Interactive Language Teaching: Sustaining Interaction

Through Group Work

The teacher of the community college ESL class of about 15 students has just played a cassette tape of an
oceanographer describing the ecology of the ocean. The language of this 10-minute mini-lecture was
comprehensible, but the subject matter itself offered a heavy cognitive load. Now, the teacher asks the
students to get into groups of four students each to answer a set of comprehension questions. His
directions are:
T: Get into groups now and answer the questions on the handout. He then gives each student a handout with
ten comprehension questions—items like, "What is the role of shrimp in ocean ecology?" and "According to
the lecture, in what three ways are human beings dependent on the ocean for survival?"

The students comply with the first part of the directive by getting into previously arranged groups. Then,
silence. Students spend a good three to four minutes silently reading the questions. Some students in some
groups jot down answers to some of the questions. Others look up occasionally to see what other groups
are doing or look at each other and then go back to studying the handout.
Finally, in one group a student says to another:
S1: You figure out number 3?
S2: Um, no, and you?
S1: No. How about number 4?
S2: Well, answer is "plankton," I think.

Whereupon the group falls back into silence and more individual work.
In another group, one student has apparently finished jotting down answers to the questions, and a second
student says:
S3: You got them all?
S4: Yes, I think so.
S3: So, what you write down?
S4: Number 1 is…

And S4 continues to read off his answers one by one, as other Ss in the group fill in the answers in silence. A
third group seizes upon the latter group’s method and queries one of their members who appear to have
all the answers. And the fourth group works on in silence; students occasionally glance at each other’s
papers, mumble a comment or two, and make emendations. Meanwhile the teacher has circulated around
once to watch the students, only responding if a student initiates a question directly. He then returned to
his desk to record attendance and grades some papers. After about fifteen minutes, the teacher asks the
class to report on their responses, question by question, students individually volunteering answers. For
each question the teacher asks if anyone disagrees, then indicates whether the answer is right or wrong,
then asks if everyone in the class understands.

There is something wrong with this picture! If the fifteen-minute time period in which students were in
small groups is group work, then the language teaching profession is in serious trouble. Fortunately, the
description you have just read demonstrates just about everything that you should not do in conducting
group work techniques in your classroom. Before reading on in this chapter, jot down (a) problems with the
above lesson, and (b) what you think the teacher should have done to make a successful group activity
following a 10-minute mini-lecture.

In this chapter, we will look at group work as central to maintaining linguistic interaction in the classroom.
In so doing, you will get some answers to questions like: What are the advantages of group work? What are
some problems to overcome in successful group work? What different kinds of tasks are appropriate for
group work? What are some steps for implementing group work? What are some rules for successful group
work?
Advantages of Group Work
What is group work? It is a generic term covering a multiplicity of techniques in which two or more
students are assigned a task that involves collaboration and self-initiated language. Note that what we
commonly call pair work is simply group work in groups of two. It is also important to note that group work
usually implies "small" group work, that is, students in groups of perhaps six or fewer. Large groupings
defeat one of the major purposes for doing group work: giving students greater opportunities to speak.

Group work is solidly grounded in research principles (see Long and Porter, 1985, for an overview).
Consider the twelve principles cited in Chapter 2. You can think of other theoretical foundations of
successful language teaching and learning already discussed in this and other books on second language
learning and teaching. And consider the importance of interaction in the language classroom discussed in
the previous chapter. An integration of these principles and issues yields a number of advantages of group
work for your English language classroom.

1. Group work generates interactive language.

In so-called traditional language classes, teacher talk is dominant.
Teachers lecture, explain grammar points, conduct drills, and at best lead whole-class discussions in which
each student might get a few seconds of a class period to talk. Group work helps to solve the problem of
classes that are too large to offer many opportunities to speak. By one estimate (Long and Porter, 1985), if
just half of your class time were spent in group work, you could increase individual practice time five-fold
over whole-class traditional methodology.

Closely related to the sheer quantity of output made possible through group work is the variety and quality
of interactive language. With traditional methods, language tends to be restricted to initiation only by the
teacher in an artificial setting where the whole class becomes a "group interlocutor." Small groups provide
opportunities for student initiation, for face to face give and take, for practice in negotiation of meaning,
for extended conversational exchanges, and for student adoption of roles that would otherwise be
impossible.

