Advances in Language and Literary Studies - Volume 5 - Issue 4 - The Comparative Effect of Using Competitive and Cooperative Learning on the Reading Comprehension of Introvert and Extrovert EFL Learners

Oct 15, 2026

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A quasiexperimental study investigates how competitive versus cooperative learning affects the reading comprehension of introvert and extrovert EFL learners. The design uses 120 PET-taking participants from Marefat English Language Institute in Tehran, classified via the Eysenck Personality Inventory into four subgroups (introvert/extrovert × cooperative/competitive). After 18 sessions over seven weeks, the PET reading section serves as a posttest and a two-way ANOVA analyzes outcomes. Results show competitive settings generally outperform cooperative ones, while extroverts benefit more from cooperative instruction, and introverts outperform extroverts in competitive learning; no cooperative advantage appears between personality groups.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Reading purposes and skill development

Reading as communication and strategy use

Learner differences and personality in L2 reading

Competitive vs cooperative learning frameworks

Research gap and study aims

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 5 No. 4; August 2014 Copyright © Australian International Academic Centre, Australia The Comparative Effect of Using Competitive and Cooperative Learning on the Reading Comprehension of Introvert and Extrovert EFL Learners Touran Ahour Department of English, College of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Tabriz Branch Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran E-mail: [ahour@iaut.ac.ir](ahour@iaut.ac.ir); [torahour2@yahoo.com](torahour2@yahoo.com) Pezhman Nourzad Haradasht Foreign Language Faculty, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Tabriz, Iran [E-mail: Pnoorzad@yahoo.com](E-mail: Pnoorzad@yahoo.com) Doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.4p.206 URL: [http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.4p.206](http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.4p.206) Received: 20/06/2014 Accepted: 10/08/2014 Abstract This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of two types of learning, competitive and cooperative, on the reading comprehension of introvert and extrovert EFL learners. To this end, 120 learners studying at Marefat English Language Institute in Tehran, Iran were selected, after taking a Preliminary English Test (PET), to participate in this quasiexperimental research. The participants also answered the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) to categorize them into two personality types of introverts and extroverts. Therefore, there were four subgroups: 30 introverts and 30 extroverts undergoing the cooperative learning treatment, and 30 introverts and 30 extroverts experiencing the competitive learning treatment. The reading part of the PET was administered as the posttest of the study after each group was exposed to the treatment for 18 sessions in seven weeks. A two-way ANOVA was run on the collected data in the posttest of four groups. The results revealed that while learners generally outperformed in the competitive setting compared to the cooperative one, the extrovert was better off receiving cooperative instruction. Moreover, introverts excelled extroverts in the competitive group. However, there was no difference between the two personality groups in the cooperative situation. Keywords: competitive learning, cooperative learning, extrovert, introvert, reading comprehension 1. Introduction Reading is a later acquired skill among the other three skills. As Grabe (2002) stated, we were never born to read because human being invented reading only few thousand years ago. Therefore, skills such as listening and speaking are developed much sooner than reading and writing. However, when reading was activated, people read for different purposes. For instance, some read for pleasure and find it interesting which is called extensive reading, and some read for specific and detailed information which is called intensive reading (Harmer, 2008) . One of the main purposes of reading is enhancing students ’capability to read the words and grasp what they mean atthe same time. In this sense, reading does not mean translating written symbols into corresponding sounds. As Barnett (2007) maintained, reading is seen “as communication, as a mental process, as the readers’ active participation in the creation of meaning, as a manipulation of strategies, as a receptive rather than passive skills”(p. 71) . This objective will not be achieved unless students have purpose in mind out of their reading. Brown (2001) pointed out that,“efficient reading consists of clearly identifying the purpose in reading something in which you will know what you are looking for and can weed out potential distracting information”(p. 306) . In the recent decades, there was emphasis on different variables that have affected the field of teaching and students ’reading comprehension. One of them is learner differences as every single student steps inside the class with different personality trait. Many experts and practitioners in the field agree that both the rate and the degr

FAQs

What learning conditions were compared in the study?

The study compared competitive learning and cooperative learning treatments.

How were participants grouped for the experiment?

Participants were classified as introverts or extroverts using the Eysenck Personality Inventory, creating four subgroups by combining personality type with the learning condition.

What tool was used to measure reading comprehension after the treatments?

The reading part of the Preliminary English Test (PET) was administered as the posttest after the 18-session treatments.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher