Enhancing Pakistani Undergraduate ESL University Students' Reading Comprehension Through the Use of Cooperative Learning Techniques

Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 106 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 106 Enhancing Pakistani Undergraduate ESL University Students' Reading Comprehension Through the Use of Cooperative Learning Techniques Amjad Nawaz*1, Muhammad Younus2, Muhammad Zaman3 1Lecturer, Dawood University of Engineering & Technology Karachi 2Assistant Professor, Department of English, Iqra University, Karachi 3Department of English, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Technology, Karachi . [email protected],2y[email protected],[email protected] DOI: https://doi.org/ Keywords: ESL Students, Reading Comprehension, Cooperative Learning Techniques Abstract The present study investigates the effect of cooperative learning techniques on Pakistani undergraduate ESL (BS) 1st semester university students at a public sector university Karachi. The Qusaiexperimental design was used with two groups (experimental and control group) of 40 participants each to investigate the impact of cooperative learning techniques on students' reading comprehension skills. The experimental group was taught through cooperative learning techniques whereas the control group was taught through traditional teaching technique. Moreover, this treatment lasted for 14 weeks. The result shows that the students of the experimental group scored higher in reading comprehension skills in their post-test after the treatment of cooperative learning techniques. Thus, it is recommended that cooperative learning techniques should be adopted to the undergraduate students to improve their reading comprehension skills. Article History Received on 22 Oct 2025 Accepted on 20 Nov2025 Published on 02 Dec 2025 Copyright @Author Corresponding Author: * Amjad Nawaz Lecturer, Dawood University of Engineering & Technology Karachi. Email: [email protected] Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 107 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 107 INTRODUCTION The present study investigates the effect of the Cooperative learning techniques on Pakistani undergraduate ESL university students' reading comprehension in the Pakistani context. A quasi-experimental design has been used along with pretest and post-test to examine the effect of the Cooperative learning techniques on university undergraduate ESL students' reading comprehension in the Pakistani context. Background of the Study This section presents the background of the study and gives the context in which the study has been done. Importance of English Language Globally, English has achieved the most prominent and prestigious status which is formally spoken and taught in all the educational and official systems. The four English language abilities of writing, reading, speaking, and listening must all be mastered by learners. In addition, reading and listening are the raw materials of writing and speaking respectively. Therefore, writing and speaking are deemed to be the productive or proficiencies, while reading and listening are considered to be receptive or passive proficiencies (Namaziandost et al., 2020). So it simply means that the more one reads and listens the more one is able to communicate and write well. It goes without saying that learning a second or foreign language is necessary if you want to be able to communicate in that tongue. Therefore, learning English is necessary in order to communicate with people around the world (Homayouni et al., 2020). In order to achieve both academic and outcome success, students are required to get and increase their knowledge. However, to get the knowledge they are needed to be well versed in all the four abilities of English. In addition, all the four competencies of English language are interlinked to each other. Whether it is in a professional field or academic systems all the competencies such as writing, reading, speaking and listening are necessary to be acquired. In the USA, roundabout 9.4% of public school’s students are learning English language and most of these students are associated with different institutions in order to enhance their language proficiencies (McFarland et al., 2017). Since English language has spread across the world, it has become the lingua franca (ELF); bringing people near to each other belonging to different cultures and castes (Fan, 2017). English is not only used at international level but it is also used in multilingual societies as a language of interaction. Additionally, English now serves as a global lingua franca and is no longer the language of the inner circle of nations (McKay, 2002). As per many wellknown scholars, English is highly in demand among the people because it is the language of many professions such as entertainment, services, trade, media, and science (Crystal, 1997). English has become the language of inter and intracultural communications (Crystal, 2003). Status of English Language in Pakistan It is perceived that in Pakistan approximately 72 languages are spoken such as Urdu, English, Pashto, Sindhu, Balochi and Punjabi (Rehman, 1998). However, Urdu and English reserve the status of being national and official languages respectively (Rehman, 1998). In Pakistan English doesn't only preserve the status of being official language but also works as a medium of interaction among the government institutions (Hind et al., 2020). In Pakistan, English is the language of the upper class because they not only use it Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 108 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 108 for their communication purposes but also use it for official and unofficial matters (Zaman, Chandio, and Noor (2025). It has now become the most important part of Pakistani society and is liked by a vast amount of people. Pakistan having more than 200 million populations, is