2. Group work offers an embracing affective climate.

The second important advantage offered by group work is the security of a smaller group of students where
each individual is not so starkly on public display, vulnerable to what the student may perceive as criticism
and rejection. In countless observations of classes, I have seen the magic of small groups. Quite suddenly,
reticent students become vocal participants in the process. The small group becomes a community of
learners cooperating with each other in pursuit of common goals.

A further affective benefit of small group work is an increase in student motivation. With Maslow’s
"security/safety" level satisfied through the cohesiveness of the small group, learners are thus freed to
pursue higher objectives in their quest for success.

3. Group work promotes learner responsibility and autonomy.

Even in a relatively small class of 15 to 20 students, whole-class activity often gives students a screen to
hide behind. I remember a college French class I took in which the teacher’s single teaching technique was
to call on students one by one to translate a sentence in our reading passage of the day.

My way of playing that game was simply to keep one sentence ahead of the teacher so that when my name
came up, I was ready. I paid no attention to what was currently being translated, to the meaning of the
whole passage, to comments by the teacher, or to fellow classmates. An extreme case, to be sure! But even
in less deadly classroom climates, students can "relax" too much in whole-class work. Group work places
responsibility for action and progress upon each of the members of the group somewhat equally. It is
difficult to "hide" in a small group.
4. Group work is a step toward individualizing instruction.
Each student in a classroom has needs and abilities that are unique.
Usually the most salient individual difference that you observe is a range of proficiency levels across your
class and, even more specifically, differences among students in their speaking, listening, writing, and
reading abilities.

Small groups can help students with varying abilities to accomplish separate goals. (See pages 178-179, for
some suggestions on implementation of small group work.) The teacher can recognize and capitalize upon
other individual differences (age, cultural heritage, field of study, cognitive style, to name a few) by careful
selection of small groups and by administering different tasks to different groups.

Excuses for Avoiding Group Work

Some teachers are afraid of group work. They feel they’ll lose control or students will just use their native
language, and so they shy away from it.
Some of these apprehensions are understandable; group work does not mean simply putting students into
groups and having them do what you would otherwise do as a whole class. But the limitations or drawbacks
to group work are all surmountable obstacles when group work is used appropriately, that is, for objectives
that clearly lend themselves to group work. Let’s look at these limitations– or, "myths," perhaps– and try to
understand how to deal with them.

1. The teacher is no longer in control of the class.

Now, you may be thinking, "Well, I don’t mind giving control over to the students." But, depending on the
context of your teaching, control could be a very important issue. If you are…

 teaching in an institution where the administrator in charge requires that you teach through a
traditional, whole-class methodology,
 teaching in a culture where "good teaching" is defined as students quietly working in orderly fashion,
speaking only when spoken to by the teacher,
 teaching very large classes (of 75 or more) where a plethora of small groups becomes difficult to
manage,
 teaching a group of unruly students—possibly of secondary school age—where discipline is a major
issue,
 yourself a non-native speaker of English without the confidence to "let your students go" in small
groups,

...then control may be an issue. There is no doubt that group work requires j some yielding of control to the
students. In numerous cultures, students are indeed primed to be under the complete control and
authority of the teacher, and group work therefore is a very strange activity to engage in. In such contexts
the teacher must be very clever to orchestrate successful small group work.
But this is still a "drawback" rather than a reason to avoid group work.

By quietly introducing small doses of group work into your otherwise traditional classroom, you may be
able to convince administrators and students of the advantages. With careful attention to guidelines for
implementation of group work, administrative or managerial dilemmas should be able to be solved. And if
you are unsure of your own English language ability, take heart in the fact that you are still quite a few
steps ahead of your students.

As we noted earlier in Chapter 10, control, if it is thought of as predicting everything that is going to
transpire in a class hour, then you do not want "contro1" because you will be thwarting virtually au
possibility or an interactive language classroom. Group work still allows you to play the roles of director,
manager, facilitator, and resource. In those roles, there is still an adequate degree of control; the class will
not necessarily run away with you.
2. Students will use their native language.
In ESL settings where a multiple number of languages are often represented in a single classroom, teachers
can avoid the native language syndrome by placing students in heterogeneous language groups. But in EFL
situations, where all of the students have a common native language, it is indeed possible, if not probable,
that students in small groups will covertly use their native language. In fact, this is usually the primary
reason teachers give to me for shying away from group work. How can it be overcome? Judicious following
of guidelines for implementation (next section, this chapter) will help.

