A study on applying group discussion approach to enhanse speaking skills of English for the first year students at An Duong Vocational Middle School = Áp dụng đ

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES ---***--- TỐNG THỊ HOÀNG HẠNH A STUDY ON APPLYING GROUP DISCUS

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES -*** -

TỐNG THỊ HOÀNG HẠNH

A STUDY ON APPLYING GROUP DISCUSSION APPROACH

TO ENHANCE SPEAKING SKILLS OF ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT AN DUONG

VOCATIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL

(Áp dụng đường hướng thảo luận theo nhóm để phát triển

kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên năm thư ́ nhất tại Trường Trung cấp Nghề An Dương)

M.A Minor Thesis

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60.14.10

HANOI- 2010

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES -*** -

TỐNG THỊ HOÀNG HẠNH

A STUDY ON APPLYING GROUP DISCUSSION APPROACH

TO ENHANCE SPEAKING SKILLS OF ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT AN DUONG

VOCATIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL

(Áp dụng đường hướng tha ̉ o luâ ̣n theo nhóm để phát triển

kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên năm thư ́ nhất tại Trường Trung cấp Nghề An Dương)

M.A Minor Thesis

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60.14.10

Supervisor : Duong Thi Thuc, M.A

HANOI- 2010

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TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………

DECLARATION ………

ABSTRACT………

TABLE OF CONTENT………

LIST OF ABBREVIATION………

Part I: Introduction 1 Rationale……… ………

2 Aim of the study ……… ………

3 Scope of the study………

4 Methods of the study ………

5 Design of the study………

Part II: Development Chapter 1: Literature review………

1.1 Speaking skill…… ………

1.1.1 What is speaking skill? ………

1.1.2 The requirements for speaking skill………

1.1.2.1 Accuracy………

1.1.2.2 Fluency………

1.1.3 Common problems during Speaking Activities………

1.2 Cooperative Language Learning……… ………

1.2.1.The background of CLL………

1.2.2 Types of Cooperative Learning group………

1.2.3 The benefits of Cooperative Language Learning………

1.3 Group discussion in speaking class………

1.3.1 History of the group discussion……….………

1.3.2 The concepts of group discussions/group work……….………

1.3.3 The formation of group discussion………

1.3.4 Seating arrangement in group discussion…… ………

1.3.5 The role of learner in group discussion………

1.3.6 The role of teacher in group discussion………

1.3.7 The advantages and disadvantages of using group discussion in the speaking class…………

1.3.7.1 Advantages………

1.3.7.2.Disadvantages………

Chapter 2: Methodology

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2.1 Setting of the study………

2.2 Current situations of teaching and learning English speaking skills at An Duong Vocational School 2.3 Methodology………

2.3.1 Subject……….………

2.3.2 Techniques for Collecting Data………

Chapter 3: Findings and Recommendations 3.1 Student survey………

3.1.1 The importance of English speaking skill………

3.1.2 Students’ interest in English speaking skill………

3.1.3 Students’ preference to how they like to practice speaking skill in class……

3.1.4 Students’ opinion on speaking in group discussion………

3.1.5 Students’ opinion on the advantages and disadvantages of group discussion 3.1.6 Students’ preference in group discussion………

3.1.7 Factors cause difficulties when speaking in group discussion…………

3.1.8 Students’ desires in learning speaking through group discussion………

3.2 Teacher survey………

3.2.1 Teachers’ opinion on teaching speaking skill………

3.2.2 Teachers’ opinion on the important role of group discussion in improving speaking skill… 3.2.3 Teachers’ opinion on group discussion in teaching speaking skill…………

3.2.4 The frequency of difficulties………

3.2.5 Teachers’ current teaching methods in using group discussion in speaking class…………

3.3 Reports on the students, teachers and the materials………

3.3.1 Report on the students………

3.3.2 Report on the teachers………

3.3.3 Report on materials………

3.4 Recommendations………

3.4.1 Recommendations for students………

3.4.2 Recommendations for teachers………

3.4.3 Recommendations for materials………

3.4.4 Recommendations for administrators………

Part III: Conclusion 1 Summary of the study………

2 Limitation of the study………

3 Suggestions for further research………

REFERENCES……… APPENDIX 1

APPENDIX 2

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LIST OF ABBREVIATION

GD: Group Discussion

EFL: English Foreign Language

ELT: English Language Teaching

CLL: Cooperative Language Learning

LIST OF Figures and table

1 Figures:

Figure 1: The importance of English Speaking Skill

Figure 2: Students’ interest in English speaking skill

Figure 1: Students’ preference to how they like to practice speaking skill in class Figure 4: The frequency of difficulties

