A Quasi-experimental Study of EFL Students' Perceptions of the Team-based Learning Approach Used in Oral Presentation Classes

Abstract

This study undertook a quasi-experimental study of EEL students' perceptions of the team-based learning approach used in oral presentation classes. A total of 80 Chinese EEL students from two intact classes participated in this study based on a random sampling technique. One class was randomly selected as the experimental group (N=40), which received team-based learning as the intervention, and the other class was the control group (N=40), which underwent traditional lecturing. After 16 weeks of intervention, a group oral presentation test was used to evaluate students' group oral presentation performance. The instruments were oral presentation tests, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed by paired-samples T-test and ANCO VA, and the qualitative data were explored by thematic analysis. Results indicated that the experimental group students held positive perceptions of the team-based learning approach used in their oral presentation classes. They perceived that the team-based learning significantly improved their group oral presentation performance in the aspects of engagement, accountability, and satisfaction.

Headnote

Abstract

This study undertook a quasi-experimental study of EEL students' perceptions of the team-based learning approach used in oral presentation classes. A total of 80 Chinese EEL students from two intact classes participated in this study based on a random sampling technique. One class was randomly selected as the experimental group (N=40), which received team-based learning as the intervention, and the other class was the control group (N=40), which underwent traditional lecturing. After 16 weeks of intervention, a group oral presentation test was used to evaluate students' group oral presentation performance. The instruments were oral presentation tests, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed by paired-samples T-test and ANCO VA, and the qualitative data were explored by thematic analysis. Results indicated that the experimental group students held positive perceptions of the team-based learning approach used in their oral presentation classes. They perceived that the team-based learning significantly improved their group oral presentation performance in the aspects of engagement, accountability, and satisfaction.

Keywords

Team-based Learning; EEL; Oral presentation; Perceptions; Group work

1. Introduction

Oral presentation is used in English language classes to assess students' progress and integrate them into the academic discourse community (Konchiab et al., 2021). However, for this study, the researchers concentrate on group oral presentations, as they seem to be the most prevalent EEL speaking courses in China. Oral presentations can be conducted singly, in pairs, or in groups. According to Swales' hierarchy theory, the term "oral presentation" in this study refers to students' classroom presentations, which are viewed as being less significant (2004). Previous studies mainly focus on challenges in giving oral presentations (Rosso et al., 2022), genre analysis of engineering oral presentations (Macaro, 2022), and communication apprehension (Werle, 2022). These studies mainly focus on 'experts' and non-English disciplines instead of undergraduates and English disciplines. This suggests that it is necessary to investigate undergraduates' oral presentations and highlight the significance of this genre within the hierarchy.

There is a necessary need to enhance EEL students' oral presentation skills. Firstly, it is because EFL students need to greatly improve their receptive and productive speaking skills, integrated with listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Oral presentation is proven to be the most efficient way to practice. Secondly, it is because EFL students need to use the language more actively and deeply. Oral presentation is the best strategy for EFL students to practice. Thirdly, it is because EFL students need to enhance their speaking confidence. An oral presentation gives them the best chance to realize this purpose in a real language environment.

Oral presentation skills can also be enhanced by group activities (Qaiser et al., 2022). Team-based learning is recognized as a collection of instructional strategies in which students arc gathered and encouraged to cooperate to promote active engagement in debating various viewpoints on a shared subject (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). Team-based learning gives students greater chances to engage in practical activities (Parrish et al., 2021). What is more, there is a good correlation between general academic success and helping peers learn by explaining things to one another (Shin et al., 2022). Many researchers (Wen, 2022) claimed that the team-based learning method gives students more opportunities than traditional lecturing to practice the target language spontaneously. The most effective language curricula, according to Chen et al. (2022), were those that maximize opportunities for numerous channels of language learning. The researchers argue that group work enables students to have real conversations.

