Active Learning Effects on Efl Classroom Interaction: Case Study of University of Khartoum Freshman Students

Abstract

The study subsumes both quantitative and qualitative research methods with the objective of investigating the effects of active learning on EFL learners’ interaction, autonomy and achievement. The researcher has employed two tools for data collection, tests and participant observation. The quantitative research utilizes a pre-tests and a post-tests as mediated with treatment courses to uncover overt change on behalf of the subjects’ (learners’) performance. The treatment courses which incorporate active learning were delivered to a fresher sample of the subjects of two faculties: the School of Management and the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Khartoum. Each group of the subjects constitutes a whole class, yet the students were put into two sub-groups. The subjects of the study were 259 with 72 male students. The means of test grades of the learners’ interaction, autonomy, and achievement shifted from: 3.67, 3.85, and 37.8 in the pre-test to 12.9, and 12.1 and 74.5 in the posttest respectively. SPSS was used for quantitative data analysis. For the qualitative methods, detailed remarks and features on the class presentations by the students were observed, video-taped, and reported. Qualitative participant observation helped to demonstrate the learners’ capabilities in adopting active learning techniques during their presentations. The results of both qualitative and quantitative methods conclude that active learning can improve EFL leaners’ achievement, inspire increased interaction, and generate independent learning. Moreover, the results approve the flexibility and the entertaining nature of active learning which may qualify to be an up-to-date interest to educators, course designers, and teachers of English language at university level. An additional finding is that female subjects outperformed male ones regarding interactive skills. Thus, further research on this area may investigate: the effects of such interactive characteristics as gender, residence, origin, and type of admission on the allocation of active learning as well as its implementation in science classes or applications at school level