investigation of effectiveness in pair group work in teaching English

The adoption of the new series of English textbooks throughout Vietnam since 2000 has proved to be a big step in enhancing students’ communicative skills. Among a great number of improvements that can be clearly seen in these textbooks, the researchers have a noticeable interest in the use of pair work and group work in teaching speaking. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the implementation of these two ways of classroom management in teaching speaking to the freshman at FFLIUH. The survey is carried on 100 students and 10 English instructors in ffliuh. At first, the respondents are delivered some questionnaires aimed at exploring their attitudes towards the application of pair work and group work in teaching and learning speaking. Next, the researchers invite some of the participants to join in separate interviews as well as ask for permission of one instructors to observe one of her speaking period. The quantitative data obtained through the questionnaires – the most important basics for analysis – are supported by the qualitative data which lie in the interviewees’ answers and the classroom observation. The findings reveal not only a great number of merits but also some problems and obstacles to the implementation of pair and group work. The instruments – questionnaires show values in conveying students’ and instructors’ thoughts about the use of these two ways of classroom management, which may have a strong influence on teaching and learning speaking in Vietnamese University context.

- The Title AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING PAIR WORK AND GROUP WORK IN

TEACHING SPEAKING TO THE FRESHMAN AT FFL-IUH"

- Abstract

The adoption of the new series of English textbooks throughout Vietnam since 2000 has proved

to be a big step in enhancing students’ communicative skills Among a great number of improvements that can be clearly seen in these textbooks, the researchers have a noticeable interest in the use of pair work and group work in teaching speaking Therefore, this study aims

to investigate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the implementation of these two ways of classroom management in teaching speaking to the freshman at FFL-IUH The survey is carried

on 100 students and 10 English instructors in ffl-iuh At first, the respondents are delivered some questionnaires aimed at exploring their attitudes towards the application of pair work and group work in teaching and learning speaking Next, the researchers invite some of the participants to join in separate interviews as well as ask for permission of one instructors to observe one of her speaking period The quantitative data obtained through the questionnaires – the most important basics for analysis – are supported by the qualitative data which lie in the interviewees’ answers and the classroom observation The findings reveal not only a great number of merits but also some problems and obstacles to the implementation of pair and group work The instruments – questionnaires show values in conveying students’ and instructors’ thoughts about the use of these two ways of classroom management, which may have a strong influence on teaching and learning speaking in Vietnamese University context

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION

1.1 Problem Statement/Rationale

In recent years, English has been considered one of some important subjects and a compulsory one for Vietnamese students "Better English, better careers" was the answer given by many of them when they told about their purpose of learning this language In their daily life, it can't be denied that this international language may help them prepare better for their career in the future because it does not only equip learners with a necessary source of information of social and culture knowledge but also gives them up-to-date information concerning a different issues in our society nowadays Especially, our country's recent regional and global participation has been increasing the demand for English speaking people, who are wanted to communicate with the outside world and access up- to- date technology.

Vietnamese students are creative however there are many problems facing them when they speak this language, especially the the freshman at FFL-IUH Among them, the problem of oral communication seems to be the most serious one Teaching this language has been had necessary help from educators but having the best appropriate teaching method which may meet the need

of the education and the society is still considered a big question for teachers of English in Vietnam.

There have been some important changes in the teaching and learning this language in recent years because of big efforts from many international organizations and educational projects Different modern approaches, techniques and methods on the teaching of this language have been applied in many universities, colleges and high schools Generations of teachers of English are trying their best to have the best result in their career and in the classroom's contexts.

During learning English, speaking skill is one of the most necessary ones that can help students have a better job For many years in teaching, teachers may know that learners would like to speak but they feel they have not enough confidence As a fact they can think that, this language

is not easy so they are not interested in learning, especially in speaking This action research study of effectiveness of pair work and group work activities because that may also give students more opportunities to improve other skill better

For all the above problems, it is willing for me to propose " Investigation into using Pair work and Group work in teaching speaking to the freshman at FFL - IUH" as the subject of this

study.

