using pair work and group work techniques to increase students' participation and interest in communicative english classes at hanoi university of industry

Candidate’ s statement
I certify that the minor thesis entitled “Using pair work and group work techniques
to increase students’ participation and interest in communicative English classes at Hanoi
University of Industry” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Arts is the result of my own work, except otherwise acknowledge and this
minor thesis or any part of the same has not been submitted for higher degree to any other
university or institution.
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Acknowledgements

To accomplish this study, I am indebted to many people for their thoughtful help.
First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge and thank my supervisor, Ms. Tran
Hien Lan for her valuable guidance, critical feedback and enormous encouragement,
without which my thesis would be far from completion.
I am also grateful to all the lecturers of the Post-graduate Department, Vietnam
national University, Hanoi, College of Foreign Language for their guidance and
enthusiasm during my course.
My sincere thanks go to all my colleagues and my students at Hanoi University of
Industry, Faculties of Economic, Electronic, and Chemistry.
Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my friends who were willing to help
me during the course. In particular, I find myself indebted to my family especially my
husband for their love, care and tolerance when I was in the process of writing this thesis.
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Abstract
This thesis was carried out to investigate the benefits of using pair work and group
work techniques in communicative English classes. It sought the answers to the following
questions:
1. How often are pair work and group work techniques applied in communicative English
classes at HaUI?
2. Does using pair work and group work techniques increase students’ interest in
communicative English classes at HaUI?

3. Does using pair work and group work increase students’ participation in
communicative English classes at HaUI?
Survey questionnaires for teachers and students were employed to find answers to
these three questions. The findings of the research revealed that pair work and group work
were usually appiled in communicative English classes at HaUI. The reason was that these
two techniques strongly increased students’ participation and interest in class activities.
The students found working in pairs and in groups intersting, which made them participate
more in the lesson. In addition, thanks to pair work and group work, the interaction
between students were closer. However, there were some problems the teachers should
consider when conducting these activities such as group size, the way of grouping,
students’ level of proficiency, and so on.
It is hoped that this thesis will help other teachers of English be aware of the usefulness of
pair work and group work techniques and apply them in their teaching
List of abbreviations
HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
iii
List of tables and charts
Tables
Table 1: Teachers’ profiles
Table 2: Students’ profiles
Table 3: The frequency of pair work and group work activities
Table 4: Teachers’ opinion on pair work and group work
Table 5: Students’ participation
Table 6: The frequency of difficulties
Table 7: Things the teachers often do when the students work in pairs and in groups
Table 8: Group size organized by teachers
Table 9: How to group students
Table 10: Students’prference of classroom activities
Table 11: The impact of pair work and group work techniques

Table 12: Factors causing difficulties
Table 13: Students’ recommendation for the things the teacher should do
Table 14: Group size preferred by students
Table 15: How would students like to be grouped?
Charts
Chart 1: Techniques used in English classes
Chart 2: Students’ attitude to pair work and group work activities
Chart 3: Factors causing difficulties
Chart 4: The Frequency of pair work and group work activities
Chart 5: Students’ attitude to pair work and group work
Chart 6: The frequency of difficulties
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Candidate’s statement i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
List of abbreviations iv
List of tables and charts iv
Appendixes
Appendix 1: Questionnaire for students
Appendix 2: Questionnaire for teachers
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v
Part I: Introduction
I. Rationale
Today, English has become an international language. It is spoken as a second
language and an official language in many countries, and millions of people speak English
as a foreign language. Besides, English is considered the medium of communication in
many fields such as science, technology, aviation, internet, commerce, and so on.
Therefore learning and teaching English are getting more and more important to non-native
nations of English. Vietnam is not an exception.