If students feel that the task is too hard (or too easy), or that directions are not clear, or that the task is not
interesting, or that they are not sure of the purpose of the task, then you may be inviting students to take
shortcuts via their native language. The most important factor, however, is setting the climate for group
work. Here are some suggestions:

(1) Impress upon your students the importance of practice in the second language for eventual success.
Make sure—in whatever way you see fit—that they clearly understand that successful learners consistently
practice using the target language in face to face contexts.
(2) Appeal to various motivational factors affecting them so that they can see some real uses for English in
their own lives. Try to hone in on their intrinsic motivation to learn.
(3) Demonstrate how enjoyable the various small group tasks and games and activities are. Careful
selection and administration of group activities helps to insure such pleasure. Your own overt display of
enthusiasm will help to set a tone.
(4) Inform them of the security offered by the smaller groups. Get the groups to think of themselves as
teams, the members of which are all working together. Remind them that, in the process, they can try out
language without feeling that the whole class (and the teacher!) is watching and criticizing.
(5) For students who argue that the only reason they are in your class is to pass an examination, remind
them that research has shown that people do better on tests if they dive into the language itself rather
than just study test items. If they can be convinced that small groups help to build their intuitions about
language, they may also understand that those intuitions will be their ally in a test situation.

3. Students’ errors will be reinforced in small groups.

Teachers are usually concerned about the fact that, especially in large classes, students will simply reinforce
each other’s errors and the teacher won’t get a chance to correct them. This concern can really be laid to
rest.
There is now enough research on errors and error correction to tell us that (a) levels of accuracy
maintained in unsupervised groups is as high as that in teacher—monitored whole-class work, and that (b)
as much as you would like not to believe it, teachers’ overt attempts to correct speech errors in the
classroom have a negligible effect on students’ subsequent performance. (For more discussion and further
references on this issue, see Long and Porter, 1985.)
Errors are a "necessary" manifestation of interlanguage development and we do well not to become
obsessed with their constant correction. Moreover, well-managed group work can encourage spontaneous
peer feedback on errors within the small group itself.

4. Teachers cannot monitor all groups at once.

Related to the issue of control is the sometimes misguided belief that a teacher should be "in on"
everything a student says or does during the class hour. Interactive learning and teaching principles counter
with the importance of meaningful, purposeful language and real communication, which in turn must allow
the student to give vent to creative possibilities. Yes, the effective teacher will circulate among the groups,
listen to students, offer suggestions and criticisms, but it is simply not necessary—for reasons cited above
in #3—to be a party to all linguistic intercourse in the classroom.

5. Some learners prefer to work alone.

It is true that many students, especially adult-age students, prefer to work alone because that is the way
they have operated ever since they started going to school. As a successful manager of group work, you
need to be sensitive to such preferences, acknowledging that some if not many of your students will find
group work frustrating because they may simply want you just to give them the answers to some problem
and then move on. Help your students to see that language learning is not a skill where you can simply
bone up on rules and words in isolation. Language is for communicating with people (whether through oral
or written modes) and the more they engage in such face to face communication the more their overall
communicative competence will improve.

Related to the work style issue are numerous other learning style variations among students that get
magnified in small groups. Because the teacher isn’t present within the group at all times, groups are often
left to derive their own dynamic inductively. In the process, individual differences become more salient
than they are in whole-class work. On the following page are several of many possible scenarios:

 A highly left-brain oriented student is put off by the otherwise more right-brain members of the group.
 Quicker (impulsive) thinkers tend to blurt out their ideas, overwhelming the slower (reflective) thinkers, or,
 Impulsive learners get easily frustrated with the group process, which they perceive as circuitous.
 Competitive members of a group are reluctant to share information with others.
 "Talkative" students dominate the process.