1.2 Research Goals

There have been many studies on the spoken English teaching group work so far Therefore, this study does not claim to introduce a new way of English teaching method The main objective of the study is for the benefits of the learners, and the study will be a source of materials for teachers of English on the teaching of speaking skill, who consider pair work and group work as one of some important educational ways to help students speak better.

All in all, this study is aimed at investigating the outcome of the implementation of pair work and group work in teaching speaking for the first year students of FFL- IUH and pointing out the merits and the problems as well as suggesting some possible solutions

To achieve this aim, the research addresses the following questions:

1 What are the advantages and the possible problems of using PW-GW in teaching speaking for the the freshman in FFL ?

2 How can English teachers apply PW-GW to teaching speaking for the freshman effectively?

1.3 Indication of the Importance/Significance of the Research

With a focus on the current situation of the implementation of PW-GW in teaching speaking for

the freshman in FFL, this study is supposed to be a reliable source for teachers of English who

desire to investigate a variety of methods for a successful communicative classroom in FFL

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW/THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Definitions of Pair work and Group work

Pair work-group work has been incorporated into language teaching and learning in most parts

of the world since the emergence of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in the early 1970s, and has taken firm root in many present-day ESL or EFL classrooms This approach came into being because of the ever-growing need for the use of language for communicative purposes, and because of the fact that a lot of educators and linguists became more and more dissatisfied with the Audio-Lingual and Grammar-Translation methods of language teaching In this context, there began a movement away from traditional lesson formats where emphasis was put on the mastery of different items of grammar, hence shifting practice from controlled activities such as mechanical memorization of dialogs and drills towards communicative activities, which can be successfully done through PW-GW According to Brumfit (1984), group work is often considered an essential feature of communicative language teaching In favor of it, Long & Porter (1985) hold that PW-GW can promote students’ practice, the quality of their talk, their motivation, and positive classroom atmosphere Salmon (1988) supports Long & Porter’s ideas and adds that PW-GW also helps increase students’ confidence.

Similar to CLT, Cooperative Language Learning (CLL) also promotes learning through communication in pairs or small groups CLL is an approach to teaching that makes maximum use of cooperative activities involving pairs and small groups of learners in the classroom This means each learner is held accountable for his or her own learning and is motivated to increase the learning of others (Olsen & Kagan, 1992, p.8) The concept “cooperative” in CLL emphasizes an important aspect: developing classrooms that foster cooperation rather than competition in learning That is to say, students in pairs or groups work together towards a

common goal instead of competing with one another for individual ambitions

Other benefits which PW-GW may offer are mentioned below First of all, it may maximize each learner’s opportunity to speak and that practicing in pairs and groups will reduce to some extent the psychological burden of public performance Thanks to PW-GW, students will also have more language practice opportunities and the time they will have for interacting with one another

in pairs and groups is absolutely abundant Second, pair and small group activities enable

students to take a more active role in their learning as well as to act as an important resource person for one another (McGroarty, 1989) Last, students learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process via pairs or groups According to Davis (1993), students working in small groups tend to learn more of what is taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional formats

Besides the aforesaid advantages, unfortunately, several possible problems and difficulties may arise in a class using these two types of interaction patterns Because a lot of pairs and groups work at the same time, the first problem language teachers might confront is that the class gets rather noisy and out of hand We think it is natural for a teacher to feel a need to keep control of the class, but we need to differentiate between ‘productive’ and ‘unproductive’ noises The former is exactly what most teachers want to achieve, not the latter A classroom full of students

in pairs or groups talking and interacting in English, even if it is really noisy, is surely what we wish A high level of noise during this session can be tolerated since this is a good sign signifying that the students feel engaged, included and enthusiastic about learning itself when communicating with their friends Long & Richards (1987) maintain that a learner-centered class like the above, where learners do most of the talking in pairs or groups, and take responsibilities for using communicative resources to complete a task, proves to be more conducive to language learning than a teacher-centered class Consequently, the noise which seems to be an inevitable problem in any classrooms can sometimes be very beneficial

