SOURCE:

Faculty: Education
Department: Educational Foundation

CONTRIBUTORS:

Khan R. Mofor
Akudolu L-R

ABSTRACT:

This study investigated the Comparative Analysis of achievements of students taught French reading comprehension with Cooperative learning and Communicative language teaching in North West Cameroon. Five research questions and eight null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A 2x2x2 factorial quasi - experimental pretest - posttest non-equivalent control group research design was used; involving four intact classes from each of the randomly selected schools. The population of the study was 18,935 form three students from 250 Government Secondary Schools in North West Region of Cameroon. The sample consisted of 174 Form three students from Government Secondary Schools, using a double stage procedure in two stages including the purposive, the simple random sampling techniques. Each of the intact classes in each of the schools selected for the study through simple random sampling was also randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The instrument used for the study was the French Reading Comprehension Achievement Test (FRCAT) of four sections of 10 items each, (total 40 items) which was used for the study. The instrument was constructed by the researcher. Three specialists one from measurement and evaluation another from curriculum studies from Nnamdi Azikiwe University and one specialist in French language from Imo State University validated the instrument. A reliability coefficient of 0.72 was obtained using Kudder-Richardson 20 (K-R20). The FRCAT was re-arranged, retyped and renumbered before being administered to the students to obtain the posttest scores. Research questions were answered using mean while the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the study indicated that the Cooperative learning method significantly enhanced students’ achievement in French Reading Comprehension than the communicative language teaching method. Location had significant influence on students’ achievement in French reading comprehension and gender equally significantly did. The interaction effect of method and gender was significant on students’ mean achievement scores in French Reading Comprehension while there was no significant interaction effect of method and location on students’ mean achievement scores in French Reading Comprehension , also the interaction effect of method, location and gender was significant on students’ mean achievement scores in French Reading Comprehension. Based on discussions of the findings, the educational implications of the study were articulated and recommendations made. Among others, workshops and seminars should be organized by the Ministry of Education to train French teachers on how to use the cooperative learning method in the teaching and learning of French reading comprehension. Also to adopt the cooperative learning method as a method of instruction to alternate or supplement the communicative language teaching method (conventional method) in maximizing students’ achievement in French reading comprehension. Curriculum planners and policy makers in Education, Heads of institutions, such as colleges of Education, secondary schools and tertiary institutions should include the cooperative learning method in the school curriculum and in classroom practices to use it alongside with the conventional method to enhance the students’ achievement in French reading comprehension. Finally, Government, gender-based Non-Governmental Organizations(NGOs)and Parent Teachers’ Associations (PTA) should provide relevant, adequate materials to equip language laboratories which will facilitate the teaching and learning especially of French reading comprehension.