2 Tables:

Table 2 : Students’ Profiles

Table 3: Teachers' Profiles

Table 3: Students’ opinion on speaking in group discussion

Table 4: Students’ opinion on the advantages and disadvantages of group discussion Table 5: Students’ preference in group discussion

Table 6: Factors cause difficulties when speaking in group discussion

Table 7: Students’ desires in learning speaking through group discussion

Table 8: Teachers' opinion on teaching speaking skill

Table 9: Teachers’opinion on the important role of group discussion in improving speaking skill Table 10: Teachers’ opinion on group discussion in teaching speaking skill

Table 11: Teachers’ current teaching methods in using group discussion in speaking class.

in most of the countries communicate with each other in English in the fields like politics, economics, culture, science, technology etc So learning English well seems to be an evitable necessity in the modern world Furthermore, oral English is the necessary aspect

of learning because of the high-speed development of the society, whether you can express your-self fluently and properly shows how well you master the language

In Vietnam, English is the most popular foreign language to be used as a mean of communication The use of English has dramatically increased in Vietnam, especially in the last decade English is spoken by many Vietnamese and is considered a necessity for those who are studying or doing research and for those who are working in places like foreign companies, holiday resorts, banks, hotels, universities, colleges, school and other public places

Despite the widespread emphasis on the acquisition and use of English, many students (including the final year graduates) still struggle to communicate in English for academic purposes One of the primary reasons is that they lack the confidence and skills

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needed to successfully speak in English As a result, they become apprehensive when asked to speak in public The feeling of apprehension or fear when speaking in English has become a serious matter because it affects their employability and their self-esteem Many students admit that they are unable to secure their dream jobs after they have graduated This is likely due to their high levels of apprehension and their lack of confidence when asked to communicate in English during job interviews Speaking in a foreign language has often been considered as the most demanding of the four skills: listening, writing, reading and speaking When attempting to speak, learners must muster up their thoughts and encode those ideas in the vocabulary and syntactic structures of the target language

Moreover, English Language Teaching (ELT) in Vietnam has affected the traditional teaching model through which students learn English just to pass exams and teachers lecture mainly to help students achieve this goal The result is that students do not have enough English to communicate effectively with others Obviously, students‟ overall skills cannot be enhanced, especially among students at the college and university level

Being a teacher of English at An Duong Vocational School, I am well aware that teaching speaking is not an easy job because there are many problems still existing in teaching speaking skills For example: the lack of vocabulary will make students unable to say words during speaking class In addition, most of students do not feel confident enough

to use English in speaking class Moreover, students often speak their Vietnamese language, and so on Therefore, it is necessary to create conductive and authentic learning environments for students to be able to practice speaking in order to reduce their apprehension A group discussion before a speaking task is one of the very good ways to create such environments Group discussions are very important in oral English classes It maximizes students‟ speaking time in a specified-time period Group discussions have a strong positive effect on the atmosphere in the classroom and the behaviors of the students

as they can get more ideas from their friends The most important reason for using group discussions before speaking tasks is to reduce students‟ nervousness of making mistakes And this encourages students to be more active in completing their task Moreover, using group discussions can open skills of participation, cooperation, negotiation and so on effectively for the students in studying and working

With a view to providing students with professional atmosphere to speak the

international language easily and freely, the writer decided to do a research entitled “A

2 Aim of the study

The purpose of this study is aimed at investigating the reality of the use of group discussion in the speaking- class of the first year students at An Duong Vocational School

To be specific, the aims of the study are:

 Investigating the current situations of English speaking teaching and learning at An Duong Vocational School

 Indicating the difficulties that the students and teachers usually meet during group discussions