Difficulty in monitoring the class is also a problem for teachers As Kumar (1992) mentions, large class size might make interaction and involvement difficult It is obvious that in Vietnam’s language teaching context, a classroom often houses approximately over 40 students That is to say, a teacher has to monitor at the same time lots of pairs and groups As a result, he or she will not be able to equally give help and advice to every pair or group

Another trouble that most language teachers may face is how they form pairs and groups at the beginning Should pairs or groups be of mixed ability, so more capable language learners may help weaker ones? Or would same-ability pairs or groups be preferable, so that faster learners can progress at their own pace, while the teacher gives extra help to individual learners in the slower groups? Studies indicate that mixed proficiency pairing or grouping may be optimal In a mixed-ability group, faster learners will consolidate their own understanding of issues at hand

when explaining these to slower learners, while slower ones will benefit from peer tutoring by faster learners However, in some cases, this kind of pairing and grouping is likely to give rise to another problem: not all members participate equally in discussions For instance, a high-level learner may not want to work with a weaker partner and tend to dominate and monopolize most

of the time As a result, slow learners have the tendency to withdraw and sit still listening to their domineering partners

Furthermore, some students complain that when they work in pairs and groups, they are greatly concerned with face-losing when using the target language incorrectly or inappropriately In their mother tongue, learners have a wealth of strategies at their disposal to avoid a difficult or embarrassing situation, to self-correct, or to seek help in case of linguistic trouble They also know how to show others that they acknowledge and appreciate others’ opinions On the contrary, in the target language, they are not equipped with those kinds of things mentioned above Consequently, they are not confident enough to interact with other members in the group Besides, teachers fear that the potential chaos and conflicts may arise within pairs or groups and that in classrooms where students share a common native language, they have the tendency to overuse the mother tongue With the former problem, teachers ought to effectively manage the conflicts that are inevitable in pairs or groups Cognitive conflict among students, if managed effectively, can be very constructive, leading to increased motivation and to higher levels of cognitive development and moral reasoning, as Johnson & Johnson (1979) propose With the latter problem, because students feel more secure with their own language, they tend to turn to mother tongue whenever they engage in a conversation or a discussion, and this can be tolerated only for the first time.

All in all, PW-GW can lose their meaning if they are utilized and handled in an automatic and unthinking way on the part of the teachers No technique is the panacea for all our teaching problems and its value should be reconsidered from time to time However, we cannot deny the obvious merits that PW-GW can offer.

2.2 Advantages and problems of PW-GW

2.2.1 Advantages

- Give learners more speaking time

- Changes the pace of the lesson

- Takes the spotlight off teachers and puts it onto learners

- Allow learner to mix with everyone in the group

- Give learners a sense of achievement when reaching a team goal

- Teach learners how to lead and be led by someone other than teachers

- It allows teachers to monitor, move around the class and really listen to the language they are producing.

(By Jo Bertrand Originally published 2009)

2.2.2 Problems

- If an activity of PW – GW goes on for too long students, especially the poor ones make

noise because theybecome bored, they want to get the teacher's attention and they may become disruptive Such noisemay become disruptive for the whole activity and class behaviour because misbehaviour is contagious.

- Another disadvantage of pair work and group work is the use of the mother tongue When studentsget excited working in pairs or groups they sometimes use their mother tongue to express somethingthey are not able to express in a foreign language Such a situation is normal because they want to communicate.

- When learners work in pairs or groups it is impossible for the teacher to listen and correct all the mistakes they make and this is not the purpose of the activity.

- It may be a problem to put students into groups There is the danger that if the teacher divides the class into mixed ability groups the best students in the group will have to do the task while the weakest ones switch off and become disruptive.

