skkn The effectiveness of pair work and group work in teaching and learning English

All the teachers know pair work and group work are the main activities in teaching English at schools.. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH - To introduce pair work and group work and to show the advan

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CONTENTS

A REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH

B AIMS OF THE RESEARCH

C SCOPE, OBJECT AND RESEARCHING METHOD

D MAIN CONTENT

I GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1 What are pair work and group work?

2 Main advantages, problems and solutions to the problems

II ORGANIZING PAIR WORK AND GROUP WORK

1 Group and pair work organization

2 Organization steps

3 Demonstration

4 Suggestions for some popular kinds of practice

E RESULT AFTER APPLYING THE RESEARCH IN TEACHING

F CONCLUSION

G REFERENCE BOOKS

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A REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH

This is the sixth year we are carrying out the reformation in teaching new English textbook Most of the teachers are used to this new English textbook and try to find out good teaching methods as much as possible to apply in English periods

In order to make his English period more effective, the teacher himself must find out the way of teaching suitable for his students I think that in a good English period, the students play active roles and the teacher is only the adviser

All the teachers know pair work and group work are the main activities in teaching English at schools There is always pair work or group work in each lesson of textbook but at times it is not suitable for some classes If the teacher wants his students to play active roles, he should design pair work and group work before going to class for each period But sometimes the teacher gets stuck in organizing pair work and group work effectively

I myself want to present how I apply pair work and group work in most of my teaching English periods

B AIMS OF THE RESEARCH

- To introduce pair work and group work and to show the advantages of working in pairs and groups

- To show how to organize pair and group work effectively and how to deal with initial problems that may arise

- To show how pair and group work can be used for various classroom activities

- To give teachers confidence in using pair and group work themselves

C SCOPE, OBJECT AND RESEARCHING METHOD

- Scope: Researching in the process of teaching English at Nguyen Huu Canh high school

- Object: Being concerned with ways of organizing activities in the class

- Researching method: Reading reference books, discussing with other teachers,

applying in teaching, observing and drawing out experiences

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D CONTENT

I GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1 What are pair work and group work?

1.1 Pair work:

The teacher divides the whole class into pairs Every student works with his

or her partner and all the pairs work at the same time The teacher walks around, listens and intervenes little if necessary

1.2 Group work:

Students work in small groups (of four or five) on tasks that entail interaction: conveying information, for example, or group decision making All the groups work at the same time The teacher walks around, listens, and intervenes little if necessary

2 Main advantages, problems and solutions to the problems

For certain types of activities, pair work and group work have any number of advantages in working with the whole class together Teachers should think what the main advantages are, and also what problems might be involved in pair work, group work and the solutions for these

Here are some main advantages and problems:

- Students have more chances to practise

English

- Students are more involved

- Students feel more confident

- Students learn from each other

- Students know how to co-operate and

share the work with each other

- Teacher can save time

……

- The class is noisy

- Students make mistakes

- It is sometimes difficult to control class

……

(Of course, your own advantages and problems may look slightly different from these, but most teachers’ suggestions will probably fit under these headings)

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Now, we will discuss each heading in more detail First, let’s start with the advantages

* Students have more chances to practise English:

Pair work and group work give students far more chance to speak English For example, students are given an exercise of making sentences (question & answer), working in pairs, each student makes as many sentences as they can If the exercise was done “round the class”, every student can have a chance to say at least one sentence

* Students are more involved:

Some activities will probably be dominated by a few students and others may lose interest if they are conducted with the whole class together Working in pairs or groups encourages students to be more involved and to concentrate on the task

* Students feel more confident:

Students feel less anxious when they are working in pairs or groups than when they are on show in front of the whole class Pair work and group work can help shy students who never say anything in a whole class activity

* Students learn from each other:

Pair work and group work encourage students to share ideas and knowledge In a reading activity, students can help each other to explore the meaning of a text; in a discussion activity, students can give each other new ideas