Team-based learning was developed by Michaelsen (1970) in a business curriculum. He divided the students into teams of five to seven students and told them that he would oversee their discussions in the class instead of lecturing. In their discussions, the students should cover the course content and apply the knowledge included in the course to solve the problems in their discussion (Carpenter et al., 2022; Michaelsen et al., 2008). Later, Michaelsen refined team-based learning in the aspect of three main stages: (1) students' preparation before the class. Students collaborate in small groups to help each other understand the material. (2) Individual Readiness Assurance and Group Readiness Assurance, and (3) application, including analyzing and discussing with the whole class (Park et al., 2022). Every team's performance was immediately evaluated and given feedback.

Team-based learning was widely used by EFL teachers around the world. An EFL teacher's research in Thailand confirmed that there was an impact of team-based learning's peer evaluation and feedback on improving the performance of Thailand's EFL students, including critical thinking skills, cognitive, autonomy, and knowledge (Chorrojprasert, 2021). Researchers in Korea also identified team-based learning in EFL learning. Their research results showed that team-based learning had a significant positive correlation with English language performance (Shin et al., 2022). In China, some studies have examined team-based learning's effectiveness on EFL Students' speaking complexity (Chen et al., 2022; Wen, 2022). The result evidenced the effectiveness of team-based learning's enhancement of students' speaking complexity through the cooperative integrated reading and composition method (Ghasemi et al., 2018). These studies largely investigate team-based learning's impact on EFL language learning and acquisition as a whole. These studies do not indicate the ability of EFL students' oral presentation skills or performance. This research gap is the purpose of this study.

2. Problem Statement

In China, the majority of EFL students find it extremely challenging to grasp the English language oral skills, and they are still not proficient in oral English communication (Lin, 2022). Alrasheedi (2020) expressed that EFL students in China struggle significantly with oral presentation skills, citing challenges such as language anxiety, structural difficulties, and lack of motivation. Students' oral performance in EFL contexts, particularly in English, is significantly influenced by multiple interrelated factors. Suliman (2022) explained that the learning environment, emotional and psychological barriers, limited listening skills, and insufficient or ineffective feedback during speaking activities collectively hinder students from achieving proficiency in oral communication, leaving them ill-equipped to express themselves fluently and confidently.

Despite the growing use of team-based learning in EFL classrooms, there is limited research on EFL students' perceptions of the team-based learning approach's effectiveness on group oral presentations in higher education contexts. While team-based learning has proven effective across various disciplines and age groups (Carpenter et al., 2022), its impact on oral presentation skills in tertiary EFL classrooms remains underexplored. Specifically, little is known about how teambased learning influences student presentations or how EFL students perceive its usefulness. This research gap underscores the need for further investigation into the EFL students' perceptions of the team-based learning method's effectiveness on their oral presentation skills in higher education EFL settings.

To fully harness the potential of team-based learning in addressing speaking challenges, it is crucial to explore how group interactions facilitate learning in EFL oral presentation contexts. The following research question was formulated for the present study:

Research question: How do EFL students perceive the impact of the team-based learning approach used in their oral presentations?

3. Methodology

This study adopted a quasi-experimental research design. The study employed simple random sampling and randomly chose two intact EFL classes from the Faculty of Culture and Arts in a Chinese public university. The study had a sample size of 80 students-40 from the experimental group and another 40 from the control group. Each group was a complete natural learning class. These two groups represented the same educational settings. The control group focused on the traditional lecturing method without any extra treatment or manipulation. The experimental group was actively using team-based learning methods with the CARS Model in the form of group oral presentations. This approach was used as the intervention strategy in this situation since it combined all the necessary components, including student involvement, personal responsibility, social skills, peer collaboration, and group processing.

The instruments included an oral presentation test, a questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview. The oral presentation test was compiled from the Spoken English Test Section in the College English Test Band 4, a national English test to determine EFL students' English language proficiency in China. In the oral presentation test, there was one topic: The most interesting place I have ever visited. Students were given five minutes to prepare and three minutes to present the oral presentation.