 Considering how group discussions enhance students to speak English in the class

3 Scope of the study

To improve speaking skill of the first year students at An Duong Vocational School, the teachers can apply diversified methods and techniques However, the study is limited to the applying group discussions to enhance English speaking skill for 1st year students at An Duong Vocational School

4 Methods of the study

By observing and reviewing 100 1st-year students and 7 teachers of English in speaking-class at An Duong Vocational School, the researcher received necessary information to be able to create the framework of the questions from the interviews with 7 teachers and the questionnaire with 100 students in five classes: Mechanics, Industrial Sewing, Vehicle Repair, Industrial Electricity and Computer Science To be able to receive

as much valuable information as possible from the interview and the questionnaire, the researcher took notes of every conversation with each teacher and some specific students

5 Design of the study

The writer organizes this research paper in order to make the readers easily

understand the paper Apart from INTRODUCTION that presents the rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study and CONCLUSION that reviews the main content

and findings of the study, summarizes the limitations revealed during the process of

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completing this research paper and suggests the further research, the paper is divided into three chapters:

Chapter 1, Literature review, presents the basic concepts relevant to the study as

English speaking skills, the requirements for speaking skills and group discussion in speaking skills

Chapter 2, Methodology, provides an overview of the current situation of English

teaching and learning for the non-major intermediate students at An Duong Vocational School including general introduction of An Duong Vocational School, students, teachers, classroom condition, the English syllabus of the course training The detailed statistic results from the data collection are also presented in this chapter

Chapter 3, Findings and Recommendations, summaries the data analysis and

discusses the factors that make the students reluctant to speak in the class and suggests some recommendations for motivating the 1st year-students to speak English in the class

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This section will discuss theoretical background related to speaking skill and analyze the elements that speaking as a skill requires The following part will provide an overview of cooperative language learning, including the types of cooperative learning group Finally, group discussion also will be dealt with by drawing upon the concepts and some essential features of one

1.1 Speaking skill

1.1.1 What is speaking skill?

Speaking is a natural people‟s ability which was founded since they were born, and a lot of researches on it have been done to work out various definitions One of the definitions

is speaking considered as “the productive skill in the oral mode”

(sil.org/lingualinks/languagelearning) In addition, according to Bygate (1997, p.3),

speaking is often thought of as a popular form of expression which uses the unprestigious colloquial register” It means that students must speak so as to carry out many transactions and speaking skill is a medium of communication which languages are learnt through To speak a language, especially a foreign language, learners need to know “not only the linguistic knowledge” but also “the culturally acceptable ways of interacting with others in different situations and relationship” (Hymes, 1971) It is assumed that speaking a language requires more than the language‟s knowledge itself; speakers must learn the way native speakers use the language to speak fluently and accurately Nowadays the goal of teaching speaking is to improve learner‟s communication skill “Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information” (Brown, 1994; Burn & Joyce, 1997) Speaking needs that learners not only should know how

to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary but also understand when, why and in what ways to produce language communicatively

To sum up, speaking is the most effective way for people to communicate with each other That is the reason why speaking skill is an important part of the second language learning and teaching This is the working definition which the researcher will put into consideration during the whole research process

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1.1.2 The requirements for speaking skills

Byrne (1984, p 9) stated that “The main goal in teaching the productive skill

of speaking will be oral fluency: the ability to express oneself intelligibly, reasonab ly, accurately and without undue hesitation (otherwise communication may break down because the listener looses interest or gets impatient) To attain this goal, the students have to move from the stage where they merely imitate a model or respond to cues to the point where they could use the language to express their own ideas”

1.1.2.1 Accuracy

Accuracy means the correct use of language in terms of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation According to Harmer: “Accuracy involves the correct use of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation” In speaking, accuracy is very important and the teacher should make students clear about the correct use of language and how to use correctly Nunan states that: “Accuracy is the extent to which students‟ speech matches what people actually say when they use the target language”

Accuracy in speaking is also reinforced as “the ability to produce grammatically correct sentences but may not include the ability to speak or write

fluently” (The Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (p.141)

As Dave Willis (1996, p.50) has pointed out “Whenever learners are involved

in communication they are concerned with accuracy in that they are making the best use of their language system to meet the communicative demands place d upon it In spontaneous communication learners have little time to reflect on the langue they produce If, however, they are given time to prepare what they have to produce then there will be a concern for formal accuracy within a communicative context.”

