High school students'''''''' perceptions of the benefits of the group work to their English language learning: a survey research in Ngoc Tao High School

COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT VŨ THỊ HẢI HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE BENEFITS OF GROUP WORK TO THEIR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING: A SURVEY RESEARCH IN

COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT

VŨ THỊ HẢI

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE BENEFITS OF GROUP WORK TO THEIR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING: A SURVEY RESEARCH IN NGOC TAO HIGH SCHOOL

(Nhận thức của học sinh phổ thông về lợi ích của hoạt động nhóm đối với việc học tiếng Anh: Nghiên cứu khảo sát ở trường THPT Ngọc Tảo)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Methodology

Code: 601410

Hanoi, 2009

COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT

VŨ THỊ HẢI

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE BENEFITS OF GROUP WORK TO THEIR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING: A SURVEY RESEARCH IN NGOC TAO HIGH SCHOOL

(Nhận thức của học sinh phổ thông về lợi ích của hoạt động nhóm đối với việc học tiếng Anh: Nghiên cứu khảo sát ở trường THPT Ngọc Tảo)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Methodology

Code: 601410 Supervisor: Lê Văn Canh, M.A

Hanoi, 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration i

Acknowledgements ii

Abstracts iii

Lists of abbreviations vi

Lists of tables vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Research questions 2

5 Method of the study 2

6 Design of the study 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Learner beliefs about language learning 4

2.1.1 Definition of beliefs and learner beliefs 4

2.1.2 The necessity of studying learner belief in language teaching 4

2.1.3 Studies on learners’ beliefs 6

2.2 The role of group work in language teaching 8

2.2.1 Definition of pair work and group work 8

2.2.2 Types of group work 9

2.2.3 The role of group work in language teaching and its benefits 9

2.2.3.1 The role of group work in language teaching 10

2.2.3.2 Benefits of group work 10

2.2.3.2.1 Group work creates classroom atmosphere 10

2.2.3.2.2 Group work motivates learners and increases their confidence 11

2.2.3.2.3 Group work increases students’ participation and their talking time 11

2.2.3.2.4 Group work fosters learners’ responsibility and independence 12

2.3 Limitations of group work 12

2.3.1 Time management; noise and mistakes 12

2.3.2 Learners’ use of the mother tongue 13

2.3.3 Unequal distribution of work in groups 13

2.3.4 Classroom discipline problems 13

2.4 Studies on the use of group work 14

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 17

3.1 The context of the study 17

3.2 The rationale of using the survey method 17

3.3 The participants 18

3.4 The questionnaire 18

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 19

4.1 Students’ attitudes towards group work 19

4.2 Students’ perceptions of the benefits and limitations 22

of group work to their language learning 4.2.1 Students’ perceptions of the benefits of group work 22

4.2.2 Students’ perceptions of the limitations of group work 25

4.3 Activities that students would most prefer to do in group 28

4.4 Students’ opinions of the main benefits and limitations of 31

group work according to grades 4.5 Discussion 33

4.5.1 Students’ attitudes towards group work 33

4.5.2 Students’ perceptions of the benefits of group work 34

4.5.3 Students’ preferences to group work activities 34

4.5.4 Conclusion 34

4.6 Summary 35

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 36

5.1 Summary of the study 36

5.2 Implications for the use of group work 36

5.3 Limitations of the study 37

5.4 Suggestions for further studies 38

REFERENCES 39 APPENDIX I

LISTS OF TABLES

Table 1: Students’ attitudes towards group work (G.10) 19

Table 2: students’ attitudes towards group work (G.11) 20

Table 3: Students’ attitudes towards group work (G.12) 21

Table 4: Students’ attitudes in three grades 10, 11 and 12 22

Table 5: Students’ perceptions of the benefits of group work (G.10) 23

Table 6: students’ perceptions of the benefits of group work (G.11) 23

Table 7: Students’ perceptions of the benefits of group work (G.12) 24

Table 8: Students’ perceptions of the benefits of group work (G.10, 11 and 12) 25

Table 9: Students’ perceptions of the limitations of group work (G.10) 26

Table 10: Students’ perceptions of the limitations of group work (G.11) 26

Table 11: Students’ perceptions of the limitations of group work (G 12) 27

Table 12: Students’ perceptions of the limitations of group work (G.10, 11 and 12) 28

