Organizing students work in pair, group to improve efficiency in teaching english courses in secondary schools

THANH HOA EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENTTHANH HOA EDUCATION AND TRAINING OFFICE INITIATIVESORGANIZING STUDENTS’ WORK IN PAIR, GROUP TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN TEACHING ENGLISH COURSES I

THANH HOA EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT

THANH HOA EDUCATION AND TRAINING OFFICE

INITIATIVESORGANIZING STUDENTS’ WORK IN PAIR, GROUP TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN TEACHING ENGLISH

COURSES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Offer: To Thi Thu Huong Position: Teacher

School: Tran Mai Ninh Secondary school Subject: English

THANH HOA 2016

I INTRODUCTION

1 The rationale.

In recent years, in parallel with the development of technical sciences,information technology, tourism industry .,learning a foreign languge hasbecome a necessity for every community With the opening mechanism, theviews of "integration" Language has become the optimal means to help us reachout to the world civilization, cultural exchange and friendship join handsworldwide

Stemming from that goal, the teaching and learning of foreign languages

in secondary schools has changed significantly In recent years, English hasbecome an important subject in schools because it not only meets the integrationtrend, but that creates strong and confident in the student's communication

In general with the spirit and requirements of the renewal requiresteaching methods through the innovation process rather textbook recent years,the majority of teachers explore learning and applying these methods varies in aprocess of transfer of knowledge to students But also the influence of the oldmethod in part, on the other hand is not used and is on track to innovationshould gradually also many teachers who have not succeeded in demonstratingthe role of organization, their guidelines, not to promote proactive role creative,active student Especially in the organization of the students work in pair andgroup

To transfer knowledge to students effectively, be stimulating students'learning, students understand and acquire knowledge easily and apply wellknowledge, all depends on the teachers’teaching methods Through practicewith these issues, to work in pair, group of students effectively in foreignlanguage teaching in general and teaching English in particular should complywith these principles and ask what teachers, students have to do? That is why Ichose the topic " ORGANIZING STUDENTS’ WORK IN PAIR, GROUP TOIMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN TEACHING ENGLISH COURSES IN

SECONDARY SCHOOLS”

2 Research purposes

With the successful research topics and initiatives experience will helpteachers get the experience the following:

a Understanding the concept of “work in pair / group”

b How to organize pair / group effectively

c The steps of conducting pair / group effectively

d Instructing students to practice, training for skills and communication

in English mechanicality

e Some experience in applying to work in pair / group in teachingEnglish in secondary school

3 The object and subject of the study

3.1 The object of the study:

Students of class 8C and class 6H at Tran Mai Ninh Secondary school,Thanh Hoa city

3.2 Subject of the study:

Organizing students’ work in pair / group to improve efficiency in teaching

English courses in Secondary schools.

4.3 Experimental Methods: Teachers conducted experiments teach eachspecific purpose required some form applicable lessons in group, pair

4.4 Investigation Method: Teachers ask questions to check understandingthe content assessment of student lessons

This is the result table in September in the school year 2015-2016

before applying the method

100%

1534,9 %

1227,9 %

1023,25 %

613,95 %

00%

100%

1537,5 %

1025,0 %

1127,5 %

410,0 %

00%

5 The range of the research

Apply “Organizing students’ work in pair / group to improve efficiency

in teaching English courses in Secondary schools ” is experienced researchinitiatives within given situations and some exercises fit to work in pair, or ingroup At the same time a pair of organization, group and user controlactivities in pair, in group

With the range of this research can be applied in the development of allthe skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing mainly communicationactivities

II CONTENT

1 Theoretical basis of the initiative experience

The goal of the English is to form and develop in students’ the knowledge

of basic skills in English and intellectual qualities needed to further education orenter working life Therefore new secondary English textbooks from grades six

to nine are compiled according to the same opinion building program, that istopic (thematic approach) and promote the active learning method of students

We can say one positive expression, characteristics of the students inlearning the foreign language, students need to acquire knowledge, apply skills

to communicate, how to work in pair and group to cooperate with you as neededduring practice speaking and writing actively present know his intentionsthrough oral or written communication

The organizing students’ work in pair is not difficult, but it is necessary toachieve the ultimate goal of the program which is to equip the learners theability to communicate and exchange easily and fluently in the language Theadvantage of this type of exercise is to give students the opportunity to practicespeaking and communicating almost like in real life

2 Actual situation before applying initiative experience

In Vietnam our circumstances, often crowded classroom of students, shortschool hours is not enough for the majority of students participate incontributing to the lesson Except drill, the average per student in class only atotal of ten - fifteen seconds to speak Therefore, teachers must organizeactivities in pair / group for all students practice speaking in class