considered to be as much an English speaking country as Urdu speaking (Rehman, 1998). The variety of English, which is written and spoken in Pakistan is called Pakistani English (Baumgardner, 1987; Rahman et al., 1990). In accent and pronunciation, Pakistani English is unlike that of American and British English (Rahman, 1990English is a required subject in the Pakistani educational system beginning in either class 1 or class 6. (Rahman, 2010). Furthermore, English functions as a medium of interaction among the students in most of the Pakistani schools and not only this have had they also used it as a language of interaction at their homes (Rahman, 1998). In addition, English is the language of army, bureaucracy, judiciary and parliament. However, parliament also permits Urdu to be used for parliamentary purposes but the records are all written in English (Rahman, 2009). The reason that English preserves official status in Pakistan is because it is used in all higher and prestigious institutions of the country such as army, bureaucracy, judiciary and parliament. Though, English is the official language of Pakistan still it cannot be spoken by most of the people as a first language but it is learnt as a second language for so many other objectives such as education, business, and travelling abroad (Ahmed et al., 2013). Pakistani Students’ ESL Reading Skills Unfortunately, Pakistan has never done a significant work in the Pakistani educational institutions such as, the engineering students are not competent at reading comprehension because they are introduced to two different systems of education (public education system/ private education system) where in private education system the Syllabus is taught in English whereas in public educational system Syllabus is taught in Urdu which causes poor reading comprehension of the students (Nawab, 2012; Mahboob et al., 2017). Apart from this there are many other elements which are the cause of weak language skills of students’ especially reading comprehension (Kakepoto et al., 2012). In Pakistan many students are not capable of taking an active part in reading comprehension strategies because of lack of knowledge of such techniques, that's why they get flocked in getting maximum advantages from the activities which are done out in the classes and also to utilize them outside of the class setting (Haq, 2016). Despite using the latest reading strategies, teachers are stuck to the old traditional method of memorization in order to make ready students for the exams (Khan, 2007). Moreover, students in Pakistan cannot utilize their analytical and cognitive abilities in order to process the needed information from the lengthy text by themselves just because they are not prepared and trained. Therefore, this results in a weak execution process of reading English at a higher level (Mumtaz, 2006). Just because the students' core motive is to pass the examination therefore they don't show much interest in using reading techniques (Kasi, 2010). In addition, the main reading strategies which are used by Pakistani students are only reading for information, summarizing the text, reading aloud and answering the questions for comprehension (Gulzar & Qadir, 2010). Ahmad (1979) claims that in Pakistan, teachers are unable to execute the reading strategies at secondary level as per the requirement of the interest of students. Shahzada (2002) states that, Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 109 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 109 however, in Pakistan students employ various reading methodologies but still their overall reading skills are not up to the mark. Reading, however, is supposed to be the most challenging task as compared to the rest of the other three abilities that's why the matric students' low level academic achievement and failure in the exams are the mere consequences of their poor ability of reading comprehension (Mbocha, 2015). Both, reading fluency and comprehension are keys to learn. Therefore, students having troubles in reading comprehension usually have low motivation towards learning which consequently leave bad impact over their academic learning (Allington, 2013). In the USA, roundabout 9.4% of public schools students are learning English language and most of these students are associated with different institutions in order to enhance their reading proficiencies (McFarland et al., 2017). In spite of that much English language students, enrolled in secondary level, have hindrances in reading comprehension (National Centre for Education Statistics [NCES], 2016). EL (English learners) students, who are getting special training on reading comprehension, are performing badly as compared to the EL students who are not associated with any special institutions (NCES, 2016). Just because English is a doorway to all opportunities either at national level or international level, therefore, in Taiwan universities students are motivated to pass the English language assessment at graduation level. Students in Taiwan universities, however, encounter a lot of problems in reading comprehension (Yang, 2012). Collaborative Learning Activities for Teaching Reading In academic classes, the way other skills are taught through traditional approach rather than any other unusual way, the same way reading comprehension is also enhanced through traditional ways (Namaziandost, Hosseini et al., 2020). In traditional way of teaching, the reading teacher teaches the text to the students and in the end the teacher asks questions from the students in order to know whether students get the text or not. On the other hand, students try to compete with each other to respond correctly to the teacher's questions (Allington, 2013). However, students who cannot answer the questions correctly get disappointed, despite putting in a huge amount of time and energy, satisfactory results are not obtained (Allington, 2013). In this