Table 13: Activities that students would most prefer to do in group (G.10) 29

Table 14: Activities that students would most prefer to do in group (G.11) 29

Table 15: Activities that students would most prefer to do in group (G.12) 30

Table 16: Activities that students would prefer to do in groups (G.10, 11 and 12) 31

Table 17: Students’ opinions of the main benefits and limitations of group work 32

to their English learning according to grades

LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

EFL: English Foreign Language

HULIS: Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

With the advent of communicative language teaching (CLT), group work has always been promoted in the English Foreign Language (EFL) literature as an instructional strategy which encourages students’ interaction Group work is believed to play an important role

in language teaching and learning process Many researchers have paid their attention to this field In reality, group work has been used widely in almost high schools and universities because the effectiveness of group work is always taken for granted From learners’ perspective, group work is beneficial to students in many fields, and students are therefore more involved and motivated in the lesson Group work gives more chances for students to help one another and foster their responsibility, autonomy and independence, (Ur, 1996)

However, all those claimed benefits of group work seem to be viewed from the researchers’ or teachers’ perspectives Little is known about students’ beliefs about group work Whether group work is effective or not depends on students themselves If students have positive attitudes towards group work, they will participate in the lesson actively In contrary, they will be inactive whenever the teacher asks them to work in groups

As a teacher of English, I have observed that the students do not seem to get actively involved in speaking activities in the classroom When asked, most of them are afraid of speaking English or they do not know how to express their ideas in English Students are familiar with the traditional teaching method in which their teacher plays a role as a knowledge provider; and students only do the task like a machine without creativeness as well as activeness Thus, when group activities are applied in class, I realize that not many students are eager to this activity or in other words, group work is not very efficient in large classes

Why some students are eager to group work and the others are not? And what do they perceive of the benefits of group work to their English learning? These questions have drawn my interest in carrying out the current which focused on the investigation of high school students’ perceptions of the benefits of group work

2 Aims of the study

The study is carried out with the aims at:

- Surveying students’ attitudes towards group work using in their English lessons;

- Investigating students’ perceptions of the benefits of group work to their English learning;

- Giving some suggestions to increase the effectiveness of group work to students in Ngoc Tao High School It is hoped that the study will be useful for teachers and students in general and for those in my school in particular

3 Scope of the study

Group work is widely used in almost high schools However, due to the time and length constraint of the study, the author only focuses on surveying students in Ngoc Tao High school (grade 10, 11 and 12) to find out their perceptions of the benefits of group work to their English learning

4 Research questions

To reach the aims of the study, the following questions are given:

1 What are high school students’ attitudes towards group work in their language learning?

2 What do the students perceive of the benefits of group work to their English learning?

3 What activities would students most prefer to do in groups?

5 Method of the study

To seek answers to the above research questions, a questionnaire survey was used Miles and Huberman (1994) stated three good reasons for resorting to numbers: “to see rapidly what you have in a large batch of data; to verify a hunch or hypothesis; and to keep yourself analytically honest, protecting against bias”, (p.253) Moreover, using

questionnaires in research may help participants approach the problem more easily However, this method has its own limitation, that is, the results collected may not reflect the matter proposed precisely In order to reduce the invalidity and unreliability, the author will give clear instructions to the students; observe the class to make sure that the students answer each question themselves; or ask the students to check their answers

For all that has been mentioned above, the survey research seems to be the most suitable for the scope and objectives of my study To collect data, the survey questionnaires will be delivered to 150 students in grades 10, 11 and 12

6 Design of the study

The study is divided into five chapters:

Chapter 1 is the introduction, which covers some brief information about the study

such as the rationale, aims, scope, research questions, method and design of the study

Chapter 2 deals with the literature review relevant to the study;

Chapter 3 describes the setting of the study and how the study is carried out; Chapter 4 presents the data analysis and discussion

Chapter 5 is the conclusion which reviews what has been presented in the study

and suggests some implications for improving the effectiveness of group work

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Learner beliefs about language learning

As mentioned above, group work is one of the important activities that enhance learners’ participation in class Group work motivates learners in their language learning Learners’ success in language learning depends on a number of factors Among them are learners’ needs, their motivation as well as their attitudes towards learning a foreign language To understand more about this, an overview of learner beliefs about language learning is necessary

