JASCE 4th National Conference, in Shizuoka, Japan, August 4th, 2007 : Plenary Speech Summary

Dr. George M. Jacobs, National Institute of Education (Singapore) (IASCE Board Member)
(Summary: Written by Kumiko Fushino, Temple University, Japan Campus)

In this plenary speech, Dr. Jacobs talked about “Learning new languages with cooperative learning.” His speech consisted of three subtopics: a) theories supporting use of CL in general and in L2 (second language) instruction, specifically; b) applications of these theories to L2 instruction; and c) ways to address concerns about use of CL in L2.

In the first part of his speech, Dr. Jacobs explained various theories from the general education field that support use of CL in L2 instruction, and in particular, the link between the theories and CL activities. First, he explained that Behaviorism gives us the idea of positive reinforcement, which motivates students to learn and to repeat on-task behaviors. In CL classroom, it is not just the teacher who provides positive reinforcement to students, but peers provide positive reinforcement to each other. Second, Socio-Cultural Theory introduces the idea of scaffolding, help provided to the learner in gradually decreasing amounts. In CL, learners provide scaffolding to each other, and in the process of doing so, those who provide support also learn. Third, Social-Psychological theories emphasize positive interdependence, a feeling among learners in which they see themselves and peers as “sinking or swimming together” on their way to accomplish their common goals. In CL classrooms, positive interdependence can be promoted by such means as introducing common goals, unique resources and roles, and shared rewards. Fourth, Cognitive theories claim that interaction can lead to deeper thinking, such as elaboration and evaluation, and when people with different perspectives and intelligences work together, broader thinking occurs. In CL, when students work in heterogeneous groups, they need to resolve their cognitive conflicts by explaining and having different perspectives from their own. In this way, CL can promote broader and deeper thinking. Fifth, Humanistic theories pay attention to the importance of affect, interpersonal relations, empathy, and democracy. In CL, students share and care, and thus positive interdependence is promoted.

In the next part, Dr. Jacobs talked about the relationship between L2 specific theories and CL in L2 instruction. He introduced the input hypothesis, the interaction hypothesis, and the output hypothesis. The input hypothesis claims that in order for language acquisition to take place, exposure to a large amount of comprehensible input is necessary and sufficient. In CL, the input students receive from their peers is likely to be comprehensible because they are more or less at the same level. In addition, CL offers a lot of opportunities for the students to receive comprehensible input from peers because they often work in small groups. The interaction hypothesis explains that when people interact with each other, they may modify their output in order to make themselves understood, and this negotiation for meaning can promote language acquisition. In CL groups, groupmates are likely to interact with each other and help each other understand. Therefore, they are likely to provide interactionally modified, comprehensible input to each other. The output hypothesis posits that in order for language acquisition to take place, not just comprehensible input but comprehensible output is necessary. Striving to produce comprehensible output promotes fluency, helps students notice their weakness, and provides opportunities to receive feedback. In CL group work, students have great deal of opportunities to produce more output, and thus, are likely to develop their L2.

In the third part, Dr. Jacobs addressed frequently voiced points of opposition to the use of CL in L2 instruction and provided ways to counter and address those concerns. The first concern was that students may be uncomfortable speaking in their L2. The second concern was that students might learn each other’s errors, and the third, students may want to listen to the teacher but not peers. The fourth was that students may speak their L1, not the L2. Dr. Jacobs emphasized that in order to lessen the effects of these potential problems, teachers should make tasks doable in various ways, such as providing scaffolding, modeling and demonstrating, and convincing students to form heterogeneous groups. He also emphasized the importance of creating a comfortable atmosphere where students feel safe to risk speaking the L2. Teachers’ supportive attitude, as opposed to a critical attitude toward students’ errors, such as allowing a little L1 use, providing resources to help students avoid making mistakes, promoting individual accountability to encourage everyone to participate, and monitoring student interactions to locate problems, is also important.

Dr. Jacobs used various CL techniques in his speech. Therefore, the participants had opportunities to exchange ideas with fellow participants. He also set aside ample time for Q & A so that the participants could directly interact with him and raise their questions.