THE EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE AND INDIVIDUALISTIC GAMES ON WORD SPELLING: A STUDY OF YOUNG IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS

Abstract

This study builds on the instructional effectiveness and efficiency of two game approaches on word spelling of EFL beginners. The approaches under study were cooperative approach and individualistic approach. The participants of this study consisted of 59 fifth and sixth grade students from two elementary schools in the same district in Firoozeh, Neyshabur- Iran. They received 90 minutes instruction per week for a total of ten sessions in two groups of cooperative and individualistic. The results of the study indicated that there is not a significant difference between the performance of learners in cooperative and individualistic groups. A questionnaire was also given to the learners at the end in order to measure learners' attitude toward the games. The results showed that there is not a big difference between students' attitude toward learning spelling in cooperative group and individualistic group, and both groups have positive attitude toward the games. The researcher concluded that the combination of these two approaches seems more favorable.

Keywords

• Word spelling
• cooperative games
• individualistic games

Kaynakça

1. Ur, P. (1988). Grammar practice activities: A practical guide for teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wilde, S. (1990). A proposal for a new spelling curriculum. Elementary School Journal, 90, 275-289. Wright, A., Betteridge, D., & Buckby, M. (1989). Games for language learning (9th Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.