However, the teacher should not focus on accuracy too much Because if they are very particular about producing correct language from the beginning, then students might never gain fluency of speech

1.1.2.2 Fluency

Fluency is the capability of the speakers to use the language quickly, spontaneously and confidently Learners must be given opportunity to develop both their fluency and their accuracy According to Nunan, “Fluency is to extent to which speakers use the target

Dave Willis pointed out three concepts such as: “Accuracy, fluency and conformity” According to Challenge and Change in Language Teaching, J Willis and D Willis, ed.Heinemann, 1996 p 50: “Learners need opportunities to process language for communicative purposes as receivers and producers These opportunities should be unfettered by the perceived need to conform to teacher expectations in terms of the production of specific language forms.”

When the students get used to the language and learn to communicate properly then the fluency comes We cannot expect from a beginner to speak fluently For improving fluency, the learners should be given the chance to speak spontaneously without worrying much about accuracy

1.1.3 Common problems during speaking activities

According to Penny Ur, the problems faced in speaking activities are:

- Inhibition: Unlike writing and listening activities, speaking requires some degree

of real time exposure to an audience Learners are often inhibited about trying to say things

in a foreign language in the classroom They tend to be worried about making mistakes, fearful of critics or losing face, or simply on the attention that their speech attracts As a result, they can not speak English spontaneously in the classroom

- Nothing to say: Sometimes learners complaint that they cannot think of anything

to say In other word they cannot express themselves, beyond the guilty feeling that they should be speaking In addition, the lacking of background knowledge or experience also is

a big challenge to prevent them from speaking English fluently and accurately

- Low or uneven participation: The problem is also compounded by the tendency

of some learners to dominate while others speak a little or not at all Only one participation

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can talk at a time if he or she to be heard, and in a large group this means that each one will have only very little talking time

- Mother tongue use: In the class when the entire learners share the same mother

tongue, they may tend to use it first because students feel unnatural to speak to one another

in a foreign language, and because they feel less “exposed” if they are speaking their mother-tongue If they are talking in small group, it can be quite difficult to get some classes- particularly the less disciplined or motivated ones- to keep the target language

These are the problems preventing students‟ speaking ability It is teachers that should find out the ways to help students to solve these problems In fact there have existed some ways to solve these problems According to English methodologists, Cooperative Language Learning (CLL) is the most effective one of all In the following part the researcher will deal with some information related to CLL

1.2 Cooperative Language Learning

Johnson & Johnson (1998) also said that Cooperative Learning is a student- centered approach that believes that active learning is more effective than passive one where the teacher becomes a facilitator rather than an instructor Through Cooperative Learning, students have to exchange ideas, make plans and propose solutions to accomplish a collaborative goal Therefore, it can enhance students‟ social and personal developments

Kagan (1990) also introduced a Cooperative Learning strategy in his study According to Kagan (1990), “Co-op Co-op is structured to maximize the opportunity for small groups of students to work together to produce a group product and then share this product with the whole class (p.14).” This will provide opportunities for students to help each other among teams It also provides students choices for the content they want to study Co-Op Co-Op is designed to foster students‟ self-direction and independence in learning (Daniel, Barbara, and Diane, 1991)

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1.2.2 Types of Cooperative Language Learning

According to the Johnsons (1994, cited in Jack C Richards& Theodore S Rodgers,

2001, p.196), three types of Cooperative Learning procedures should be used in an integrative way: formal Cooperative Learning, informal Cooperative Learning, and Cooperative base groups

- In formal co-operative learning, students are working together for durations of

one class period to several weeks to achieve shared learning goals and complete specific tasks and assignments Any assignment can be reformulated as co-operative

- In informal co-operative learning, students work together on a temporary basis to

achieve a joint learning goal These ad-hoc groups last from a few minutes to one class period Informal co-operative learning can be used to focus students‟ attention on the study material or topic of the class Perhaps the most common way in Finland to do this is to engage students in focused discussions for a few minutes on a “turn-to-your-partner”-basis, which can be interspersed throughout a traditional lecture

