The Effect of Cooperative Learning’s Round Robin During English Lessons on Vocational High School Students’ Listening Skills

Abstract

Cooperative learning has been widely recognized for promoting student engagement and collaborative learning across various language skills. However, limited research has examined the effectiveness of the Round Robin technique in teaching listening comprehension in vocational high schools, particularly by combining students’ learning outcomes with their perceptions of the learning process. Therefore, this quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of the Round Robin technique compared with conventional instruction and explored vocational students’ perceptions of its implementation. The participants were 50 tenth-grade vocational high school students. Data were collected through pre-tests, post-tests, and a Likert-scale questionnaire to measure students’ listening achievement and perceptions. The Mann–Whitney U test (p = 0.154) indicated no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups. Nevertheless, the experimental group demonstrated greater individual improvement, with 84% of students achieving higher post-test scores compared with 56% in the control group. Questionnaire findings also revealed positive perceptions, with an overall favorability rate of 71.84%. Students reported that the structured turn-taking encouraged equal participation, reduced passive learning, and increased classroom engagement despite challenges related to limited vocabulary and classroom conditions. These findings suggest that the Round Robin technique is a practical instructional strategy for promoting active participation, individual accountability, and positive learning experiences in vocational English listening classrooms.