A study of the effect of cooperative learning activities on the aural comprehension and oral proficiency of grade 6 core French students

Careen, Kimberly (1997) A study of the effect of cooperative learning activities on the aural comprehension and oral proficiency of grade 6 core French students. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a package of cooperative learning activities for the unit ''Plume et Poil" in the Grade 6 core French resource, Aventures 3, and to test the effect of these activities on the aural comprehension and oral proficiency of those students who participated in them. -- This study is quasi-experimental in design. The sample for the study was a class of twenty-four grade six students. This sample was divided into two groups, comprised of matched pairs. The experimental group participated in four cooperative learning activities while the control group participated in more traditional FSL activities. Both groups were then given a multiple choice test, designed to test aural comprehension. In addition, both groups participated in an oral interview designed to test oral proficiency. -- Overall, scores of students in the experimental group tended to be higher than those of students in the control group, suggesting that the cooperative learning activities had a positive effect on students in the experimental group. The difference in scores between the experimental and control group was greater for the multiple choice test than for the oral interview, suggesting that the cooperative learning activities were more effective in developing students' listening skills. The data also indicate that the test scores of weak and average ability students in the experimental group tended to be higher than those of their counterparts in the control group, while the test scores of higher ability students in both groups were nearly identical. Further analysis of the speech samples on the oral interviews revealed that all students performed well in the categories of pronunciation / intonation and comprehension, reasonably well in the category of vocabulary and poorly in the category, appropriateness of structure. Students in the experimental group tended to use a broader repertoire of vocabulary items in the oral interview than students in the control group, suggesting that the activities were conducive to vocabulary acquisition.

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