Promoting talk and active participation through the structural approach - the four principles of Kagan cooperative learning structures Classroom talk, the ‘basic formula’ for language learning, combines input, output, and meaningful interaction (Sharples, 2021). Well-established and effectively used, talk is conducive to the language acquisition process as it allows learners to organize their thoughts and find the language to express them, otherwise it becomes a distraction that denies all the resources fostering language development (Johnson and Johnson, 1999; Gibbons, 2014; Sharples, 2021). Kagan (2002) suggests the key to successful classroom interaction lies in the cooperative structures of classroom talk to implement the four Basic Principles of Cooperative Learning (PIES), which together make cooperative learning truly effective (Kagan, 2002): Positive Interdependence occurs when students are on the same side working towards the same goal so “a gain for one is associated with a gain for another and students cannot succeed alone” (Kagan, 2002). Individual Accountability means that every member in the group must participate and contribute to the group’s success, which is satisfied if students are required to perform their own in front of at least one other. Equal Participation is accomplished when each member of the group shares equal responsibility and participation. Simultaneous Interaction refers to the percent of the students that are overtly active at any one moment, which will go up when the teacher chooses simultaneous rather than sequential structures.
Methodology This study follows Moroni’s five-step process of an action research, in which data is collected via mixed methods for triangulation (Moroni, 2011). Observations, including participant (with field notes taken) and nonparticipant (from colleagues), yield insights into student interactions and linguistic competences. A checklist with success criteria developed from the PIES principles of co-
operative learning and the theories of input, output and affective filter was employed to guide the observations. Assessment of students’ speaking skills were carried out using the rubric suggested by the AERO (2018) to obtain numerical data, covering four criterias of comprehensibility, language control, pronunciation and communication strategies. Data Collection and Analysis This research consists of two cycles, each lasting for two weeks. Cycle 1 - Diagnosis of the problem: Classroom talk during circle time: Students learned to describe body parts. In the first week, the teacher modeled the language and asked for volunteers. This approach failed to promote Positive Interdependence as students were competing instead of collaborating to answer questions. For those students who were shy or a bit struggled, they simply chose not to participate and therefore the demand of both Equal Participation and Individual Accountability were not met. In the second week, students passed a bean bag in a circle, discussing a friend’s body parts, ensuring everyone’s participation. However, Simultaneous Interaction remained low (1 out of 10 students at any moment), hence less opportunities for language use and occurrence of disruptive, off-task behavior. The amount of input and output facilitated from the two types of classroom talk structures in cycle 1 were undoubtedly not sufficient to create a language rich environment (Graf, 2011), which was evident in the results of students’ End of Unit Oral Assessment since those who participated the least turned out to get the lowest scores. In both scenarios, classroom talk was unsuccessful to build a lower-filtered learning environment as highlighted by Krashen and Terrell (1983). While students in the first week were disappointed if not picked, the second structure of classroom talk aroused anxiety in the shy and lower-level students since they had to present themselves in front of the class. Cycle 2 - Peer talk using Kagan structures: Students were learning about places in a school and practicing a simple conversation about places to go in school. Classroom talk was organized through the structure Insideoutside Circle. Students were split in half, forming two circles inside and outside discussing the topic provided. On the teacher’s signal, the inside circle moved to their right, talking to the new partners.
Data collected showed that all students participated and were responsible for their own contribution as explained in the Individual Accountability principle (Johnson and Johnson, 1999; Kagan, 2009). Active involvement at any moment rose remarkably from 10% in cycle 1 to 50% in cycle 2, assuring the Simultaneous Interaction principle as described by Kagan and High (2022), which led to the richness of input and output produced (Krashen, 1985; Swain, 2000). The activity also offered a source of “redundant communication” (Kagan, 1995, p.2) - an indispensable component of language input, because students had to repeat their answers to different partners as the circle turned. Information from the researcher and the colleague’s observations confirm that students presented supportive attitudes towards one another, and this is because the structures were more collaborative than competitive, reflecting Positive Interdependence by Johnson and Johnson (1999) and Kagan (2009). Students in the lower-achieving group felt more comfortable talking with their peers, which means the ‘affective variables’ that block the language learning process were lowered to facilitate language acquisition (Krashen and Terrell, 1983). Students’ oral language skills were assessed based on the teachers’ observation of how the students used the language in interaction with their peers and how they demonstrated their language skills in the exit tickets. It was witnessed that improvements were made mostly among the lower-ability students whose participation increased significantly compared to cycle 1, which is evidence of how Kagan structures are beneficial to their language development. Conclusion This study has investigated that with the assistance of cooperative learning constructed by the four basic PIES principles, classroom talk plays a significant role in stimulating a language rich environment of comprehensible input, output and lowered affective filters - the three key aspects of language acquisition. Using the structural approach advocated by Kagan (2009) and through the application of the structure Inside-outside Circle, the research has reached its goal of promoting effective talk and broadening the level of acFall 2023 Issue 45