There are many problems with pair work, but there are also many ways to solve them successfully Some more tips are suggested by Byrne(1989:34-35) to prevent problems with pair work Byrne suggests several points to keep in mind:

- Divide the students into pairs in the most convenient way possible

- Make sure the students know exactly what they have to do

- Keep activities simple

- Don’t let activities go on too long

- Carry out selective checking

- Control the noise level as necessary

- Provide feedback

2.3 Organizing PW-GW in the classroom

“Use pair work and group work to increase student talking time – even if it seems chaos” (Hadfield)

The teachers notes always start with suggestions on how to introduce the game or activity This is important as it helps stimulate interest in the topic and will prepare them for the activity

to follow (Watcyn-Jones 2002:10)

To be “well-organised“ the teacher must give clear and explicit instructions and, while the pair work is taking place, the teacher should be moving around the room monitoring and if necessary guiding and correcting what individual pairs are doing It may be necessary to write on the blackboard an outline or model of what the pairs should be doing or some key words and phrases (Hadfield 1992:47).

It is also very important to always explain very clearly what to do and, where possible, demonstrate the activity first with the whole class This stage should not be rushed as when the students understand fully what they feel more confident and are able to do their best and really benefit from the activity.

It is a good idea to set a time limit for each activity and write this up so that everyone can see it Give a warning a few minutes before it expires so that students can start to finish off.

2.3.1 Feedback session and follow-up work

Each activity should end with checking/feedback session for the whole class This checking and evaluation is an integral part of the activity and it is important to leave enough time for it After any PW-GW exchange students can recall and re-tell their partner what they remember about the exchange (e.g if they’ve just been eliciting personal information or opinions) Or they can swap partners and tell their new partner about the ideas of their previous partner This doubles the amount of speaking generated by any activity and is a good way to keep fast finishers busy while the rest catch up

Teacher can occasionally discuss the activity with the students The discussion could include talking about what the students found difficult as well as finding out if anyone wanted to say something but didn’t have necessary language skills to express himself or herself

This is also the time when any mistakes can be pointed out and, if necessary, revision practice given One way of doing this is to write on the board sentences which contain the main language mistakes you noted while circulating round the class during the activity Teacher can get the students to work in pairs and to identify and correct mistakes

2.3.2 How to pair students off

Sometimes teacher might want to choose the pairs and at other times you may wish it to be random For example, ask students to stand in a line with the oldest at one end all the way down

to the youngest at the other end Then pair the oldest with the youngest, the second oldest with the second youngest, and so on down the line.

2.3.3 Seating arrangements during PW-GW

For teachers who are used to a more formal arrangement – with the teacher facing rows of students – it is advisable to try out less formal pattern with one or two specific tasks, and reflect

on its advantages and disadvantages before making it a regular used layout (Underwood 1987:52)

In traditional classroom, the students sit in rows If it is at all possible, the room should be arranged in such a way that pairs face one another across a desk or a table This is to give them

‘eye-contact’ which makes communication a lot easier However, there may be practical reasons why such a classroom arrangement may not be possible In the case of large classes organized in rows try to get students to work with the person sitting directly in front of or behind them If this isn’t possible and the students have to work with the person sitting next to them, they can move their chairs so that they are at an angle Finally, when organizing a class into pairs, the students should sit so that it is difficult for them to see their partner’s handout (unless it is an activity where they share handouts).

According to Byrne (1989:32-33), teachers should as far as they can use the existing classroom arrangement He suggests to get the students to work with a neighbour and only move

a student if it is absolutely necessary The important thing is for students to be able to form pairs quickly and without any fuss However, Scrivener says (1994:93) that it’s difficult to sit still for

a long time; it’s worth including activities that involve some movement, even if only to give people the chance to stretch their legs He suggests several original ideas for investigating and exploring the possibilities of seating:

• If the students normally sit in rows try forming a circle

• Turn the classroom around so that the focus is on a different wall from normal

• Make a train carriage with seats (or an aeroplane, or a town centre, or

whatever)

• Divide the class into separate groups at far corners of the room

• Ask how can we reorganize this classroom to make it a nicer place to be? Let

the class discuss it and agree, then do it

• Push the seats or desks up against the wall Sit on the floor

• Get rid of the seats completely Ask everyone to bring in a bean-bag or cushion

(Scrivener 1994:95).