The questionnaire was an 8-item inventory with a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5 (1-strongly disagree, 2disagrec, 3-neutral, 4-agree, and 5-strongly agree). The higher the numbers, the higher the self-assessed usage of the teambased learning group work strategy. The questionnaire was adapted from Mcnncnga (2010) and was used to investigate students' self-assessment of the team-based learning group work strategy, highlighting engagement, accountability, and satisfaction.

The semi-structured interview questions were mostly adapted from Hu et. al. (2018), Mennenga (2010), and Peng (2009). The semi-structured interviews with the students were completed after they completed all the group oral presentation tasks. The interview protocols for this study were based on the Interview Protocols Refinement Framework using the procedure outlined by Castillo-Montoya (2016). This framework followed a four-phase process to develop an interview protocol systematically.

4. Results and Discussions

Table 1 shows the paired samples T-tcst results of how students perceive the team-based learning impacted their oral presentation competence in the pre-study and post-study. Table 1 shows a significant improvement in the experimental group's self-assessment of team-based learning. The total mean score increased from M=2.21, SD=.7O2 in the pre-study to M=4.56, SD=.O29 in the post-study with an increase of 2.35. It is obvious that, on average, each item's mean score in the post-study is above 4, which means between the 'Agree' and 'Strongly Agree' Likert scale, while in the pre-study it is between the 'Disagree' and 'Neutral' Likert scale.

An ANCO VA was conducted to check the effect of team-based learning on the experimental group students' oral presentation competence in the posttest. As shown in Table 2, the Sig is .000, which is less than 0.05, indicating that there is a significant difference between the experimental and control groups' oral presentation competence in the posttest [F(2,76)= 266.201, p=.000] with or without the treatment of the team-based learning. The partial Eta Squared value indicates the effect size (r|2) of the treatment of the team-based learning is .870, which is a large one. Thus, it can be reported that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the posttest for oral presentations, partially thanks to the treatment of the team-based learning.

This study was concerned with students' perceptions of the team-based learning approach, which was assessed based on students' engagement, accountability, and satisfaction (Mennenga, 2010). Therefore, they will be discussed one by one in the following section.

4.1 Engagement Subscale

Data collected from the first scale (i.e., engagement, Item 1, Item 2, and Item 3) of the questionnaire focused on students' engagement in the team-based learning and were summarized in Table 3. The descriptive data include the minimum and maximum scores students gave on each item, as well as the means (M) and standard deviations (SD) in the pre-study and post-study.

With a mean score above 4 indicating agreement, Table 3 shows that students of the experimental group agreed that their engagement in the team-based learning had improved after taking the team-based learning method in their oral presentation classes.

I can actively engage in group work (Item 1) was only M=2.75, SD=.439 in the pre-study, but in the post-study, the mean value increased to M=4.53, SD=.5O6, with a significant increase of 1.78.1 can actively discuss the rhetorical moves with my group members during group oral presentation preparation (Item 2), was only M=2.68, SD=.474 in the prestudy, but in the post-study, the mean value increased to M=4.30, SD=.464, with a significant increase of 1.62.1 can point out and correct my group members ' mistakes or problems during group oral presentation rehearsing (Item 3), was only M=2.83, SD=.446 in the pre-study, while the post-study showed a high mean value of M=4.75, SD=.439, with a significant increase of 1.92. Thus, we may claim that students were strongly in favor of engagement in peer assessment during the group work. These findings echo Manfrin et al. (2019), who found that students' engagement level in group work under team-based learning greatly improved in the post-study.

