37 the participants to learn English outside their school setting. In addition, it has
impacted the researc her‘s comprehension toward the issue of low confidence to
use the target language in their interactions with their friends in the English class. The action and reflection are gained in the process of the research. In short, by
doing an action research, one can get better insight of a specific issue in a particular context to be able to make better decisions based on the action and
reflection obtained in the research. The next part elaborates the idea of action research in education.
a. Action research in education
Considering the benefits of conducting action research, it is useful to put it the context of education which always tries to seek improvement in the learning.
In the field of education, action research is illustrated as a research carried out by teachers for their reflection and enhancement Mertler, 2006. Like the principle
of action research, it always involves both action and reflection. ―Action research is a method used for improving educational practice. It involves action, evaluation
and reflection and, based on gathered evidence, changes in practice are implemented‖ Koshy, 2005:1.
In order to answer the research questions, an action research is appropriately selected. ―Action research is an iterative process in which cycles of
action and reflection move the process forward and deepen understanding‖
Griebling, et al., 2009:27. No action without research; no research without action Lewin, 1940 as in Adelman, 1993:8. The type of action research
38 employed in the study is participatory action research. Lewin as in Adelman,
1993:13 stated that, Participant action research in which it is assumed that the residents of the
affected community who were to help effect a cure must be involved in the research process from the beginning. They would thereby realize mare keenly the
need for the particular steps finally decided upon; at the same time their ego investment would support the remedial program. This type of action research an
example would be a community of self-survey - seemed to be most effective for a limited range of problems. If was useful in disclosing particular and local facts
not general principles which could provide examples for other communities. The research tried to solve the problem together with the participants in a non-school
setting where they engaged in the research since the beginning. There are four characteristics of action research as suggested by Burns,
1999: 30:
1. Action research is contextual, small-scale and localized – it identifies and
investigates problems within a specific situation. 2.
It is evaluative and reflective as it aims to bring about change and improvement in practice.
3. It is participatory as it provides for collaborative investigation by teams of
colleagues, practitioners and researchers. 4.
Changes in practice are based on the collection of information or data which provides the impetus for change.
This research investigation seeks to describe how practices using cooperative learning in a non-
school setting build the participants‘ authentic communication and at the same time build their positive attitude. In addition, it
gives more insight about cooperative learning activities particularly in a non- school setting.
39 Although the process of conducting action research is usually in the cycle
form, the research should be regarded as something flexible cf. McNiff 1988 ―and that different combinations of researchers in different situations will need to
make their own interpretations of what are appropriate processes for the circumstances of the research
‖ Burns, 1990: 35. The cyclic models however as stated by McNiff 1988 as in Burns, 1990: 35 are too ―systematic and do not
allow researchers to accommodate spontaneous, creative episodes.
B. REVIEW OF RELEVANT RESEARCH REPORTS
This section provides evidences on how authentic communication and cooperative learning benefits the English learning.
The use of CL has been applied by many researchers in the field of language learning. It is obvious that the strategy brings many advantages to the
development of language learning. Willis found evidence of brain and neurochemical activity that supported the positive results she was having with the
cooperative approach to middle school teaching. Willis, 2007:5. Slavin in his review emphasized the three results of cooperative learning which are academic
achievement, race relations, and mutual concern among students. Slavin, 1980: 323. Phuong-Mai et al., in their research with four classes comprising 181
students ranging in age from 16 to 18 years in two Hanoi upper-secondary schools found that when CL is organized in Viet Nam in a fashion that is culturally
appropriate in terms of leadership, reward allocation and group composition, students will report having exerted more effort in learning than their peers in
conventionally operated groups Phuong-Mai et al, 2009: 866. In the