2.1.1 Definition of beliefs and learner beliefs

 Belief: According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, belief is defined as a

thing that one accepts as true or real Another definition of belief provided by Horwitz (1987) is a statement that is held to be true, that affects language learning practices

 Learner belief: Language learners hold a set of beliefs concerning language

learning and these beliefs may influence the way they learn, even though the beliefs are not always explicitly stated

According to Richard & Lockhart (1996), learners’ belief system covers a number of aspects, including beliefs about the nature of English, the speaker of English, the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), teaching activities, language learning, appropriate classroom behaviour, their own ability and the goals for language learning

Huang (2006) states that learner beliefs of language learning include beliefs about the time needed to attain fluency, the relative difficulties of language, the right age to start language learning, the roles of grammar, vocabulary and communication in language learning and other aspects of the learning process

2.1.2 The necessity of studying learner belief in language teaching

For recent years, foreign language teaching and learning have shifted from teacher directed instruction to student-centred learning Therefore, many researchers have raised their interest in learners’ perspective Numerous studies related to teaching methodology have been carried out from learners’ perspective because learners are key figures in teaching and learning process; and beliefs about language learning play an important role in learning achievements and experiences

According to Horwitz (1999), it is likely that language learner beliefs have the potential to affect their learning experiences as well as their actions Some beliefs are likely influenced

by learners’ previous experiences which could be positive or negative A negative learning experience might lead learners to believe that they do not possess the special abilities required to learn a foreign language (Horwitz, 1987) In addition, attitudes and perceptions

to learning beliefs take an important role on learning behaviours (Cotterall, 1995) Mantle- Bromley (1995) points out that learners with positive beliefs are more likely to perform better in class Thus, it is important to discover learners’ beliefs to meet their expectations and avoid students’ resistance to instructional approaches and activities in the classroom (Horwitz, 1987)

Besides, learners’ beliefs in language learning will shape their attitudes as well as their motivation towards a foreign language Richards & Lockhart (1994) claims that “beliefs can influence learners’ motivation to learn, their expectations about language learning, their perceptions about what is easy or difficult about a language, and the strategies they

choose in learning” (p52) In reality, learners may have different goals for language

learning Some learners learn a language for the purpose of communicating with speakers

of that language Others may want to learn for their future jobs Some may consider grammar to be the most difficult task; the others think listening is the most difficult one, etc

Learners’ beliefs not only influence their approaches to language learning but also affect the way they respond to the teaching activities If learners feel dissatisfied with the teaching method, they will lose their motivation in learning language According to Horwitz (1987), some students prefer having more free conversations rather than pattern drills while some other students insist on their teacher’s correction If the teacher cannot meet learners’ needs, they will soon become bored and frustrated with learning and this may affect learners’ motivation in language learning Hence, it is necessary for teachers to

have better understandings of their learners’ needs as well as their expectations in order to help them acquire a new language more easily

Studying learners’ beliefs is not only necessary for teachers but also for learners themselves To emphasize the importance of learners’ beliefs in language learning, Huang (2006) considers that learner beliefs of language learning are of critical importance to the success or failure of any student’s effort to master a foreign language (p.62) Horwitz (1988) also shares the same points with Huang She admits that “knowledge of students’ beliefs provides teachers with better understanding of their students’ expectation of, commitment to, success in, and satisfaction with their language classes” (p.283)

In conclusion, studying learners’ beliefs is necessary in language teaching It helps the teacher have better understandings of learners’ needs, their motivation as well as their attitudes towards language learning The teacher is therefore able to control his or her teaching method to meet learners’ needs and improve the efficiency in language teaching

2.1.3 Studies on learners’ beliefs

In the literature of language teaching and learning, there are numerous studies that deal with learners’ beliefs One of the earliest studies on beliefs about language learning was that of Horwitz (1985) She conducted her research among students and instructors at the University of Texas at Austin, using an instrument BALLI (Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory) to assess students’ beliefs about learning a new language and found out that some of the beliefs held by learners have effects on their learning Later, many other researchers explored beliefs about language learning among English language students in different contexts (for example, in Taiwan, (Yang, 1992); in Korea (Park, 1995; Truit, 1995); in New Zeland (Cotterall, 1995); in China (Wen & Johnson, 1987), in Brazil (Barcelos, 1995), etc (cited in Bernat, p.42)

