AN OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS
AN OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Summary/Abstract: LANGUAGE IS A MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH THOUGHTS ARE ORGANIZED AND TRANSMITTED. IT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL MECHANISM IN HUMAN INTERACTION, COMMUNICATION, AND THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN SOCIETY. FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING REFERS TO THE TEACHING OR STUDY OF A LANGUAGE OUTSIDE OF THE ENVIRONMENT OR LOCATION IN WHICH IT IS COMMONLY OR FUNCTIONALLY SPOKEN. THE CURRENT STUDY IDENTIFIES THE CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH TEACHING AND LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. THESE CHALLENGES ARE SHAPED BY VARIOUS FACTORS SUCH AS AGE, BACKGROUND, MOTIVATION, ATTITUDE, PERSONALITY, TIME, AND A RANGE OF OTHER FACTORS, WHICH MAY LIMIT EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT. AS A RESULT, FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING HAVE EVOLVED FROM TEACHER-CENTRED TO LEARNER/LEARNINGCENTRED ENVIRONMENTS. RESEARCH HAS REVEALED THAT FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS MUST IMPLEMENT VARIOUS STRATEGIES, APPROACHES, AND TECHNIQUES IN ORDER TO AVOID LIMITING THEIR ACTIVITY TO A SIMPLE TRANSMISSION OF KNOWLEDGE, AND FOCUS ON DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE SKILLS THAT WILL BENEFIT STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES. THIS PAPER EXAMINES PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING (PBL) AS ONE OF SUCH MODERN TEACHING METHODS WHICH FACILITATES LEARNING THROUGH A PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH. THERE ARE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING WHICH MUST BE ADHERED TO WHEN TAKING A PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING APPROACH: COLLABORATIVE, CONTEXTUAL, CONSTRUCTIVE AND SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING. THE ROLE OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM IS THE FOCUS OF THIS STUDY. THE AIMS OF THE CURRENT PAPER ARE THREEFOLD. FIRST IS TO IDENTIFY THE CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH TEACHING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN A CLASSROOM. SECOND IS TO EXAMINE MORE CLOSELY THE ROLE OF THE PBL METHOD AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING WHILE EXEMPLIFYING COMPREHENSIVELY HOW COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IS USEFUL IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM. THIRD IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM AND HOW IT IMPACTS ON INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS.

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