regard, new methods and strategies are needed to be introduced in the class and in this regard enhancing reading comprehension through Cooperative learning strategies has proven to be the most significant method (Yang, 2012). Moreover, Tyner (2014) suggests that by introducing latest technologies and strategies can help students to upgrade their reading comprehension more effectively rather than the old traditional ways. In EFL context, applying Cooperative learning strategies have a sole purpose to develop reading comprehension of the students (Richards & Schmidt 2010). No doubt, there are many well-known Cooperative learning techniques but Jigsaw technique is one of the most prominent techniques which is used in collaborative learning environments (Jaccob, 1998). Through Jigsaw technique students in the class are divided in the small groups, then these small groups are given the same topic and then that topic is divided into further subtopics and are assigned to each member of the groups (Jaccob, 1998). In jigsaw technique students learn by means of activities in which they collabotrate with each other to obtain their goals (Haryanto 2012). In the jigsaw classes, students were found more Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 110 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 110 regular, confident and liked the school environment when they were assessed objectively (Francis 2013). Having analyzed the collected data, it showed that jigsaw technique was more influential as compared to the traditional way of teaching (Sabah 2016). Statement of the Problem Globally, English has got the most prominent and prestigious status, therefore, it is formally spoken and taught in all the educational and official systems (McNamara & Magliano, 2009). Learners are required to be proficient in all the four skills of the English language, such as reading, writing, reading, speaking and listening (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014). In addition, reading and listening are the raw materials of writing and speaking respectively (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014). Therefore, writing and speaking are deemed to be the productive or active proficiencies, while reading and listening are considered to be passive or receptive proficiencies (Croxley et al., 2010). Reading is a highly complicated phenomenon in which linguistics and optical systems interact with each other (Liversedge et al., 2011). According to Perfetti & Adlof (2012) reading is a complex process of creating meaning from the written symbols with the help of various interrelated information. (McMaster, & Christ, 2016) explained reading as "the meaning of constructing and extraction phenomena via the involvement and interaction with written signs. Reading comprehension means to construct and develop correct meaning of the reading materials with the help of the text and readers' prior knowledge (Gani, Yusuf, Susiani, Gani, and Yusuf, 2016). Reading comprehension, however, is perceived to be the most challenging task as compared to the rest of the other language abilities (Berardo, 2006). Therefore, students having troubles in reading comprehension usually have low motivation towards learning which consequently leaves a bad impact on their academic learning (Allington, 2013). Having not enough knowledge of the cooperative learning techniques, Pakistani students cannot take part in an active manner in reading techniques. Therefore, they are unable to get maximum advantages of reading related activities taking place in the classroom and to implement them in the productively outside of classroom (Haq, 2016). Instead of using latest teaching related strategies, teachers are bent to utilize the old techniques of memorizations in order to prepare students for examinations (Khan, 2007). Have not been prepared and trained, Pakistani students are not able to utilize analytical and cognitive capabilities to process the required needed information from longer text passages. Hence, it causes poor English reading performance at the level of university (Mumtaz, 2006). Moreover, Tyner (2014) suggests that introducing the latest techniques and strategies, can help students to upgrade their reading comprehension more effectively rather than the old traditional ways. Many researchers have indicated that cooperative learning strategies obtain more achievement, self-esteem and interpersonal relationships rather than the old traditional procedure (Hosseini et al., 2020). It has proven that when students learn reading comprehension through Cooperative learning technique, enormous amounts of positive results are obtained which consequently lead the students to understand the text well (Shatalebi et al., 2019). Adams (2013) emphasizes the similar idea that it is necessary to bring new teaching methodologies in classroom environments to derail the students from the old fashion of memorization of the text. Therefore, the researcher wants to conduct a study to explore the outcome of the Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 111 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 111 Collaborative learning techniques on Pakistani undergraduate ESL university students' reading comprehension in the Pakistani context. Research Objectives The research has the following research objective: To find out the effect of cooperative learning techniques on Pakistani undergraduate ESL university students' reading comprehension skills Research Question The following are research questions; What is the effect of cooperative learning techniques on Pakistani ESL undergraduate university students' reading comprehension skills? Scope of the Study This study explored the effect of only two Cooperative learning techniques on Pakistani ESL undergraduate university students' reading comprehension skills. For this study, the data were collected from one Pakistani public sector university only. For the present