Not only learners of English but also learners of other languages have been taken into account Nikitina (2006, p.210) has reviewed a number of researchers who conducted study on learners’ beliefs among students of different languages such as Horwitz (1988) conducted research among students of Spanish, French and German at the University of Texas at Austin; Smith (1989) and Tumposky (1991) investigated beliefs of Russian language learners; Kern (1995) used Horwitz’s model to assess beliefs of students learning

French; Bacon and Finnerman (1990) surveyed beliefs of Spanish language students; or Mori (1999) concentrated on learners of Japanese Nikitina claims that the findings from these researches have revealed that beliefs about language learning are context- specific and learners from different cultures may have different attitudes, approaches to and opinions about learning a new language

In addition, Bernat (2006, p.204) has reviewed the literature and listed factors related to learners’ beliefs about language learning such as strategy use, anxiety, motivation, autonomy, attitude, achievement and proficiency Bernat goes on to claim that all of these researchers concluded that learners who held unrealistic beliefs or misconceptions about language learning were more anxious than those who held more positive and realistic beliefs And the more proficient learners were, the more realistic and/or positive beliefs were Among these factors, motivation and attitudes are considered to have close relationships to learners’ beliefs Richard & Lockhart hold the opinion that learners’ beliefs

in language learning will shape their attitudes as well as their motivation towards a foreign language They also stated that “beliefs can influence learners’ motivation to learn, their expectations about language learning, their perceptions about what is easy or difficult about a language, and the strategies they choose in learning”

Another field which draws a great attention from researchers is learners’ learning strategy

of vocabulary and grammar Dealing with this was Ken (1995), Mantle- Bromley (1995)

Li (2004) has also mentioned some researchers such as Horwitz (1988), Wenden (1987),

Gu & Johnson (1996), Yang (1999) Most of these studies have concentrated on language learners’ beliefs about learning languages and have drawn relationships between their beliefs and their influence on learners’ approach to learning It is argued that what learners believe about language learning will influence what they do to learn languages For example, Horwitz (1988) investigated the beliefs of 241 first-semester foreign language learners of German, French and Spanish The findings showed that the learners seemed to

be generally optimistic about language learning and somewhat underestimated the difficulty of language learning 34 percent of students agreed or strongly agreed that learning a foreign language is mostly a matter of learning a lot of new vocabulary words,

29 percent that it is mostly a matter of learning a lot of grammar rules; 50 percent believed

in the existence of foreign language aptitude, and 35 percent of them stated that they had that aptitude, (cited in Peacock, p.127) According to Horwitz, if students believe that

language learning means learning vocabulary and grammar rules, they will spent most of their time memorising vocabulary lists and grammar rules rather than doing the tasks their teacher plans for them (p.289) Apparently, learners’ beliefs have great effects on their strategy for language learning

In summary, studying on learners’ beliefs seems to appeal to researchers Great deals of researchers are interested in the differences in learners’ beliefs in different cultural backgrounds Some of them paid their attention to the factors that affect learners’ beliefs Some concentrated on learners’ beliefs in learning vocabulary and grammar rules So far, there has been no study on learners’ beliefs about group work Although there are a number of researches about group work in Vietnam, learner’s belief in group work is not mentioned therefore, there may be unilateral points of view about group work from the teacher’s perspective Thus, this study is an attempt to explore high school students’ attitudes toward group work especially their perceptions of the benefits of group work to their language learning The author hopes that it will be useful for those who care about this field

2.2 The role of group work in language teaching

2.2.1 Definition of pair work and group work

Related to pair work and group work, there exist different definitions Doff, A (1988) defines pair work and group work as follows:

“In pair work, the teacher divides the whole class into pairs Every student works with his

or her partner in pairs, and all the pairs work at the same time”, (p.137)

This contrasts group work, which he defines as follows “In group work, the teacher divides the class into small groups to work to work together (usually four or five students in each group), as in pair work, all the groups work at the same time”, (p.137)

Adding the psychological dimension of group work, Brumfit (1984) defines group as a number of people who interact with one another, who are psychologically aware of one another and who perceive themselves to be a group” (p.72)

