MAKING RESEARCH OUTLINE

COOPERATIVE TASKS AND LEXICAL DEVELOPMENT OF EFL

LEARNERS
Keywords: Cooperative Task, Lexical Development, Social Participatory
Structures

I.

INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Nowadays, traditional techniques of presenting new words in class
or requiring students to memorize lists of vocabulary items seem to
be old-fashioned in the context of current communication-based
language programs. Durung the last decade a great deal of
attention has been paid to incidental vocabulary learning. One of
the approaches to incidental vocabulary learning is task-based
vocabulary teaching. In this case, while performing the tasks,
vocabulary learning occurs when the mind focuses elsewhere, such
as understanding a text or using language for communication
purposes. La Fuente (2006) concluded that task-based lessons for
teaching vocabulary are more effective than the Presentation,
Practice and Production (PPP) ones. She listed a number of benefits
of task-based vocabulary lessons: including a wider range of
language forms, lexical phrasesand patterns, presenting targeted
items in context, leading from fluency to accuracy and of course
integrating all four skills in English language.
B. Objectives
This research is aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the
cooperative task-based learning as a media to teach vocabulary,
and exploring the benefits of implementing this teaching method.

II.

LITERATURE REVIEW
II.1
Cooperative Task-Based Teaching
A. Definition
Cooperative Task-Based Teaching refers to the procedures that
govern the way the teachers and students participations to the
performance of the task are organized. Ellis (2003) stated, a
basic distinction can be made according to the type of
participation: individual (each student works by himself or

herself) and social (interaction occurs between the participants).

The term cooperative tasks denotes tasks with social
participatory structure of small group or pair work.

B. Characteristics of Cooperative Task-Based Teaching

Ellis (2003) emphasized the role of collaboration and pair work
in performing the tasks in the classroom. the group should be
heterogenous based on acdemic scores and there should be
quality of intercation among the group.
C. Principles of Cooperative Task-Based Teaching
Oliver (2002, p. 97) states that the process of negotiating
meaning provides language learners with comprehensible
input, comprehensible output, and feedback, which are
the three decisive factors in successful language learning.
II.2
Teaching Vocabulary
A. Elements of Teaching Vocabulary
There are several aspects of lexis that need to be taken into
account when teaching vocabulary. The list below is based on
the work of Gairns and Redman (1986):
Boundaries between conceptual meaning: knowing not only
what lexis refers to, but also where the boundaries are that
separate it from words of related meaning (e.g. cup, mug,
bowl).
Polysemy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a
single word form with several but closely related meanings
(head: of a person, of a pin, of an organisation).
Homonymy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a
single word form which has several meanings which are NOT
closely related ( e.g. a file: used to put papers in or a tool).
Homophyny:understanding words that have the same
pronunciation but different spellings and meanings (e.g. flour,
flower).
Synonymy: distinguishing between the different shades of
meaning that synonymous words have (e.g. extend, increase,
expand).
Affective meaning: distinguishing between the attitudinal and
emotional factors (denotation and connotation), which
depend on the speakers attitude or the situation. Sociocultural associations of lexical items is another important
factor.
Style, register, dialect: Being able to distinguish between
different levels of formality, the effect of different contexts
and topics, as well as differences in geographical variation.

 Translation: awareness of certain differences and similarities

between the native and the foreign language (e.g. false
cognates).
Chunks of language: multi-word verbs, idioms, strong and
weak collocations, lexical phrases.
Grammar of vocabulary: learning the rules that enable
students to build up different forms of the word or even
different words from that word (e.g. sleep, slept, sleeping;
able, unable; disability).
Pronunciation: ability to recognise and reproduce items in
speech.
B. Techniques and Strategies of Teaching Vocabulary
1. Techniques of Teaching Vocabulary
The Lexical Approach and Task-Based Learning have some
common principles, which have been influencing foreign
language teaching. Both approaches regard intensive,
roughly-tuned input as essential for acquisition, and maintain
that successful communication is more important than the
production of accurate sentences.
2. Strategies of Teaching Vocabulary
Choice of material
Noticing collocations and dealing with meaning
Group work
Choice of task
II.3
EFL learners
A. Definition
English as a second language (ESL) is the use or study
of English by speakers with different native languages.
B. Characteristics of EFL learners
III.

ANALYSIS APPROACH
III.1
The Scope of the Analysis
The scope of the analysis covers the procedures that govern the
way the teachers and the students participations to the
performance of the task organized.
III.2
The Method
The method used is by grouping the experimental and control
group which participated in a multiple-choice pre-trest and posttest vocabulary test. The experimental group is taught through the
use of cooperative tasks and the control group is taught through
the use of traditional techniques.
III.3
Population
The population of the research is The Iranian Intermediate English
as Foreign Language (EFL) Learners at an English Institute in Karaj.
III.4
Sample

The sample of the reserach is 60 male and female of the EFL

learners. The homogenous learners participate in the study. They
are assigned to two groups of experimental and control.
III.5
Instruments
A. A language proficiency test of 80 multuple-choice items
consisting of three parts: vocabulary items (30 items), structure
(30 items) and reading (20 items).
B. A translation test of 210 English words.
C. A 50 item multiple choice test of vocabulary.
IV.

RESULT
The data analysis revelead a significant differenece between the
performances of two groups, with the experimental group
outperforming the other. In other words, the coopertaive task-based
teaching is more effective than the traditional one.

V.

DISCUSSION
The central question guiding the study was whether the use of
cooperative task-based in the classroom has a significant impact on
lexical development of Iranian EFL Learners. After performing the data
analysis, the null hypothesis is rejected, there fore, the study supports
the fact that the use of cooperative tasks in the classroom is of great
importance in developing vocabulary knowledge of EFL Learners.

VI.

CONCLUSION
The writer concludes that the results of the study provided support for
the value of cooperative tasks as effective tools for teaching
vocabulary. Language teachers should try to create a stress-free
environment in which students do not feel pressure and in this way
benefit from the techniques in order to educate more active students
who are at the same time more effective communicators.

VII.

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