study, the data were collected through reading test only. The data for this study were collected during the months of December 2021 to February 2022 only Significance of the Study This study is significant because it tries to fill the gap in the literature by exploring the effect of the Cooperative learning techniques on reading comprehension of Pakistani undergraduate ESL university students in the Pakistani setting. The outcomes of the present study be able to be helpful for the Pakistani ESL teachers as they will be able to improve the followings: First of all, it will be beneficial for ESL students in enhancing their reading comprehension. Moreover, it will help English language teachers to guide their students to enhance their reading competency through the utilization of Cooperative learning techniques such as, Jigsaw technique and Think-pair-share technique. Lastly, it will produce good readers in the society who can apply their knowledge for the betterment and progress of the society. This study may prove to be the catalyst for further research in the Pakistani context on this topic. Review of the Related Literature Reading: Looking at a series of written symbols in order to get the meaning is called reading (Hempenstal, 2013). For reading we utilize our eyes to understand the written symbols and then we utilize our brain in order to convert that symbols into words that convey something to us (Shaywitz, 2005). Reading is a highly complicated phenomenon in which linguistics and optical systems interact with each other (Liversedge, Gilchrist, & Everling, 2011). According to (BNR, 1985) a complex process of creating meaning from the written symbols with the help of various interrelated information (Rand, 2002) explained reading as "the meaning constructing and extraction phenomena via the involvement and interaction with written signs. (Purcell-Gates, Duke & Stouffer, 2016) defined as "reading is a process that happens in the context of literacy practices which are constructed sociocultural. Reading is a process which occurs in the specially practiced context that is the amalgamation of listening, writing, speaking along with reading itself (Street, 2005). Moreover, reading fluency is the comprehension of the written material as well as the correct identification of the written symbols (Pikulski & Chard, 2005). Further, Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 112 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 112 (Rasinski et al., 2015) stated that the identification of words depends on reading the words with speed and accuracy while comprehension depends on the prosody of the words. Definition Reading is a kind of process in which symbols are decoded cognitively in order to get its meaning (Asprani, 2019). Reading is a kind of process in which the meanings of words are constructed (Jalal, 2020). From a reader, context, and text perspective, reading comprehension is one of the most difficult abilities to master (Sanora, 2022). Process of Reading: Reading is a type of cognitive function that involves word recognition and is essential for text comprehension (Sumiati et al., 2019). According to studies, reading is a phenomenon where the reader and the text's meaning interact, and this process entails three steps (Hafsha, 2020). The very first step is pre-reading which is supposed to activate the prior knowledge of the reader regarding the text and therefore it helps the reader to build up the purpose of reading (Han, 2018). The reader must amass all background information pertaining to the essential terms in the text's title in order to effectively complete this step (Miyane, 2020). Purpose of Reading: The core purpose of reading is to connect your prior knowledge about a particular topic to the written symbols on the topic, However, if you are still trying to pour the text into your brain while being unable to connect it to your prior understanding of the subject, it will be like someone pouring water into their hands and being unable to retain anything (Shih, 1992). If you like cricket then the process of reading about cricket is more easy and entertaining (Casanave, 1988). The reader has a framework in his mind for reading which is understanding the text and storing the necessary information that's why it improves a reader's reading comprehension (Li, 2018). With respect to this, reading comprehension involves good study strategies, cognitive frameworks for retaining ideas, motivation and concentration (Miller & Perkins, 1990) Significance of Reading: Since reading is the most important process for enhancing one's knowledge therefore it can be useful while getting prepared for examinations (Bijani & Hashempour, 2021). However, being an incumbent part of our education organization, some integral skills are built up with the help of extensive reading which is deemed to be beneficial for the preparation of competitive examinations in the future (Choe, 2017). Moreover, there are some advantages which can be acquired by reading such as, enhancing vocabulary, getting meaning of the written text, containing stories and information, learning new words, coming across the new civilization and cultures of various regions in the world by the help of literature (Mansur, 2019). Reading Comprehension By using the text and the readers' prior knowledge to construct and develop the proper meaning of the reading materials (Namaziandost et al., 2020). Reading comprehension, however, is perceived to be the most challenging task as compared to the rest of the other language abilities (Namaziandost et al., 2020). The matric students' low level academic achievement and failure in the exams are the mere consequences of their poor ability of reading comprehension (Mbocha 2015). Both, reading fluency and comprehension are keys to learn. Therefore, students having troubles in reading Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 113 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 