In Vietnam, English is a compulsory subject at schools and colleges. It plays a key role
in getting a good job. The number of Vietnamese people learning English is on the rise.
Also, English is no longer taught in a traditional way, in which much attention is paid to
grammatical competence. In the view of communicative language teaching (CLT)
approach, the goal of learning a foreign language is to communicate in that target
language. According to this approach, the learner is considered the center of the learning
process; the teacher serves as a facilitator.
At Hanoi university of Industry (HaUI), the aim of teaching and learning English is to
provide students with communicative competence. That is the reason why we choose the
textbooks “New Headway” by Liz & John Soars (1999) and “International express” by Liz
Taylor (2004), which focus on teaching communicative competence. Also, all the teachers
are encouraged to use pair work and group work activities in their teaching.
In my observation, students are more interested and less anxious when they work in
groups and in pairs. Moreover, pair work and group work can increase the amount of
talking for individual students; encourage boarder skills of participation, cooperation,
negotiation and so on.
As a result, I decided to do a research entitled “using pair work and group work
techniques to increase students’ participation and interest in communicative English
classes at HaUI”. I hope that the research will make a contribution to confirming the
advantages of pair work and group work techniques in teaching and learning English and it
can help other teachers of English be aware of these advantages and apply pair work and
group work activities in their teaching.
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II. Aims of the study
This study is aimed at investigating the use of pair work and group work techniques
in communicative English classes at Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI). To be specific,
the aims of the study are
- To clarify the frequency of using pair work and group work activities in
communicative English classes at HaUI.
- To prove the hypothesis that the two techniques: group work and pair work will

help teachers increase students’ participation and interest in communicative English classes
at HaUI.
III. Research questions
4. How often are pair work and group work techniques applied in communicative English
classes at HaUI?
5. Does using pair work and group work techniques increase students’ interest in
communicative English classes at HaUI?
6. Does using pair work and group work increase students’ participation in
communicative English classes?
IV. Scope of the study
There are a variety of techniques to encourage students to participate in
communicative English classes. However, it is not my intention to cover all of them
because of the time and the length of the study, only two techniques, group work and pair
work are investigated in communicative English classes at HaUI. The advantages of these
two techniques were found out by interviewing, and surveying teachers of English and
non- major students at HaUI.
V. Methods of the study
Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to carry out the study.
The data were collected by means of questionnaires, and interviews.
VI. Design of the study
The study includes three chapters not including the introduction (which contains
rationale, aims, methods, scope and design of the study) and the conclusion (which reviews
the main content and findings of the study and ends with some suggestions for further
research)
Chapter I: Literature review establishes the basic theoretical background from the
literature on communicative classes, students’ participation and interest, teaching
techniques especially group work and pair work techniques.
Chapter II: Methodology describes the overall picture of how the research was carried
out.
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Chapter III: Data analysis and findings show the results of the research. In this
chapter, the author tried to find out the answers to the posed questions.
Part II: Development
Chapter I: Literature review
I. 1. Communicative language teaching (CLT)
I. 1.1 An overview of communicative language teaching (CLT)
CLT appearing between the 1960s and 1970s marks the beginning of major
innovation within language teaching and it has been widely accepted nowadays because of
it superior principles.
According to Nunan (1989:194), ‘CLT views language as a system for the expression
of meaning. Activities involve oral communication, carrying out meaningful tasks, and
using language, which is meaningful to the learners. Objectives reflect the needs of the
learners; they include functional skills as well as linguistic objectives. The learner’s role is
as a negotiator and an integrator. The teacher’s role is as a facilitator of the communication
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process. Materials promote communicative language use; they are task based and
authentic”.
According to CLT, the purpose of language teaching is to develop “communicative
competence”. Hymes (1972) defines “communicative competence” as “what a speaker
needs to know in order to be communicatively competent in a speech community”. In other
words, CLT has two following main aims pointed out by Richards and Rogers (1986:64)
1. To make communicative competence the goal of language teaching.
2. To develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that
acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication
Richards and Rogers (1986: 69) also shows another point about CLT which is “its
learner-centered and experience based view of second language teaching”. In CLT,
students are able to play a more active and participatory role than in traditional approaches.
Teachers work as facilitators, consultants or supervisors.
Also, “activities in CLT are often carried out by students in small groups”. (Larsen
-Freeman, 1986: 132). Students are expected to interact with one another, either through

