The effect of teachers’ attitudes towards collaborative instruction on students’ writing and speaking skills

Abstract

The current study seeks to examine English teachers’ attitudes towards using the collaborative teaching method to improve students’ skills at writing and speaking English. The purpose is to test the main following hypotheses: first, English language teachers are mostly unfamiliar with collaborative learning. Second, these techniques are not regularly used in English lessons. Third, most students enjoy practicing them. Fourth, these techniques lead to better performance in the students` language skills. The study was conducted among 15 high school English teachers. A questionnaire was used as a practical part. Data were collected and the results were: English teachers know and support learning techniques; they agree on the importance of these methods in the teaching process especially in improving students` language skills. Students enjoy practicing them. Common suggestions were proposed by the teachers for improving writing and speaking skills such as involvement of students in planning the learning process and setting goals and allowing for self-expression and teamwork. The importance of using various learning tools in combination with the collaborative methods was also emphasized. Finally, the research recommends that this kind of learning should be part of the teachers' training program.