113 comprehension usually have low motivation towards learning which consequently leave bad impact on their academic learning (Allington, 2013). Types of Reading Reading is as important to the mind as exercise is important to the body, therefore, no other comparison can be found because the way you are required to do physical exercise to strengthen your body the same way the mind also needs some exercise and that is reading (Almutairi 2018). Reading is intended for a variety of purposes, including enjoyment, finding the answers to questions, and cleansing the mind. May you read for any purpose but it helps a lot in activating the mind and enhancing speaking skills as well, which is beneficial for doing well in a professional field (Nikmah, 2020). Just as in all the different fields in the world having various simple and specialized equipment the same way reading also has various types of reading methodologies (Dwigustini & Widiya, 2020). It is indispensable to know the different types of readings before you start reading in order to get yourself benefited maximally (Sumekto, 2018). Reading can be for any reason such as for pleasure, for passing time, for academic purpose or any other purpose but you have to be familiar with all the types of readings (Agussatriana, 2020). Academic Reading Reading specifically for educational or academic purposes is called academic reading (Maulidiyah & Wahyuningsih, 2019). Academic reading is meant to read materials including, encyclopedias, traditional books, journals articles, dictionaries and a huge amount of material which is available on the internet (Vidya & Nuraini, 2019). This type of reading is solely for the academic purpose in which it deals with the reflection of the relationship between different parts of reading material, connecting the text you are reading now to the other related text, interpreting the text and making clear your topic and the purpose of reading (Vidya & Nuraini, 2019). Therefore, reading for academic purposes requires more probing, active and recursive methods as compared to that of reading for recreation (Mu’in et al., 2020). Extensive Reading Extensive reading is meant to be done for pleasure, entertainment or time pass (Mihara, 2011). When a reader wants to savor the reading experience, they should use extensive reading (Suardi et al., 2020). It is a kind of reading method which puts no pressure or burden on the reader because the reader has no other compulsion except doing it for pleasure (Suardi et al., 2020). This type of reading happens naturally just like a child reads who has no burden as reader at that point of moment (Miyane, 2020). Extensive reading is supposed to be performed casually which is to either get general understanding or pleasure may it be of any kind of reading material such as a book, newspaper and magazine (Mihara, 2011). Intensive Reading Out of all the various reading types intensive reading is employed when the objective of reading is to understand the text fully word by word (Van Rhyn & Van Staden, 2018). Prior to exams students use extensive reading to decipher every unfamiliar word or any expression (Paribakht & Wesche, 1993). Intensive reading makes the students retain the specific information for a long period of time (Li, 2018). Intensive reading is considered to be a type of reading in which the reader reads any particular text very deeply and closely with the purpose of Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 114 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 114 achieving its linguistic and literary meaning (Miller & Perkins, 1990). The readers are required to read the text very intimately, with due care and intensively as it has some learning tasks and objectives (Sakaeva & Ismagilova, 2017). Reading for Scanning Scanning reading is one of the various types of reading in which the reader's aim is to look for a particular information and in this regard the reader skim over the text unless he finds the particular information (Perkins, 1988). Scanning is just like when you visit a museum and your purpose is to see the painting of Mona Lisa and then quickly go through all the rooms and the corridor of the museum until you find the painting of Mona Lisa, therefore scanning is exactly like searching Mona Lisa in the museum (Chandran & Shah, 2019). This type of reading is employed when one is not required to read the text in depth but just has to find out the particular information which he has to answer to any question (Sabbah, 2016). Reading for Skimming Reading for skimming is a reading technique where the reader must quickly comprehend the entirety of the material, which requires the reader to quickly scan the text (Bijani & Hashempour, 2021). Skimming is a very useful way to understand the themes and motives of any text in a general way and also this way is used to confirm whether the information is beneficial or not (Huda, 2019). Magazine is the best example of skimming in which the reader flips through it in order to get the broad concept of what has been written in that (Huda, 2019). Models of Reading Researchers have been looking for a connection between teaching methods and the reading process for the past 40 years. They have created a reading model that reflects how they perceive and understand the reading process. As per Singer and Ruddell (1985) point of view, a reading model is a sort of graphical activity "to show how a reader comprehends a clause, a word and perceives the written text. However, there are various reading models but only three of them are very popular among the readers and researchers such as "Top-down, Bottom-up, and Interactive". Top-down Reading Model Top-down reading model is considered to be a reading model which insists on theory that readers don't take meaning from the text but they themselves bring meanings to the text. Dechant (1991) claims that, from the perspective of a top-down reading model, Readers must