The Effects of Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures in Teaching Subject–Verb Agreement among Rural Sarawak Learners

Abstract

Even after undertaking years of formal education to acquire the language in schools, having a poor command of English remains a problem faced by most Malaysians, especially students in rural schools of Sarawak. Based on the error-analysis carried out by recent research, subject-verb agreement (SVA) is one of the most frequent errors committed by students. To overcome this problem, teachers should significantly improve students' mastery of SVA in the English language through effective teaching methods. Therefore, this research was conducted to explore the effects of Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures in teaching SVA among rural Sarawak learners. In this study, 35 Form 4 students were selected from a secondary school in the Belaga District, Sarawak as the research participants. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection tools. Overall, findings demonstrated that students showed positive feedback after the intervention was implemented. Results of this research will hopefully provide insights to secondary school students, teachers and the community in the cooperative teaching and learning of grammar.

Virtual Collaborative Learning for Improving Students' English Communication Ability in Bansubjaroen and Wangnampu School Loei Thailand

“…However, the subject of the studies were college students. For example, the studies of Xin and Yunus (2019) and Cottell andBarbara (1994) showed that Cooperative Learning Structures are beneficial for students because students' SVA test achievement improves significantly. It can improve the students' language skills, teamwork and also interpersonal skills.…”