While such problems can and do occur in group work, virtually every problem that is rooted in learning-
style differences can be solved by careful planning and management. In fact, when the group members
know their task and know their roles in the group, learning style differences can be efficiently utilized and
highly appreciated-much more so than in whole—class work.
Implementing Group Work in Your Classroom
As you saw in the scene opening this chapter, group work can go wrong if it is not carefully planned, well
executed, monitored throughout, and followed up on in some way. We’ll now look at practical steps to take
to carry out successful group work in your classroom.
Selecting Appropriate Group Techniques

So far in this chapter, as your attention has been focused on group work, differences between pair work
and group work have not been emphasized.
There are, in fact, some important distinctions. Pair work is more appropriate than group work for tasks
that are (a) short, (b) linguistically simple, and (c) quite controlled in terms of the structure of the task.
Appropriate pair activities (that are not recommended for groups of more than two) include:

1. practicing dialogues with a partner

2. simple question and answer exercises
3. performing certain meaningful substitution "drills"
4. quick (one minute or less) brainstorming activity
5. checking written work with each other l
6. preparation for merging with a larger group t
7. any brief activity for which the logistics of assigning groups, moving furniture, and getting students into
the groups is distractive

Pair work enables you to get students engaged in interactive (or quasi-interactive) communication for a
short period of time with a minimum of logistical problems. But don’t misunderstand the role of pair work.
It is not to be used exclusively for the above types of activity; it is also appropriate for many group work
tasks (listed below).

The first step in promoting successful group work, then, is to select an appropriate task. In other words,
choose something that lends itself to the group process. Lectures, drills, dictations, certain listening tasks,
silent reading, and a host of other activities are obviously not suitable for small group work. Typical group
tasks include:

1. Games
2. Role-play and simulations
3. Drama
4. Projects
5. Interview
6. Brainstorming
7. Information gap
8. Jig saw
9. Problem-solving and decision-making
10. Opinion exchange

Each of these types of task is defined and briefly characterized below.

1. Games
A game could be any activity that formalizes a technique into units that can be scored in some way. Several
of the other group tasks outlined below could thus become "games." Guessing games are common
language classroom activities. "Twenty questions," for example, is easily adapted to a small group. One
member secretly decides that he or she is some famous person; the rest of the group have to find out who
within 20 yes/no questions, each member of the group taking turns asking questions. The person who is "it"
rotates around the group and points are scored.

2. Role-play and simulations

Role-play minimally involves (a) giving a role t0 one or more members of a group and [b) assigning an
objective or purpose that participants must accomplish. In pairs, for example, student A is an employer;
student B is a prospective employee; the objective is for A to interview B. In groups, similar dual roles could
be assumed with assignments to others in the group to watch for certain grammatical or discourse
elements as the roles are acted out. Or a group role-play might involve a discussion of a political issue with
each person assigned to represent a particular political point of view.
Simulations usually involve a more complex structure and often larger groups (of 6 to 20) where the entire
group is working through an imaginary situation as a social unit, the object of which is to solve some
specific problem. A common genre of simulation game specifies that all members of the group are
shipwrecked on a "desert island." Each person has been assigned an occupation (doctor, carpenter, garbage
collector, etc.) and perhaps some other mitigating characteristics (a physical disability, an ex-convict, a
prostitute, etc.) Only a specified subset of the group can survive on the remaining food supply so the group
must decide who will live and who will die.

3. Drama
Drama is a more formalized form of role-play or simulation, with a pre-planned story line and script.
Sometimes small groups may prepare their own short dramatization of some event, writing the script and
rehearsing the scene as a group. This may be more commonly referred to as a "skit." Longer, more involved
dramatic performances have been shown to have positive effects on language learning, but they are time
consuming and rarely can form part of a typical school curriculum.

4. Projects
For learners of all ages, but perhaps especially for younger learners who can greatly benefit from hands-on
approaches to language, certain projects can be rewarding indeed. If you were to adopt an environmental
awareness theme in your class, for example, various small groups could each be doing different things:
Group A creates an environmental bulletin board for the rest of the school; Group B develops fact sheets;
Group C makes a three-dimensional display; Group D puts out a newsletter for the rest of the school; Group
E develops a skit. And we could go on. As learners get absorbed in purposeful projects, both receptive and
productive language is used meaningfully.

5. Interview
A popular activity for pair work, but also appropriate for group work, interviews are useful at all levels of
proficiency. At the lower levels, inter- views can be very structured, both in terms of the information that is
sought and the grammatical difficulty and variety. The goal of an interview could at this level be limited t0
using requesting functions, learning vocabulary for expressing personal data, producing questions, etc.
Students might ask each other questions like
• What’s your name?
• Where do you live?
• What country [city] are you from?

and learn to give appropriate responses. At the higher levels, interviews can probe more complex facts,
opinions, ideas, and feelings.

6. Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a technique whose purpose is to initiate some sort of thinking process. It gets students’
"creative juices" flowing without necessarily focusing on specific problems or decisions or values.
Brainstorming is often put to excellent use in preparing students to read a text, to discuss a complex issue,
or to write on a topic. Brainstorming involves students in a rapid-fire, free—association listing of concepts
or ideas or facts or feelings relevant to some topic or context.

Suppose you were about to read a passage on future means of transportation. You might ask small groups
to brainstorm (a) different forms of transportation, past and present, and (b) current obstacles to more
efficient means of transportation. The groups’ task would be to make a composite list of everything they
can think of within the category, without evaluating it. In brainstorming, no discussion of the relative merits
of a thought takes place; everything and anything goes. This way, all ideas are legitimate, and students are
released to soar the heights and plum the depths, as it were, with no obligation to defend a concept. In
whatever follow-up to brainstorming you plan, at that point evaluation and discussion can take place.

7. Information gap
These last four types of technique are quite commonly used in adult classes around the world, up and down
the proficiency continuum. The term information gap covers a tremendous variety of techniques in which
the objective is to convey or to request information. The two focal characteristics of information gap
techniques are (a) their primary attention to information and not to language forms and (b) the necessity of
communicative interaction in order to reach the objective. The information that students must seek can
range from very simple to complex.

At the beginning level, for example, each member of a small group could be given the objective of finding
out from the others their (a) birthday, [b] address, (c) favourite food, etc. and filling in a little chart with the
information.

In intermediate classes you could ask groups to collectively pool information j about different occupations:
their qualifications, how long it takes to prepare for an occupation, how much the preparation costs, what
typical job conditions are, what salary levels are, etc. In advanced classes, a small group discussion on
determining an author’s message, among many other possibilities, would be an information gap technique.

8. Jigsaw
Jigsaw techniques are a special form of information gap in which each member of a group is given some
specific information and the goal is to pool all information to achieve some objective. Imagine four
members of a group each with a [fictitious] application form, and on each form different information is
provided. As students ask each other questions (without showing any one their own application form), they
eventually complete all the information on the form. Or, you might provide maps to students in small
groups, each student receiving different sets of information (where the bank is, where the park is, etc.). The
goal for beginners might be simply to locate everything correctly, and for intermediate learners to give
directions on how to get from one place on the map to another, requiring a collaborative exchange of
information in order to provide complete directions.

One very popular jigsaw technique that can be used in larger groups is known as a "strip story." The teacher
takes a moderately short written narrative or conversation and cuts each sentence of the text into a little
strip, shuffles the strips, and gives each student a strip. The goal is for students to determine where each of
their sentences belongs in the whole context of the story, to stand in their position once it is determined,
and to read off the reconstructed story. Students enjoy this technique and almost always find it challenging.
9. Problem solving and decision making
Problem solving group techniques focus on the group’s solution of a specified problem. They might or
might not involve jigsaw characteristics, and the problem itself might be relatively simple (such as giving
directions on a map), moderately complex (such as working out an itinerary from train, plane, and bus
schedules) or quite complex (such as solving a mystery in a "crime story" or dealing with a political or moral
dilemma). Once again, problem solving techniques center students’ attention on meaningful cognitive
challenges and not so much on grammatical or phonological forms.

Decision making techniques are simply one kind of problem solving where the ultimate goal is for students
to make a decision. Some of the problem solving techniques alluded to above (say, giving directions to
someone — and solving a mystery) don’t involve a decision about what to do. Other problem solving
techniques do involve such decisions. For example, students presented with several profiles of applicants
for a job may be asked to decide who they would hire. The "bomb shelter" simulation game referred to
earlier involves a decision. Or a debate on environmental hazards might reveal several possible causes of
air pollution, but if decision-making is the goal, then the group would have to decide now what they would
actually do to reduce toxics in our air.

10. Opinion exchange

An opinion is usually a belief or feeling that might not be founded on empirical data or that others could
plausibly take issue with. Opinions are difficult for students to deal with at the beginning levels of
proficiency, but by the intermediate level, certain techniques can effectively include the exchange of
various opinions. Many of the above techniques can easily incorporate beliefs and feelings. Sometimes
opinions are appropriate; sometimes they are not, especially when the objective of a task is to deal more
with "facts."