Among the three items on engagement, students score the highest on Item 3, with M=4.75, SD=.439. As for Item 1 and Item 2, the two items had similar means (Item 1, M=4.53; Item 2, M=4.30) and close standard deviations (Item 1, SD=.5O6; Item 2, SD=.464). This finding indicated that students perceived that the peer assessment had a greater impact on engagement than the group task and group discussion did. However, the minimum score on Item 15 was 3, indicating that at least one student demonstrated that he could not always point out and correct his group members' mistakes or problems during their group oral presentation rehearsal. It was possibly thanks to his lack of experience or because other group members had already done that. Students also mentioned their active engagement in the group task, group discussion, and peer assessment during the group work in the team-based learning classes when asked in the focus-group interviews.

Theme 1: Active Engagement in the Group Task

When student EGS16 (i.e., Experimental Group Student 16) was asked how she engaged in the group task, she shared:

"I had an active engagement in the group task. For example, there was a time when I was assigned to collect the ideas for the oral presentation topic, I immediately started to work. I collected every group member 's ideas about the topic and noted them one by one. After I finished, I shared the materials with my group members. " (Interview Excerpt 1, EGS16)

Student EGS23 also stressed her active engagement in doing her group task as well:

"I like the form of group work so I actively did my group task. Every group member was a crucial part of the group. The group task well proceeded based on every member 's active engagement in doing his or her part of the group task. So, I actively engaged in my shared group task. I did not want to lag in the group task. " (Interview Excerpt 2, EGS23)

Excerpts 1 and 2 from students EGS16 and EGS23 illustrate a common belief that active engagement in the group task played a critical role in their learning during the team-based learning group work. Student EGS16 emphasized her actively doing a specific group task, while student EGS23 underscored the importance of active engagement in doing the group task, as every member was a crucial part of the group. Together, these insights demonstrate that active engagement in the group task was crucial in team-based learning group work. As conveyed by Li et al. (2021), perceived self-growth and intrinsic motivation lead students to actively engage in group tasks. This finding reinforces the research of Nakhon et al. (2022), who found that students' active engagement in the group task helped improve the students' team-based learning in the EFL courses.

Theme 2: Active Engagement in the Group Communication

When student EGS7 was asked how she participated in the group communication with other group members, she shared:

"I actively communicated with my group members to discuss the rhetorical moves to prepare my oral presentation. I followed up the group 's workflow to prepare my oral presentation carefully. Thus, I was very clear about the stage at which my oral presentation preparation was. During the preparation, if I had any questions or problems, I discussed them with my group immediately, and every time the questions and problems were fixed right away. For example, once I forgot to make an introduction of myself during my rehearsing oral presentation, my group member signaled me to stop there and told me that I missed Move 1 Step IB to introduce myself to the audience. I recognized the error and accepted her suggestion to carry on by presenting 'Good morning, everyone. I'm Jack (pseudo-name) from group B. " (Interview Excerpt 3, EGS7)

Similarly, EGS 17 stated:

"The rhetorical moves were a little bit complicated for me to understand in such a short time. However, as I actively communicated with my group members, they helped me to understand the rhetorical moves that the instructor taught clearly. Active communications with my group members also helped me understand other classroom materials. " (Interview Excerpt 4, EGS17)

Excerpts 3 and 4 from students EGS7 and EGS 17 illustrate a common belief that active communication with the group members played a critical role in their classroom learning during the team-based learning group work. Student EGS7 emphasized active communication with the group members from her oral presentation preparation, while student EGS 17 highlighted the importance of active communication with the group members in understanding rhetorical moves. Together, these insights demonstrate that active group communication was crucial in enhancing students' engagement in team-based learning group work. This finding resonates with the research of Abate et al. (2023), who found that students' active engagement in group communication helped improve students' oral presentations in team-based learning classrooms.