In Vietnam, the number of students in the classroom are often crowded,short school hours is not enough for the majority of students to participate in contributing to the lesson Per student in class has only a total of ten- fifteen seconds to speak To increase the time for students practice speaking in class,

we must organize activities to all students can speak

Those standpoint learner-centered is often said that if all students in theclass speak at the same time, it will make the class noisy, disorderly,uncontrollable But reality is not quiet right: With the guidance of teachercontrol and the establishment of regulations to work in group, pair, the noise oflanguage exchange is a positive noise, is a manifestation of the education

To work in pair, group of students work effectively in learning foreignlanguage in general and teaching English in particular need to understand howthe work in group, pair; need to comply what principles and ask what teachersand students to do? On this topic I strongly collected to make the organizingstudents’ work in pair, group so that it is the effective

3 Solutions and implementations used to solve the problem

3.1 Research to work in pair, in group

a Work in pair ( pair work)

* The role of teachers when students participate in practicing in pair.

Previously, teachers always hold leadership, control of all activities in theclassroom, but now need to have a different view because their role has changedover the period of this new practice of students Now teachers have twofunctions The first function was monitored: Teachers go from one group toanother to listen and acknowledge the repeated errors in the students but letthem speak naturally, extremely interrupt them unless absolutely necessary Theserious error will be addressed at another time may be early or late session aftertraining session The second function is the provision, documentation, help,answers to difficult questions about general knowledge or corpus

In the teaching process, to promote actively the activities of pupil pair, is

a form of group learning activities well Through this form of learning they haveconditions present, discuss and express their thoughts about the amount ofinformation on the lessons that I understand, I feel The amount of informationeach student may be true or may be false in part Since then teachers grasp theextent of thinking, their understanding This process takes place in a two-wayrelationship In terms of teaching theory, this is a dialectical relationship Alsowhen exchanging pair, group of students are trained more in skills and habits ofthought, expression and presentation of a problem before a collective Throughthis activity, the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing of students isincreasingly high

*Recommend ways to practice in pair

When using this type of exercise for the first time, you should explain tostudents the advantages and reasons to use it The explanation can be done in themother tongue of the students Additionally, the pupil should agree with thefollowing principles:

- Do exercises in pair is not the time to chat

- Upon completion of homework tasks, students can switch roles and do

it again exercise

- If time runs out and the students are not done, there is no need toworry, because even more important is that they are practice activity, notnecessarily the result of a task specific area

- After doing all of the time, teachers must necessarily examine andevaluate the results of the work the students have performed in pair

- All students are required to participate in this activity in a certainfolder When the odd, the pupil can participate with their briefcases sit near thebest If requested assignments are exchanged between two people, the 3rdperson sit track, then join the exchange in practice round Monday with one ofthe other two

- They could ask the teacher for help if needed While students practicehoi- said, teachers must cover and track grades to comment pair, listen and fixthem, note the pair of weak students

* Practical steps to work in pair

+ Step 1 : Preparation

Need to prepare very carefully through the introduction and practice oflanguage, how to make all of them are confident when using the language data.After the introduction and practice of language should save all the information

on the table

+ Step 2: The teacher model with a student

The teacher with a student in the class act as an exemple so that allstudents understand the requirements and know how to do

+ Step 3: The two students perform

Ask two good students to perform before the class again If the teacherallows students to stand at their seats, ask studentss to speak loud enough forthe whole class to hear

+ Step 4: Regulation Time

Tell students that they will have how much time to perform this exercise(normally between 2- 3 minutes)

+ Step 5: Students work in pair

Out commands for all students start doing all at once While studentswork, the teacher goes away from the other pair to the other pair, track and helpthem when necessary but avoid interfering in the activities of the students can

see whether they have the wrong place.

+ Step 6: Check the class

When the time is over, almost pair finished their work, ask all students tostop Choose a few pair and ask two students then presented back to the class.This test is important because it makes the students must work more seriously inthe later workout Students will become more industrious, more self-aware toknow that teachers will examine and evaluate the individual point of theirlearning activities

b The type of exercise in pair

* Conversation

After attending a dialogue form, students have some structures andunderstand all the issues including grammar, teachers can ask students in pairplayed all but replaced some more information (eg, name, hometown,occupation, hobbies ) to transform their lines about themselves or about theissues that concern them

When do you have history ?

( music, English, literature…?