2.3.5 The role of teacher during PW-GW

The role of teacher will depend to a large extent on the function he performs in different activities Harmer examines the roles of controller, organiser, assessor, prompter, participant, recourse, tutor and investigator (Harmer 1995:200-205) It will be obvious that the teacher’s behaviour for various types of activity will be different For communicative output according to him, the role of the teacher should change Pair work is often used for communicative activities that is why role of teacher very often changes in pair work Since the teacher as controller is no longer oppressively present students can help each other to use and learn language The teacher will still, of course be able to act as an assessor, prompter or resource With pair work, then, students can practise language use and joint learning

2.3.6 Teacher positioning in the classroom

Teacher’s roles are closely connected to the teacher’s positioning in the classroom Where

we decide to position ourselves at various stages of the lesson is important if we take into account the effect it has on our learners I agree with this view that whether we are standing, seated or crouching in front of, to the side of or behind learners sends out a message with regard

to what we want them to do Wherever we stand in the class, students will see us, therefore standing is important when we want the attention of the whole class, for clarifying language or giving instructions, for example

2.3.7 Delayed correction

In this kind of error correction the teacher walks round the class quickly to make sure that all the students are working properly She only stops if she finds that some students don’t know what to do, or are doing the wrong things If this is true of lots of pairs, the best idea is to stop the whole class and ask one pair to show everyone again what they are to do When the teacher hears mistakes, she makes a note of them This is important information for the teacher If she hears a mistake repeatedly, she can wait until the pairs have finished the exercise and then ask someone

to do the question in which she heard the mistake (Edge 1989:39)

If the teacher hears lots of mistakes in important points she has been trying to teach, she need not think too much about correction She must realize that the class has not understood what she has presented and she needs to think of different ways of presenting the same point again Teachers can get this important information only if they give learners the chance to make mistakes.

2.3.8 Peer correction

Peer correction is another possibility how to correct mistakes in pair work If students can get used to correcting each other in a positive way, this can be very helpful during pair and group work If the students aren’t sure what is correct, they can make a note of their difficulty, carry on with the exercise, and ask the teacher later (Edge 1989:42)

There is a question what happens if the partner doesn’t notice a mistake and the students continue with their work I agree with Edge who claims that at this stage of learning, it is much more important that the students get lots of practice in the language than that everything is absolutely correct (Edge 1989:42)

In fluency activities, we don’t want the learners to be interrupting each other They should concentrate on what their partner is saying Occasionally, however, it is useful to have someone concentrating on how things are said In addition to the teacher walking round the class and making notes, it is possible to turn some of the students into observers (Edge 1989:43)

2.3.9 Observers

Edge suggests observers for work in groups but I think that this is a good idea also for pair work The students work in groups of three Two of them carry out the pair work activity while the third one listens and tries to note down some mistakes that the others make This student is an observer The teacher makes sure that different students take turns at being the observer When the activity is finished, the observer shows the others what he or she has written down and the group discusses what is correct and what is wrong Disagreements can be referred to the teacher This use of an observer can be very profitable for learners, but the observer’s job is very difficult and it is important for the teacher to make clear what this job is and what it is not (see Edge 1989:45-46)

2.4 Theoretical Framework

Teaching speaking is thought to be a crucial part of second language learning and teaching.

