning.; Results showed that all the classes improved over time as determined by the gain scores in pre and post test, which indicated that cooperative learning groups could perform and improve English skills as well as traditional learning groups in an EFL setting. Cooperative Learning students at both levels (advanced and intermediate) indicated a preference for this teaching approach both on questionnaires and during interviews with the researcher. Depending on the type of cooperative learning and interaction designed by the instructor, cooperative learning provided more English speaking opportunities. Although in an EFL setting, students shared a common mother language, a well designed activity that promotes English language interaction between students can be introduced.