The Effect of Using Cooperative Learning Method in Enhancing EFL Students’ Performance in Speaking Skill in Libyan Universities: A Case Study of Benghazi University

This study aims to investigate the effect of using the Cooperative Learning Method in the EFL classroom to enhance students’ performance in speaking skill in Libyan Universities. This study endeavored to investigate how possible for EFL students’ performance in speaking skills can be augmented through Cooperative Learning Method. The author applied the quasi-experimental method, which was classified into two groups, an experimental group and a control group. 50 students were used as a sample for this study, and the sample was taken by using the purposive sampling method. The results indicated that the students obtained fair scores in the pre-test. After treatment, their speaking increased significantly. The results of the study were the mean score of students' speaking skills obtained by the students through the pre-test was 46.24, and the post-test was 73. This means that there was an improvement in the speaking skill of the students after they received the treatment that was being taught. Through the use of the Cooperative Learning Method and also it could be seen the t-test value is greater than the t-table (-16.832>-9.765). This means that the null hypothesis (H0) is rejected, and the alternative hypothesis (H1) is accepted. The result of the analysis indicated that the use of cooperative learning was effective in improving students' speaking skills, especially at the University of Benghazi in the academic year 2020/2021.


The Aim of the Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of using a cooperative learning method in enhancing EFL students' performance in speaking skills in the English language department at the Faculty of Arts and Science Kufrah -Benghazi University.

The Hypotheses of the Study
The following hypotheses are posed in order to fulfil the aim of the study: -Null Hypothesis (Ho): There is no significant effect of using the Cooperative Learning Method in enhancing EFL students' performance in speaking skills at Benghazi University.
-Alternative Hypothesis (H1): There is a significant effect of using the Cooperative Learning Method in enhancing EFL students' performance in speaking skills at Benghazi University.

Significance of the Study
This paper is likely to give the theoretical and practical benefits as follows: 1. Theoretically a. The outcome of this paper is likely to be beneficial information to the teachers in using cooperative learning methods to develop students' speaking skills. b. As a reference for other research that would like to study cooperative learning methods.

Practically
Using cooperative learning methods in teaching speaking skills to make the students more fun in speaking tasks.

Previous Related Study Results
There have been several studies that have investigated related to improving the students' performance in speaking skills by using cooperative learning methods.
The previous study was conducted by Atsuta (2003) to enhance the motivation of unsuccessful learners incorporating cooperative learning as one of several motivational strategies implemented to achieve the goal. Atsuta's findings revealed several advantages of cooperative learning, which included making learners more responsible for their own learning, obtaining a high level of motivation as well as allowing learners in a mixed-ability environment to help each other and thus develop the learning process. Pattanpichet (2011) stated that there are several studies that have been done on the effects of CL that have shown that the learners' oral skills are improved during the implementation of CL. Another study by Yang (2005) of sixty Taiwanese college students -oral performance, in which he compared CL effectiveness with traditional teaching approach and motivation towards learning. In this study, the students were from two healthy classes. Suhendan and Bengdi (2014) investigated learners' attitudes towards CL. A questionnaire was distributed to 166 students, which included 100 female students and 66 university students between the ages of 18 and 20 years. All of these respondents were studying in middle school and were from different colleges. The questionnaire was developed around learners' attitudes to CL. The data was analysed descriptively. The results of the study indicated that 66.9% of the respondents are keen to use CL in ELT classes, and 33.1% of them stated that they want to work on their own and they will achieve better results. Moreover, a focus group was formed, and they were asked to mention the positive and negative points during the implementation of CL. The results indicated that the members of the organized group were different in gender and age, which led to it being good for the students.
Moreover, Ning (2011) conducted research to investigate the impact of CL on EFL students' competencies in speaking, listening, reading, and vocabulary. The study participants were 100 English language undergraduate students from a university in northern China. The study used a pre and post-test using a quasi-experimental method to compare the effects of the CL method on learners' language proficiency compared to the traditional approach. The results of this particular study indicated clear differences between the two approaches as they were applied in teaching listening, speaking and reading as well as in domain vocabulary and writing. Talebi and Sobhani (2012) conducted a study on the effect of CL on the English language. Proficiency in speaking language learners. An experimental design was used with 40 male and female students as a sample enrolled in a speaking course at the IELTS center in Mashhad, Iran, and participating in the study. They were randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups. The two groups were homogeneous in terms of their oral proficiency prior to the conduct of this study. An oral interview was conducted to collect study data. Control groups were instructed to speak; Three sessions per week for a month, while the experimental group was taught speaking skills through CL. Based on the results obtained through the statistical analysis of the data collected, it can be safely said that there is a significant difference between the oral performance of students who are taught through cooperative learning and others.
Furthermore, the observed improvement in participants' language proficiency may be due to the fact that discussion, creativity, and reflection in a group rather than individually can provide a less disturbing context (Moghaddam and Haidari 2018)

