I.

Introduction
Over the past decades, there have been increasing interest and

debates on the importance and effectiveness of cooperative learning

strategies and approaches on the students’ acquisition of second language or

(L2). Some students are quite afraid in writing, but most are extremely

terrified when it comes to speaking. And if they will not develop it, they will

be having a serious problem when interdependent activities come. Teachers

have been teaching for centuries and various approaches, methodologies

and techniques have been used and tried, but students’ acquisition is still

bottom dweller. Hence, cooperative learning strategies and approaches

enter.

Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small

teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of

learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member

of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for

helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement.

Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully

understand and complete it, David and Roger (2001).

Moreover, research on cooperative learning demonstrated

“overwhelmingly positive” results and confirmed that cooperative modes are

cross-curricular. Cooperative learning requires students to engage in group

activities that increase learning and adds other important dimensions. The
positive outcomes include: academic gains, improved race relations and

increased personal and social development. Brady & Tsay (2010) report that

students who fully participated in group activities, exhibited collaborative

behaviors, provided constructive feedback and cooperated with their group

had a higher likelihood of receiving higher test scores and course grades at

the end of the semester. Results from Brady & Tsay’s (2010) study support

the notion that cooperative learning is an active pedagogy that fosters

higher academic achievement.

It only shows that students learn when they are engaged in activities

where they can interact and communicate with one another. Indeed, they do

not only develop their social skills but hone as well their communicative skill

as they discuss and relate their ideas and thoughts with one another through

activities that generate discussion.

Furthermore, cooperative learning has been found to also increase

attendance, time on task, enjoyment of school and classes, motivation, and

independence.

Equally important, Kagan (1999) stated that through cooperative

learning, teachers reduce their works because they just function as

facilitators of the learning process, while the students increase their skills

and ability in communication, interaction and interdependency.

 II. Statement of the Problem

This paper focused on the different cooperative learning strategies

which are useful in second language acquisition. Ultimately, this research will

hopefully answer these questions:

1. What are the key elements of successful cooperative learning

strategies?

2. What are the effective cooperative learning strategies in second

language acquisition?

III. Presentation and Analysis of Data Gathered

In this chapter, the researcher presented and analyzed the data

gathered. The researcher arranged the findings obtained sequentially as

reflected in the statement of the problem.

Moreover, the interpretation of the data gathered were thoroughly

compared with and supported by the experts’ findings.

What are the key elements of successful cooperative learning

strategies?
 Cooperative learning takes many forms and definitions, but most

cooperative approaches involve small, heterogeneous teams, usually of four

or five members, working together towards a group task in which each

member is individually accountable for part of an outcome that cannot be

completed unless the members work together; in other words, the group

members are positively interdependent. A vivid example of interdependence

can be found in the relationship between language-minority and language-

majority students in two-way immersion programs. Native and non-native

English speakers work together to become bilingual.

Moreover, Positive interdependence is critical to the success of the

cooperative group, because the dynamic of interconnectedness helps

students learn to give and take--to realize that in the group, as well as in

much of life, each of us can do something, but none of us can do everything.

When cooperation is successful, synergy is released, and the whole becomes

greater than the sum of its parts. For cooperative groups to be effective,

members should engage in teambuilding activities and other tasks that deal

explicitly with the development of social skills needed for effective

teamwork. Members should also engage in group processing activities in

which they discuss the interpersonal skills that influence their effectiveness

in working together. When full cooperative learning structures are

implemented, the benefits in student achievement often can be astounding

(Williams, 2007).
 The following are the essential key elements of successful cooperative

learning strategies: (1) Interdependence, the essence of the cooperative

group is the development and maintenance of positive interdependence

among team members. A sense of interconnectedness can help students

transcend the gender, racial, cultural, linguistic, and other differences they

may sense among themselves. These differences often are at the root of

prejudice and other interpersonal stress that students experience in school.

Moreover, Students need access to activities in which they learn to depend

on each other as they ask for and receive help from one another.

Individualistic and competitive teaching methods certainly have their place in

the instructional program, but they should be balanced with cooperative

learning (Johnson and Johnson, 1994). Furthermore, when students work in

cooperative teams in which "all work for one" and "one works for all," team

members receive the emotional and academic support that helps them

persevere against the many obstacles they face in school. As cooperative

norms are established, students are positively linked to others in the class

who will help them and depend on them for completing shared tasks. By

becoming knowers as well as learners in a supportive atmosphere, English

learners can establish more equal-status relationships with their peers.

Equally important, when the environment becomes more equitable, students

are better able to participate based on their actual, rather than their

perceived knowledge and abilities. Teamwork, fostered by positive

interdependence among the members, helps students learn valuable

interpersonal skills that will benefit them socially and communicatively,

(2).Interaction, academic and language learning requires that students

have opportunities to comprehend what they hear and read as well as

express themselves in meaningful tasks (McGroarty, 1993). Cooperative

learning creates natural, interactive contexts in which students have

authentic reasons for listening to one another, asking questions, clarifying

issues, and re-stating points of view. In addition to that, Cooperative groups

increase opportunities for students to produce and comprehend language

and to obtain modeling and feedback from their peers. Much of the value of

cooperative learning lies in the way that teamwork encourages students to

engage in such high-level thinking skills as analyzing, explaining,

synthesizing, and elaborating. Moreover, Interactive tasks also naturally

stimulate and develop the students' cognitive, linguistic, and social abilities.

