The-Role-of-Groupwork-and-Pairwork-in-English-Lang

TheRoleofGroupworkandPairworkinEnglishLanguageClassroom【】ThispaperarguestheroleofgroupworkandpairworkinlanguageteachingandlanguagelearninginlanguageclassroombasedonvisitingandobservationindifferentlanguageclassroomsofschoolsinLondonbycomparingthecurrentsituationofELTbetweenUKandChina.Britishlinguist,Harmerdefinesgroupworkandpaireworkas‘Groupworkisacooperativeactivity:fivestudents,perhaps,discussingatopic,doingarole-playorsolvingaproblem.Ingroups,studentstendtoparticipatemoreequally,andtheyarealsomoreabletoexperimentandusethelanguagethantheyareinawhole-classarrangement’(Harmer,1999:21).And‘Paireworkismathematicallyattractiveifnothingelse;themomentstudentsgetintopairsandstartworkingonaproblemortalkingaboutsomething,manymoreofthemwillbedoingtheactivitythaniftheteacherwasworkingwiththewholeclass,whereonlyonestudenttalkatatime’(Harmer,1999:21).1.AdvantagesofgroupworkandpairworkForstudents:studentscanworkwithoutthepressureofthewholeclasslisteningtowhattheyaredoing.Ingroupworkandpairwork,thepossibilityofanindividual’slearningpreferencebeingengagediscorrespondingincreased.Groupworkinparticularispotentiallydynamic,inthatthereareanumberofdifferentpeopletoreactto,toshareideaswithandexchangeinformationdependontaskset.Eachstudenthasproportionallymorechancetospeakandthereforetobeinvolvedinlanguageuse.Furthermore,themorevariedthetypesofactivity,thegreaterthevarietyintypesoflanguageuse.Groupworkcanpromoteapositiveatmosphereoraffectiveclimate(LongandPorter,1985),asdistinctfromthemorepublicandpotentiallythreateningperformanceenvironmentofthelockstepclassroom.Motivation,too,isoftenimproveiflearnersfeellessinhibitedandmoreabletoexplorepossibilitiesforself-expression.Andforteachers:differenttaskcanbeassignedtodifferentgroupsorpairsalternatively,ateacherworkingwithamixedproficiencygroupmayhavetheflexibilitytoallocateactivitiesaccordingtolearners’levels.2.RoleofgroupworkandpairworkGroupworkandpaireworkhavebecomeincreasinglypopularinlanguageteachingsincetheyareseentohavemanyadvantages(Harmer,1999:21).Sincetheaimofacommunicativeactivityinclassistogetstudentstousethelanguagetheyarelearningtointeractinrealisticandmeaningfulwaysso“Groupworkisoftenconsideredanessentialfeatureofcommunicativelanguageteaching”[citingfromBrumfit,1984;(Ellis,2000:598)].Groupworkandpaireworkisaneffectivemethodtoorganizevarietyinteractivelanguageactivitiesforstudentstoimprovetheirlanguagecompetenceinlanguageclass.BecauseanimportantfeatureinthelanguageclassroomsIobservedindifferentschoolsofLondonwasthatstudentsdidnotstudyasonebigclass.Ratherstudentsarebrokendownintogroupsofdifferentsized.GroupworkandpairworkwereviewedasapartofteachingmethodthatwasusedinalllanguageclassroomsIvisitedintheUK.Ialsonoticedthatingroupworkandpairwork,theemphasiswasonstudent-centerednessoverteacher-centerednessandtheroleoftheteachersintheselanguageclassroomsplayedasanorganizer,consulteroradirector.Studentswereabletolearnthelanguagewithguidanceoftheteachers.Theywereactiveinstudyratherthanpassiveinstudy.3.ObservationinLondon’slanguageclassroomsForexample,IobservedthatinthelanguageclassofSkolaInternationalSchool,studentstookanactivepartingroupworkandpairworkwiththeguianceoftheteacher.Whatthestudentsperformedingroupworkandpairworkgavemeadeeperimpressionandmademebelievethatdoinggroupworkandpairworkreallycouldofferopportunitiesforstudentstousethetargetlanguageinrealcommunications.Becauseindoingthegroupwork,studentscouldusethetargetlanguagefreelyexpresstheirthoughtsandideas.Itwasbydoinggroupworkandpairworkthattheygotthechancetospeakoutsuchbeautifulsentences:“Iwouldliketogothewarinthefuture”;“Iwouldliketogobackandchairmycountry”;“Iwouldliketotravelaroundtheworld”.Itwasinsuchinteractiveclimatethatthestudentscouldloosetheirfearofembarrassmentandwerewillingtoexpressthemselvesanditwastheinteractiveactivitiesthathelpedthestudentstohavechancetochangethelanguageknowledgetheylearnedintotheknowledgewithlife.4.AnxietycanbeignoredbygroupworkGroupworkcouldreduceanxietycausedwhenstudentsparticipateinthelanguageactivitiesbeforethewholeclass,motivatestudentstolearnthelanguageactivelyandcreativelyandprovidemoretimeandopportunitiesforstudentstousethelanguage.Groupworkandpairworkwereanactivitythatcouldbeconductedbyaccomplishingatask.Thereby,inthegroupworkandpairwork,studentscouldinteracteachotherandexchangeideas,experiencesandfeelings.Italsohelpedstudentsreachthepurposeofusingthelanguageinactualcommunications.Furthmore,bydoinggroupworkandpairwork,eachstudentcouldhaveequalopportunitytopracticethelanguage,especiallyforthosewhodonotliketoopentheirmouthstospeakinaplenaryclassbecauseofshyness.Groupworkandpairworkofferedthemagoodchancetodopracticebecausetheycouldworkwithoutthepressureofthewholeclasswatchingandlisteningtowhattheyweredoing.Foranotherexample,IfoundthattheadultstudentsinthelanguageclassofWorkingManCollegeandinthelanguagelearningcenterofLondonMetropolitanUniversitywereunwillingtogivetheirvoicebeforethewholeclassbecauseoflosingface.Theyattachedmoreattentiontoself-imagethanteenagedstudentsinotherlanguagecl