The Definition of Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning is considered one of the group teaching strategies that is subject to the learner centred approach. Numerous educators offer definitions of cooperative learning. It is buttressed by Brown's (1994) thought that: "cooperative learning encompasses learners working together in pairs or groups, sharing information. They are a team whose players must work together to successfully achieve goals."

Elements of Cooperative Learning
Forming small groups and giving students an opportunity to discuss ideas to reach common clear goals cannot be considered collaborative learning because working in groups does not mean they work collaboratively. Cooperative learning has many features that explain the difference between its methods and that determine how each student works within the group. After in-depth studies, scientists agreed on a group of elements that we can call "cooperative" learning. Even so, cooperation will only develop under a set of conditions which are established through social connectedness theory, such as positive bonding, individual accountability, primitive face-to-face interaction, social skills and group processing (Johnson, 1999) Positive association is the most important component of cooperative learning. This key element consists of ignoring the student's competitive spirit, collaborating ideas, thinking, imagining and working as one mind. For more detail, Johnson and Johnson (1999) state that positive interdependence should be encouraged by establishing common learning goals in which students must ensure that all members of the group learn the assigned task. Students must learn the assignments and ensure that group members learn them by working cooperatively. Students must make joint efforts to achieve their joint success (O'leary, 2004) In individual accountability, each member of the group is personally responsible for completing a section of tasks which makes the work of other group members easier. According to Jolliffe (2007), "It requires each pupil in the group to develop a sense of personal responsibility for learning and to help the rest of the group learn as well." Hence, every student must realize his responsibilities without relying on the work of others. This helps discover the strengths of each student. Individual accountability is encouraged by small collaborative groups organized by the teacher to develop student responsibility.
Encouraging interaction states that in order to achieve the common goals set, students should support, help, encourage, and facilitate each other's endeavors and efforts (Gillis et al., 2008). It is the performance of students who support and assist each other's efforts to complete tasks and produce in order to reach group goals. Face-to-face interaction succeeds when individuals support each other, even if it is in terms of clarification and explanations of some vocabulary. Students help each other share thoughts and ideas with members of their group to gather important information on the topic. For a better rudimentary interaction, the student should be able to correct each other's mistakes. This comes as a result of encouragement and support to make students more self-confident.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning helps students learn new concepts and skills together rather than learning independently. It discloses them to different family cultures, races, and ethnic differences to create fewer lines of polarization as children grow up. On the other hand, many cooperative learning programs also assume that students have already fully developed social skills when they do not have any. There are numerous important points to consider when evaluating cooperative learning.

The Advantages of cooperative learning 1. It creates higher order thinking skills due to the need for recognition skills and empathy.
Learners cannot know how to assist each other unless they get to know each other. This forces them to start using higher order thinking skills so they can see what gaps exist in their team and how those gaps can be resolved. These skills are an integral part of what the professional community requires when it comes to teamwork.

It creates new forms of individual responsibility.
Instead of working towards an individual grade that may not be taken into account, learners in groups are forced to hold themselves accountable to the group so that the best possible grade can be achieved. Equal participation becomes necessary to achieve results. There will always be learners who rebel against such a system and refuse to participate, but cooperative learning makes it possible to quickly identify and work with these learners.