Nunan and Lamp (1995) describes group work as a language learning activity which is carried out by three to six students under a careful supervision of a teacher Although there are different definitions about group work, I am in favour of Doff’s definition because this

definition is similar to the activities I often use in my teaching context It is also suitable for my scope of study Thus, this definition will be used throughout the study

2.2.2 Types of group work

According to Johnson, et al (1980), groups can be classified into four categories: pseudo groups, traditional groups, cooperative groups and high performance cooperative groups

 Pseudo groups are groups whose members have been assigned to work together

but they have no interest in doing so;

 Traditional groups are groups whose members agree to work together, but see little benefit from doing so and as such members interact only to share information and clarify how to complete the task;

 Cooperative groups are groups in which members commit themselves to the

common purpose of maximising their own and each other’s success;

 High performance cooperative groups are groups that meet all the criteria for

cooperative groups and outperform all reasonable expectations, given their membership

However, Chen (2004, p.3) classified group work in three types: whole group, pairs and small group, in which whole group activities are often used to introduce new materials and concepts to the entire class (cited in Valentino, 2000); pairs are used for guide, and temporary discussions Pair work gives learners greater opportunity to use the target language in a less threatening environment; small groups are groups of three or four students, no more than five to six students maximum, work best The smaller the groups are, the less intimidated the students are The less skilful the group members are, the smaller the group should be (cited in Davis, 1993)

2.2.3 The role of group work in language teaching and its benefits

2.2.3.1 The role of group work in language teaching

In language teaching, group work plays an important role On the one hand, it helps teachers facilitate the teaching process On the other hand, group work helps improve the effectiveness of the lesson Macdonald (1997) (cited in Tessa Woodward, 2001) states that there are four main reasons why he used group work with students at Sheffied Hallam University:

- Collaborative work in group involves students in more active learning rather than passive receptivity;

- It enables wider choice which helps to increase motivation;

- He can set tasks which are too big for individual students to tackle alone;

- The excitement of finding out new things, playing with ideas, making connections with other ideas and beginning to make personal sense of the world’s works best in groups

Cottrel (2001) believes that small group work provides an opportunity for developing a wider range of skills, such as team skill, listening, speaking, offering and receiving feedback, etc He also considers that group work allows teachers to rest their voices and to engage in more varied sets of activities Thanks to group work, teachers are supposed to develop a wide range of skills than that required simply to deliver information, and to work more creatively

Following is a review of the benefits of group work, which include the creation of a conductive classroom atmosphere, increase of students’ motivation and confidence as well

as their participation and talking time, and the fostering of learner independence

2.2.3.2 Benefits of group work

2.2.3.2.1 Group work creates classroom atmosphere

Almost all learners realise the importance of learning English but when being asked, most

of them consider that it is seemingly a very difficult task for them Many of them are afraid

of learning English Sometimes learners will feel tired and frustrated with their continuous teacher’s talking time Therefore, working in groups will help change the atmosphere in the classroom According to Fraser & Dean (cited in Burdett, 2003), group work is “an effective learning strategy” because it “provides opportunities for students to negotiate meaning and manipulate ideas with others” (p.177) Obviously, by discussing with their friends, learners will feel more relaxed and be more active in the lesson They do not have

to sit still to listen to their teacher Moreover, they will have a chance to express their own ideas as well as share the ideas from other members of the group The interaction among

learners will help them study more effectively

2.2.3.2.2 Group work motivates learners and increases their confidence

Group work not only creates classroom atmosphere but also motivates learners and increases their confidence In reality, a lot of learners are afraid of learning a foreign language just because they do not understand the lesson and lack the necessary skills for a language Help from friends is, therefore, beneficial to both the learners being helped as well as those giving the help For the former, the assistance from their friends will enable them to get away from dependence on teachers and gain more chances to foster their learning For the later, the cooperative learning group creates opportunities to increase their own performance Sometimes with the help from friends, learners will have profound understandings of the lesson, the new things as well as the language they are using Hence,

it can be said that group work fosters learners’ interest in language learning To highlight this point of view, Ur (1996) denotes that group work “can improve motivation and contribute to a feeling of cooperation and warmth in the class” (p.232)

Besides, group work makes learners more confident One relaxing environment will motivate learners to participate in the lesson This is especially useful for learners who are shy and timid Explaining to this, Ly (2001) considers that learners are often worried about their mistakes; they seem to be afraid of being asked by the teachers but they feel “secure

in working with partners” (p23) When being encouraged by other members of the group, these learners may find it easier to express their own ideas

