COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND ETHNIC RECONCILIATION IN ESL CLASSROOM.

This study explores the efficacy of using Cooperative Learning (CL) in enhancing ethnic reconciliation among students while improving their L2 competency. According to Coelho (1994), students learn languages best when they are engaged in real interaction and CL is especially appropriate for multi-cultural classrooms. Sri Lankan education has its partly contribution to linguistic nationalism that gradually led to a disastrous ethnic conflict (Bannon 2003). Having understood that, recent research has found that English as a link language that binds cultures together can support reconciliation and greater economic prosperity throughout the country. Similarly, orienting students towards a new teaching-learning environment and fulfilling the objective of socializing with multicultural and multiethnic communities and respecting diversities, the English Language Teaching Unit of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology too conducts the L2 module of the Orientation 2016/17 for the new intake using cooperative learning activities. Thus, through this case study, it is aimed at providing students’ and teachers’ perceptions towards feasibility of CL for ethnic reconciliation. The students are divided into groups of 12 irrespective of their ethnicity or competency. The data gathered through questionnaires and interviews from a sample of 48 students and 3 teachers involved in the Orientation program highlight that CL in multiethnic ESL classroom encourages students’ participation and promotes positive interactions between students. Further, as per the qualitative data, the interaction among students during cooperative tasks facilitates their L2 competency. In contrary, some groups of students gain attention more than others as some mostly focused on their individual performance despite collaboration among team-mates. However, the results indicate that CL allows each student to play an important role in doing the assigned tasks, resulting in enhancing team-spirit and ethnic reconciliation.