Moral, ethical, religious, and political issues are usually "hot" items for classroom debates, arguments, and
discussions. Students can get involved in the content—centered nature of such activity and thus pave the
way for more automatic, peripheral processing of language itself. Just a few of the plethora of such issues:

• women’s rights • economic theories

• choosing a marriage partner • abortion A,
• cultural taboos • euthanasia
• war and peace • worldwide environmental crises
• political candidates and their stands

One warning: You play an important and sensitive role when you ask students to discuss their beliefs. Some
beliefs are deeply ingrained from childhood rearing or from religious training, among other factors. So, it is
easy for a student to be offended by what another student says. In such exchanges, do everything you can
to assure everyone in your class that, while there may be disagreement on issues, all opinions are to be
valued, not scorned, to be respected, and not ridiculed.

Planning Group Work

Possibly the most common reason for the breakdown of group work is an inadequate introduction and
lead-in to the task itself. Too often, teachers y assume that purposes are clear, directions are understood,
and then have to spend an inordinate amount of time clarifying and redirecting groups. Once you have
selected an appropriate type of activity, your planning phase should include the following eight "rules" for
introducing a group technique.

1. Introduce the technique

The introduction may simply be a brief explanation. For example, "Now, in groups of four, you’re each
going to get different transportation schedules (airport limo, air, train, and bus) and your job is to figure
out, as a group, which combination of transportation services will take the least amount of time." The
introduction almost always should include a statement of the ultimate purpose so that students can apply
all other directions to that objective.
2. Justify the use of small groups for the technique
You may not need to do this all the time with all your classes, but if you think your students have any
doubts about the significance of the upcoming task, then tell them explicitly why the small group is
important for accomplishing the task. Remind them that they will get an opportunity to practice certain
language forms or functions, and that if they are reluctant to speak up in front of the whole class, now is
their chance to do so in the security of a small group.

3. Model the technique

In simple techniques, especially those that your students have done before, modeling may not be
necessary. But for a new and potentially complex task, it never hurts to be too explicit in making sure
students know what they are supposed to do. After students get into their groups, you might for example,
show them (possibly on an overhead projector) four transportation schedules (not the ones they will see in
their groups). Then select four students to simulate a discussion of meshing arrival and departure times;
your guidance of their discussion will help.

4. Give explicit detailed instructions

Now that students have seen the purpose of the task and have had a chance to witness how their
discussion might proceed, give them specific instructions on what they are to do. Include:
(1) a restatement of the purpose
(2) rules they are to follow (e.g., Don’t show your schedule to anyone else in your group. Use "if" clauses as
in, "If I leave at 6:45 AM, I will arrive at the airport at 7:25.")
(3) establish a time frame (e.g., You have 10 minutes to complete the task.)
(4) assign roles (if any) to students (e.g., The airport limo person for each group is the "chair." The airplane
person will present your findings to the rest of the class. The train person is the timekeeper, etc.)

5. Divide the class into groups

This element is not as easy as it sounds. In some cases you can simply number off (e.g., 1,2,3,4...) and
specify which area of the room to occupy. But to ensure participation or control you may want to pre-
assign groups in order to account for one or two of the following:

• native language (especially in ESL classes with varied native language backgrounds)
• proficiency levels
• age or gender differences
• culture or sub-cultural group
• personality types
• cognitive style preferences
• cognitive/developmental stages (for children)
• interests
• prior learning experience
• target language goals

In classes of under 30 people, pre-assigning groups is quite manageable if you come to class with the pre-
assignments, having thought through the variables that you want to control. Just put the group names up
on the blackboard and tell people to get into their groups.

6. Check for clarification

Before students start moving into their groups, check to make sure they all understand their assignment.
Do not do this by asking, "Does everyone understand?"‘ Rather, test out certain elements of your lead-in by
asking questions like, "Keiko, please restate the purpose of this activity."