2.2.3.2.3 Group work increases students’ participation and their talking time

According to Ly (2001), when students work in groups, they are more involved in the task

In other words, group work can encourage individual contributions to problem solving tasks, which may be more difficult to achieve when students work individually

Apart from this, when working in groups, learners will have more chances to speak and express their ideas rather than in individual work It is also coincident with the point which Harmer (1991) stated He claims that students’ talking time and their opportunities to communicate with each other will be increased through group work (p.245) It is understandable when in a large class, learners have a little time to communicate with each other It is impossible for the teacher to call all learners in a forty- five minute period As a result, learners do not have enough time to practise what they learn Thus, group work is a good way to unload the teacher’s job as well as to give learners more chances to practise

2.2.3.2.4 Group work fosters learners’ responsibility and independence

Another benefit of group work is related to learners’ responsibility and independence Ur (1996) states that “group work fosters learners’ responsibility and independence” (p.232).What Ur denotes is reasonable because the learners’ level in a group varies from one to another Therefore, the task of the group should be divided carefully based on each member’s ability Each member will have to be in charge of his or her own part Giving task is also a good way to avoid the dependence of some lazy learners on other members of the group Thus, it can enhance learners’ responsibility and independence

In summary, group work has some major benefits First, group work create classroom atmosphere Second, it motivates learners and increases their confidence Next, group work makes learners more involved in the lesson and creates more chances for them to speak Last but not least, group work plays an important role in fostering learners’ responsibility and independence Thus, if group work is used effectively, it will facilitate teaching and learning process

However, like any other classroom management technique, group work has certain limitations, which are discussed in the following section

2.3 Limitations of group work

Beside its benefits, group work also has some limitations such as a waste of time, noise, overuse of mother tongue, disorder and mistakes, and difficulty in classroom management

2.3.1.Time management; noise and mistakes

As a matter of fact, in a period of forty-five minutes, the teacher has to deal with many tasks If group work is not well organised, it will take time and become ineffective That is the reason why some teachers feel dissatisfied with this activity They consider that “group work is time consuming”, (Byrne, 1986, p.78) The problem stated here is that the good organisation of group work; the number of learners in each group as well as the time needed for each activity should be taken into account

Not only time but noise and mistakes are also factors which might arise during group work This is undeniable because when learners take part in the task eagerly, noise and mistakes are unavoidable In fact, this is productive noise and it should not be a major concern because when the class is noisy, it means that learners are getting involved in the task Like Lewis and Hill (1992) state “effective language teaching means giving the students a

chance to speak Carefully organised “noise” does not mean disorder or that time is being

wasted” (p.45) In many circumstances, when learners make mistakes, the teacher often feels worried and interrupts them for error correction It is advised that the teacher should not correct all learners’ mistakes as this will make them less confident and limit their performance in class

2.3.2 Learners’ use of the mother tongue

One of the biggest problems in group work is the use of mother tongue by learners According to Harmer (1991), learners are, sometimes, unable or unwilling to take part in activities in English (p.247) Otherwise, while some learners are very self-confident, others are afraid of speaking in class for fear of making mistakes These learners either keep silent

or switch to the use of mother tongue whenever a problem arises Thus, while groups are carried out, the teacher should go around and help learners if they have any questions and encourage them to use the target language as much as possible

2.3.3 Unequal distribution of work in groups

Beside the above factors, group work also makes chances for lazy learners to be even lazier (Byrne, 1986, p.79) While group work brings advantages for some learners, it is also the others’ disadvantages This is due to the unequal contribution of group’s members; one member may dominate the task for the whole group This may be a good chance for lazy learners to chat or to do private things without being realised by the teacher To solve this problem, the teacher should divide the group carefully and a leader of the group should be chosen to control the activity in their own group

2.3.4 Classroom discipline problems

Another limitation of group work is that teachers often have to deal with difficulties in controlling the class There may be problems of discipline from time to time because “all the groups work at the same time” (Doff, 1988, p.137)) The teacher, therefore, cannot control over what learners are doing To prevent these activities from getting out of control, a clear instruction of the task from the teacher should be introduced before learners start so that learners will know exactly what they have to do