simply recognize the words and letters in the text in order to confirm their assumptions about its meaning. Reading is a process where the readers must infuse meaning into the text rather than deriving it from the print (McCormick, T. 1988). Reading is not about to decode the written text to spoken language (Frank Smith, 1989). Top-down reading model utilizes the text as input and the meaning which is extracted from the text as output (Goodman, K. 1981). Bottom-up Reading Model The second reading model is bottom-up reading model which focuses on extraction of meaning from the text where readers draw out meaning from the text. Bottom-up reading model doesn't give focus on the reader's contextual information, world knowledge and other strategies (Dechant 1991). Readers are required to know how to convey the signals of auditory language to that of language of viaula signs (Fries 1962). The goal of learning to read is to acquire a sufficient number of Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 121 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 121 of 1 hour 30 minutes. However, for posttests too, an IELTS academic test was employed; each test consisted of 40 IELTS Mcqs. In this regard, the two intact groups, each having 40 students, were taught by employing an experimental and traditional way of teaching method. Traditional Method of Teaching Reading Traditional or conventional way of teaching is a technique or method of teaching in which the teacher plays an active role. On the contrary, students remain passive, which is also known as a conventional way of teaching. This type of teaching is still widely in use across the world. Moreover, the traditional way of teaching is a kind of teaching method in which students have to read and memorize the entire lesson one by one. Therefore, there is no cooperative activity taking place among the students because it is done individually. Data Analysis Techniques The research has used SPSS (V25) in order to analyze the collected data through independent and dependent sample t-tests. Data Analysis Standard statistical tools and procedures were used to conduct the statistical analysis for the current study. Subsequently completing the collection of data, collected data was processed and entered into a computer software for the persistence of analysis. A computer package for statistical data analysis (SPSS v.25) was utilized for the purpose of analysis of data. The foremost purpose of data analysis was to find out the answer of the research question. The findings of the pre-test scores and post-test scores for experimental and control groups were compared using descriptive and inferential statistics techniques. Among the tools of descriptive statistics, mean and standard deviation were used to find out the pattern of the data. Hypothesis testing procedures such as the independent sample t-test and the paired sample t-test were used to test the data in order to determine the answer to the research question. Independent sample t-test was used to found out the significant difference between pre-test scores of control and experimental group and post-test scores of control and experimental group. In addition, paired sample t-test was used to find out the significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores of control group and pre-test and post-test scores of experimental group. ―If the Sig. value of the Shapiro-Wilk test is greater than 0.05, the data is normal. If it is below 0.05, the data significantly deviate from a normal distribution‖ (GonzálezEstrada & Cosmes, 2019). Table 4.1 Tests of Normality KolmogorovSmirnova Shapiro-Wilk Statis tic d f Sig . Statis tic d f Sig . Experim ental Group Pre-Test 0.108 4 0 .20 0* 0.975 4 0 0.4 98 Experim ental Group Post-Test 0.144 4 0 0.0 36 0.967 4 0 0.2 93 Control Group Pre-Test 0.115 4 0 0.1 98 0.952 4 0 0.0 85 Control Group Post-Test 0.132 4 0 0.0 75 0.967 4 0 0.2 86 Findings of Research Question The study posed the following research question 1: Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 122 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 122 RQ: What is the effect of cooperative learning techniques on ESL undergraduate university students' reading comprehension skills? Comparison of control and experimental group pre-test scores To compare the pre-test scores of control and experimental group researcher used independent sample t-test. A statistical method called the independent sample t-test that was used to compare the means of two independent groups. When using the independent samples t-test, the means of two samples taken from the same population could be identical. Independence of observations and the normality were the two main assumptions for independent sample t-test. Table 4.2 Comparison for pre-test reading scores of control and experimental groups Group Statistics Group N Mea n Std. Deviati on tvalu e Sig. (2taile d) Experime ntal Group 4 0 24.4 5 2.075 0.38 4 0.70 2 Control Group 4 0 24.2 5 2.56 Table 4.2 presented the descriptive statistics for the pre-test reading scores of the experimental and control group. The mean (average) pre-test reading score for experimental group was 24.45 with standard deviation of 2.075, whereas the control group's mean pre-test reading score was 24.25 with standard deviation of 2.560. Furthermore, it contained the findings of the independent sample t-test. The p-value for the test statistic (t = 0.384 with p-value = 0.702) was listed in this table. Because the p-value was higher than the 0.05 significance standard, it was not considered significant. As a consequence of this evidence, the researcher concluded that the experimental and control groups' pre-test reading scores were not statistically significantly dissimilar. Ere not statistically significantly dissimilar. Comparison of pre-test and post-test scores of control group To compare the pre-test and post-test scores of control group researcher used paired