pair and group work or in their writings (Brumfit, 1983). Teachers select activities which
engage students in meaningful and authentic language use rather than in mechanical
practice of language patterns.
I.1. 2. Communicative activities
Communicative activities, defined by Littlewood (1981), are those that provide
whole task practice, improve students’ motivation, allow natural learning and create a
context supporting learning as well. “In communicative activities the teacher creates a
situation and sets an activity in notion, but it is the learners themselves who are responsible
for conducting the interaction to its conclusion (Littlewood, 1981: 18)
Harmer (1991) divides communicative activities into oral and written ones. Oral
activities include such categories as communication games, problem - solving, reaching a
consensus, discussion, replaying instructions, role-play, etc. Written communicative
activities consist of writing reports and advertisements; co-operative writing, exchanging
letters, writing journals and so on.
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In addition, according to Littlewood (1981), there are two main types of
communicative activities which he calls: “functional communication activities and social
interaction activities”. The main purpose of the former is that learners should use the
language they know in order to get meanings across as effectively as possible. Functional
communication activities include such activities as identifying pictures, discovering
identical pairs, discovering missing information, discovering differences, following
directions and so on. The later activities are those that emphasize on social as well as
functional aspects of communication. Learners, therefore, not only convey meanings
effectively, but also, pay greater attention to the social context in which the interaction
takes place. Simulation and role-playing are important techniques for creating a variety of
social relationships and situations.
I. 2. Students’ participation and interest
I. 2. 1. Concept of students’ participation
Students’ participation can be identified in terms of three kinds of interaction:
students to their teacher, students to students, and students to material.

The interaction between students and their teacher includes care, contact, co-
operation between them in the class. Students who have a good interaction with their
teacher always participate in the class discussion, support and act as their teacher requires.
Moreover, they seem to be involved in what is happening in the class by asking for more
information or explanation, volunteering to perform an activity, or sharing personal
experience relating to the topics being discussed. Thus, participation not only means
attending the lass regularly and on time but also taking part in the lesson actively or
showing desire or be active. Students become self- centered in the class activities.
The interaction between students and students is set up through their discussion in
small groups. They work together, help each other, and learn from each other. A good
interaction involves their co-operation and contribution to the task given. Students feel
pleasant and comfortable when they work together, then they will do their best to complete
the task.
Students’ participation also includes the interaction between students and material.
Obviously, students will be active and pay more attention to the lesson if they are
interested in the material or the task given. In other words, good and interesting materials
can get students involved in the lesson. Students will find it difficult to participate in the
class activities if they don’t understand the tasks or feel bored with them
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In short, students’ participation is concerned with their activeness in the lesson,
their success in completing the class activities and their attention to what is happening in
the class.
I.2. 2. Concept of students’ interest
Ellis (1994) ( cited in Keller, 1984) states that interest is one of the main elements
of motivation and a positive response to stimulate based on existing cognitive structures in
such a way that learners’ curiosity is aroused and sustained. In other words, interest shows
learners’ desire to learn the target language. It can be seen that students who are given
opportunities for communication will be interested in the lesson.
Ellis (cited in Dickinson, 1987) also points out that “interest is engendered if
learners become self-centered”. This means they are able to determine their learning

objectives, choose their own way of achieving these, and evaluate their own progress.
I.2. 3. Factors affecting students’ participation and interest in the class.
- Students’ learning styles
Learning style shows how students achieve the target language. Willing (1985)
(cited in Nunan, 1988: 93) classifies learning styles into four types as follows:
Concrete learners: they prefer learning by games, pictures, films, videos, talking in
pairs and learning through the use of cassettes.
Communicative learners: they like to learn by observing and listening to native
speakers, talking to friends in English and learning English wherever possible.
Analytical learners: they like to study grammar, find their own mistakes, and learn
through reading newspapers.
Authority oriented learners: they want their teacher to explain everything and they
prefer writing everything in their notebooks, learning to read, studying grammar, and
learning English words by seeing them.
- Students’ motivation
Motivation is a key factor leading students’ success in learning in general, and in
learning language in particular. Also, there are many different kinds of motivation such as
integrative motivation, instrumental motivation, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation,
global motivation, situational motivation and so on.
- Teaching techniques
It is obvious that different teaching techniques create different degrees of students’
participation and interest in the lesson. For example, techniques which focus on
grammatical and phonological accuracy like choral repetition, drilling substitution, content
explanation will result in learners’ passiveness and limit their participation in learning. In
contrast, the techniques that involve students in communicative activities such as role-play,
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problem-solving, pair and group work, discussion, etc can encourage students to participate
in the lesson.
- Teachers’ personal qualities and characteristics
In order to involve students in the lesson, teachers should be ones that students trust

