CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT - GROUP WORK

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Who hasn't ever had a group for whom you feel like stepping away from the classromm and never come back? May be it is the poor level of English, the misbehaviour,or any other reason that make us reflect on whether this is the right career for us. Classroom management tells us that there are many things to bear in mind before blaming it on the students such as: the sitting arrangement, the use of L1, pair or group work, the feedback, among others. Knowing how to handle situations at the right time and in the right way will help us love our career again!!!

Here is a video that reminded me of my days as a Spanish Language Assistant in UK. I'm sure this website will be useful to look at and discuss with colleagues.
Video of teacher in a Spanish class in UK

While doing an essay on working in groups in EFL. I found this interesting website from our colleagues in Costa Rica. This is a country that has taken the learning of English seriously. I know this from a friend that works for the government there and had the chance to meet in a cultural exchange in USA, Sandra Araya.

Revista Actualidades Investigativas Educativas

Group work in TEFL, useful strategy?

In the field of Teaching English group work has proven to be effective to learn and acquire the target language. For one thing, communication naturally flows among students as their chances to talk are wider than those in a ‘whole’ class interaction. As a result, independence is promoted because the teacher is mainly a monitor or a facilitator while the students are discussing, making decisions or fulfilling a task.  Harmer (2007) says “Group work and pair work give the students chances for greater independence.” Advantages like these are numerous. However; group work also has some drawbacks that teachers should be aware of, otherwise; the experience of working in groups can become an obstacle to language learning rather than a useful strategy.

The first disadvantage is that students can become noisy while working in groups. The excitement of changing their sitting arrangement and everybody talking at the same time in order to fulfill the task can make students loud as they are now talking to their peers, not to the teacher. Students need to know that they do not have to shout to be heard. One way of avoiding this ‘noise’, is that as the teacher goes round the classroom checking everybody is working; he/she should also check for noise. So, if a group is being too loud, he/she stands up next to the group holding a ‘shush’ card. Personally, this has worked very well in my class and is accompanied with a punishment students previously agreed like being the first to present their work or assessing their work with a lower grade, provided the noise has persisted for too long.

Second, together with ‘noise’ comes the use of the mother tongue; in our context ‘Spanish.’ This is likeable to happen even when not working in groups. Nonetheless; group work seems to be the perfect excuse to use L1 more often. The first thing to examine is why the students switch to their mother tongue. According to Bassano (2003) students use L1 for three reasons: when the task requires more English than the level they have, when the instructions are unclear; and when students are invited to experiment. Knowing this, the teacher should be aware of which of these reasons led the students to use their L1. Consequently, to overcome the use of the mother tongue the task the teacher gives should be suitable for students’ level, the instructions must be clear; and the activities should respond to students’ interest and motivation.

Third, when students are grouped more mistakes can happen without any kind of correction. Many teachers believe that if immediate feedback is not given, then the mistakes will fossilise. On the other hand, Brown (2009) states that “errors are a necessary manifestation of interlanguage development and we (teachers) do well not to become obsessed with their constant correction.” This disadvantage of group work can be converted into an opportunity to encourage students for self-correction and peer-correction. They should know that their errors are part of their process and that we also learn from mistakes. Moreover, students’ independence is promoted through these types of correction.

Fourth, one of the main disadvantages of group work is that not all the members are involved in the work assigned. There are usually one or two students that outstand while the others are passive being silent or just agreeing automatically. Because of this, some teachers are reluctant to use this strategy. This situation can be reversed by giving specific roles to each member of the group and inter-evaluate their participation in the fulfillment of the task. Another way of dealing with some working and others not, is suggested by Littewood quoted by Harmer (2007) who may ask students to number themselves from 1 to 5 (in a group of 5); but they do not tell the teacher who is who so that later the teacher may call any number. In this way interest and expectation is created as well as everybody’s participation of the task. 

Although there are more disadvantages that can be discussed about group work, it can be concluded that these drawbacks can be overcome only if the teacher is conscious about them happening in the classroom. The usefulness of this strategy lies upon how teachers’ creativity is used in order to make obstacles become learning experiences. Teaching our students how to work in groups is a required skill that goes beyond the English classroom. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.  Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” (Margaret Mead, American writer)

 

REFERENCES

Bassano, S. Helping ESL Students Remember to Speak English During Group Work.

TESOL Journal. 12.1 (2003): 35-36.

Harmer, Jeremy. (2007). How to teach English. Essex: Pearson Longman Education.

Ramirez Salas, Marleni. Grouping techniques in an EFL Classroom. Article published in Revista Actualidades Investigativas en Educación (online) 2005. Universidad de Costa Rica. Retrieved from: http://revista.inie.ucr.ac.cr/uploads/tx_magazine/techniques.pdf

Final quote taken from: http://www.quotegarden.com/teamwork.html

HOW TO DEAL WITH CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE

(Some suggestions bearing in mind 5 factors)