Theme 3: Active Engagement in the Peer Assessment

When student EGS 17 was asked how she actively engaged in the peer assessment during group oral presentation rehearsals, she shared:

"When working in the group, I actively provided peer assessments of my group members' rhetorical strategies. For example, once my group member forgot to make an introduction of herself during her turn to rehearse the oral presentation, I signaled her to stop there and told her that she missed Move 1 Step IB to introduce herself to us. My group member stopped and added the Move 1 Step IB to introduce herself to us the right way. " (Interview Excerpt 5, EGS17)

Similarly, student EGS38 also emphasized her actively pointing out the group members' problems with their rhetorical moves:

"I think when I actively pointed outgroup members' problems with their rhetorical moves, they could correct them right away and possibly would not make the same mistakes again. My peer assessments helped improve their learning correctness in the classroom learning. For example, there was one time that my group member did not use the sequent makers to illustrate the topic content in Move 2 Content Orientation. I suggested she use sequential makers such as firstly, secondly, and lastly to illustrate the content. My group member immediately agreed to use these sequent makers to present her topic content and thanked me. " (Interview Excerpt 6, EGS38)

Excerpts 5 and 6 from students EGS17 and EGS38 illustrate a common belief that peer assessment played a critical role in their active engagement in team-based learning group work. Student EGS17 emphasized her active pointing out of group members' problems with rhetorical move 1 during the oral presentation rehearsals, while student EGS38 emphasized her active engagement in correcting the group members' problems with rhetorical move 2. Together, these insights demonstrate that students showed active engagement in the peer assessment to help the group members' rhetorical moves in classroom learning. This finding resonates with the research of Park et al. (2022), who found that students actively engaged in peer assessment to help the group members' classroom learning.

An ANCO VA was conducted to check the effect of engagement on the experimental group students' oral presentation competence in the posttest. As shown in Table 4, the Sig is .000, which is less than 0.05, indicating that there is a significant difference between the experimental and control groups' oral presentation competence in the posttest [F (2,76) = 266.200, p=.000] with or without the intervention of the engagement. The partial Eta Squared value indicates the effect size (q2) of the treatment of the engagement is .875, which is a large one. Thus, it can be reported that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the posttest for oral presentations, partially thanks to the intervention of the engagement.

4.2 Accountability Subscale

Student accountability is one of the guiding principles of team-based learning group work and plays a central role (Michaelsen et al., 2008a). Data collected from the second scale (i.e., accountability, Item 4, Item 5, and Item 6) of the questionnaire focused on students' accountability in group work and were summarized in Table 5.

With a mean score above 4 indicating agreement, Table 5 shows that students of the experimental group agreed that their accountability in the group work had improved after taking the team-based learning method in their oral presentation classes.

I can be accountable for my classroom learning (Item 4) was only M=2.75, SD=.588 in the pre-study, but in the poststudy, the mean value increased to M=4.65, SD=.483, with a significant increase of 1.90.1 can actively help my group members with their group oral presentation preparation (Item 5), was only M=2.63, SD=.49O in the pre-study, but in the post-study, the mean value increased to M=4.60, SD=.496, with a significant increase of 1.97. lean accomplish my group work in time (Item 6) was only M=2.73, SD=.554 in the pre-study, while the post-study showed a high mean value of M=4.75, SD=.443, with a significant increase of 2.02. Thus, we may claim that students' accountability is greatly enhanced after team-based learning group work. These findings echo Foo et al. (2022), who found that students' accountability was strengthened in the post-study in comparison to the pre-study.

Among the three items on accountability (Items 4 to 6), students score the highest on Item 6, with M=4.75, and SD=.443. As for Item 4 and Item 5, the two items had similar means (Item 4, M=4.65; Item 5, M=4.60) and close standard deviations (Item 4, SD=.483; Item 5, SD=.496). This finding indicated that students perceived that group accountability had a greater impact on team-based learning's group work than individual accountability did. However, the minimum score on Item 5 was 3, indicating that at least one student implied that he could not always actively help his group members with their group oral presentation preparation. His low capability with rhetorical moves may be the possible reason that he could not help his group members even if he wanted to. However, he still showed strong accountability for his group. Students also mentioned their strong individual accountability and group accountability in the team-based learning group work when asked in the focus-group interviews.