To sum up, group work has some major limitations such as it is time consuming; noise and mistakes also arise Moreover, the use of mother tongue in class is rather popular in using group work Otherwise, it is also a chance for lazy learners to chat or to do other things in stead of discussing the task The difficulty in classroom management is another problem

that all the teachers often encounter in group activity However, the teacher should be active and flexible in organising the class in order for all groups to work; minimise the limitations and increase the effectiveness of group

2.4 Studies on the use of group work

As mentioned above, group work plays an important part in language teaching Therefore,

it attracts a great attention from various researchers both in the world and in Vietnam

A lot of researchers from all over the world pay attention to this field with focus on students’ attitudes towards group work According to Gardner & Korth (1998), students’ attitudes towards group work varied according to individual learning styles preference In another study, Balaji (2007) examines the perception of students towards group work and the skills acquired through group work and group projects In addition, attention is given to the influence of age and prior work experience on the students' perception of group work The sample consists of 187 students undertaking a marketing course at a premier business school in India The findings indicate that students' perception towards the group work is significant and students value the skills acquired through group projects for their future career development

Another study was carried out by Walker (2001) Walker investigated students’ perceptions of group work and peer assessments One hundred and fifty six first year psychology students took part in her study Students were asked to complete questionnaires regarding their attitudes towards participating in group work and peer assessment both before and after participating in group project The results regarding group work showed that in general the students were favourably disposed towards participating in group work However, there were concerns about inequalities in workload distribution and in whether students learned more by working independently

A related study that looked at students’ perceptions of group work was reported by Gatfield (1999) Gatfield reports that whilst age and gender were not found to be related to the degree of satisfaction by students, previous work experience and home (Australia) or overseas status were found to have an effect Colbeck et al (2000) also states that prior influences such as the amount of instruction that the students received and the degree of group work experience that they had previously undertaken affected the amount of interdependency constructed between the group members

Other researchers who paid attention to student’s perceptions of team learning in the context of fieldwork in an earth science programme were Kempa and Orion (1996) In their study, Kempa and Orion were concerned about two aspects: (i) students’ views on the composition of working groups and choice of working partners; and (ii) students’ perception of their own learning from team activities Findings revealed different points of view from students In the case of the former, a significantly larger proportion of students seemed to be concerned that a fruitful working relationship would prevail than with the likely success on the learning tasks Students also believed that their working groups should be placed in terms of interest orientation of members This suggested that students appreciated the helpfulness of expertises’ presence in group learning In the case of the latter, most of the students considered that their team activities had been successful in terms of generating a solution to learning problems and also as a method of learning However, a significant minority of students felt that their own personal learning benefit from group work had been rather low

Although there are a number of studies related to the field group work by researchers in the world, there has been not much research on the issue Despite my efforts, I could manage

to identify very few studies on group work undertaken in Vietnam

A study mentioned by Bac (2005) considered that large classes in Thai Nguyen University were facing some challenges with communicative activities Her study, therefore, was aimed at examining the impact of two techniques, group work and questioning, on students’ participation in communicative activities in large classes Findings showed that these two techniques strongly increased the students’ active participation Students in the experimental groups were positive and appreciative to the new techniques

Another study related to the field of group work was by Nam (2006) In his study, he investigated the benefits of using group work in teaching writing to second year students at Hanoi Agricultural University The study was carried out with the participation from fifteen English teachers and over one hundred second year students from his own University Findings from questionnaires and observations showed that using group work

in writing skill had positive effects on students’ attitude and motivation and it also improved their writing skill

Huong (2006) claimed the use of pair work and group work in speaking lessons for the first year students at National Economics University Fifteen Vietnamese teachers and two

hundred first year students from English-Russian Department, National Economics University participated in her study Findings revealed that most of the students were aware of the importance of the speaking skill Both teachers and students considered communication to be a good way to exchange information However, pair work and group work were not very effective in her university due to the limitation in using necessary practical activities The author also suggested solutions for improving students’ speaking skill through a flexible and effective use of pair work and group work

To sum up, most of the mentioned studies dealt with the application of group work in improving language skills especially speaking and writing However, none considers students’ perceptions of the benefits of group work For this reason, the author has raised her attention to this field with the hope to have profound understandings of students’ perceptions to group work, their needs as well as their expectations from the teacher The following chapters will be introduced in more details

