Enhancing Students' Cooperative Learning in an EFL Classroom through Lesson Study

摘要

Learning English in an EFL classroom demands the students to learn it as both material and classroom instruction. English for most EFL students is considered difficult especially when they use it as a means of communication. Since English becomes a challenge to discuss, it makes most students feel afraid of cooperating and collaborating in learning processes. A fact showed that a big number of students were reluctant to do group discussion. A five-cycled open lesson has already conducted as an effort to solve the students' problems. During the five cycles of Lesson Study, the students were asked to discuss the material of Teaching English as a Foreign Language and present the result of their discussion in front of other groups. The targets of the LS are: (1) enhancing students' cooperative learning activities during discussion, and (2) making the students accustomed to group discussion and material presentation. Firstly, the students were still confused in conducting group discussion. Most of them did not know what they had to do and felt unmotivated in using English as a medium of communication. As a result, most groups were dominated by particular students. A lesson study -based action was taken, individual works which then support the group discussion result was given to the students. No one in the group was silent and neglected. Each student had the same responsibility to fulfill the task. Consequently, all of the students contributed to the group activity. In short, the students were motivated to do group discussion through cooperative learning.