Cooperative activities integrate the acquisition of these skills and create

powerful learning opportunities. Such interactive experiences are particularly

valuable for students who are learning English as a second language, who

face simultaneously the challenges of language acquisition, academic

learning, and social adaptation. By stimulating language input and output,

cooperative strategies provide English learners with natural settings in which

they can derive and express meaning from academic content (McGroarty,

1993, and Swain, 1985). Furthermore, Teachers will also want to consider
which language--English or the native language or both--should be used by

team members to accomplish language, content, and cross-cultural goals.

Frequent use of group processing activities will help teachers and team

members identify and solve problems on the team that may be rooted in

cultural or linguistic differences, (3) Achievement, cooperative learning

represents a valuable strategy for helping students attain high academic

standards (Kagan, 1993; Cohen, 1994). After nearly fifty years of research

and scores of studies, there is strong agreement among researchers that

cooperative methods can and usually do have positive effects on student

achievement. However, achievement effects are not seen for all forms of

cooperative learning; the effects depend on the implementation of

cooperative learning methods that are characterized by at least two essential

elements: positive interdependence and individual accountability (Slavin,

1990). Likewise, in areas other than achievement, there is even broader

consensus about the effects of cooperative learning. For example, when

students of different racial or ethnic backgrounds work together toward a

common goal, they gain in liking and respect for one another. Cooperative

learning also improves social acceptance of mainstreamed students with

learning disabilities (Slavin, 1990), and (4) Personal Development,

because group work dramatically changes the teacher's role, professional

development is vital to the implementation of cooperative learning (Cohen,

1994). To learn and employ cooperative strategies, teachers need access to

extensive professional development that includes (a) the theory and

philosophy of cooperative learning; (b) demonstrations of cooperative

methods; and (c) ongoing coaching and collegial support at the classroom

level. Implementing cooperative approaches is greatly enhanced when

teachers' have opportunities to work together and learn from one other. As

teachers observe and coach each other, they provide essential support to

ensure that they continue to acquire the methods and develop new

strategies tailored to their own situations.

What are the effective cooperative learning strategies in second

language acquisition?

There are some popular strategies that can be used with all students

to learn content (such as science, math, social studies, language arts, and

foreign languages). However, they are particularly beneficial to ELLs for

learning English and content at the same time. Most of these strategies are

especially effective in teams of four: (1) Round Robin, present a category

(such as "Names of Mammals") for discussion. Have students take turns

going around the group and naming items that fit the category, (2)

Roundtable , present a category (such as words that begin with "b"). Have

students take turns writing one word at a time, (3) Writearound, for

creative writing or summarization, give a sentence starter (for example: If

you give an elephant a cookie, he's going to ask for...). Ask all students in
each team to finish that sentence. Then, they pass their paper to the right,

read the one they received, and add a sentence to that one. After a few

rounds, four great stories or summaries emerge. Give children time to add a

conclusion and/or edit their favorite one to share with the class, (4)

Numbered Heads Together, ask students to number off in their teams

from one to four. Announce a question and a time limit. Students put their

heads together to come up with an answer. Call a number and ask all

students with that number to stand and answer the question. Recognize

correct responses and elaborate through rich discussions, (5) Team

Jigsaw, assign each student in a team one fourth of a page to read from

any text (for example, a social studies text), or one fourth of a topic to

investigate or memorize. Each student completes his or her assignment and

then teaches the others or helps to put together a team product by

contributing a piece of the puzzle, and (6) Tea Party, students form two

concentric circles or two lines facing each other. You ask a question (on any

content) and students discuss the answer with the student facing them.

After one minute, the outside circle or one line moves to the right so that

students have new partners. Then pose a second question for them to

discuss. Continue with five or more questions. For a little variation, students

can write questions on cards to review for a test through this "Tea Party"

method.
 Emphatically, Calderon (1998) stated that after each Cooperative

Learning activity, must to debrief with the children by asking questions such

as: What did you learn from this activity? How did you feel working with

your teammates? If we do this again, how will you improve. These questions

will reinforce students’ acquisition by generalizing what they have learned

and suggesting ways for improvement.

IV. Summary and Conclusion

This paper tried to determine the different cooperative learning

strategies which are useful and effective for the second language learners.

In the first presentation of data gathered, the researchers found out

that that following cooperative learning strategies are highly suggested:

Interdependence, interaction, achievement and personal development.

Secondly, Round robin, Roundtable, Writearound, Numbered Head

Together, Team Jigsaw and Tea Party are the effective cooperative learning

strategies for second language learners.

Cooperative learning methods hold great promise for accelerating

students' attainment of high academic standards and the development of the

knowledge and abilities necessary for thriving in a multicultural world.

However, like other innovations, cooperative learning approaches need to be

tailored to the cultural and linguistic context in which they are used.
Designed and implemented by teachers who are loyal to the key elements of

cooperative learning and dedicated to regarding diversity as a resource,

cooperative approaches can create supportive environments that enable

students to succeed academically, enhance their employability, and improve

their interpersonal relationships.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cohen, Elizabeth G. Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the

Heterogeneous Classroom. New York: Teachers College Press, 1994.

Cohen, E.G. . Making Cooperative Learning Equitable.1981.

David and Roger Johnson. Cooperative Learning. 15 October

2001.

Gillies, Robyn M. Cooperative Learning: Integrating Theory and

Practice. California: SAGE Publications, 2007.

Kagan, Spencer. Cooperative Learning. San Clemente, CA:

Kagan Publishing, 1994.

Slavin, R. E. Cooperative Learning. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

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