and respect. In other words, when students feel “safe” in the class, they will be willing to
participate in class activities. Barry (1993) points out some characteristics a teacher should
have as follows:
- Being natural: if the teacher behaves naturally, the relationship between him and
his students will be closer, which increases students’ participation and interest in the
lesson.
- Being warm: the teacher considers students as his friends. Students therefore will
find it easy to express themselves in the lesson.
- Being pleasant: this characteristic will make the classroom’s atmosphere
relaxing and interesting, which of course increases students’ creation and participation
- Being tolerant: the teacher should be fair and consistent with all students so that
he can encourage all his students to participate in the lesson.
In addition, so as to interest students a teacher should have some following personal
qualities such as sincere, friendly, supportive, well- organized, enthusiastic, flexible and so
on.
It is pointed out that no teacher has all characteristics and personal qualities listed
below. However, these characteristics and qualities can help much in increasing students’
motivation, creating positive learning environment, and enhancing students’ participation
in the class activities as well.
I. 3. Classroom work arrangements: pair work and group work
I. 3.1. Definition of pair work and group work
Pair work is a process in which “the teacher divides the whole class in pairs. Every
student works with his or her partner in pairs, and all the pairs work at the same time (It is
sometimes called “simultaneous pair work”). This is not the same as “public” or “open”
pair work, with pairs of students speaking in turn in front of the class” ( Doff, 1988: 137)
There are two main types of pair work: fixed pairs and flexible pairs, given by
Byrne (1983). In the former, students work with the same partner to practice the target
language. In the later, students keep changing their partners they like. This may make the
activity more interesting but the class noisier.
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It can be seen that pair work can get students to practice the target language more
and increase students’ talking time in the class.
Doff (1988: 137) also defines group work as a process that “the teacher divides the
class into small groups to work together (usually four or five students in each group, as in
pair work, all the groups work at the same time”.
Like pair work, group work also gives students more opportunities to practice the
target language in the whole class. In addition, students can work independently and freely
under the teacher’s control without the pressure of the whole class watching what they are
doing.
I. 3. 2. The organization of pair work and group work
I. 3. 2. 1. The formation
We have to decide how to put individual students into pairs and groups. There are a
number of factors we might consider when doing this. According to Harmer (1999), we
can base such decision on any of the following principles:
Friendship
A key consideration when putting students in pairs or groups is to make sure that
we put friends with friends rather than risking the possibility of people working with others
whom they find difficult or unpleasant. However, our observation may not always accurate
and friendship can change from time to time.
We can also ask students to get into pairs or groups with whom they like. But
letting students choose their partner(s) in this way may exclude less popular students.
In addition, a sociogram can be used to group students. In this way, students are
asked to write their name, the students they like best in the class on a piece of paper and
the students they don’t like on the other side. The teacher can use this information to make
sociograms. However, sociograms are time consuming and also fail to answer the problem
of what to do with unpopular students.
Streaming: Students can be streamed according to their ability.
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The first suggestion is that pairs and groups should have a mixture of weaker and
stronger students. Therefore, the more able students can help their less able students.

