This study aims to explore the effects of implementing the literature circles strategy for teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in levels 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of a public university in the Amazon Region of Ecuador. For this purpose, three English language teachers conducted some action research. Two hundred fourteen students of English Arts…

The aim of this study was to determine whether, as a result of collaborative-online reading of a chapter from a book of an academic nature, the quality of the collaborative summary that the readers would write would be higher than that written by readers who would both read the same chapter and write a summary in a face-to-face setting. In this…

It is commonly accepted in the academy that developing a critical thinking capacity and related capabilities will make students more effective thinkers and writers, and that these are desirable traits for graduates to have no matter what path they take after graduation. While most academics agree that critical thinking is an essential component of…

Extensive reading is an approach to language education that has shown great promise for foreign language learners to acquire language; however, implementation reveals difficulty in maintaining student motivation to read over long periods of time. This study investigates students' experience of face-to-face talk about books in an extensive reading…

This study investigated perceptions of a class of 20 first-year Japanese college students on peer questioning in cooperative reading activities. After the instructor gave an hour of interactive explanations of the reading, in which students were encouraged to interact actively with the instructor in interpreting the reading material, students were…

One of the most important challenges a teacher faces is motivating his or her students to complete reading assignments and to complete them carefully. After all, if students bring to class a basic understanding of the text up for discussion, much deeper learning can occur than if the teacher is forced to spend time explaining the reading to…

Team-based learning (TBL) combines independent out of class preparation with in class small group discussion. We adopted TBL in teaching first year medical gross anatomy. In this study, we evaluated student perceptions of TBL by using a survey that elicited perceptions of both pedagogy and mode of learning. Anatomy lectures were replaced with…

Addresses the problem of students coming to tutorials not having done the assigned readings. Reviews three approaches to promote student reading and addresses why they failed. Reviews recent research on student motivation and cooperative learning and suggests ways to promote reading and interdependent learning. (MJP)

A study followed ten limited-English-proficient (LEP) community college students who were taught English largely using a cooperative learning approach. For four months, the students worked together using brainstorming techniques and collaborative reading and writing tasks. Task emphasis was on development of thinking skills through collaboration…