* Students know how to co-operate and share the work with each other:

Students know that their task is successful or not it depends on not only themselves but also their partners Therefore, when working in pairs or groups

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students know how to co-operate and share the work with each other to lead a good result

* Teacher can save time:

When teacher asks students work in pairs or groups at the same time he can save more time than when he gets them to work individually

Now talk about the problems, and discuss the ways of recovering them:

* The class is noisy:

Obviously pair work and group work in a large class will be noisy, and this cannot be helped But:

- Usually the students themselves are not disturbed by the noise; it is more noticeable to the teacher standing at the side or to someone in the next room

- The noise created by pair work and group work is usually “good” noise Students use English or engage in a learning task Teacher should stop the activity when most groups or pairs have finished or prepare a “reserve” task to occupy members of groups who finish earlier than expected

* Students make mistakes:

During a pair or group activity, the teacher cannot control all the language used, and should not try to do so When doing controlled language practised in pairs or groups, the number of mistakes can be reduced by:

- Giving enough preparation, the activity can be done with some model presentation first, and pair work or group work is used in final stage

- Checking afterwards, the teacher can ask some pairs or groups what they said, and then correct mistakes if necessary

* It is sometimes difficult to control class:

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The teacher has less control over what students are doing in pair work and group work than in normal class To stop activities getting out of control, it is important to:

- Give clear instructions on how to start, what to do and when to stop

- Give clearly defined tasks which don’t continue for too long

- Set up a routine, so that students accept the idea of working in pairs or groups, and know exactly what to do

II ORGANIZING PAIR WORK AND GROUP WORK

1 Group and pair work organization

- The success of group or pair work depends on some extents:

The climate of the class

The students’ habit of working in pairs or groups

The selection of an interesting and stimulating task of the teacher

The good performance within the ability of the group or pair

- More immediately, it also depends on:

Effective and careful organization

2 Organization steps:

2.1 Presentation:

The instructions that are given at the beginning are crucial If the students do not understand exactly what they have to do, there will be a waste of time, confusion, lack of effective practice, possible loss of control Select tasks that are simple enough to describe easily; and in monolingual classes, you may find it cost-effective to explain some or all in the students’ mother tongue It is advisable to give the instructions before giving out materials and dividing the class into pairs or groups; and a preliminary rehearsal or “dry run” of a sample of the activity with the full class can help to clarify things If your students have already done similar activities, you will be able to shorten the process, giving only brief guidelines; It is

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mainly the first time of doing something with a class that such care needs to be invested in instructing

Try to foresee what language will be needed, and have a preliminary quick review of appropriate grammar or vocabulary Finally before giving the sign to start tell the class what the arrangements are for stopping: If there is a time limit, or

a set signal for stopping, say what it is; if the pairs or groups simply stop when they have finished, then tell them what they will have to do next It is wise to have

a reserve task planned to occupy members of pairs or groups who finish earlier than expected

2.2 Process:

Teacher goes from group to group, pair to pair, monitor, and either contribute or keep out of the way whichever is likely to be more helpful If you do decide to intervene, your contribution may take the form of:

- Providing general approval and support;

- Helping students who are having difficultly;

- Keeping the students using the target language (in many cases your mere presence will ensure this!)

- Tactfully regulating participation in a discussion where you find some students are over dominant and others are silent

2.3 Ending:

Draw the activity to a close at a certain point Try to finish the activity while the students are still enjoying it and interested, or only just beginning to flag

2.4 Feedback:

A feedback session usually takes place in the context of full-class interaction

after the end of the pair work or group work Feedback on the tasks may take many forms:

- Giving the right solution, if there is one

- Listening to and evaluating suggestions

- Pooling ideas on the board

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- Displaying the materials the groups/ pairs have produced

And so on

The main objective here is to express appreciation of the effort that has been invested and its results Feedback on language may be integrated into this discussion of the task, or provide the focus of a separate class session later

