English Learning Dl 2008 005

Short DescriptionCooperative Learning, 11, pp. 15-17. Ilola, L. M., K. M. Power and G. Jacobs. 1989. Structuring student interaction to promote. learning. English Teaching …

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ContentIn the last 10 years there has been a growing
interest among ESL/EFL teachers in
using cooperative-learning activities.
With cooperative learning, students work
together in groups of two to six. However,
cooperative learning is more than
just putting students into groups and giving
them something to do. Cooperativelearning
principles and techniques are
tools that teachers use to encourage mutual
helpfulness and the active participation
of all group members.
These principles can be seen, for example,
in an ESL/EFL reading activity
that uses a cooperative-learning technique
called “Numbered Heads Together”
(Kagan 1992). There are four steps in
doing Numbered Heads Together.
1. Each student in a group of four gets
a number: 1, 2, 3, or 4.
2. The teacher or a student asks a question
based on the text the class is reading.
3. All members in the group put their
heads together to come up with an answer
or answers. They should also be ready
to supply support for their answer(s) from
the text and/or from other knowledge.
4. The teacher calls a number from one
to four. The person with that number answers
for the group.
“Numbered Heads Together”…