The second one is that we can create groups in which all the student are at the same
level. This may give us the opportunity to go to a group of weaker students and give them
special help they need. However, some of the values of cooperative work may be lost.
Besides, we can stream students on the basis of participation. Students less
participating in the lesson may be put together in a group. However, the teacher should
observe and support them in order to make them concentrate more on the lesson.
Chance: Students can be put in pairs and groups by chance. This is the easiest way
since it demands little pre-planning. We can have students sitting next to or near each other
work in pairs or groups. Also, students can be put in pairs or groups at random based on
the order of their birthday, or some similar features such as wearing glasses, wearing black,
or green, having the same occupation, etc.
Changing groups: The group may change while an activity continues. Students
can first work in pairs then in groups of four, then groups of eight, or even sixteen.
Additionally, teachers can group students based on some following criteria given
by Honeyfield (1991).
Free- grouping: students make their own decision about who to work with.
Same proficiency level grouping: students of the same proficiency level are
grouped together.
Mixed proficiency level grouping: students are grouped so that each group has a
mix of proficiency levels.
Random grouping: students are located to group in some random way on the basic
of who is sitting next to whom in the class.
Grouping based on other differences: in a mixed class, students are grouped so
that each group has a mix of some other characteristics, e.g. sex, age, nationality, mother
tongue or ethnic origin.
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In short, our paring and grouping decision is made based on a variety of factors.
We can put students in pairs or in groups differently according to our own purpose or the
class’s atmosphere or characteristic.
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I. 3. 2. 2. Group size
Group size is one thing we need to consider when getting students to form groups.
We may consider the question: “Are smaller groups better for learning than larger ones?”
According to Honeyfield (1991), the smaller group is, the more “talking time” there
is for each participant. If the time available is ten minutes, each member of pair could talk
for five minutes, while each member of a group of four could talk for only two and a half
minutes (provided that the participants share the talking time equally).
However, Honeyfield (1991) also points out that “the smaller groups are, the more
groups there are, so the teacher has more motoring to do and the less practical it is to have
groups report back to the class”.
In addition, group size can be determined by types of tasks. Moreover, for real-
world tasks, “it may be necessary to have the same number of learners in a group as would
occur in real life” (Honeyfield, 1991). Thus group size is determined by the nature of the
task itself.
I.3. 2. 3 Procedures for pair work and group work
Harmer (1999) suggests three stages in carrying out pair work and group work as
follows:
Before: we need to give instructions to let students understand what they are
going to do, give them ideas of when they will have finished the task they are going to get
involved in. Sometimes, we may ask them to repeat the instructions or to translate them
into their first language so as to check that they do understand. In some cases, our
instructions may involve a demonstration.
During: while students are working in pairs or groups we have a number of
options. We could, for instance, stand at the front or the side of the class or anywhere else
in the classroom, and keep an eye on what is happening. Therefore, we can “tune in” to a
particular pair or group from some distance away. We then decide whether to go over or to
help that pair or group.
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Instead, we can also go round the class watching and listening to specific pairs and
groups. Then we may stop and intervene if it is appropriate or necessary. We can give them

support and suggestions but it is vital that we bear in mind the most appropriate way to do
so.
After: when pairs and groups stop working together we need to organize feedback.
We may have a few pairs or groups quickly demonstrate the language they have been
using. We can then correct it, if and when necessary and this procedure will give both
those students and the rest of the class good information for future learning and action.
Constructive feedback can greatly enhance students’ future motivation.
According to Sun Grek Ngoh (1991), there are other stages in implementing group
work that are listed below:
PLACE STAGE EXPLANATION
Before entering the
classroom
Planning stage The teacher maps out the
specific objectives she
intends to achieve, and the
tasks to realize the
objectives set.
In the classroom Practice stage
Instruction stage
Organization stage
The teacher equips the
students with the necessary
structures or vocabulary to
achieve the tasks set.
The teacher gives clear,
detailed instructions for the
required tasks.
The teacher arranges the
students into groups,
making sure there is

control and order.
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Process stage
Presentation stage
Post small group work
stage
The students are engaged
in oral interaction in
groups in order to achieve
the task assigned.
The group leaders present
the product so that the
other students can hear or
read.
The teacher assigns a
related task to reinforce
learning, and self-
evaluates what has been
done, and makes
amendments to future
group work.
I.3. 3. Some common activities for pair work and group work
A variety of activities can be applied in communicative English classes through the
use of pair work and group work. The list of some common activities is given below.
Role- play: the class is divided into pairs or groups. Then these pairs and groups
are given roles to act out.
Information gap activities: each participant in pairs or groups has information not
shared by any other but require to complete.
Problem- solving: students are given some problems in real-life which need
solving. Then they work in pairs or in groups to find out solutions to these problems.