Theme 1: Strong Individual Accountability

When student EGS2 was asked how she prepared for the team-based learning classes for her accountability, she reported:

"I have a strong individual accountability for my classroom learning because I usually spend much time preparing for the class to do well. For example, I normally took 30 minutes to read the text first to find out new words and phrases and find their correct translations from the internet. Then, I found other resources for the oral presentation topic that would be used in the class. I would roughly write down three moves of my oral presentations. " (Interview Excerpt 7, EGS2)

Student EGS16 also shared:

"Before the class, I usually spent much time preparing the words and expressions that would be used in my oral presentation in the class. I thought vocabulary was the most important part of the oral presentation so I would like to spend much more time on it. For example, I usually read the vocabulary list for ten minutes, wrote the vocabulary for another ten minutes, and then memorized the vocabulary for twenty minutes. Thus, I had a strong mastery of the vocabulary and would have almost no problem with using the vocabulary in the class. Thus, I can remain a strong individual accountability for my learning in the class. " (Interview Excerpt 8, EGS16)

Excerpts 7 and 8 from students EGS2 and EGS16 illustrate a shared belief that much time spent preparing the class was critical in ensuring their strong individual accountability for their classroom learning. Student EGS2 emphasized that much time should be spent on preparing for the class to ensure her strong individual accountability for a good oral presentation in the class, while student EGS 16 highlighted the significance of good pre-class preparation by searching for good vocabulary for the oral presentation to have strong individual accountability for her classroom learning. Together, these insights demonstrate that strong individual accountability is crucial for having good classroom learning. As conveyed by Burgess et al. (2020a), students' individual accountability within the group is achieved by pre-class preparations. This finding resonates with Hu et al. (2018), who found that students had strong individual accountability to keep themselves remain good course learning in the class.

Theme 2: High Group Accountability

When student EGS30 was asked how she actively completed her group assignments timely manner to maintain good group accountability in the classroom, she shared:

"As a member of my group, I hold high group accountability for the group learning. I always completed my group assignments in class timely to ensure that I learned what the instructor taught me in the class and made contributions to my group classroom learning. For example, there was a time when the instructor required our group to turn in the rhetorical moves in ten minutes. Iwas assigned to complete rhetorical move 1.1 immediately started working on my assignment and handed it in within ten minutes. The team-based learning's group work taught me to take high responsibility for my group in the classroom and I did so. " (Interview Excerpt 9, EGS30)

Similarly, EGS34 reported:

"I never submitted my after-class assignments late because I knew after-class assignments could check what I had learned in class. Doing assignments helped me to go over the important things I had learned in the class. For example, there was one after-class assignment that needed to provide twenty topic-relevant expressions for the next class. I was told by my group to provide five topic-relevant expressions for group discussion. I immediately found them and gave them to the group leader within twenty minutes to ensure an early group discussion on them. Therefore, the team-based learning group work made me have high group accountability to go over what I had learned after the class to have a good contribution to my group in the next class. " (Interview Excerpt 10, EGS34)

Excerpts 9 and 10 from students EGS30 and EGS34 illustrate a shared belief that the timely completion of the group assignments played a critical role in maintaining high group accountability during team-based learning group work. Student EGS30 emphasized the significance of timely completion of the group assignments in the class to hold high group accountability for the group's classroom learning, while student EGS34 highlighted the importance of timely completion of the assignments after the class to have good group learning in the next class. Comments like "I handed it in within ten minutes. " (EGS30) and "I immediately gave them to the group leader within twenty minutes. " (EGS34) demonstrated the completion of assignments on time to ensure a good group activity. Together, these insights demonstrate that the timely completion of assignments was critical in maintaining high group accountability for students' classroom learning during the team-based learning process. This finding resonates with the research of Singh et al. (2019), who found that timely accomplishment the group assignments helped the students keep high group accountability for their group's classroom learning.

