AN EVALUATION OF THE SPEAKING ACTIVITIES IN GRADE 10 ENGLISH TEXTBOOK IN LIGHT OF THE PRINCIPLES OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Abstract

The main objectives of this study was to evaluate whether the speaking activities in grade 10 English textbook are designed based on the principles of cooperative learning or not. The data were collected from textbook evaluation of grade 10 English textbook, classroom observation, and from interviews with four English teachers of Danema secondary and Preparatory School. Then, the collected data were analyzed qualitatively based on the principles of cooperative learning that were adapted from Johnson and Johnson(1992)and Cunningsworth (1994). The finding of the study showed that the majority of the speaking activities do not encourage individual accountability. Few speaking activities in the textbook encourage the principle of group processing. However, the majority of the speaking activities in the textbook encourage face-to-face interaction. In addition, most of the activities in the textbook incorporated create the habit of working together for common goal and caring about each other's learning. The majority of the speaking activities also encourage the principle of positive interdependence in the textbook. Besides, the activities are inappropriate to develop leadership and make decisions. As a result, few of the speaking activities in the textbook that encourage the principle of social skills. The conclusion made from the study is that the speaking activities in grade 10 English textbook do not fully meet the criterion set for the principle of cooperative learning except face-to-face interaction and positive interdependence. Therefore, it is recommended that the teachers should adapt the speaking activities in a way that encourage the principles of cooperative learning.