In an online article, Kayi (2006) indicates that the ability to communicate in the target language clearly and efficiently makes an important contribution to learners’ success at school and later in every stage of their life Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay more attention to teaching speaking

Despite its importance, for many years, teaching speaking has been undervalued and deemphasized in Vietnam, and English language teachers have continued to teach “speaking” in the form of a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues Rather than leading students to pure memorization, teachers should provide a rich classroom environment where meaningful communication takes place Obviously, teaching speaking is mainly based on having students complete the tasks via pairs or groups It is likely that the tasks in these textbooks are mostly of

discussion type, so they require joint effort from students Also, as stated in Tai lieu boi duong giao vien (2006), Task-based Learning Approach (TBL) is favored and adopted so as to create

authentic language settings for learners and engage them in purposeful communication activities The term “Task-based Learning” mainly originates from the literature on language education (Prabhu, 1987; Nunan, 1989) In TBL, learning activities are organized around tasks instead of around any single language items Their focus falls on the meaningful use of language within a social milieu Theoretically, in a task-based lesson, the teacher does not pre-determine what language will be studied; the lesson is based around the completion of a central task and the language studied is determined by what happens as the students complete it TBL typically consists of three stages as illustrated below:

This is a model of task-based learning described by Jane Willis (1996) This model follows a three-phase process The first phase is called “pre-task” in which the topic is defined and essential vocabulary are highlighted by the teacher The second stage is called “task cycle” with three sub-steps (task, planning, and report), in which the students perform the task in pairs or groups, and then rehearse their report before presenting it in front of the whole class The last phase is “language focus” with two distinct steps: analysis and practice, during which specific language features that learners encountered in the task are examined and analyzed Some practice

of language features and feedback on the students’ performance are appropriate at this stage According to some researchers and linguists, TBL is advantageous to students because it is more student-centered and less teacher-centered In all three stages, they must use all their language resources rather than just practicing one pre-selected item The teacher plays the role of a facilitator who ensures the necessary conditions for the learning to take place by providing exposure to the language and guiding learners to use the correct language for fulfilling the task.

Pre-task Introduction to topic and

task

Task cycle Task Planning

Report Language Focus Analysis Practice

Practice

It is the learner doing the task who becomes the centre of the lesson In addition, it is a strong communicative approach where students spend a lot of time interacting with each other in pairs

or groups to fulfill the task assigned by their teacher.

However, this approach cannot be said to be without any limitations Firstly, TBL, according to the online article “The Practice of Learning Theories”, could be time-consuming, especially when the task assigned by the teacher is complicated Secondly, TBL is considered very effective

to intermediate-level learners and beyond Nevertheless, it proves to be quite demanding for slower or beginner ones, which causes great concerns among many language teachers who have adopted this approach into teaching speaking (“Teaching Tips: What is Task-based Learning”).

In many Universities in Vietnam, most the first year students, roughly speaking, are lower than pre-intermediate level As a result, they may find speaking tasks in the new English textbook rather beyond their abilities Such low levels of students together with limited time (90 minutes for one speaking lesson) lead to the important realization that TBL may not be suitable for teaching speaking for the first year students in Vietnam’s language teaching and learning context

Therefore, on this point, Harmer (1998) suggests using ESA trinity, which may help to solve the problem ESA stands for Engage, Study, and Activate – three important stages of a lesson During the Engage stage, the main job of teachers is to provoke the students’ interest, curiosity and attention by a variety of activities such as a game, a dramatic story, an amusing anecdote and

so on The second phase – Study – primarily focuses on language and the construction of language The teacher does not need to present new language input but can cover revision or extension of previously-taught materials The last stage is Activate, which means giving students chances to use the target language as freely and communicatively as possible via such activities

as role plays, debates, discussions and so forth More importantly, this model can create various effects if the elements E, S, A are combined in different ways

The Straight Arrows (or E-S-A) is considered best for low-level learners This characteristic of Straight Arrows serves as a supplement for the second limitation of TBL In a Straight Arrows lesson, first, the teacher arouses students’ interest, then focuses on presenting new language, and eventually lets the students activate what they have just studied Undoubtedly, this process may help low-level students study better

ESA Straight Arrows Sequence

The Boomerang (or E-A-S-[A]), in contrast, proves to be more suitable for intermediate and advanced learners In this procedure, the teacher selects a topic of study and will not present new language until the students demonstrate their needs for it

EAS(A) Boomerang Sequence

Patchwork is the last type Like Boomerang, this pattern also works well with intermediate and advanced levels In a patchwork lesson, the three elements will appear more than once and in varied orders Compared with the two sequences above, this sequence provides a balance between study and activation

3

1

2 EAS(A)

ESA

EAASASEA Patchwork Sequence

All in all, having numerous lesson sequences in hand, teachers are the people who take the responsibility of making the right choice of the ESA sequence appropriate to different learners’ levels.