- Co-operative base groups are usually long-term, heterogeneous Cooperative

Learning groups in which the members stay on a permanent basis from one to several years The purpose of the base group is to give support, help, feedback and any kind of assistance

to its members The aim is to develop cognitively and socially in healthy ways

1.2.3 The benefits of Cooperative Language Learning

No one can deny the benefits brought about by CLL in learning and teaching language Cooperative Language Learning is gaining broad acceptance in a multitude of language learning classrooms, principally because of its contributions to improving productivity and achievement and providing more opportunities for communication In order to make the potential advantages of Cooperative Language Learning clearer, this section examines in detail the benefits of using Cooperative Learning in foreign language classrooms

- Providing the chances of input and outpu: Cooperative Language Learning

provides more opportunities for learners to comprehensible input and output and the processes of negotiation Jia (2003) holds that effective language learning depends on structuring social interaction to maximize the needs of communication in the target language For example, students divided into six groups in a class can get six times as many opportunities to talk as in full-class organization Cooperative Language Learning

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creates natural, interactive contexts, where students listen to each other, ask question, and clarify issues Group interaction assists learners in negotiating for more comprehensible input and in modifying their output to make it more comprehensible to others (Crandall, 1999; Kagan, 1995) In cooperative group settings, when communicating in group work, students need to make them understood so they adjust their language to suit the members

of that group As a result, there is a much higher proportion of comprehensible input A survey of research on pair/group work conducted by Long and Porter (1985, cited in Ellis, 1999), indicates that learners produce more, use longer sentences, and do not speak any less grammatically in group work than they do in teacher-fronted lessons Students will speak in different ways on the same topic, ensuring students to listen to and comprehend language from various sources and to obtain modeling and feedback from their peers There is a principle that interaction drives learners to produce more accurate and appropriate language, which itself provides input for other students Therefore, cooperative language learning is valuable in the oral practice and listening comprehension

- Creating effective climate: If the language class is meant to be a place where

individuals can practice in communication in the foreign language, it is vital to establish a social and affective climate in which students are not restricted, aggressive, or feared (Stern, 1992) Cooperative Learning, like other group work, offers a relaxed climate in the classroom, while it also increases students‟ motivation (Brown, 1994; Crandall, 1999) Individuals have the opportunity to rehearse their answers before being asked to offer them

in front of the whole class so their anxiety and fear of failure may reduce Time to think and receive feedback form group members, and the greater likelihood of success can reduce anxiety and result in increased participation in learning language (Crandall, 1999) Therefore, more participation will inevitably increase learner‟s self-confidence and self-esteem

Another affective benefit of Cooperative Learning is an increase in students‟ motivation Clarke (1989, cited in Hedge, 2000) suggested collaborative classroom motivated students to involve in language reading activities Motivation leads to more extensive use of language and the development of greater language proficiency In the cooperative groups, face-to-face promotes interaction and resource, reward, role interdependence can be powerful supports and encouragements for the insecure students Learners are thus motivated to pursue larger academic success

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- Increasing a variety of language function: Cooperative Language Learning

allows learners more chances to produce language in a functional manner In traditional classroom, discourse is usually initiated by the teacher in an artificial setting, but Cooperative Learning can be used to create a mimic real-life social settings in which language is normally used For a specific purpose in accomplishing the group task, cooperative groups can be helpful to students in developing their social abilities In the study of Michael Long and his colleagues (1976, cited in Lightbown & Spada, 1999) with adult learners of English as a foreign language in Mexico, they found that the students produced not only a greater quantity but also a greater variety of speech in group work than in teacher-centered activities Students may find themselves involve in requesting, clarifying, making suggestions, encouraging, disagreeing, negotiating of meaning, exchanging conversations during group work Working in Cooperative Learning Groups will foster learner discourse control and thereby ensures opportunities for language learning

- Fostering learner responsibility and independence: The final aim of

Cooperative Learning is to make each student a stronger individual through doing work cooperatively Cooperative Learning, therefore, emphasizes individual accountability