It increases the level of personal participation in lessons.
In a classroom where there might be 20 learners, it can easily take 45 minutes for everyone to participate in the lesson individually. However, by creating a cooperative learning environment, each group can be called back after a while to talk to each other so that everyone participates without the same time constraints. Group answers are given based on all individual feedback so that each student has a say in the lesson.

It enhances self-esteem on various levels.
There are learners who always feel left out, but cooperative learning gives them a chance to shine. Every strength and weakness must be considered, and this creates a form of equality in the classroom that individualized learning does not always provide. The end result is that students usually feel more accepted, develop leadership attitudes, and even work on their problemsolving skills.

The Disadvantages of Cooperative Learning
1. It creates a scoring system that can be considered unfair.
In most cooperative learning programmes, a score is distributed to the entire group rather than to each individual involved. This means that a learner's score is based on the individual who has the weakest understanding of the subject matter. For those who have a good understanding of the subject matter and have done their best to help their group, a low score seems very unfair and can create resentment that stops further learning.

It creates new systems of structure for socialization that are not always beneficial.
In cooperative learning, learners quickly learn who is good at certain subjects and who is not so great. The better learners to be in each other's groups will scramble to avoid grade problems, creating a polarizing line in the class. Over time, this may encourage learners to stop trying.

It places the responsibility of the teacher on his students.
It is not the responsibility of the learner to teach their peers in academic subjects. It is the teacher's responsibility. Though, in the cooperative learning system, the teacher distributes the tasks and the students are forced to become teachers if they want to be sure of achieving a passing score.

It creates a dependency system.
When there are others who can be relied upon to get the work done, habit begins to develop in the learning behaviours of the student. They become dependent on others to help them achieve specific tasks. Unfortunately, the apprenticeship world doesn't always work that way. Learners who depend on assistance become workers who depend on assistance and ultimately put the learners of today at a disadvantage as the workers of tomorrow.
The advantages and disadvantages of the cooperative learning method show that it can be a challenging education system if not managed properly. It may also be the key required to unlock the potential of today's learners. By evaluating these important points, a better decision can be taken as to whether this learning system should be adopted or not.

Defining Speaking
Speaking is one of the abilities to have a conversation about language because it is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and also receiving some information. -Producing a word with a voice including the speaker and listener or communicating with others. Speaking means being able to express our idea, opinions and all the things around us through our system with fluency and a good understanding of the speaker and the listener.
Homby states in Dina Awalia (2016:10) that speaking is the use of words in a normal voice, the presentation of words, the knowledge and ability to use language to express one's self in words, and speaking. Speaking skill is the ability to perform linguistic language in actual communication. Talking is not only to communicate with other people, but by talking, we can get some information from other people to interact with each other. The goal of communication can be achieved by at least two people; there is a speaker and a listener.

Functions of Speaking
Speaking performance has been divided into three functions, and each function requires its own kind of teaching approach; according to Richards (2006), he delivers three different speaking functions: First, speaking as an interaction refers to what we usually mean by "conversation", which occurs when two people engage in a dialogue. When people meet, they exchange greetings, small talk, etc... because the focus is more on how they express themselves to each other and not on the message.
Second, when speaking as a transaction in this function, the focus is more on the message and what is said and done is also focused on achieving a goal or service, and this is the main focus of the trans function. Furthermore, this job requires students to be skilled at explaining, handling objects, asking questions, or justifying an opinion.
Finally, speaking as a performance is the last type of oral job, which focuses on both the message and the audience. The main features of this type are; Speech is monitored for accuracy, the message is structured predictably, sequence reflects organization and sequence, and the genre is evaluated according to its effectiveness on the listener.