In short, we have mentioned and elaborated on the merits as well as the potential problems and obstacles of pair and group work Researchers, linguists, and language teachers all over the world have discovered and studied in-depth these themes and so far still have attempted to reach

a consensus Moreover, on presenting the teaching of speaking with the focal point on TBL, we want to note that this approach deserves our attention as most of the speaking tasks in the new English textbook for the first year students have their origins from TBL and require the students

to work in pairs or groups so as to fulfill a common goal – a task Also, to deal with the drawback of TBL for low-level learners, the ESA model developed by Jeremy Harmer with its diversifying patterns should be taken into consideration.

2.3 Research questions

The research addresses the following questions:

1 What are the advantages and the possible problems of using PW-GW in teaching speaking for

the freshman in FFL ?

2 How can English teachers apply PW-GW to teaching speaking for the freshman effectively?

EAASASEA (etc)

6

1

4

3 5 7

2

CHAPTER III : RESEARCH DESIGN

3.1 The place where you investigate

This study takes place in FFL – IUH and in an English class.

3.2 Research object

Students One hundred freshman of FFL – UIH participate in the survey

Teachers Ten teachers agree to join in our investigation All of them possess a great deal of

teaching experience, at least approximately five years of teaching Many of them have participated in workshops and training sessions on teaching speaking

3.3 Research methodology

Questionnaire I design separate questionnaires for students and teachers, each contains

multiple choice and checklist in order to obtain participants’ opinions about teaching speaking and the implementation of pair work and group work

speaking classes (as illustrated in Appendix D; Q2, Q3 and Q5) However, there is a difference

between the respondents’ answers about how often they have pair work and group work in their speaking classes Most of the teachers (about 80%) state that PW-GW is usually operated in their speaking classes whereas only more than 30% of students say the same thing

Only half of the students agree that these two kinds of classroom organization have much effect

on their speaking ability (see Appendix C, Q4) Contrary to our common belief that pair work

and group work will motivate students and give them more time to practice speaking English, many of those first year students admit having used Vietnamese when working in pairs or groups, especially when they are not under teacher’s observation The reasons for this include the students’ lack of vocabulary as well as confidence and their habit of using Vietnamese for

everyday communication (as shown in Appendix C, Q6)

Most students and teachers agree that the majority of these activities are taken from books (textbooks, reference books, etc.) Although only a few of these activities are for free practice (13.3%), it is clear from Table 1 that many various kinds are designed for pairs or groups Obviously, discussion is most used as it receives the highest percentage of frequency from both teachers and students In addition, dialogue, interview, and information gap are also frequently used as more than half of the respondents state that these activities are usually or sometimes operated in their speaking classes However, there is a remarkable difference between the respondents’ responses to the option “role play” Only a few students (3%) but a lot of teachers (more than 60%) say that role play is always or usually operated in their speaking classes Besides the in-class activities, most teachers (83.3%) also say that they give pairs or groups of

students projects at homework (as seen in Appendix D, Q8).

