Content Why do group work? How to set up pair and group work General strategies Designing group work Allocation of roles and tasks Organizing learning groups Conflict How to deal with uncooperative students Dividing into pairs, groups of three and groups of

four or more

Why do group work? Group work encourages critical thinking by

discussion. Information is retained for longer than it

would be if working alone. Group work enhances and develops the

ability to learn. Students learn best when they are actively involved in the process.

Many subjects are mastered through dialogue and discussion

Students who work in collaborative groups also appear more satisfied with their classes.

How to set up pair and group work• Be sure to fully explain the procedure

before splitting the class up. • The teacher should demonstrate the

activity (with the help of a volunteer) or show some examples first (modelling / elicitation of structures and vocabulary).

• Ask them to tell you what they have to do before they do it (in their mother tongue if need be) to check their understanding.

• Don´t wait for all students to have finished in order to stop the activity and carry out feedback.

How to set up pair and group work Don’t forget to have feedback time after

group work so that the students don’t feel that they have been wasting time. It’s important to share their work as a whole group although this doesn’t have to be systematic.

Set a clear time limit! Control who works with who, so students

aren’t always being dominated or dominating others.

The teacher goes around helping students as they work in groups.

General strategiesMany students have never worked in collaborative learning groups and may need practice in such skills as active and tolerant listening, helping one another in mastering content, giving and receiving constructive criticism, and managing disagreements. Discuss these skills with your students and model and reinforce them during class.

• Give students the skills they need to succeed in groups.

Organizing learning groups Decide how the groups will be formed.

Self-selected groups seem to work best in small classes. Still other teachers prefer to form the groups themselves. They form groups of better students and weaker ones to make sure that members of each group participate.

Be conscious of group size.In general, groups of two to four members work best. Larger groups decrease each member's opportunity to participate actively.The less skillful the group members are, the smaller the groups should be. The shorter amount of time available is, the smaller the groups should be.

Conflict A certain degree of conflict is useful

and is a sign that the group is functioning healthily.

Too much conflict suggests communication problems which must be resolved.

Conflict usually arises from unclear aims and objectives. To avoid this, set down the aims and objectives of the group for the whole project at all levels as early as possible.

How to deal with uncooperative students

Provide mechanisms for groups to deal with uncooperative members.

Keep the groups of two/ three students: it is hard to be a shirker (lazy, evasive student) in a small group.

Evaluating group work• Ensure that individual student

participates and that the groups know how their members are doing. (Ways to ensure that students know what is done in the group include calling on individual students to present their group's progress. )

Dividing into pairs1. Compound words (cross – word)2. Word parts (num – ber)3. Idioms (an Achilles´ - heel)4. Proverbs (A barking dog – never bites.)5. Question + Answer (How old are you? – I am

13.)6. Problem + Solution (car problem – car

mechanic)7. Object + Object (knife – fork)8. Famous pairs (Shrek – Fiona)9. Antonyms (good - bad)10. Synonyms (grandfather – grandpa)

Dividing into groups of three1. Synonyms (postpone – put off – delay)2. Conversations/Dialogues

(statement - reaction – statement, e.g. Can you help me, please? - Yes, what happened? – I have a problem with my car.)

3. Line-up (cat – dog – mouse / teacher – cook – shop assistant)

Dividing into groups of four or more

1. Picture puzzle (parts of pictures to be matched)

2. Common denominator (run – jump – walk – go / write – draw – type – paint)

3. Line-up