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 The context of the study

Founded in 1983, Ngoc Tao High school is one of the three High Schools in Phuc Tho District, Hanoi In 2007-2008 school year, the school has 38 classes in which there are 12 classes 10 (544 students), 12 classes 11 (586 students) and 14 classes 12 (665 students) The number of the students in each class ranges from 45 to 50 students The total number

of English teachers is 11 (1 male and 10 females), in which 2 teachers have Master’s Degree, 2 others are studying for Master’s Degree, the rest all graduated from Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies (HULIS), regular training The average age of English teachers is 35

In recent years, the school has been equipped with many modern facilities for English teaching and learning like computers, videos, projectors, etc However, the use of these modern facilities in teaching is not frequent due to the limited basic IT ability of some teachers Their way of teaching still follows a traditional method, which is mainly focused

on grammar rather than communication skills Students’ learning and their real English ability should be taken into account Facts have shown that the majority of students have not high results in English because their level of English is still low In addition, the students themselves do not consider English to be as important as other subjects like Math, Physics or Chemistry, etc Therefore, they do not spend much time in English learning This somehow affects students’ attitudes towards English learning as well as their English ability

As in many other high schools, English is a compulsory subject The text books used for students are English 10, 11, 12 (new series of text books- basic programme) Students have three English lessons every week with 45 minutes per period With the limited time in each period and the high number of the students in each class, it is difficult for English teaching and learning to be effective Group work using is, therefore, restricted or in other words this activity seems to be not efficient in English lessons in my school

3.2 The rationale of using the survey method

When doing a research, one often chooses a suitable approach to collect data Surveys are widely used for collecting data in most areas According to Cohen and Manion (1985), surveys are the most commonly used descriptive method in educational research, and may vary in scope from large scale investigations though to small scales studies carried out by a single researcher The purpose of a survey is generally to obtain a snapshot of conditions, attitudes, and/ or events at single point in time

In survey research, the researcher does not “do” anything to the objects or subject research, except observe them or ask them to provide data The result of the research is the data collected from people or things without altering anything

3.3 The participants

The total number of the students participated in the survey is 150 from three grades 10, 11 and 12, among which there are 69 males and 81 females 50 students are from class 10A1 (26 males and 24 females); 50 are from 11A1 (23 males and 27 females) and the rest are from 12A2 (20 males, 30 females)

3.4 The questionnaire

The questionnaire consists of three parts The first part is the students’ personal information such as which grade they are in and their sex Part 2 includes 15 closed questions designed according to Likert Scale, whose options are from totally disagree to totally agree These questions are to find out the students’ attitudes towards group work and their perceptions of the benefits of group work to their English learning In each question, students are asked to choose the best answer Part 3 consists of 3 open ended questions, which clarify the students’ reasons for choosing their favourite skill in group work and their own opinions of the benefits of group work These questions also help to check the similarities and the differences between what the students have chosen and what they really think and expect from the lesson In order to make the students easily understand the questionnaire, all the questions were written in Vietnamese

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter will present and analyse the data collected from the survey questionnaires First, the data will be analysed separately for each grade (10, 11 and 12) based on three research questions Then, the author will generalize to find out the similarities and differences among three grades After that findings and discussion will be introduced

In survey questionnaires, each question consists of five options a, b, c, d and e (see appendix) However, when analysing, the author put these options into three categories:

“agree”, “disagree” and “neutral” This will be presented in the following parts:

4.1 Students’ attitudes towards group work

Grade 10 students’ attitudes towards group work are summarised in table 1 below:

Options

Questions

Agree (%)

Disagree (%)

Neutral (%)

1 Group work helps me more self- confident in study 82 % 16% 2%

3 Group work makes me more motivated in English

learning

9 I dislike group work because it consumes my time 14% 86% 0

Table 1: Students’ attitudes towards group work (G.10, N = 50)

According to the results shown in table 1, most of the students (82 %) agreed and strongly agreed that group work helped them feel more confident in their study, 16 % did not agree with this idea and 2% was not sure about his/her answer

Regarding question 3, most of the samples (84%) agreed that group work made them more interested in learning English In other words, these students seemed to have a positive attitude toward group work 12% did not get motivated through this activity 2% kept his/her neutral opinion