COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND THE GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS

COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND THE GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS

A Masters Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School
Mindanao State University-Maguindanao

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts in English Language Teaching

BONG B. LUMABAO
March 2013

APPROVAL SHEET

The faculty of the Graduate School of Mindanao State University-
Maguindanao accepts this thesis entitled:

COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND THE GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS

Submitted by BONG B. LUMABAO in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree Master of Arts in English Language Teaching.

CONSUELO D. SAMSON, MAELT RONALD HALLID D. TORRES, MAEngl
Adviser Chairperson

ARLYN C.TRASPE, MAELT USMAN B. MALIM, MAEd
Member
Member

APPROVED, March 5, 2013 by the Thesis Advisory Panel during the Oral
Examination.

THOMAS M. SABAL, Ed.D.
Dean, Graduate School

DEDICATION

To those who have shown me
what it means to live a life
with dignity,
determination,
and strong faith in Allah (s.w.t.),
I humbly dedicate this paper:

My loving father ABDILLAH K. LUMABAO (deceased) and to my dearest mother
ENTAN B. LUMABAO.

My true friends and brothers BIENVINIDO T. DAGPIN, JUHAIBER A. ABDULLAH,
ARCHIE GONTALES and SHAIFF JAY D. MUSLIMEN.

My professors and seconds parents PROF. RODELIZA A. JAMIH, PROF. CONSUELO
D. SAMSON and DR. MYRNA P. TUBIGAN

Bong

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Coming up with this paper MASTERPIECE is one of the most challenging
yet precious experiences the writer ever had. It made him realize the
greatness of Allah's (s.w.t.) love for him and the loyalty of the people
who stand by him especially during the tough moments of the whole writing
period.
With sincerity, the grandest gratitude is extended to the following:
His thesis adviser, Prof. Consuelo D. Samson, whose strong and warm
motherly character as well as competent teaching skills inspired the writer
to keep going despite any trial and catastrophe;
His statistician, Prof. Samuel T. Samson, who attended to every minute
detail in the statistics of the paper and who gave him valuable corrections
and suggestions;
The members of the defense panel, Prof. Ronald Hallid Torres, Prof.
Arlyn Traspe and Prof. Usman Malim, for asking probing questions and
extending every possible assistance for the refinement of this paper;
The STI College Cotabato family, especially to Ma'am Myrissa W.
Sanday, Dr. Alfred B. Taboada, and all the colleagues for the encouragement
and support in countless ways;
Classmates and friends, Ma'am Aiza, Sir Talicop and Sir Anwar, for the
moral support and company;
Dr. Myrna P. Tubigan, for sharing her profound professional knowledge
about program designing;
True friends, brothers and peers, for the inspiration and love;
His students, particularly the FF101P, BE201A, and BE201P classes, for
reminding him the nobility of the teaching profession;
His late father, Abdillah K. Lumabao, for the priceless lessons in
life;
His most patient and affectionate mother, Entan B. Lumabao, for the
unconditional love and the strength to live a fulfilled life amidst
challenges and difficulties; and
Above all else, to Allah (s.w.t.), for the gift of life, courage and
wisdom, that despite material deficiency, the writer is able to live with
dignity and pride as a person.

Bong

THESIS ABSTRACT

LUMABAO, BONG BORERO. Mindanao State University Maguindanao. March
2013. "COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND THE GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS".
Research Adviser: CONSUELO D. SAMSON, MAELT

The study aimed to determine the effects of using cooperative learning
activities to the students' grammatical competence.
Specifically, this study determined the scores of the students in
four grammar area tests before and after the use of cooperative learning
activities. The four areas were on pronoun-antecedent agreement, subject-
verb agreement, tenses of verbs, and voices of verbs. The students' mean
pre-test and post-test scores were then compared to determine significant
improvement in the student's competency. Cooperative learning activities
were then constructed as research output.
The quasi – experimental method using pre–test – post–test with one
group design was used in this study. The first year Bachelor of Science in
Information Technology (BSIT) students of STI College Cotabato who were
enrolled in ComArts 1 during the second semester of school year 2012-2013
were the subjects of the study. These students were given the pre-test and
the post-test.
The grammar test was composed of 100 test items. This test had four
areas, namely: pronoun-antecedent; subject-verb agreement, tenses of verbs;
and voices of verbs. Each area had 25 items.
The mean was used to describe the students' competencies in the
different grammar areas. The t-test was used to determine significant
difference between the mean pre-test and post-test scores of the students.
The t-test was set at 0.05 level of significance.
Based on the data gathered and analyzed, the following are the
summary of the findings:
1) Before the use of cooperative learning activities, the students'
competencies in three areas were found to be fair. These were on
pronoun-antecedent agreement, tenses of verbs, and voices of verbs.
Only in the area of subject-verb agreement was the students'
competency found to be poor.

