Abstract:
Purpose: In participatory approach to second language teaching and learning, students actively engage in their own learning process and collaborate with others (Cobb, 1994; Greeno, 1998) to achieve their goals. Also, collaborative learning has been shown to encourage the growth of student interdependence (Bruffee, 1999), responsibility (Totten, Sills, Digby, & Russ, 1991), interpersonal skills (Rymes, 1997), and cognitive and critical thinking skills (Johnson & Johnson, 1986). Methodology: Adopting a sociocultural perspective, the present study has attempted to explore the attitude of teachers and learners toward the effectiveness of the method. In so doing, 60 Iranian EFL learners from two intact classes participated in the study, in which the learners from the two classes were randomly assigned to one control group and one experimental group. For fourteen sessions, the researcher in the control group class followed her regular teaching practice through the conventional book-based method of conducting an English class. In the experimental group class, however, the researcher adopted the participatory approach tasks and activities, in which she applied various participatory approach-based techniques, activities, role play, and problem solving activities, group work and collaborative tasks in the classroom instruction. Findings: Results of the comparison of the effects of the experimental participatory group and the control conventional group revealed that although the students in both groups improved their scores on the IELTS posttest, there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental group’s overall performance and that of the control group. Discussion: Results of the interview with the students and teachers also revealed that both the students and the teachers had positive attitudes towards implementing the participatory approach and they were willing to use at least some of the tasks and activities in their future courses.
Purpose: In participatory approach to second language teaching and learning, students actively engage in their own learning process and collaborate with others (Cobb, 1994; Greeno, 1998) to achieve their goals. Also, collaborative learning has been shown to encourage the growth of student interdependence (Bruffee, 1999), responsibility (Totten, Sills, Digby, & Russ, 1991), interpersonal skills (Rymes, 1997), and cognitive and critical thinking skills (Johnson & Johnson, 1986). Methodology: Adopting a sociocultural perspective, the present study has attempted to explore the attitude of teachers and learners toward the effectiveness of the method. In so doing, 60 Iranian EFL learners from two intact classes participated in the study, in which the learners from the two classes were randomly assigned to one control group and one experimental group. For fourteen sessions, the researcher in the control group class followed her regular teaching practice through the conventional book-based method of conducting an English class. In the experimental group class, however, the researcher adopted the participatory approach tasks and activities, in which she applied various participatory approach-based techniques, activities, role play, and problem solving activities, group work and collaborative tasks in the classroom instruction. Findings: Results of the comparison of the effects of the experimental participatory group and the control conventional group revealed that although the students in both groups improved their scores on the IELTS posttest, there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental group’s overall performance and that of the control group. Conclusion: Results of the interview with the students and teachers also revealed that both the students and the teachers had positive attitudes towards implementing the participatory approach and they were willing to use at least some of the tasks and activities in their future courses.
Machine summary:
Abstract Purpose: In participatory approach to second language teaching and learning, students actively engage in their own learning process and collaborate with others (Cobb, 1994; Greeno, 1998) to achieve their goals.
The present work of research is also aimed at exploring the potential effects of different types of collaborative tasks, in the sense used by Swain (2000, 2001, 2005) and Nassaji and Tian (2010), in fostering Iranian EFL learners’ academic achievements and developing language proficiency in the acquisition of English as a second language.
The present study is also important in that it adopts a sociocultural perspective in terms of using collaborative tasks for the purpose of practicing the participatory approach to improving language proficiency among Iranian EFL learners.
Learners’ Attitude Toward Participatory Approach: PA is a successful teaching technique in which small groups, each with students of various levels of ability, use a multiple of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject.
Studies on Participatory Approach: A number of researchers have examined the effects of collaborative learning on second language acquisition (Barnes & Todd, 1977; Bejarano, 1987; Gunderson & Johnson, 1980; McGroarty, 1989; Rowell, 2002; Sharan, 1990).
Results of their study demonstrated that among the three treatment groups, input enhancement with text editing task completed individually and in collaboration were effective in promoting learners acquisition of passive forms.
For the following fourteen sessions, breaking away from the traditional book-centered method of teaching language skills, the researcher applied various participatory approach-based techniques, activities, role play, problem solving activities, group work and collaborative tasks in the classroom instruction.