The present study investigates the effects of the Kagan cooperative learning (CL) model on the English oral communication ability of Bhutanese students. A quasi-experimental design was employed using two classes: the control group (n=22) and experimental group (n=23). The participants of this study were forty-five students of Tsheyang Higher Secondary School. The research instruments were the treatment and data collection instruments. The treatment consisted of seven lesson plans focused on the Kagan CL model, and the data collection instruments consisted of an English oral communication ability pretest and posttest, and a performance-based assessment of seven English oral communication ability tasks. The results revealed that the Kagan CL model was effective in enhancing the English oral communication ability of seventh-grade Bhutanese students. The results of the English oral communication ability pretest and posttest showed that the mean scores of the students in the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group. In addition, the results of the performance-based assessment indicated that the mean scores of the students in the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group in five out of seven oral communication ability tasks.