COLLABORATIVE LEARNING AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN GRAMMAR CLASSES AMONG NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT HO CHI MINH CITY INDUSTRY AND TRADE COLLEGE

Abstract

How to involve non-English major students in classroom activities in English grammar classes has been always a concern of English teachers. This study is aimed to explore the extent of engagement of non-English major students through collaborative learning and find out the problems that students face when this method is employed in their grammar classes. This study employed mixed methods which combine qualitative and quantitative methods. A questionnaire, focus group interviews and observations were used to collect data. Convenience sampling method was selected to recruit participants for the study. 105 non-English major students at Ho Chi Minh City Industry and Trade College voluntarily participated in the survey, 12 of whom from four groups took part in group interviews. The results showed that the extent of non-English major students’ engagement towards collaborative learning in grammar classes was average. Many students engaged in collaborative learning activities in terms of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. Nevertheless, there were certain students who did not take their English classes seriously. It was revealed that the reliance of passive students, disagreement among group members, noise, and the choice of individuals to cooperate with were the problems that students encountered when learning English grammar with this approach. Finally, several implications were suggested for teachers and students to enhance student engagement in English grammar classes.