Conversations with EFL/ESL Children about Cooperative Learning
Ways of learning are grounded in a society’s sociocultural and historical contexts of teaching. Similarly, ways of teaching are embedded in cultural understandings of children’s place in the home, school and society. Curriculum and instructional changes can only be facilitated if a respect for and an appreciation of the attitudes that ground both teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of teaching and learning are given serious attention. This presentation examines EFL children’s perceptions of their roles in cooperative learning lessons. The primary six children from more than 12 classes in three different schools participated in a three-year project on cooperative learning. In the final year of the project groups of students discussed what it meant to be participants in the project and offered their views on teaching and learning English as a second/foreign language. Analyses of the focus group conversations indicate that the majority of students strongly endorsed cooperative learning as a preferred way of learning. Students also readily acknowledged the benefits and constraints of group work in the context of learning and using English to complete tasks. Students' views will be examined against the society's cultural norms and traditions of teaching and learning English as a second/foreign language. The tensions between dominant models of teaching and children's expressed ways of learning will be critiqued and recommendations made for recognizing the legitimacy of children's viewpoints in the teaching and learning process.
Keywords: Cooperative Learning
Dr. Gertrude Marilyn Tinker Sachs
Assistant Professor, Language and Literacy Unit |
Ref: L07P0034