This document summarizes research on using cooperative learning strategies to improve students' self-confidence when speaking English. The researcher implemented jigsaw and role-playing activities with 16 students and found that most students' self-confidence increased according to pre- and post-activity questionnaires. Specifically, 10 students saw a gain in self-confidence, with one student improving by 18%. The strategies helped create a safe environment where students' anxiety decreased and they felt comfortable speaking. The document concludes that cooperative learning is effective for developing self-confidence and reducing language anxiety.

1. Nancy Liliana Santos Bueno
Reyna Rocío Rojas Esparza

4. • Which could be a good way to foster students’ self-confidence
when they are speaking in the foreign
language?
• What are the reasons why some pre-teen students are
not confident when speaking in English?

5. “Basically, self-esteem is a psychological and social
phenomenon in which an individual evaluates his/her
competence and own self according to some values,
which may result in different emotional states, and
which becomes developmentally stable but is still
open to variation depending on personal
circumstances”.
Rubio (2007)

6. “in the context of language learning low self-esteem is a
non-clinical phenomenon, it can have serious
consequences. Students may avoid taking the necessary
risks to acquire communicative competence in the target
language; they may feel deeply insecure and even drop
out of the class.”.
Rubio (2007)

7. Self-confidence is about judgments regarding one’s own
value and abilities. (Heyde, 1979).
Self-confidence is mainly derived from two different
factors such as personal experiences and social messages
received from others, and it can highly influence in the
achievement of foreign language learning. (Brown, 1994)

8. Scovel (1978) defines it as “a psychological concept linked
with feelings of disquiet, frustration, self-doubt, and worry
among others.”
Jones (2004) describes this phenomenon as a fear that
rises in the learner when he or she is asked to speak in the
target language in public.

9. Johnson (2001) referred to CL as a teaching strategy
where small groups of students from different levels use
various learning activities to enhance their
understanding of a subject.
Artz & Newman (1990) described it as a team work in
order to solve problems, complete a task and achieve a
common aim.

10. Nunan (1992) states that “a team environment where
learners celebrate each other’s successes and provide
assistance to each other is likely to promote more
positive peer relationships, social support, and, partly
for that reason, higher self-esteem and academic
achievement”.

11. One technique from the Cooperative Learning approach
and one speaking activity were used.
Jigsaw strategy Role – play strategy
ACTIVITY TASK ORAL PERFORMANCE
Jigsaw
Students were divided into
groups of four people and
based on four pictures they
had to create a story
Students worked cooperatively
and they felt confident when
speaking and telling the episode
of the story to the other groups.
Role- play
They were asked to look
for their favorite celebrity
information, take their
places and answer an
interview
They were encouraged to speak
as they represented their
favorite celebrity

12. • Two English Institutes in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
• Sixteen high-school students aged between 9 and 13
years old with a basic level of English. Most of students
had been studying English for at least one year.
• Students took this English course four hours every
Saturday.

13. • Two questionnaires (before and after the
implementations) adapted from Aida (1994) and
Horwitz et al. (1986)
• A research journal.

14. • A five- point Likert scale was used to score the
responses.
• According to the rating system of the first
questionnaire, the minimum score was 7 points and
the maximum score was 35 points.
• In the second questionnaire, the minimum score was
11 points and the maximum score was 56 points.

15. Student
Percentage of self-confidence
before the
implementation
Percentage of self-confidence
after the
implementation
Gain in self-confidence
A 86% 85% -1 %
B 86% 80% -6 %
C 63% 78% 15%
D 71% 78% 7%
E 68% 77% 9%
F 71% 78% 7%
G 77% 85% 8%
H 80% 98% 18%
I 86% 89% 3%
J 74% 82% 8%
K 77% 80% 3%
L 86% 82% -4%
M 66% 71% 5%

16. 0% 50% 100% 150%
M
L
K
J
I
H
G
F
E
D
C
B
A
Percentage of self-confidence
after the
implementation
Percentage of self-confidence
before the
implementation

17. • By analyzing the responses from the questionnaires, it
was noticeable that 10 out of 13 students increased
their level of self-confidence concerning the oral
production.
• There were two students who only had an increment of
3% which is not that high of a quantity but at least it
helped them get better.
• two students really improved during the process of this
research, one of them got an improvement of 18%

18. • Three students did not have any gain in self-confidence.
• Four students did not increased that much their
level of self-confidence, however they took
advantage of the activities.

