Teaching experience in professional colleges makes one aware of the fact that the
course materials offered at various levels (school, college and undergraduate level)
though are often well researched, the communicative competence among a majority of the students is often found wanting. We are aware that, in professional colleges, at the undergraduate level, there are students with mixed abilities in terms of language use. Some are good, a few are competent and many fall in the category of fair, while there are a few who are poor in using the language. This kind of heterogeneity makes the task of a teacher more challenging. Teachers tend to use the lecture mode unconsciously probably because of the number of the students they have in the classroom due to the heterogeneity in their abilities. Textbooks have been revised, teachers have received orientation; however the challenge still persists. In India, English Language Teaching (ELT) has kept pace with the changing trends world over. Today, we feel that using the techniques of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) would be most effective. What should be our concern is a methodology that can effectively contribute to the improvement of communicative competence among the students. In this context, examining cooperative learning as a method to facilitate language learning would be of use. One might wonder why this method is being looked at in detail when in the circles of ELT, communicative language teaching is in vogue.
It is often felt, especially in technical institutions, that the task of grooming the students for employment is often laid at the doorstep of language classes and all of us understand that mere language competence does not make a student employable. Language competence is certainly a huge component, but attitudinal and behavioral aspects play a major role in governing the type of communicative competence in the students that the industry needs. This is primarily the reason why cooperative activity as a method is being advocated for its effectiveness in not only improving communicative competence but also in enhancing the soft skills among the learners. Hence, an attempt is made to examine how the challenge of heterogeneous group coupled with large-size classroom can be met through cooperative learning.
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