Name : Yulia (2313.035)
Task :
TEFL 1 (Journal)
The Effectiveness of Group Work and Pair Work for Students of
English at Undergraduate Level in Public and Private Sector Colleges
Abstract
The study investigated one of the
teaching strategies of collaborative language teaching (CLT), namely group work
and pair work. The introduction of a new
English textbook at the undergraduate level has created some difficulties for
teachers. These difficulties include the use of group and pair work. The scope
of the study was limited to the teachers and students perception, attitude and
beliefs about collaborative teaching. The focus was on one of the strategies of
CLT – group work and pair work.
Introduction
This study provided an opportunity to explore the possibility of
the use of one of the techniques of collaborative language teaching (CLT), that
is, pair work and group work. Group and pair work are techniques for
collaborative teaching that provide a chance for social interaction. Group work
and pair work is a class management strategy and the role the teacher has to
play while teaching is of a facilitator. Teacher’s role in group work is very
difficult and at the same time it is very important role too. The
focus was on group and pair work in English language classes.
The specific purpose of the study was
to:
1.
find
out the attitude of the teachers towards the innovation of using group
work/pair work techniques.
2.
evaluate
perceptions of the teachers and students regarding the effectiveness of
collaborative teaching.
3.
investigate
whether group and pair work is effective for teaching English at the
undergraduate level in the existing situation.
4.
make
suitable recommendations based on the data.
To
investigate the present state of group work is extremely important to find out
whether it is applicable or not. The study was of great importance for the
teachers teaching at undergraduate level and for development of new books for
teaching of English at undergraduate level.
Literature
Review
Language
teaching came into its own as a profession in the last century. The period from
the 1950s to the 1980s has often been referred to as “The Age of methods”,
during which a number of quite detailed prescriptions for language teaching
were proposed and each method has in turn fallen out of favor and has been
replaced with a new one. Since the 1960s, there has been an increasing attempt
in research on teaching and learning and types and quantities of the relative
amount of participation by the teacher and students (Chaudron, 1993).
Group
work and pair work started getting attention of educationist in the 70s. In 70s
educationists were concerned about increasing teacher talking time in language
classes. During the 1980s and 1990s the development of communicative language
teaching brought an important change in the role of students (Nunan & Lamb
1996) Working together is worthwhile as “pair and group work immediately
increase the amount of students talking time” (Harmer, 1991).
Ellis
(1994) was of the view that students are more motivated to engage in further
communication when they have more opportunities to speak. Researchers observed
often that Asian students are not trained to speak up, they prefer other people
to take the limelight (Richards and Renandya, 2002). “In some cultures, students
are very anxious about making mistakes in front of others” (Weaver and Hybles,
2004). Harmer (1991) claimed that group and pair work allows students to work
in a conducing and facilitating environment.
Research
Methodology
The
strategy of research was a survey. Population was diverse therefore stratified
random sampling technique was adopted. 300 students studying at undergraduate
level in colleges of Karachi and 75 teachers from the same colleges were
selected for the study.
Result
and Discussion
The
period from 13 to 20 years of human growth and development, called the
adolescence, is the most crucial period in the life of human beings. This
period is full of turmoil and conflict. At the same time the adolescent is
eager to interact and builds new relationships. They try to have more liberty
to develop their own potentialities. This clarifies the picture why most of the
students at undergraduate level prefer group work. Group work provides them
activities to interact in a fresh environment. It also provides them
opportunities to express themselves and as a result they have an outlet for
emotions and can socialize while studying in class.
Conclusion
and Recommendations
It
conclusions, that group work and pair work is best used when it is not the only
classroom interaction pattern, but when it is combined with other strategies.
The large multilevel class works better when we provide a great deal of variety
in teaching. Teachers can plan their lessons to include teachers-centered work;
individual work and pair work as well as group work. Often the teachers need to
encourage students to participate or give suggestions about how students may
proceed in an activity especially when there is a silence or when they are
confused about what to do next. The teacher might need to prompt the students
with information they have forgotten.
Students
need to be trained to work in group settings. They need to recognize the
importance of communication in class. In a mixed ability class where the target
language is the only common language of the group, the use of mother tongue is
not generally a problem Hess (2001) believed that what teachers can do is to
constantly help them to stick to the target language. Teaches constantly
mentioned the problem of large classes. However, in large multilevel classes,
group work is obviously a key element as it enables students to learn from one
another
Teachers
need to specify the objectives of the lesson and make a number of pre
instructional decisions. Being clear about the intended purpose or objective of
the discussion helps the teacher to plan the topic and format.
Several
areas still need to be investigated in order to completely understand the
effects of group and pair work at the undergraduate level in the public and
private sector colleges. This project was simply a preliminary study that
investigated the effectiveness of group and pair work at the undergraduate
level. Most of the students in this study were from middle class families with
a better social status and they had an English medium background. Another study
should be conducted with students from a different socio-cultural background
for more generalized results.