* Grammar practice

After students have grasped the grammar problems and was able topractice (by the repeated exercise or convert ), divide the students into pair andask them to talk to each other (note choose thematic closeness, familiarity) Forexample, talking about themselves or things have actually related to the lives ofstudents The suggestions above table are still ideal for this exercise

*Check unofficially

The regular testing also serves as teaching When allowing students worktogether to do a test, teachers can encourage the learning of the pupil because ofthe weak students will be students rather than help Some should have a shorttest last for hours and then point too The test does not need to include all theknowledge students learn in all that may focus on any aspect of the use oflanguage Requirements of homework should be very clear, write the form onthe board and control the time to train the students ability to react fast andflexible in the use of language Last done can be checked mouth or the pair ofcross checking and marking each other

*Description of the pictures

Pictures can be used as triggers for a wide variety of exercises in pair Forexample, looking at a picture accompanied an article read, a student in the pair

of right and wrong in finding out where the students raised controversy isendorsed or opposed (compare against reading) Or two students with twopanorama same but the details in the various paintings (such as object positions

in painting, color, type of clothing, outward appearance of people, ) One pupildescribed the details in his paintings and the other to find out the differences inthe second picture

*Find headers for reading

Before both a reading class, ask each pair of students read, ask each pair

of students skim then set for reading a cautionary statement Depending on thelength of all the fixed time, but note the time spent in this activity not so muchbecause of the fact this is the type of exercise skill skim for main ideas.Moreover, this activity is great because it gives students a chance to read theactual purpose, reading for real information The results read can be checkedmouth with each pupil or class

*Ask and answer

End the readings often have questions Students can discuss to findanswers to these questions in pair Students do oral first, then teachers call a fewstudents any checking Or make this activity varies by oral discussion and writeanswers on paper, the pair crossovers dot the answers to each other under thecontrol of the teacher

*Write sentences illustrations

After learning and practicing new words, at the end of class, still new tothe words on the board, just remove the illustrations go before asking students to

rewrite the other to illustrate that the new word to check school students havereally understood meaning and usage of new words that are not.

c Group Activity (Work in group / group work)

In our class, we can not move the seats around the classroom easily, so inthis situation, teachers can only ask students’ desks facing down on the tablebelow to form a group to practice It is a good idea to form group of four - sixstudents but sometimes the number of students in each group will depend on thenumber of students sitting at each table

After finishing the group split up or to appoint members of the elected group leader or group secretary This person will direct contact withteachers when the group encountered difficulties in implementing therequirements of the exercise This makes controlling all group of teachers in theclassroom quietly, easier It should be specified or guide students with oral andvivacious appeal more to do this But sometimes also need to change: studentschoose a pretty but shy to facilitate pupil training to become bolder Or perhaps

self-to the members of the group take turns as leader It is important that this workneeds to be done quickly and decisively students must be informed immediatelywho was the leader of them so they can get to work, no wasted time The groupcan share in your native language, in English if it is first necessary for students

to know and understand commands like: “ The first row, turn and face the second The third row, turn and face the fourth please Now work in group”.

*The role of teachers

Teachers are people who manage all activities in the classroom Thereforethey have to plan for it, organize it, start it, monitor it, watch time for it andfinish it Taboo especially after asking students to work in teams, teachers sit orwork on personal goals such as is done here Teacher necessarily have tomanage, monitor, supervise, help students practice Teachers can go from theother group to another group, check that students have to comply withrequirements of the exercise or not Teachers need to be active and sensitive tothe classroom atmosphere and rhythm work of the party, remembering therepeated errors in students to adjust their lesson later If we recognize that themajority of students have difficulty in carrying out the tasks of the exercise, tostop all the group, explained the request of exercise, structural or grammaticalproblem, or for a whole class train back problem then continued teamwork

*The type of exercise in group

The group activities tend freer communicative and interactive activitiesrather than in pair Many activities are easy to carry, even with the leastexperienced teachers

* Game

The games guess information to practice questions Yes - No The simplest

one is guessing game Who am I thinking of ? What’s my profession ? Hoặc Guess what I did ( last night/ during the weekend) Write the title game on the

board, provided a number of suggestions, vocabulary, background knowledge,then the new model for the students themselves and play.