It places responsibility for action and progress on each of the members of the group somewhat equally Positive role and goal interdependence help students become more autonomous and self-controlled and less dependent upon outside authority, and over time, they will gradually move from interdependence to independence (Johnson & Johnson, 1991)

There are additional important benefits of Cooperative Language Learning Cooperative activities around the curricular content can provide more opportunities for the use of the new items and lead to the development of both academic language and social language In addition, studies indicate that there are beneficial effects of cooperative learning in more higher level reasoning, more frequent generation of new ideas and solutions, and greater transfer of what is learned within one situation to another than did competitive or individualistic learning (Johnson & Johnson, 2000)

In conclusion, Cooperative Language Learning is very useful in language learning and teaching speaking skill Therefore, language teachers should put these usefulnesses into consideration

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1.3 Group discussion in speaking class

1.3.1 The history of the group discussion

In the 1970s, group work came into the standard EFL teaching repertoire with communicative approach At that time, teacher-centered methodology dominated teaching field Studies of foreign language classes revealed that 80% of lesson time was occupied by teachers‟ personal lecturing while learners hardly got a chance to practice their second language So Teacher Talking Time (TTT) became taboo and ways were devised to stamp it out and students were asked to speak as much as possible in the language they were learning

Thus, group work was introduced into the EFL repertoire to tackle this particular problem Group work, particularly, group discussion made it possible for the teacher to devote more time to the students‟ oral output, which perhaps had not been a priority of the foreign language classroom Instead of being dependent on the teacher, students get used to helping and learning from each other Meanwhile, the teacher is left free to discreetly monitor the progress of the total class

Dealing with group work demands much tact and sensitivity Before group discussion, the teacher may have to decide how to organize the group, heterogeneously or homogeneously? Moreover, during the course of group discussion, the teacher has to weigh in his or her mind whether to intervene to bring an enthusiastic discussion onto a more linguistically fruitful path, or to stay in the background to allow the students to make their own discoveries about the language and the best way to learn it To handle these problems properly demand, the teacher need map out beforehand an overall procedure of group discussion

1.3.2 The concepts of group discussion/ group work

To begin with, Adrian Doff (1991) describes group work as follows: “In group work, the teacher divides the class into small groups to work together (usually four or five students in each group) As in pair work, all the groups work at the same time” (Doff 1991, p 138) According to the movement of learners during a group activity, Harmer (1992) and

Ur (1991) distinguish between flexible and fixed groups While working in flexible groups,

Ur (1991) points out that group work provides some learners with confidence and courage: “students who are shy of saying something in front of the whole class, or to the teacher, often find it much easier to express themselves in front of a small group of their peers” (p.7) Another point taken by methodologists concerns the amount of learners´ participation and mutual co-operation among learners during activities carried out in groups

Richards and Lockhart (1999, p.153) say that group work is likely to increase the amount of student participation in the class and promote collaboration among learners; furthermore, learners are given a more active role in learning, teacher´s dominance over the class decreases, while the opportunities for individual student‟s practice of new features of the target language increase

Next area of focus that methodologists consider is a suitable number of learners within a group Methodologists have not set a definite number, „magic number‟, but range the number of learners per group between four and seven (Harmer 2001, p 75)

To sum it up, when considering the specifics of group work, methodologists discuss the settlement of students within the groups as flexible or fixed Ur, for example, recommends that teachers set up fixed or at least semi-permanent groups that are likely to prevent some problems connected with their creating and consequent misbehavior Group discussion tends to support cooperative learning, and may give confidence and courage to shy students when handling the target language

1.3.3 The formation of group discussion

Group discussion is a co-operative activity, during which students can share the responsibilities and the duties So how to group students into group discussion is important job Some methodologists provide a concrete number of learners that a group should

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include According to Byrne (1991, p.75), the number of learners range from four to eight learners per group The actual number should consequently depend on the particular activities Richards and Lockhart agree that the „optimum size‟ depends on the kind of activity learners are working on, and add: „If the group is too large, student interaction is affected; only a few students may participate, the others remaining silent or passive‟ (p.153) Harmer confirms Richards and Lockhart´s words and claims that the boarder line might be established on number seven, because „groups of more than seven can be unmanageable‟ (Harmer 1992, p 246)

There are different ways of grouping learners or dividing them into pairs or groups

