Jigsaw: An Active Learning Methodology Applied to EFL Academic Writing

Abstract

Cooperative learning applied in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom improves the development of students’ fundamental skills and linguistic competence. An exploratory comparative experimentation work is presented based on the hypothesis that cooperative learning (jigsaw method) could be convenient to work on academic writing. The conclusions corroborate this hypothesis since more favorable results are obtained in the experimental group where cooperative learning was applied. The practical educational implications aimed at methodological proposals to improve academic writing in English as a foreign language in university teaching are discussed.