+ Make questions

Ask group to read texts then questioned about all that After a fewminutes the group closed the book, turn the group leader or secretary stood up toput a few questions, the members of the other group has the task to answer Forstudents more interested in activities, should organize it as a contest: the answersare scored based on accuracy of language and communication

+ Guided Practice

After using alternative exercises for students to become familiar with thestructure and function of it should organize further exercises more meaningfulcommunication with group activities in nature game and creativity

For example, after teaching structure with should/ shouldn’t with that

admonition:

You should/ shouldn’t + verb ( You should eat more fruit) Teachers give some suggestions for students to work in teams Someoneraised the issue of their own and other people in the group to give advice Oneproblem may have many different advice To engage students more actively toturn this activity into a contest: see many group offering advice puffs and mostenlightened advice can not refute

Examples of suggestions:

Wallet/ lost bad marks for science Shirt/ torn have headache/ toothache Watch/ broken etc

May take a few minutes for students to raise real issues that practitionersmet in his life, and the other group you give advice Or vice versa, the students

in this group read some of his advice while students in other group to try toguess whether it is advice on problems

+ Reading and spelling

Why teachers to always have to be the dictation? This task can bedelegated to a reading group for other members Of course should choose shortpassages and was hopc before The reading may also be responsible forchecking and repair to other members in the group

+ Games played

After the class was practicing a structure with a certain function, the gameplays very good effect to reinforce the students' understanding of the functioning ofthis structure in more natural circumstances For example, can ask the group to play

a situation in which a person wants to change something to complain newlypurchased clothes the day before; or collecting information for a packageholiday, With games played, the team can set up the plays in which each memberplays a part While the members of the drama group, the group's secretary to jotdown the lines to then review and the group will present to the class

+ Predict

This exercise is often used for students at a relatively high level Beforeyou read a text requires predictable group for the contents of all or tenetvocabulary may encounter in post For example, before reading an article aboutpupil pollution can foresee that it will speak to all issues related to the sea,forest, underground resources, fumes from car exhausts, motorbike…

+ Answering the question of speculation

After each reading, the teacher can give a pupil some questions tospeculate on the circumstances occurring in the post The answer is based on thepupil's reasoning but not in all Students in group to discuss and come to acommon answer for both group

+ Discuss

For students who have relatively high language knowledge Discussionsallow students to freely express the views and opinions of themselves, so theusefulness of this genre exercises have nothing to argue anymore Teachers give

out a certain topic ( What do you think about women who work as politicians? What should be done about all the beggars on the streets?) then let all the

discussion group to discuss and exchange their views in a few minutes Then amember of the group will report back to the general opinion of the party (if there

is a consensus), or summarized the comments (if any difference) Next to thestudents as a whole class discussion on that issue Teachers do not need toexpress their views, unless there is wrong, but no one opposed

+ Write an essay

This form is not ideal for the classes with numberous students Theteacher can not be a monitor and helps give a class or about fourty-fifty studentsthat these students wrote various articles Moreover, correcting mistakes forfourty-fifty essays is not easy work Some experts believe that teaching methodsfor students to write without track guidance, it is only harmful to students only.Since students can infect the habits of misuse of language structure, languageusers express themselves in the manner of the mother tongue

If held for students to work in group, teachers of large classes will be able

to simultaneously control and guide all creative entries of students in class Canguide an essay by the questions on the table, the murals or suggestions Forexample, each group received a letter and they must together answer that letter.Students must know that when difficulties arise, they do not freely ask teachershelp but through their leader At the same time they also have to realize thateveryone in the group must contribute constructive comments and would haveenjoyed all the success of the post The role of the leader is very important atthis time They must know charismatic encourage team members to contributecomments

3.2.Timing and type of exercise should be for students to do in pair, group.

a Work in pair/ pair work.

*Practice model sentences following the introduction and a few minutes laters, practice before the class ( Practise model sentences)

Example: English 6: Unit 2: My home

Getting started Page 16

Mi: Wow That room looks so big I can see there’s a TV behind you Nick: Yes, I’m living in the living room Can you see my dog Luke? He’s

sitting on the sofa.

…

Listen and read and then role play: One is Mi, the other is Nick

*Practice vocabulary.

Example: English 6: Unit 4: My neighbourhood

A closer look 1: page 40

Work in pairs Use the words in 1 and 2 to help you.

A: Is our neighbourhoo polluted?

B: No, it isn’t.

A: Is it peaceful?

B: Yes, it is.

*Practice short dialogues, make up similar ones using the exemple.

Example: English 8: Unit 9: Natural disasters ( skills 1)

Work in pairs Role – play telling each other about the news Use the example below.

A: Did you watch the news last night?

B: No, I didn’t What’s happened?

A: There was a powerful earthqua Where was it?

……….

*Practice communication, dialogue build

Example: English 8: Unit 9: Natural disasters ( skills 1)

Discuss what you should do in the events of a natural disaster in your area

A: What should you do to prepare for floods in your area?

B: First, I’ll make sure I have a disaster plan

A: What should you do during a flood ?

B: During a flood, I should try to get to higher ground as quickly as

possible

*Read then ask and answer the questions about the text.

+ Students discuss the questions in pair and then read the text to choose the right answer

Example: English 8: Unit 1: Leisure activities

Skills 1

Disscuss the questions Then choose the correct answers