Harmer (2001, p.120-122) suggests four basic ways - friendship, streaming, chance, and changing groups The first method provides enough space for students to choose their

friends and thus create groups On the other hand, streaming method assumes that students will be divided into groups according to their abilities, thus creating the same ability groups or mixed ability groups Counting out avoids the ability differentiation within groups, this method Harmer calls „chance‟ Finally, changing groups presupposes that students keep changing while the activity continues

Friederike Klippel (1991, p.9-10) when considering grouping students for

communicative activities, particularly discussions, describes some main types such as buzz groups, hearing, fishbowl, network, onion, star, market, opinion vote, or forced contribution What both Klippel and Harmer suggest is a couple of theoretical methods for

dividing students into groups or pairs, which will inevitably in many cases require students‟ change of positions

Byrne (1991, p.32-33), on the other hand, prefers as little students‟ movement as possible, suggesting that it is reasonable, taking into consideration a time factor influenced

by moving students and frequency of the use of pair work and group work, to make use of the existing classroom arrangement Byrne advises to get students to work with a neighbor

or neighbors and move students only if it is absolutely necessary It is important for students to be able to form pairs and groups quickly and without any fuss, Byrne concludes

Drawing upon my personal experience, I agree with Donn Byrne that it is important to give learners a very limited number of opportunities for moving around the classroom with relation to the process of dividing students to groups or pairs Once

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allowing students to move around the classroom in order to form groups or pairs, it may be rather difficult to draw students‟ concentration back on the activity together with the time that is likely to be lost Therefore, the use of the existing arrangement seems to me to be the best solution

1.3.4 Seating arrangement in group discussion

There are many different ways to arrange seating in a classroom Arrangements in group discussion can be beneficial for promoting positive learning environments for specific situations

Whether or not seats are assigned, the layout of the desks or tables is a major component to classroom management Different configurations provide different ways for students to participate in and the teacher to provide instructions The following are a few of the more common seating arrangements

- Traditional Rows and Columns

Once the arrangement of choice, the traditional row and column style of seat layout has fallen out of favor with many educators However, it still has its benefits for teacher centered instruction In situations where lectures, board work or projection are being used, the row and column arrangement puts students facing the instructional area It is also a convenient configuration when students need to work independently

- Rows and Columns with an Aisle

Separating the rows and columns with an aisle and turning the seats so that the two sides are facing each other and the room is transformed for another learning environment This arrangement puts students in a way so that they face each other, promoting student interaction through discussions and demonstrations The aisle is also a convenient layout for teachers who prefer to pace during, or act out parts of, the lesson

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+

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Circle A circle of desks puts every student in the front row The teacher can then either be in the middle for teacher centered lessons or at one of the desks for activities in which the teacher is a collaborator or facilitator This arrangement can work for any size class, but might have to be changed to include an inner and outer circle if the room is not large enough for the number of students 0

0 0

0 0

0 +

0 0

0 0

0 0

- Horseshoe The horseshoe shape has the same benefits as using a circle, whether arranged one or more desks deep Additionally, it provides room for the teacher to move easily among students and allows the teacher to redirect students‟ attention to a board or projection without the need to move seats +

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0 0 0 0

- Groupings

Putting desks in small groups so that students face each other is ideal for group activities When the desks are placed tightly together they provide a larger working surface and promote collaboration among the students in the group The teacher can move easily

1.3.5 The role of learner in group discussion

In the traditional approach, learners are the passive recipients of the language learning process They have little control over their learning or no chance to raise their voice about what and how to teach They are supposed to wait passively to be scrammed with the huge amount of theoretical knowledge When working in group, however, they are forced to learn how to work well in groups According to Rechards and Rodgers (2001, p.199), the primary role of the learner is as a member of a group who must work collaboratively on tasks with other group member Learners have to learn teamwork skills Learners are also directors of their own learning They are taught to plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning, which is viewed as a compilation of lifelong learning skills

In general, learners are considered as the negotiators of the learning process They are required to involve and participate in the group discussion directly and actively