sample t-test. When each observation in one sample can be paired with an observation in the other sample, a paired samples t-test was used to compare the means of the two samples. When researcher was interested in the difference between two variables for the same subject, a paired t-test was used. These two variables were frequently separated in time. Statistics for pre-test and post-test reading scores of control group Table 4.3 Comparison of pre-test and post-test scores of control group Paired Samples Statistics Mea n N Std. Deviatio n tvalu e Sig. (2tailed ) Contro l Group PreTest 24.2 5 4 0 2.56 - 4.08 4 0.000 Contro l Group PostTest 25.2 4 0 2.937 The descriptive statistics of the control groups' pre-test and post-test reading scores Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 123 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 123 was seen in Table 4.3. The mean pre-test reading score for the control group was 24.25 with standard deviation of 2.560, while the control group's mean post-test reading score was 25.20 with standard deviation of 2.937. Furthermore, the findings of the paired sample t-test for pre-test and post-test scores of control group were also listed in this Table. The test statistic value (t = -4.048 with pvalue = 0.000). As the p-value for the control group's pre-test and post-test reading scores (p-value = 0.000) was not higher than the standard significance level of 0.05, it was considered significant. As a result of this revelation, the researcher concluded that the control group's pre-test and post-test reading scores were statistically significantly different. Comparison of pre-test and post-test scores of experimental groups To compare the pre-test and post-test scores of experimental group researcher used paired sample t-test. When each observation in one sample can be paired with an observation in the other sample, a paired samples t-test was used to compare the means of the two samples. When researcher was interested in the difference between two variables for the same subject, a paired t-test was used. These two variables were frequently separated in time. Table 4.4 Comparison for pre-test and posttest reading scores of experimental group Paired Samples Statistics Mea n N Std. Deviati on tvalu e Sig. (2taile d) Experime ntal Group Pre-Test 24.4 5 4 0 2.075 - 13.4 6 0.00 0 Experime ntal Group Post-Test 26.8 5 4 0 1.942 The descriptive statistics for pre-test and posttest reading scores of control group were presented in table 4.4. The mean pre-test reading score for the experimental group was 24.45 with standard deviation of 2.075, while the experimental group's mean post-test reading score was 26.85 with standard deviation of 1.94. Furthermore, the findings of the paired sample t-test for pre-test and post-test reading scores of experimental group were also listed in this Table. The test statistic value (t = -13.46 with p-value = 0.000). The As the p-value for the experimental group's pre-test and post-test reading scores (p-value = 0.000) was less than the standard significance level of 0.05, it was considered significant. As a result of this revelation, the researcher concluded that the experimental group's pre-test and post-test reading scores were statistically significantly different. However, descriptive statistics in table 4.4 provided the evidence that post-test reading scores of experimental group were higher than the pre-test reading scores of experimental group. Comparison of control and experimental group post-test scores To compare the pre-test scores of control and experimental group researcher used independent sample t-test. A statistical method called the independent sample t-test that was used to compare the means of two independent groups. When using the independent samples t-test, the means of two samples taken from the same population could be identical. Independence of observations and the normality were the two main assumptions for independent sample t-test. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 124 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 124 Table 4.5 Comparison for post-test reading scores of control and experimental groups Group Statistics Group N Mea n Std. Deviati on tvalu e Sig. (2taile d) Experime ntal Group 4 0 26.8 5 1.942 2.96 4 0.00 4 Control Group 4 0 25.2 2.937 Table 4.5 illustrated descriptive statistics of experimental and control groups' reading scores in post-test. The mean post-test reading score of experimental group's was 26.85 with standard deviation of 1.942, while the control group's mean post-test reading score was 25.20 with standard deviation of 2.937. Furthermore, it contained the findings of the independent sample t-test. The p-value for the test statistic (t = 2.964 with p-value = 0.004) was listed in this table. Because the p-value was higher than the 0.05 significance standard, it was not considered significant. As a result of this finding, the researcher determined that the post-test reading scores of the control and experimental groups were statistically significantly dissimilar. However, descriptive statistics in this table provided evidence that post-test reading scores of the experimental group were higher than the posttest reading scores of the control group. Conclusion and Recommendations The answer of the research question is addressed in this final chapter. Moreover, the implications of the study, the limitations of study, recommendations for the future research and the conclusion have been discussed accordingly. Discussion of Key Findings The core objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of collaborative learning techniques on undergraduate students' reading comprehension skills. Therefore, two groups such as control and experimental were formed. Whereby, the control group was taught through traditional methods and the experimental group was taught via cooperative learning techniques. Later on the students' performance