The use of community of inquiry method to develop ESL learners` speaking skill

Abstract

The research explored the effects of ‘Community of Inquiry’ (COI) method on the speaking skills of primary school students. The participants were comprised of 25 ESL learners of beginner to pre-intermediate level at a private school in Kuala Lumpur. The sample included two male and two female students in grade five. Qualitative research method was used to investigate learners’ use of spoken English during COI discussions. Seven sessions lasting one hour each were video-taped and analyzed using content analysis. The analysis focused upon spoken language used by students to engage in six critical thinking skills identified by Facionenamely: interpretation, analysis, explanation, evaluation, inference and self-regulation. The findings showed that through cooperation and imitation, four of the six core critical thinking skills were used by students. Moreover, specific vocabulary and grammar items appeared more prevalently than in regular ESL classes. For example, first conditional was used to offer solutions and alternatives; present tense was employed when defining concepts or stating facts; and past tense was used when students were narrating their experiences in order to explain or support their ideas and opinions. As a result, it is clear that COI provided valuable opportunities for students to express themselves and practice their skills of listening and speaking. As such, it represents an effective method for introduction into mainstream Malaysian public schools, particularly for ESL classes.