As the researcher expected, more than half of students express their approval of these kinds of classroom organization because PW-GW helps them communicate with their friends, learn from each other and split the tasks with each other As a result, they have less work to do and more time to practice speaking Working with their peers also makes students feel more comfortable when speaking in English

In contrast, nearly one fourth of the students give negative responses to the idea of using pair work and group work Their major reasons include their habit of working individually, the inconvenience when changing seats, noisy class, and their teachers’ inability to reach and help every student

However, as shown in Table 4, both teachers and students have the same opinion that PW-GW offers a great number of merits such as students’ chances of exchanging ideas to learn from each other, of solving tasks more easily and faster thanks to their friends’ help, of learning how to cooperate and to split tasks equally, and more time for practicing speaking A high percentage of teachers (approximately 90%) also point out some more merits of pair work and group work: promoting students’ fluency and helping students feel more confident when speaking English

(see Appendix D, Q12)

The findings reveal that the most noticeable problems arising from pair and group work are noise and teacher’s less help and attention given to individuals, as these options get more than 80% of

supporting responses from both teachers and students Besides, the other suggested problem – students’ inequality of splitting the responsibilities also receives a relatively high rate of agreement (over 50%) from both teachers and students However, there is a contrast in the respondents’ answers to the option “teachers’ little control of the whole class” More than half of the teachers consider it a problem, whereas half of the students do not This conflict between teachers and students’ opinions shows that while teachers always regard controlling the whole class as one of their responsibilities, most students dislike being controlled by teachers in speaking classes

When asked about the frequency with which they use MT (mother tongue) during pair and group work, about one half of the students questioned admit that they sometimes talk in MT even under their teacher’s supervision Likewise, a large number of the students in the class under our observation have the tendency to overuse the mother tongue while working in pairs or groups, although the teacher does remind or even request them to use TL (target language) and actually monitors a few pairs and groups to check whether they follow her order

Additionally, when asked about the obstacles for the implementation of PW-GW in speaking classes, the majority of teachers and students agree that those obstacles include the limited amount of time for speaking period, the students’ unfamiliarity with working in pairs or group, and their inexperience in dividing equal responsibilities among partners in pairs or members in groups Most respondents consider the insufficient amount of time as the biggest problem, as it receives the highest percentage of agreement from both teachers and students Also from Table

6, it is important to note that the option “unsuitable seating arrangement” receives a very high percentage of agreement from teachers (more than 90%) but nearly 50% of disagreement from students Consequently, it is reasonable to infer that while the seating arrangement seems to be a significant obstacle to the teachers, it is little concern for most students Furthermore, the teachers also disclose two other obstacles: the students’ lack of fluency as well as accuracy and their shyness when speaking in English

4 Conclusion

In order to examine the implementation of PW-GW in teaching speaking for first year students at FFL - IUH, I have addressed two main questions as have been indicated in the beginning

1 Pair work and group work have been implemented into teaching speaking for the freshman and have gained a great deal of favor among both teachers and students The use of pair work and group work has proved to have a great number of advantages It is clearly seen that PW-GW can create a relaxing learning environment in which students feel more confident to speak English and have more chances for practicing and exchanging ideas with each other As a result, students’ speaking ability and fluency are much improved They also help students learn more about how to share their responsibilities while working in pairs or groups in order to solve tasks better and faster

However, I find it very necessary to take quite a lot of problems into thorough consideration The most common problem is the students’ use of mother tongue Additionally, as student talking time increases, noise and teacher’s less help and attention given to individuals are inevitable problems Besides, conflicts and inequality of splitting the responsibilities among members in groups or between partners in pairs also need to be dealt with

2 The first year students are still shy when talking with each other in English and are also inexperienced in cooperating and sharing responsibilities with other people Furthermore, the amount of time suggested in the syllabus as well as the seating arrangements of Vietnamese universities classrooms are not suitable for encouraging the full potential of pair work and group work so the using PW-GW is quite difficult

The study has implied a number of suggestions about how to make the implementation of pair and group work into teaching speaking a success :

- Firstly, it is true that PW-GW puts heavier demand on teachers than usual It is pointed out by most of the participants that teachers need to spend a great deal of time not only preparing materials, tasks, exercises and games for pairs or groups at home but also going around the class more often when students are working to check their work, give help if they need it and prevent their using Vietnamese

- Secondly, on mentioning how to prevent students’ use of their mother tongue, it is also advisable for teachers to provide their students with vocabulary or grammatical structures that may help them to solve the tasks When students have enough background knowledge, they do not have the need to use MT