Application of cooperative learning in teaching foreign languages for professional purposes
Vol.14,No.2(2024)
CASALC Review
Abstract: The aim of this research paper was to explore the students’ awareness of cooperative learning methods and their application in higher education institutions (HEI). The introductory part of the paper contains a brief survey of the history of cooperative learning and the explanation of basic concepts. The focus of empirical research was on data collection on the importance and benefits of applying cooperative methods in teaching as well as on the learners’ perception of the differences between traditional instruction and cooperative learning. Two hypotheses were formulated: the first one on the students’ awareness of innovative teaching methods was corroborated; the second one on benefits of cooperative learning methods for students’ future careers was only partially corroborated.
cooperative learning; creativity; foreign language instruction; higher education institution (HEI)
Milena Helmová
Department of Intercultural Communication, Faculty of Applied Languages, University of Economics in Bratislava.
The author is a university teacher. As the Doctor of Philology and International Business Relations, she conducts lectures and seminars in Intercultural Communication and International Business Negotiations in the German Language. In her teaching and scientific activities, she is involved in the integration of scholarly theories on cooperative methods of learning in education and teaching. Dr. Helmová has a long-term interest in problem-based communication from an international perspective and links this issue to conducting problem-based international business negotiations. In her research and methodological work, she attaches importance to the following research question: What are the basic impacts (benefits) of cooperative learning on successful problem solving with respect to international research methodology? The author is engaged in pedagogical activities with focus on the application of various cooperative forms of teaching in the search for effective solutions to problem-solving simulated situations. She explains the problem-solving alternatives in numerous communication and negotiation situations in a multicultural environment. In her teaching, she creatively applies active learning and cooperative learning methods and evaluates the efficiency of problem solving. Based on findings of the SWOT analysis of each solution, Dr. Helmová summarizes recommendations for student practice.
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