The Effects Of The Learning Together Model Of Cooperative Learning On EFL Learners' Reading Achievement And Their Academic Self-Esteem

There is a growing research base on the effects and effectiveness of cooperative language learning. A central theme of much of researches concern the affective value of cooperative activities. Cooperative learning has been shown to encourage and support most of the affective factors which correlate positively with language learning. Previous researches underscore the value and potential of CL in the L2 classroom. However, there is still a need to investigate the efficacy of various CL models in promoting gains in the cognitive and non-cognitive domains of ESL/EFL instruction. Consequently, the present study aims to examine the effects of the Learning Together model of CL on the reading achievement and academic self-esteem among EFL learners studying in a situation characterized by competitive schooling and limited opportunities or meaningful social interaction in English, the target language.The thesis is composed of six parts. Part One is introduction, which illustrates the significance of the study. Part Two is a review of the related literature. Part Three is the theoretical framework. Part Four stated the key elements of this research design, including research questions, participants, instruments and research procedures. The research questions are: Is the Learning Together Model of CL more effective than whole-class instruction in promoting the EFL reading achievement? Is the Learning Together Model of CL more effective than whole-class instruction in promoting the academic self-esteem? This study was designed to employ an experimental study carried out in a human-manipulated environment. Fifty-six sophomore learners of EFL participated in the study and they were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups: 28 participants were in the experimental group who studied together in seven teams of four members each according to the dynamics of the Learning Together Model of CL and 28 participants in the control group studied the same material according to procedures in their textbook. The instruments were Likert Scale for Academic Self-Esteem; Checklist for Teacher's Role in Cooperative Leaning; Reading Material for Pretest; Checklists for Group Processing; Reading Comprehension for Post-Test. According to the research purpose, an achievement pretest specifically designed based on two reading selections. Finally, the same post-test was administered to the participants in the control and experimental groups at the conclusion of the treatment. This test was a domain-referenced test that covered the learning outcomes and competencies targeted during the period of investigation.Part Five analyzed the data, and made a discussion on the basis of the theoretical framework. SPSS12.0 for Windows was employed for Independent-Samples T test. Part Six are the conclusions: for the Reading Comprehension Post-test, the mean of the response to reading achievement by experimental group (M=7.030, SD=1.450) scored higher than the average mean of the response to reading achievement by control group (M=5.965, SD=1.829). The Independent-Samples T test verified the statistical significance of the difference between experimental and control groups (T=2.504, P=.015<.05). Compared with the analysis results on Reading Comprehension Test, on academic self-esteem, the average mean of the response to academic self-esteem by experimental group (M=14.730, SD=2.301) is lower than the average mean of the response to academic self-esteem by control group (M=15.193, SD=2.269). The Independent-Samples T test indicated that there were no significant difference at the p<.05 alpha level between experimental and control groups in academic self-esteem (T=-2.405, P=.49>.05).In summary, the results indicated no statistically significant differences between the control and experimental groups on the dependent variable of academic self-esteem. However, the results revealed a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group on the variable of EFL reading achievement. It also confirmed that the Learning Together Model of CL is more effective than whole-class instruction in promoting the EFL reading achievement, but less effective than whole-class instruction in promoting the academic self-esteem. The author discusses pedagogical implications and suggests recommendations for future research.