Active Learning Strategies and their Effects on Learning: A Review

Abstract

This review article presents a comprehensive detail on different kinds of Active learning strategies used in ESL classrooms to teach students and focuses on their outcomes and possible benefits and demerits of those strategies. The Active learning construct is based on the theory of constructivism which says that learning occurs when the learners are engaged in a productive and interactive environment where the exchange of information takes place through collaboration and cooperative learning. Active learning includes several activities where the learners are engaged in different types of content creation and skill expression. Those activities differ from context to context and field to field and have unexpected outcomes on the learners throughout the session. Some of the activities have a positive effect and some have a negative one merely because of the different backgrounds and approaches of the learners. This research provides some detailed information on how the construct of Active learning is expressed and how it can be implemented and what are the outcomes of such strategies when applied to the ESL classroom.