USING COOPERATIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP ENGLISH ORAL LANGUAGE FLUENCY OF ADULT LEARNERS

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the effect of using cooperative learning techniques (CLT) on developing oral fluency in English with a group of postgraduate researchers working at the National Center for Educational Research and Development. The researcher hypothesized (1) that using CLT positively correlates with developing oral fluency in English, (2) that developing oral fluency skills in English positively correlates with the listening skills in English, (3) that using CLT positively correlates with developing overall proficiency in English, and (4) that upgrading oral fluency and overall proficiency in English via the use of CLT positively affects the learners' overall satisfaction. The researcher also investigated the effect of adopting the action research method as a self-reflective enquiry with the purpose of improvising the CLT used in this study.

Results significantly supported the hypotheses showing the effect of adopting action research as a self-reflective enquiry to improve the use of CLT realizing the objectives of this study. Accordingly, it was recommended to try out the use of the action research method in our Egyptian schools and the use of the oral English language fluency test (OELF) which is considered one of the contributions of this research.