2) After the use of cooperative learning activities, the students'
competencies were found to be satisfactory in all areas of the
grammar test.
3) There were significant differences in the mean pre-test and post
test scores of the students in all areas of the grammar test. The
computed t-values imply significant improvement in the students'
competencies after the use of cooperative learning activities.
Based on the summary of findings, this study concludes that the
grammatical competence of the students had improved. This improvement was
indicated by the significant difference in their pre-test and post-test
mean scores. Subject-verb agreement had the highest mean gain score
followed by the tenses of verbs. On the other hand, voices of verbs had
the lowest mean gain score. The significant differences maybe attributed
to the treatment which was the use of cooperative learning activities.
This result supported the study of Kelim (2003) as cited by Torres (2009)
which concluded that students had better understanding of the lesson when
exposed to communicative exercises. Moreover, the students showed better
interest and class participation when they are given the opportunity to
work with their peers during class activities.
Based on the findings and conclusions, the following recommendations
are posed:
1. The use of cooperative learning activities should be considered
as primal tool in teaching grammar.
2. The administrator of STI College Cotabato should conduct
seminars, trainings and workshops to the faculty members with
emphasis in the use of cooperative learning.
3. A learning guide integrating cooperative learning activities
must be developed by the language department of STI College
Cotabato and be used particularly in teaching basic English
courses.
4. Further researches could be conducted using other fields of
disciplines and method of research to validate the reliability
and effectiveness of the cooperative learning in the totality of
the teaching – learning process.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE . . . . . i

APPROVAL SHEET . . . . . ii
DEDICATION . . . . . iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT . . . . . iv
THESIS ABSTRACT . . . . . vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . .
ix
LIST OF FIGURE AND TABLES . . . . . xi

Chapter

I INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study . . . . 1
Statement of the Problem . . . . 3
Research hypotheses . . . . 4
Significance of the Study . . . . 4
Scope and Limitation of the Study . . . 5
Definition of Terms . . . . 6

II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Cooperative Learning . . . 7
Language Proficiency . . . 19
Communicative Competence . . . 20
The Role of the Communicative Approach and
Cooperative Learning in Higher Education . 22
Conceptual Framework . . . 25

III METHODOLOGY

Research Design . . . 28
Locale f the Study . . . 28
The Respondents of the Study . . . 29
Research Instrument . . . 29
Data Gathering Procedure . . . . . 30
Statistical Treatment of Data . . . . 31

IV PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

OF THE DATA

The Students' Pre-test Scores . . . 33
The Students' Post-test Scores . . . 42
The Relationship Between the Pre-test and
The Post-test Scores . . . 49

V SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Restatement of the Problem and Methodology . 52
Summary of the Findings . . . . 55
Conclusions . . . . 55
Recommendations . . . . 56

THE RESEARCH OUTPUT . . . . 58

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . 99

APPENDICES
A Letter of Request to the Executive Vice President
of STI College Cotabato . . .
104
B The Questionnaires . . .
105

CURRICULUM VITAE . . . 118

LIST OF FIGURE AND TABLES

Figure Page

1 The Conceptual Paradigm . . . 27

Tables

1 The Frequency Distribution of the Students'
Pre-test Scores in the Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement . . . 34

2 The Frequency Distribution of the Students;
Pre-test Scores in the Subject-Verb Agreement . 36

Pre-test Scores in the Tenses of the Verbs . 37

Pre-test Scores in the Voices of Verbs . . 39

5 The Summary of the Students' Pre-test Scores
in the Grammatical Competency Test . . 41

Post-test Scores in the Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement . . . 43

Post-test Scores in the Subject-Verb Agreement 44

Post-test Scores in the Tenses of the Verbs . 46

Post-test Scores in the Voices of Verbs . 47

10 Summary of the Students' Post – Test Scores
in the Grammatical Competency Test . 48

11 The Students Mean Pre-test and Post-test in the
Grammatical Competency Test and the
Corresponding t-value . . . 50

COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND THE GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS

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