An ANCO VA was conducted to check the effect of accountability on the experimental group students' oral presentation competence in the posttest. As shown in Table 6, the Sig is .000, which is less than 0.05, indicating that there is a icant between the experimental and control groups' oral presentation competence in the posttest [F (2,76) = 269.546, p=.000] with or without the treatment of the accountability. The partial Eta Squared value indicates the effect size (q2) of the treatment of accountability is .876, which is a large one. Thus, it can be reported that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the posttest for oral presentations, partially thanks to the treatment of accountability.

4.3 Satisfaction Subscale

The team-based learning group work concerns students' satisfaction with the method. Data collected from the third scale (i.c., satisfaction, Item 7 and Item 8) of the questionnaire focused on students' satisfaction with the team-based learning group work and were summarized in Table 7.

With a mean score above 4 indicating agreement, Table 7 shows that students of the experimental group agreed that their satisfaction with the group work had improved after taking the team-based learning method in their oral presentation classes.

The group work enhances my classroom efficiency (Item 7) was only M=2.63, SD=.49O in the pre-study, but in the post-study, the mean value increased to M=4.55, SD=.5O4, with a significant increase of 1.92. I like the group work because it reduces my learning burden in the class (Item 8), which was only M=2.70, SD=.464 in the pre-study, but in the post-study, the mean value increased to M=4.50, SD=.5O6, with a significant increase of 1.80. Thus, we may claim that students' satisfaction with team-based learning group work is greatly enhanced in the post-study. These findings echo Rajeswarie et al. (2022), who found that students' satisfaction with team-based learning's group work improved in the post-study in comparison to the pre-study.

Among the two items on satisfaction (Item 7 and Item 8), students scored higher on Item 7, with M=4.55, SD=.5O4, while Item 8 was M=4.50, SD=.5O6. This finding indicated that students were more satisfied with group work's high classroom efficiency than sharing their classroom learning burden. However, the minimum score on Item 8 was 3, indicating that at least one student believed that he liked group work, not because it reduced his learning burden in class. The reason could be that some more capable students did not need to share their learning burden with group members, as they learned fast by themselves. Students also mentioned their satisfaction with high classroom learning efficiency and good learning outcomes in the team-based learning group work when asked in the focus-group interviews.

Theme 1: Satisfied with High Classroom Learning Efficiency

When student EGS17 was asked how she was satisfied with the team-based learning group work, she stated:

"Group work saved a lot of my classroom learning time and I learned a lot from my group members after I engaged in the team-based learning group work. I was quite satisfied with its high classroom learning efficiency. For example, in one class when I was preparing the vocabulary of the oral presentation topic of energy saving with two of my group members. We discussed and collected fifty words and phrases within ten minutes, which I possibly spent thirty minutes preparing by myself. Group work had a high classroom learning efficiency. Everything was just planned for me. I just accomplished the assignment the group assigned to me. When I encountered difficulties, I discussed them with my group members, who gave me solutions immediately. My challenges were overcome right away. " (Interview Excerpt 11, EGS 17) 17)

Student EGS30 also stated:

"I was satisfied with the team-based learning group members ' help. My group helped me a lot during my group oral presentation preparations. For example, when I could not find a suitable expression to describe the oral presentation topic, my group members helped me and suggested good expressions. And when I forgot some rhetorical moves or steps during my group oral presentation rehearsals, my group members reminded me. I did not need to have extra time to fix these things by myself. Therefore, Iwas quite satisfied with its high classroom learning efficiency. " (Interview Excerpt 12, EGS30)

Excerpts 11 and 12 from students EGS17 and EGS30 illustrate a common satisfaction with the group work's high classroom learning efficiency. Student EGS17 emphasized her satisfaction with the team-based learning's group work because it enhanced her classroom learning efficiency through doing things together with group members, while student EGS30 highlighted her satisfaction with the team-based learning's group work because it enhanced her classroom efficiency through time-saving and solving the learning difficulties by the group members. Together, these insights demonstrate that students were satisfied with the group work's high classroom learning efficiency. This finding reinforces the research of Hu et al. (2018), who found that students were quite satisfied with the group work's high classroom learning efficiency in team-based learning.