of both the groups were compared using pre and post tests. Findings of Research Question The research question of the study examined how cooperative learning techniques affected the reading comprehension skills of Pakistani undergraduate ESL students. The researcher concluded that there was no significant difference between the control and experimental groups' pre-test reading scores. It implies that prior to the treatment being administered to one of the groups, both of the ESL student groups were indistinguishable. Reading scores for the control groups preand post-tests were found different significantly, the researcher determined. It indicated that there was a difference between the control group's pre-test and post-test results. Since the traditional classroom teaching method was administered to the students in the control groups, their academic performance was found better before and after the treatment period. Moreover, the pre-test and post-test reading scores for the experimental group were statistically substantially different, showing that after using the cooperative learning technique, the experimental group's reading performance was determined to be improved. The descriptive statistics provided the evidence that the performance of the Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 125 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 125 learners improved more in cooperative learning technique than traditional classroom method. The post-test reading results of the experimental and control groups, however, were significantly different, demonstrating that when the cooperative learning technique was administered to one of the groups, the reading performance of the group receiving the treatment was observed to be better. With connection to this, the findings of this study are similar to the study of Sabbah (2016) who held a study to examine the effect of Cooperative learning strategy, Jigsaw strategy, on ESL students' comprehension of reading achievement. However, the result indicated that the control group was outperformed by the experimental group with respect to reading comprehension performance. On the contrary, the findings of this study are dissimilar to the study of Nejad and Keshavarzi (2015) who conducted a study to investigate the effects of cooperative learning technique Ask Together and Learn Together on reading comprehension of preuniversity students. However, the result revealed that there was no significant difference between the control and experimental groups post-tests scores. Implications of the Study The present study has the following important implications for various stakeholders: The study has found that the Jigsaw and Think-Pair-Share techniques are very useful for enhancing the ESL students’ reading comprehension instead of using the traditional method. Teachers need to create a positive learning environment and adopt the above mentioned approach in the class to improve their reading comprehension. Think-PairShare approach with praise and incentives could be useful in developing ESL students’ English reading comprehension. Curriculum designers need to make reading comprehension an important part of curriculum and assessment. Students should be made part of the assessment, so that ESL students seriously focus on developing their reading comprehension skills. Limitations of the Study Following are mentioned some limitations of this study: For the present study, the data was obtained from undergraduate ESL students only. For the present study, the data was taken from government sector university's students only. The researcher could only collect data from 80 participants only due to the time constraint. Only quantitative tools were employed to study the reading comprehension skills. Recommendations for Future Research The recommendations for future research are given below: The relationship of other important variables, such as inferring, activating, monitoringclarifying, searching-selecting, questioning, summarizing, and visualizing-organizing can be explored in future research. The Think-PairShare and Jigsaw could be explored through a qualitative study. The present study was limited to Government Sector University in Karachi Pakistan, so in future the range of research can be extended to other provinces of Pakistan to assess ESL students’ reading comprehension skills. This study can also be done with school and college level students in future. Conclusion The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the Cooperative learning techniques on university ESL students' reading comprehension in the Pakistani context. The researcher concluded that there was no significant difference between the Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Review (PJSSR) ISSN (e) 2959-8052 (p) 2959-8044 126 https://pjssr.com.pk/index.php/Journal/issue/archive | Khan 2025 |Page 126 experimental and control groups' pre-test reading scores. It implies that prior to the treatment being administered to one of the groups, both of the ESL student groups were indistinguishable. Reading scores for the control groups preand post-tests were found different significantly, the researcher determined. It indicated that there was a difference between the control group's pre-test and post-test results. Since the traditional classroom teaching method was administered to the students in the control groups, their academic performance was found better before and after the treatment period. Moreover, the pre-test and post-test reading scores for the experimental group were statistically substantially different, showing that after using the cooperative learning technique, the experimental group's reading performance was determined to be improved. The descriptive statistics provided the evidence that the performance of the learners improved more in cooperative learning technique than traditional classroom method. 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