The Effect of Using Cooperative Learning Method in Enhancing EFL Students' Performance in Speaking Skill in Libyan Universities: A Case Study of Benghazi University
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The Importance of Speaking Proficiency for EFL Learners
Nowadays, English has become a global language or, in other words, a global language. It serves as Franca-Pen or "English as a lingua franca" (ELF) which refers to the use of English as a medium of communication for speakers of different nationalities, all nations, even in those countries where English is not their language. English has become a major part of many sectors of life, including medicine, education, business, technology...etc. It is undeniable that English has become an essential part of our daily lives, especially for learners of English as a foreign language.
Harmer (2007: 344) stated that "If students are engaging in spontaneous, face-to-face conversation outside the classroom with proficient English speakers, they probably need exposure to more than just some type of questions that are commonly found in textbooks.". Foreign language learners use English in many situations; At their places of work, study or at home when chatting online. They are therefore supposed to speak correctly and effectively in any situation they are presented with in order to understand each other, which is why many L2 learners and teachers prioritize speaking over any other skill.
According to Ur (1996:120), he considered speaking the most important skill and claimed that among all four skills, speaking intuitively seems the most important skill; people who are proficient in a language are considered "speakers" of that language. Since English is the number one international language in the world, and with today's economic globalization, many companies and organizations are looking for fluent English speakers, people who can use the language correctly and effectively when communicating with others. This is why most English language learners consider speaking as the most important skill to develop in order to be able to speak fluently. Speaking skill becomes an important part of language learning; for teachers, it is their responsibility to help learners develop their speaking competence by selecting effective classroom activities that make learners more comfortable speaking and help them overcome their fears and reluctance to speak.

Speaking Difficulties in Foreign Language Contexts
For many years, teachers have been teaching English and, at the same time, focusing on helping students develop their speaking skills by using various techniques to help learners master oral skills. Foreign language teachers teach oral skills to enhance learners' speaking skills so that they can communicate effectively in any situation or environment they encounter. According to Ur (1996), he claimed that there are four main problems in getting students to speak a foreign language in the classroom, and they are: inhibition, nothing to say low or uneven participation, and mother-tongue use.

Inhibition
Inhibition in speaking performance is one of the main factors that hinder students during their language production. According to Ur (1996:121), inhibition is a condition in which someone or students are shy of the attention that their speech attracts and worry about making mistakes. Inhibition will make the student afraid of making mistakes, and that will lead the student to be self-control in speaking and make the student cannot do anything; teachers have to participate to solve this problem and help their students to reduce their inhibition.

Nothing to say
As an EFL teacher, you may often hear your learners complain that they have nothing to say or they cannot think of anything. Ur (1996:121) states that "even if they are not inhibited, you often hear learners complain that they cannot think of anything to say." Because they think that the others are better and if they participate, they will look like idiots; this is often another problem that makes students unmotivated to speak and will drive them to be more silent.

Low or uneven participation
Another speaking problem in the class which related to students' talking time which allows some students to dominate while others speak very little or even no. Only one participant can talk at a time if he or she is to be heard; in a large group, this means that each one will have only very little talking time. This problem is compounded by the tendency of some learners to dominate while others speak very little or not at all. (ibid: 121) This often happens when the students are working together in groups, and among them, students who do not have inhibition or shyness probably will participate most of the time, while others who have inhibition or those who do not prefer to participate at all will be neglected somehow. Teachers have to be aware of this, and they have to find smart ways to deal with it.

Mother tongue use
Sometimes EFL learners use the mother tongue inside and outside the classroom because it is easier and serves rapidly, and also, they feel less stressed when they use it. In classes where all, or a number of, the learners share the same mother ranking of 25 students in the experimental class. The cumulative ranking after the test is 1825, and the average score is 73. In this category, the lowest score is 42, while the highest score in the last test is 92. The table above indicates the classification of 25 students in the control group. The average score is 39.84, and the cumulative pre-test score is 996, with a minimum score of 27, while the maximum score is 54. The data also represents the classification of 25 students in the control category. The cumulative ranking after the test is 1497, and the average score is 59.88. In this category, the lowest score is 37, while the highest score in the last test is 89.

The Data of Controlled Class:
From the explanations given in Tables 1 and 2, the experimenter may understand that the post-test score of the experimental group is higher than that of the control group.

