Though the educational, social, communicative, and practical benefits of the Collaborative Learning Approach (CLA) have been widely examined in past research, very few studies have been conducted to examine the challenges faced by students and teachers in learning English using CLA. This research aimed to investigate the challenges faced by Pakistani undergraduates and their teachers' views about the challenges faced by their undergraduates in learning English using CLA. The study employed a survey design, and data were collected using questionnaires with items adapted from a combination of previous studies. The study involved 420 undergraduates and 35 teachers who were selected through cluster sampling from seven public universities in the federal territory of Pakistan. The findings showed that Pakistani undergraduates showed high views on positive interdependence, whereas moderate views on individual and group accountability, group processing, and face-to-face promotive interaction. On the contrary, undergraduates expressed low views on social skills. Findings from the teachers also correspond with the undergraduates’ views on three elements of CLA, such as positive interdependence, group processing, and face-to-face promotive interaction, whereas teachers revealed low views on individual and group accountability and the lowest views on social and interpersonal skills. Overall Pakistani undergraduates have been found to have faced moderate challenges using CLA in learning English. This study describes the challenges that hinder the effective learning of English under CLA for undergraduates that will assist educators, policymakers, and curriculum designers in the development of innovative and useful policies for improving ESL learning.

Keywords: challenges; collaborative learning approach; learning English; teachers; undergraduates

Abrami, P. C., Poulsen, C., & Chambers, B. (2004). Teacher motivation to implement an educational innovation: Factors differentiating users and non-users of cooperative learning. Educational Psychology, 24, 201–216.

Adesina, O. O., Adesina, O. A., Adelopo, I., & Afrifa, G. A. (2022). Managing group work: the impact of peer assessment on student engagement. Accounting Education, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639284.2022.2034023

Albore, A. K., & Lanka, M. G. (2018). Exploring teachers’ and students’ attitude towards group work assignment in English language classroom: The case of grade 11 at Wolayta Sodo preparatory schools in Ethiopia. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 44, 10-18.

AlMashjari, A. K. (2012). The effectiveness of cooperative learning on EFL proficiency: A case study of grade ten female classroom in the new developed high school project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [Master’s thesis, King Saud University] Saudi Arabia.

Bruffee, K. (1993). Collaborative Learning. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 28–51.

Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods. Oxford University Press.

Buchs, C., Filippou, D., Pulfrey, C., & Volpé, Y. (2017). Challenges for cooperative learning implementation: reports from elementary school teachers. Journal of Education for Teaching, 43(3), 296-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2017.1321673

Chatterjee, R., & Correia, A. P. (2020). Online students’ attitudes toward collaborative learning and sense of community. American Journal of Distance Education, 34(1), 53–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2020.1703479

Costouros, T. (2020). Jigsaw cooperative learning versus traditional lectures: Impact on student grades and learning experience. Teaching & Learning Inquiry. 8(1), 154-172. http://dx.doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.8.1.11

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.

de Lange, T., & Wittek, A. L. (2022). Analysing the constitution of trust in peer-based teacher mentoring groups–a sociocultural perspective. Teaching in Higher Education, 27(3), 337-351. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1724936

Duckworth, A. H. (2010). Cooperative learning: Attitudes, perceptions, and achievement in a traditional, online, and hybrid instructional setting. The University of Southern Mississippi.

Gillies, R. (2010). Teachers’ and students’ verbal behaviours during cooperative and small-group learning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 271–287. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709905X52337

Gonzales, W. D. W., & Torres, P. L. O. (2015). Filipino ESL Learners’ attitudes toward cooperative learning and their relationship to Reading comprehension. TESOL International Journal, 11(2), 70–90.

Gul, S., & Channa, L. A. (2022). Dialectal preferences: a mixed methods study of ESL students’ attitudes towards Englishes in Pakistan. Asian Englishes, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2022.2073096

Khan, A. B., Ramanair, J., & Rethinasamy, S. (2023). Perceptions of Pakistani undergraduates and teachers of collaborative learning approaches in learning English. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2023.6.1.6

Lagat, K. T., & Concepcion, G. L. (2022). Students' Social Interaction, Collaborative Learning, and Perceived Learning in an Online Learning Environment. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 5(1), 24-33. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v5i1.130

Lantolf, J. P., Poehner, M. E., & Swain, M. (Eds.). (2018). The Routledge Handbook of sociocultural theory and second language development. Routledge.

Lau, K. H., & Jin, Q. (2019). Chinese students’ group work performance: Does team personality composition matter? Education + Training. 61(3), 290–309. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2018-0141

Le, H., Janssen, J., & Wubbels, T. (2018). Collaborative learning practices: Teacher and student perceived obstacles to effective student collaboration. Cambridge Journal of Education, 48(1), 103-122. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305764 X.2016.1259389

Le, M. T. (2022). The Effects of Collaborative Writing to Learners' Text in Terms of Writing Accuracy from Sociocultural Theory Perspective. International Journal of TESOL & Education, 2(1), 54–62. https://doi.org/10.54855/ijte2202014

Manan, S. A., Channa, L. A., & Haidar, S. (2022). Celebratory or guilty multilingualism? English medium instruction challenges, pedagogical choices, and teacher agency in Pakistan. Teaching in Higher Education, 27(4), 530-545. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2022.2045932

Mao, Z., & Lee, I. (2021). Researching L2 student engagement with written feedback: Insights from sociocultural theory. TESOL Quarterly, 56(2), 788-798. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3071

Neo, T., Neo, M., Kwok, W., Tan, Y., Lai, C., & Zarina, C. (2012). MICE 2.0: Designing multimedia content to foster active learning in a Malaysian classroom. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 28(5), 857–880.

Novita, D., Kurnia, F. D., & Ali, M. (2020). Collaborative Learning as the Manifestation of Sociocultural Theory. Exposure: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, 9(1), 13-25. Retrieved from https://journal.unismuh.ac.id/index.php/exposure/article/view/2888

Okolie, U. C., Mlanga, S., Oyerinde, D. O., Olaniyi, N. O., & Chucks, M. E. (2021). Collaborative learning and student engagement in practical skills acquisition. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2021.1929395

Qureshi, M. A., Khaskheli, A., Qureshi, J. A., Raza, S. A., & Yousufi, S. Q. (2021). Factors affecting students’ learning performance through collaborative learning and engagement. Interactive Learning Environments, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.1884886

Sözen, E., & Güven, U. (2019). The Effect of Online Assessments on Students' Attitudes Towards Undergraduate-Level Geography Courses. International Education Studies, 12(10), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v12n10p1

Tashakkori, A., Johnson, R. B., & Teddlie, C. (2020). Foundations of mixed methods research: Integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches in the social and behavioural sciences. Sage publications.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Xu, J., & Zhang, S. (2022). Understanding AWE Feedback and English Writing of Learners with Different Proficiency Levels in an EFL Classroom: A Sociocultural Perspective. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 31, 357–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-021-00577-7

Xuan, L. (2015). Application of Cooperative Learning Approach: Teachers' and Students' Perceptions Towards Cooperative Learning (Doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at Fredonia).

Yu, M. V. B., Liu, Y., Hsieh, T. Y., Lee, G., Simpkins, S. D., & Pantano, A. (2022). Working together as a team really gets them fired up: Afterschool program mentoring strategies to promote collaborative learning among adolescent participants. Applied Developmental Science, 26(2), 347–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2020.180046