19. • Students were shy at the beginning of the activities and some
of them did not want to work in groups
• Through the use of cooperative learning, positive peer
relationship was promoted as well as academic achievement
and higher self-esteem.
• The activities encouraged students to respect each other and
to value their partners contribution.

20. • Students’ anxiety decreased when they were
speaking in front of their classmates.
• They got involved in the activities because these
ones were of their interest.
• Teachers’ attitude was really important for the
students to feel comfortable and motivated when
speaking in English.

21. • Teachers must provide students with enough
input in order to make it easier for the students
to express what they want.
• It is important for teachers to create a safe
environment in order to make students feel
comfortable when using the target language.

22. • Teachers can use cooperative learning strategies
to promote a safe environment in their
classrooms.
• Through the use of CL students become aware of the
importance of cooperation in team work and may gain
confidence when speaking in public.
• Students’ motivation can be enhanced by the use of
CL strategies that are attractive and meaningful.

23. • cooperative learning helps students develop self-confidence
and promotes a safe environment where
levels of language anxiety may decrease.

24. References
Al-Hebaish, S. (2012). The Correlation between General Self-Confidence
and Academic Achievement in the Oral Presentation Course. Theory
and Practice in Language Studies, 2(1), 60-65.
Lang, P. (2006). Motivation and Experience in Foreign Language Leaning.
International Academic Publishers.
León, W. & Vega, E.(2010). Encouraging Teenagers to Improve Speaking
Skills through Games in a Colombian Public School. Profile, 12(1), 11-31.

25. Nunan, D. (1992). Collaborative Language Learning and Teaching.
Cambridge University Press.
Park, H. & Lee, A. R. (2004). L2 Learners’ Anxiety, Self-Confidence and
Oral Performance. Kunsan National University, Concordia University.
Prieto, C. (2007). Improving Eleventh Graders’ Oral Production in
English Class through Cooperative Learning Strategies. Profile 8. 75- 90.
Rubio, F. (2007). Self-Esteem and Foreign Language Learning. Cambridge
Scholar Publishing.

27. Participants
Score per question Final
N° 1 N° 2 N° 3 N° 5 N° 6 N° 7 N° 8 Score
A 5 4 5 1 5 5 5 30
B 5 4 5 1 5 5 5 30
C 4 4 2 5 2 5 22
D 5 4 2 2 3 4 5 25
E 5 1 3 5 2 3 5 24
F 5 4 3 1 4 3 5 25
G 4 4 4 2 4 4 5 27
H 5 4 4 2 3 5 5 28
I 5 4 4 3 4 5 5 30
J 5 5 5 1 1 4 5 26
K 4 4 4 2 4 4 5 27
L 5 4 5 2 5 4 5 30
M 4 4 1 2 5 3 4 23
Table 1

28. Participants
Score per question Final
Score N° 1 N° 2 N° 3 N° 4 N° 5 N° 6 N° 7 N° 8 N° 9 N° 10 N° 11 N° 12
1 5 4 5 5 5 4 2 5 1 2 5 5 48
2 4 4 1 5 5 5 2 5 1 4 4 5 45
3 4 2 5 4 5 5 2 5 1 2 5 4 44
4 5 4 4 5 3 4 3 5 1 1 5 4 44
5 5 4 2 5 5 4 1 5 1 1 5 5 43
6 5 4 3 5 5 2 3 5 1 1 5 5 44
7 5 4 4 5 5 4 2 5 1 3 5 5 48
8 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 5 1 5 5 5 55
9 5 4 4 5 4 5 5 5 1 4 4 4 50
10 5 4 1 4 3 5 3 5 1 5 5 5 46
11 5 4 1 5 4 5 4 5 1 1 5 5 45
12 5 4 1 5 5 4 5 5 1 1 5 5 46
13 4 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 1 1 4 5 40
Table 2