Abstract:

Nowadays, many Spanish schools apply traditional teaching methodologies in L2, which usually promote a competitive and independent way of learning. Direct instruction and the course book as the main tool for learning are paramount. Moreover, students are supposed to work alone and do the activities independently. This fact could come into conflict with the actual demands of the global society, where citizens are expected to be able to work cooperatively in groups.

The MORE methodology, ie., cooperative learning, may be a tool to fulfil these expectations. It fosters a context where students work together and interact with each other in a structured and organized way. Furthermore, it provides teachers with the necessary cooperative instructional strategies so that students take part in their learning process, learn problem solving and decision-making strategies and how to work in group. In this line, Kagan proposed a method based on cooperative strategies for learning. Working with these structures has been proven to be effective for learning. Particularly, it has been found that there is a direct relationship between cooperative learning and academic success. These benefits have also been studied in L2 contexts. Students are provided with a more natural context to use the language, so the affective filter is lowered and participation and motivation increase.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the extent to which the MORE methodology is effective to learn an L2. Particularly, in which way Kagan’s cooperative learning structures could help students learn grammar content in L2.

Fifty-five male and female primary school children (aged 10-12) participated in this exploratory study. They belonged to two intact groups from the fifth year of a public school in a big Spanish city. They studied Catalan as an L2. Students were used to work with the MORE methodology and Kagan’s cooperative learning structures. A pretest-instruction-posttest design was followed. Students were assessed on grammar content (verbs, vocabulary contractions and punctuation) before and after the instruction. The study was completed with semi-structured interviews. Results showed that this methodology helped students learn an L2 in an effective way. Moreover, the differences between pre- and posttest interacted with students’ academic and L2 level. Students’ interviews also showed they perceived working with structures in a positive way and they were highly motivated to work in groups.

Keywords:

Cooperative learning, MORE methodology, L2 teaching, Primary Education.