Theme 2: Satisfied with Good Learning Outcomes

When student EGS20 was asked how she was satisfied with the group work's learning outcomes in the team-based learning, she reported:

"I was satisfied with the good learning outcomes in the group work in the team-based learning because it improved my oral presentation skills. It was evident that my oral presentation was better than what I did before after participating in the group work in the team-based learning. I thought it was because I could learn a lot from my group members ' oral presentations to improve my oral presentation skills. For example, during the group rehearsals, I found some group members' presentation rhythms were very good. I immediately learned from them and presented with that rhythm rightly to have betterfluency and punctuality than before. " (Interview Excerpt 13, EGS20)

Similarly, student EGS16 stated:

"I was satisfied with the good learning outcomes in the group work in the team-based learning because it gave me more chances to practice my oral presentations in my group. When I rehearsed my oral presentation, my group was the audience and it made me nervous but pushed me to do better than before day by day. For example, the first group oral presentation in the first class made me very nervous and I did not do well. After many practices and rehearsals in the following two classes, I did not feel nervous during my oral presentation in front of the group in the fourth class. Later on, Iwas bold enough to present my oral presentation slowly and clearly. Therefore, the pressure from the group helped me to improve my oral presentation skills. Now, Iwas quite good at presenting my oral presentations in front of a crowd. " (Interview Excerpt 14, EGS16)

Excerpts 13 and 14 from students EGS20 and EGS16 illustrate a common satisfaction with the group work's good learning outcomes, as it improves students' oral presentation skills. Student EGS20 emphasized her satisfaction with the group work's good learning outcomes because it improved her oral presentation skills through learning from the group members, while student EGS16 highlighted her satisfaction with the group work's good learning outcomes because the practices in front of the group helped her to do better than before. Together, these insights demonstrate that students were satisfied with the group work's good learning outcomes, as it helped improve students' oral presentation skills in the end. This finding reinforces the research of Singh et al. (2019), who found that students were satisfied with the group work's good learning outcomes, as it greatly improved students' oral presentation skills.

Therefore, the experimental group students' satisfaction with the group work in the team-based learning reported a high level, which contributed a lot to students' oral presentation skills in this study. Students' satisfaction with group work greatly focuses on its high classroom efficiency and good learning outcomes (Michaelson, 2008).

5. Conclusion

The findings of this study revealed that the EEL students demonstrated positive perceptions of the effectiveness of the team-based learning approach used in their oral presentations. Students expressed high levels of engagement, accountability, and satisfaction with team-based learning group work. Students actively participated in group discussions, preparations, and rehearsals, which they described as essential to their learning process. Both individual and group accountability were significantly enhanced, fostering a sense of responsibility and contribution to the collective task. The experimental group reported greater satisfaction with the efficiency and outcomes of team-based learning, as reflected in their high self-assessment scores. In conclusion, the team-based learning approach can significantly improve EFL students' oral presentation performance in a higher education setting.

Sidebar

How to cite this paper: Jianjun Yu, Nalini Arumugam, Yan Cui, Shuyi Teng, Shuang Hao. (2025). A Quasi-experimental Study of EFL Students' Perceptions of the Teambased Learning Approach Used in Oral Presentation Classes. The Educational Review, USA, 9(3), 384-395. DOI: 10.26855/er.2025.03.016

Received: February 23, 2025

Accepted: March 20, 2025

Published: April 18, 2025

Corresponding author: Jianjun Yu, School of Culture & Arts, Zhejiang Technical Institute of Economics, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang, China; Faculty of Education, Languages, Psychology and Music, SEGi University, Petaling Jaya 47810, Malaysia.

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