1.3.6 The role of teacher in group discussion

In contrast to the traditional role of the teachers as the sole- provider of the knowledge and the decision makers of all class activities, teachers using communicative tasks play the following role: First, he is a facilitator to help the communication among participants run through He is supposed to help the learners better express their expectation and direct learners‟ active participation to what is most beneficial to the educational purposes Second, the teacher acts as the active participant in the learning process, genuinely engaging in the class and contributing his ideas, opinions or relating

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personal experiences Third, the teacher can function as an observer, put himself into learners; position to assume and notify their difficulties

Like Rechards and Rodgers (2001, cited in Johnson, 1994) the teacher has to create

a highly structured and well-organized learning environment in the classroom, setting goals, planning and structuring tasks, establishing the physical arrangement of the classroom, assigning students to groups and roles and selecting materials and time

Harel (1992) also indicated that the teachers provide broad questions to challenge thinking; they prepare students for the tasks they will carry out; they assist the students with the learning tasks, and they give few commands, imposing less disciplinary control

1.3.7 The advantages and disadvantages of using group discussion in the speaking class 1.3.7.1 Advantages

It is acknowledged that group discussion has recently taken on increased psycholinguistic significance in the English language classroom because of a range advantages as follows:

- Firstly, group discussion increases the amount of students‟ participation It is known

that lessons have limited time - usually only forty five minutes - and there are on average thirty students in the class, so students get bored very quickly waiting for their classmates' answers As a result, instead of practicing English they start doing something different - talking, doing homework or even playing cards, for example In consequence, this leads to general chaos if the teacher is not quick enough to perceive and prevent it Needles to say, the teacher should involve the whole class in an activity According to Michael H Long, if

we have five or six groups, then there will be five or six times the amount of talking When the teacher divides the learners into groups of four or five, there will be at least ten or eight students speaking at the same time, providing that the class consists of forty people

- Secondly, group discussion increases language practice opportunities In all probability,

one of the main reasons for low achievement by many classroom EL learners is simply that they do not have enough time to practice the new language This is especially serious in large EFL classes in which students need to develop oral skills Group discussion is a good way to increase language practice opportunities

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According to Nunan, “Pair work and group work can be used to increase the amount of time that learners get to speak in the target language during lesson” In this way, students will get chances to interact with other students

In group discussion, the total individual practice time is available to each student, therefore, each student has chance to practice language by exchanging ideas with the other

- Thirdly, group discussion improves the quality of students‟talk As Patricia A Porter

says, the lockstep limits not only the quantity of talk students can engage in, but also its quality This is because teacher-fronted lessons favor a highly conventionalized variety of

conversation, one rarely found outside courtrooms, classrooms Only rarely does genuine communication take place An unfortunate but hardly surprising side effect of this sort of pseudo- communication is that students' attention tends to wander Consequently, teachers maintain a brisk pace to their questions and try to ensure prompt and brief answers in return This is usually quite feasible, since what the students say requires little thought (the same question often being asked several times) and little language (mostly single phrases

or short "sentences") Teachers quickly "correct" any errors, and students appreciate just as

quickly that what they say is less important than how they say it

- Fourthly, students will learn from each other In a class there are always weak and strong

students Working in a group, students have opportunities to share the ideas

- Last but not least, “group work frees the teacher from her usual role of

instructor-corrector-controller, and allows her toward freely round the class” ( Penny Ur, 1991, p.8), The teacher have chance to set up personal contact with more students and to help the students to interact when she moves around the class listening to the small group discussion She gives help where needed, devotes a little time to slower learners She also has an important role to play in leading and encouraging GD

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- Firstly, the teachers may lose control of their class, that there may be too much noise,

due to, all the students speak together

- Secondly, some students would prefer to the focus of the teacher‟s attention rather than

working with their peers

- Thirdly, individuals may fall into group roles that become fossilized, so that some are

passive whereas others may dominate

- Fourthly, students in groups may not focus on the point of their task, but talk about

something else, often in their mother tongue

- Finally, groups take a lot of time for organizing

To sum up, those problems concerned about grouping and class control will be handled properly along with teachers „familiarity of their students‟ learning strategies and deep research in the teaching materials Group discussion could help students to enhance their communicative ability, sharpen their sociable skills and foster the cooperation and team spirit in future career development