3 Demonstration:

Before teaching teacher should prepare pair work and group work activities carefully If he can do so the students are attracted to his designed activities The climate of the class is very exciting as everyone must practise

Some teachers say that pair work and group work can only be applied in speaking

or reading periods For me I can apply them in all periods Besides teacher can redesign the material so that it is suitable for his students And below are some my examples that I have already applied

3.1 Examples of pair work:

Example 1:

In Unit 1: Friendship – Reading (English 11)

Teacher: Practise these questions in pairs (Warm-up)

1 Do you have a best friend?

2 Why do you consider him / her as your best friend?

The theme of this unit is very familiar with the students They practise in pairs very frankly and openly

Example 2:

In Unit 8: Celebrations – Speaking (English 11)

Teacher: Practice reading the dialogue in pairs

Model: Mai is talking with Anna, her new English friend, about Tet holiday in Vietnam

Mai: Do you know that Tet holiday is next month?

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Anna: What is Tet?

Mai: It’s the time when Vietnamese people celebrate the beginning of spring It’s also the start of the lunar new year 2

Anna: When is it exactly?

Mai: Well, this year it’s on the 9 th of February

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Anna: What do people usually do at Tet?

Mai: Well, they eat a lot of special foods, they dress up and visit friends and relatives, and they also play some traditional games 4

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After students practise this dialogue fluently I ask them to replace the underlined words by:

Thanksgiving People celebrate

the harvest

third Thursday in November

Family members get together They prepare a large meal with roast turkey

Valentine’s Day People express

their love to each other

14th February They give chocolates,

flowers or gifts to the people they love

Mid-Autumn

Festival

People celebrate the largest full moon in the year

15th day of the 8th

lunar month

Children wear masks, parade in the street, have parties with special cakes and lots of fruits, etc

This practice helps every student in class and no one gets stuck

Example 3:

In Unit 7: World Population – Language Focus (English 11)

Teacher: Practise asking and answering, using conditional sentences in pairs

(After the students study grammar)

Model:

A: What will you do if you pass the final exam?

B: If I pass the final exam I will try to find a good job

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Students look at the model and it is easy for them to practise in pairs

Example 4:

In Unit 4: School Education System – Writing (English 12)

Teacher: Work in pairs Ask and answer these questions as quickly as possible (Before you write)

1 At what age does a child start school in Vietnam?

2 How many terms are there in a school year?

3 When does a school year generally begin and end?

4 How long does it take to complete primary education?

5 How many grades are there in Vietnamese lower secondary school?

6 How many grades are there in Vietnamese upper secondary school?

7 Is upper secondary education compulsory?

If students work in pairs carefully to answer these questions they will find it easy

to write about the school education system in Vietnam

3.2 Examples of group work:

Example 1:

In Unit 3: A party – Speaking (English 11)

Teacher: Work in groups You are going to take part in a competition to organize the best party Decide on the following:

A: What would you do if you were a millionaire?

B: If I were a millionaire I would travel around the world

A: What would you have done if you hadn’t had enough money to pay for the

meal last night?

B: If I hadn’t had enough money to pay for the meal last night I would have asked

you some

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- who to invite - entertainment (music, games, etc.)

When students work in groups they should co-operate and share the work with each other If they know how to work together and help each other their group will finish earlier

Example 2:

In Unit 1: Home life – Speaking (English 12)

Teacher: Work in groups of four (the father, the mother, the daughter, the son) Each person in the family says something about the family and duties to the family Students work in groups and they find it easy to finish their roles

Example 3:

In Unit 7: World Population – Listening (English 11)

Teacher: Close your textbooks Work in groups to finish the chart (After you listen)

I want to check their understanding about the content of the passage that they have already listened to

(1) shortage of food

(2) lack of hospitals and schools

(3) illiteracy

(4) low living standards

(1) to educate people and make them aware of the danger of having more children

(2) to provide safe, inexpensive birth-control methods

problems

solutions Population

Explosion