A study on student interaction in the implementation of the Jigsaw technique in language teaching

PhD ceremony: Ms. H.N.M.S.M. Tamah, 13.15 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Title: A study on student interaction in the implementation of the Jigsaw technique in language teaching

Promotor(s): prof. C.L.J. de Bot

Faculty: Arts

Siti Mina Tamah’s dissertation reports on a partly quantitative, partly qualitative study in a foreign language reading class to reveal students’ involvement in group interaction, the types of information students use to understand a text, the ways students help one another, and the extent to which students with different levels of ability assist and get assisted.

The technique used here was the ‘Jigsaw’ one in which the students in a class are divided over different groups and in which each student has to provide a specific part of the information needed to solve a reading task. Within the groups there are different roles, such as captain or time keeper. The aim of the Jigsaw technique is to stimulate students to interact and cooperate. The role of the teacher is basically a managing one. The data show that the students appreciate and use the new technique, though they are not used to this type of self-guided learning. It is found that the students are involved more in the on-task oriented discussion which is content relevant than in the off-task one where they talk about issues irrelevant to the content.

The research reported on shows that in Indonesian education, which is traditionally strongly teacher-centered, more group work and cooperation and involvement of students is possible and appreciated, but only when the teachers are trained in the new technique and willing to adopt it. In future research the aim is to implement this new technique to language teaching on a wider scale.