The Effect of Using Cooperative Learning Method in Enhancing EFL Students' Performance in Speaking Skill in Libyan Universities: A Case Study of Benghazi University
Page | 72  Table 3 demonstrates that the data of the experimental class were 25 students. The mean score was 46.24, the lowest score was 26, and the highest score was 63. The standard deviation in the pre-test was 10.23; Define Standard Deviation as a Calculated Amount to show the amount of deviation for the entire group. On the other hand, the post-test score, with a minimum of 42 and 92. The number of all data combined with the number of data calculated as the average score from the post-test for the experimental group was 73. While the standard deviation was 11.82. Table 3 also indicates the result of the control class also, with 25 students as a sub-subject. In the pre-test, the lowest score was 27 and 54 for the highest. Besides, the mean score was 39.84, with a standard deviation of 7.139. Whereas Table 3 represents that the experimental class data consists of 25 members with an average score of 46.24, a minimum score of 26, and the maximum score was 63.
Since calculating the data, the experimenter found that there was an improvement in students' scores in both classes. But, the improvement of the experimental class's score was more significant; by the mean score, it is higher than the control class.
The number of all data is divided by the number of data. It is the average number that represents the score of the students in this situation. The experimental class increased by an average of 26.76 points. Besides, the control class only increased by 20.28 points from the data 39.84 to 59.88. This means that the experimental class's treatment given can be assumed to be more effective.

Test of Hypothesis
Data hypothesis testing is needed in this study to see if there is a significant difference between pre and post test results after processing the samples. Thus, in order to verify the hypothesis of this study, the program SPSS v.22 was used. Though, in order to measure and calculate the data, you need to enter the average score before and after the test. Determine the significance or alpha (α) value according to the formula 0.05% or 5%. The t-test results are previewed in the table below:  According to the table above, the paired samples test Sig (2 tailed) = 0.00. This means that the null hypothesis was rejected, and the alternative hypothesis was accepted because sig (0.000) is lower than Sig α = 0.05 (5%). This also means that the post-test results between the experiment and the control group are statistically significantly different. In other words, there was a significant effect of using cooperative learning on students' speaking skills.

Discussions
The purpose of this study is to find the impact of using cooperative learning on EFL students' speaking skills at Benghazi University Faculty of Arts and Science in the 2020/2021 academic year. There were 25 participants from both experimental and control classes to find the result of this study; then, those classes gave a positive result of this study. Table 1 shows the output of the pre-test experimental class before administering cooperative learning treatment with an average score of 46.24. After administering the treatment, the post-test score of the experimental group increased with an average score of 73. Compared with the pre-and posttest of the control group in Table 2. It indicates the mean score of the pre-test is 39.84, and the mean of the post-test is 59.88. So the experimental class gives a better result than the control class because the score from the experimental class is significantly higher than the control class.
Furthermore, the experimenter used a t-test calculation method that applied a t-test to obtain a sig-value or p(2-tailed) = 0.000. The output shows that the null hypothesis was rejected, and the alternative hypothesis was accepted because the p-value (0.000) was less than sig a = 0.05. This means that this study had a significant impact on improving students' speaking skills using cooperative learning.

Conclusion
From the data presented in this study, it can be seen that the cooperative learning method has a positive effect on students' speaking skills. This is because, for the first time in the pre-test, the score obtained by the experimental class, the average of both the students in the experimental class and the control class, was not significantly different. Then, after the students were taught a post-test, the experimental class received a score that was averaged higher than that of the control class. Thus based on the data shown, the indicated score 0.01 < 0.05, or H0 is rejected. According to the result of this study, the effect of using cooperative learning methods in enhancing students' speaking skills was developed in students' English speaking skills at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the University of Benghazi, in the academic year 2020/2021.

Suggestion
After conducting this study, the author wants to make several suggestions for both EFL teachers and students who want to use the cooperative learning method.

EFL Teachers
EFL teachers should adopt the cooperative learning method as an effective learning method in order to develop students' speaking performance. Finally, with regard to the results and other empirical results, we suggest that the cooperative learning method should be part of the daily instructional methods used in all teacher training programs in Libya. It is the teachers' responsibility to recognize the different learning preferences students bring to the class and try to make full use of them during the daily teaching and learning process.

EFL Students
a. Students should take charge of their learning with a student-centered approach.