The lost twin: each student has a small card on which some features are printed.
There are two copies for each card. Students then have to go around the class to find out
who has the same card.
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Picture card activities:
Kim’s game: students in groups look at the items on a table for about thirty
seconds. Then the items are recovered, the groups have to describe and locate them.
Spot the differences: students are given two pictures, then they work to spot the
differences
What is my line: students in groups have to ask questions of another member
within a limited time span and discover his or her occupation.
I.3. 4. Some problems in conducting pair work and group work
When conducting pair work and group work techniques, teachers may encounter
some problems as follows:
Harmer (1999: 125) points out that “some pairs may find it impossible to
concentrate on the task in hand and instead encourage each other to talk about something
else, usually in their first language. In some groups, members may defer to the oldest
person there, or to the man in otherwise female group. People with loud voice can
dominate proceedings, less extrovert people may not participate fully enough”.
He also states some following problems teachers deal with when applying pair
work and group work in their teaching. Firstly, pair work and group work are frequently
noisy, so teachers may lose control of their class. Secondly, some students would prefer to
the focus of the teacher’s attention rather than working with their peers. Thirdly,
individuals may fall into group roles that become fossilized, so that some are passive
whereas others may dominate. Finally, students in pairs or groups may not focus on the
point of their task, but talk about something else, often in their mother tongue.
Obviously, it is difficult for teachers to control all groups and pairs at once. Some
students don’t like working in pairs or groups. Also, they sometimes use their mother
tongue instead of the target language when working in pairs or groups.
In addition, Sim Grek Ngoh (1991) discovers that some students may choose to

remain silent or may not listen to the others because of cultural differences or lack of co-
operation among the students in pairs or in groups. He also adds that “students who are
14
linguistically deficient tend to resort to their mother tongue when they are engaged in
group work interaction”. Another problem given by Sim Grek Ngoh (1991) is that “the
administration of small group work is a demanding and arduous process, as it is a careful
planning, preparation and constant motoring”.
To sum up, teachers have to deal with a number of problems while conducting
group work and pair work. However, those problems may be overcome if “ teachers
consider various factors at different stages of pair work and group work from planning,
practice, instruction, organization and process stage to the presentation stage” (Sim Grek
Ngoh, 1991). Also, pair work and group work can be conducted successfully if an
appropriate task is selected.
Chapter II: Methodology
II.1. Setting of the study
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The study was conducted at three faculties: Economics, Electronics, and Chemistry
at Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI), which train electronic engineers, accountants,
business administrators, and engineers of chemistry.
English is a compulsory subject for students at these faculties as well as others at HaUI.
Here, students have to study English as a means of communication during 4 semesters. By
the end of the course, students are expected to be able to communicate in English at pre-
intermediate level. Therefore, English is taught according to CLT, in which all four
language skills: speaking, reading, listening and writing are focused on.
The materials used during the course are the new headway series (beginner to pre-
intermediate level) (Liz & John Soars, 1999), and international expressions (book 1 to
book 3) ( Liz Taylor, 2004). The equipment mostly applied by teachers is tape recorder.
Also, they are encouraged to use projectors and videos.
II. 2. Methodology
II. 2. 1. Subjects

