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Results from this study suggest that implementing The Claim
‘structures’ is not enough. The students’ conception of what about the
constitutes ‘good’ university teaching needs also to be addressed. Current
If the tutorial is essentially considered a small-scale lecture in Result
which information is passed from expert tutor to novice student,
then any ‘structure’ may potentially increase student interaction,
however, not necessarily the depth and quality of the interaction.
If cooperative learning is to make sense to these students, The
they need to see how engaging in discussion with peers makes a Influencing
difference to their own achievement; thus, cooperative learning Factors
activities need to be aligned with examinations and assessment
criteria. Finally, the cooperative learning literature hardly
addresses the role and the impact of the teacher. Nevertheless,
the students’ attitudes toward cooperative learning were highly
dependent on the tutor. Future research might address in which
ways teachers might affect students’ attitudes to cooperative
learning.
Language Focus
In the above discussion, there are some underlined words showing
uncertainty or speculation. It is important to be able to distinguish uncertainty and
speculation from fact. Uncertainty and speculation can be expressed using the
following expression:
a. Modals such as may, could, or might
e.g. Cooperative principle may create a more empathetic student.
b. Verbs such as believe, claim, think, hope, seem, assume etc.
e.g. The lecturer believes, there is a connection between the students’
achievement and their engagement.
c. Adjectives, adverbs, or nouns showing uncertainty such as likely, possible,
possibly, possibility, and assumption
e.g. It is possible that the cooperative activity does not necessarily promote
active learning.
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