7. Set the task in motion

This part should now simply be a matter of saying something like, "Okay, get into your groups and get
started right away on your task." Some facilitation may be necessary to ensure smooth logistics.
Monitoring the Task
Your job now becomes one of Facilitator and Resource. To carry out your role, you need to tread the fine
line between inhibiting the group process and being a helper or guide. The first few times you do group
work, you may need to establish this sensitive role, letting students know you will be available for help and
that you may make a suggestion or two here and there to keep them ‘Teachers are often tempted to
assume that asking a blanket question like this provides an informal assessment of how well students
comprehended something. Usually, whether students understood or not, a small minority of them will nod
their heads affirmatively while the rest of the class shows no response. The few nodding heads must not be
taken as a measure of comprehension by all. It is better, therefore, never (or rarely) to say such things as,
"Does everyone understand?" because it can lead to a false sense of satisfaction on the part of the teacher
on task but that they are to carry out the task on their own.

There may actually be a few moments at the outset where you do not circulate among the groups so that
they can establish a bit of momentum. The rest of the time it is very important to circulate so that, even if
you have nothing to say to the group, you can listen to students and get a sense of the groups’ progress and
of individuals’ language production.
A few don’ts:

• Do not sit at your desk and grade papers.

• Do not leave the room and take a break.
• Do not spend an undue amount of time with one group at the expense of others.
• Do not correct students’ errors unless asked to do so.
• Do not assume a dominating or disruptive role while monitoring groups.

Debriefing
Almost all group work can be brought to a beneficial close by some sort of whole-class debriefing, once the
group task is completed. This debriefing or "processing," as some would refer to it, has two layers:

1. Reporting on task objectives

If groups were assigned a reporter to present something to the class, or if the task implicitly lends itself to
some discussion of the "findings" of the groups, then make sure that you leave enough time for this to take
place. As reporters or representatives of each group bring their findings, you may entertain some brief
discussion but be sure not to let that discussion steal time from other groups. This whole—class process
gives each group a chance to perceive differences and similarities in their work. Some group work involves
different assignments to different groups, and in these cases the reporting phase is interesting to all and
provides motivation for further group work.

2. Establishing affective support

A debriefing phase also serves the purpose of exploring the group process itself and of bringing the class
back together as a whole community of learners. If you or some students have questions about how
smoothly the task proceeded, how comfortable people were with a topic or task, or problems they
encountered in reaching their objective, now is an excellent time to encourage some whole—class
feedback. This gives you feedback for your next group work assignment. Ultimately, even a very short
period of whole-class discussion reminds students that everyone in the room is a member of a team of
learners and that the groups, especially if any inter-group competition arose, are but temporary artifacts of
classroom learning.

It is possible that this chapter on group work has been so explicit in its description that you feel
overwhelmed or put off by the prospect of doing group work in your classroom. If so, that need not be the
case! All of the guidelines and reminders and dos and don’ts included in this chapter will in due course of
time become a part of your subconscious intuitive teaching behavior. You won’t have to process every
minute of your class hour in terms of whether you’ve done all the "right" things. In the meantime, just
remember that conscientious attention to what makes for successful group work will soon pay off.
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION, AND RESEARCH
1. With a partner, look again at the lesson described at the beginning of the chapter. Pick it apart: list the
things about it that were problematic, and why they were problems. Can you put the lesson back together
in a way that would promote successful group work? What would you do differently? Compare your
findings with other pairs.

2. What is "control"? Is control an issue for you? How might you do group work and still stay in control?
Specifically, at what points should you relinquish control?

3. What if, after all the precautions, students still use their native language in small groups? In a small group
or with a partner, brainstorm further solutions. Then, discuss their feasibility.

4. In a group, brainstorm other examples [besides those given in the book) of each of the ten categories of
small group work. Describe them carefully, and if possible, demonstrate selected techniques to your
classmates.

5. Start collecting a resource file of group techniques. Consult resource books and other teachers for
examples. Share your collection with your classmates.

6. With a partner, think of other "hot topics" for opinion exchange. Which ones would be too "hot" to
include in classroom discussion? Why? Share your thoughts with the rest of the class.

7. Try to observe an ESL class with several instances of group work. Use the criteria on pages 9-11 to
evaluate the effectiveness of the group work that you observe. Report your findings back to your
classmates. `

8. On page 10 some criteria were listed for pre-assigning group membership. justify the use of those
criteria, that is, under what circumstances and for what reasons would you pre-assign small group
membership? Can you think of other criteria?

9. In a small group or with a partner, pick a specific group technique within one of the categories (or two)
and devise a "blow-by-blow" plan for implementing it. Demonstrate it to your classmates. Have them
criticize it. Then respond to the criticism as constructively as possible.