The subjects of the study were 345 non- major students from Falculties of
Electronics, Economics, and Chemistry and 32 teachers who were at Division 2, English
Department, HaUI. They were selected randomly by the researcher.
The students
The students were from 4 classes at Electronics Department, 4 classes at
Economics Department, and 4 classes at Chemical one. Some of the students were
studying the first semester of English; some of them were studying the third one. Most of
them were 18-20 years of age. Some students had learnt English for 4 to 9 years, but some
had just taken it when they attended the course. Hence, they were not at the same English
proficiency level. Some of them were relatively good and active, while some were passive
and quiet in English classes. Their profiles are descried in table 1.
Number of students Percent (%)
Age 18 – 20 290 84
21 – 23 55 16
Sex Female 145 42
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Male 200 58
Length of learning Less than 2 years 107 31
More than 2 years 238 69
Table 1: Students’ profiles
The teachers
The 32 teachers teaching first-year students and second- year students at Division
2, English Department were asked to take part in the survey questionnaire for the teachers.
Among them, there were 7 males, and 25 females. Their ages ranged from 23 to 43. Some
of them had master degree of English, some were studying post- graduate at Vietnam
National University, Hanoi, or at Hanoi University. Their profiles are described in table 2.
Number of teachers Percent (%)
Age 23 – 30 20 62.5
31 – 43 12 37.5
Sex Female 25 78

Male 7 22
Teaching experience 1 – 5 years 21 65.6
More than 5 years 11 34.4
Educational
qualifications
Graduate 23 71.8
Post- graduate 9 18.2
Tanle 2: Teachers’ profiles
The subjects for the interview
The selection of informants for the interview was based on the survey data. 20
students and 5 teachers were interviewed for more information about the impact of pair
work and group work in English classes.
II. 2. 2. Methods of data collection
Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data for the study.
The quantitative data were collected from two questionnaires, and were analyzed by SPSS,
while qualitative data were obtained from the interview.
II. 2. 3. The questionnaire for students
The questionnaire for the students, with 11 questions written in English, including
closed and open ones, was administered to 345 students. It was designed with 5 main parts.
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• Part 1(question 2) was about students’ preference in techniques used in English classes.
• Part 2 (question 3) was designed to find out the frequency of pair work and group work
techniques in English classes.
• Part 3 (question 4, 5, 6) was to investigate the impact of pair work and group work
techniques on students’ interest and participation in English classes.
• Part 4 including 2 questions (question 7, 8) was about the difficulties students often had
when they worked in pairs and groups.
• Part 5 (question 9, 10, 11) was given to collect students’ recommendation for
increasing the effectiveness of pair work and group work techniques.
The questionnaire was constructed in reference to “Questionnaire design” written by

Eric Potter and Peter Spratt from Dakin University, 1995.
II. 2. 4. The questionnaire for the teachers
The second questionnaire was given to 32 teachers at Division 2, English
Department. The purpose of this questionnaire was to investigate techniques used in
English classes, (question 2), the frequency of pair work and group work activities
(question 3), the impact of pair work and group work techniques on students’ interest and
participation (question 4, 5, 6), difficulties in organizing pair work and group work
activities (question 7, 8), and how the teachers often organized pair work and group work
activities (question 9, 10, 11).
The questionnaire also consits of 11 questions written in English and it was
designed in reference to “Questionnaire design” written by Eric Poter and Peter Spratt
from Deakin University, 1995.
II. 2. 5. Interviews
A one- one interview was conducted after the administration of student
questionnaire in each class, and after the administration of teacher questionnaire as well.
The interview was carried out in Vietnamese between the researcher and the students and
in English between the author and the teachers. 20 students and 5 teachers were randomly
selected for the interview. The questions in the interview were basically based on those in
the questionnaire, but they were extended to cover more open-ended questions to get
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thorough understanding of the reasons behind each choice. Each conversation lasted for 7
to 10 minutes.
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Chapter III: Data analysis and findings
III. 1. Data analysis of teachers’ survey questionnaire and direct interview
1) What techniques are often used in English classes?
Chart 1: Techniques used in English classes
The above chart showed that all teachers often applied pair work and group work
techniques in their teaching. This meant pair work and group work were used more often
than any other techniques, which also indicated that the teachers here found these

techniques suitable for their teaching. Besides, they used other techniques such as
individual work, giving lectures, and questioning, in which individual work was used the
most. 16 teachers (50%) often used this technique, while only 6 teachers (19%) applied
questioning technique.
2) The frequency of pair work and group work activities
 How often do you use group work and pair work activities in your English
class?
How often do you use group work and pair work activities in your
English class?
Number
of
Percent
(%)
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