A study of instructions for group work in 2nd year non English major classrooms at Thai Nguyen University = Nghiên cứu việc hướng dẫn hoạt động nhóm trong các l

Vietnam National University, Hanoi
University of Languages and International Studies
Faculty of Post Graduate Studies

Nguyễn Thị Hiền Hạnh
A study of instructions for group work in
2
nd
year non English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University
(Nghiên cứu việc hướng dẫn hoạt động nhóm trong
các lớp không chuyên tiếng Anh năm thứ hai tại
Đại học Thái Nguyên )

Thesis Summary

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410


Supervisor: Phạm Minh Hiền, M.A.




Hanoi, August 2010

iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
TNU: Thai Nguyen University
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Teacher’s profiles (Total number of teacher: 9)
Table 2: The organization and content of the teachers’ instructions
Table 3:The language used for the instructions
Table 4: Physical expressions for the instructions
Table 5: Students’ opinions on the purpose of using group work in their class.
Table 6: Students’ opinions on types of group activities they like most
Table 7: Reasons for effective instructions
Table 8: Favorite ways of forming group work
Table 9: Students’ difficulties when following teachers’ instructions.

















v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Candidate’s statement

Acknowledgements
Abstract
List of abbreviations, tables, figures
Table of contents
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………….…… 1
1. Rationales of the study……………………………………………… …………………………1
2. Aims and significance of the study ………………………………… ………………………2
3. Scope of the study……………………………………………………… …….…………………3
4. Research questions…………………………………………………… ……….……………… 4
5. Methods of the study……………………………………….………….………………….………4
6. Design of the study………………………………………….………….……….……………… 5
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT………………………….………….……….……………… 6
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………….………….……….……… 6
I.1 Communicative language teaching…………………………… …… ……………………6
I.1.1. An overview of communicative language teaching………………………… 6
I.1.2. Communicative activities………………………………………………………….…10
I.2. Group work in communicative language teaching ………………………………… 11
I.2.1 Concept of group work…………………………………………………… …… …11
I.2.2 Advantages of group work ……………………………………………… ….12
I.2.3 General strategies for a successful group work…………………………… 17
I.2.4 Factors affecting the success of group work…………………………….… 19
I.2.5 Teacher’s roles in group work…………………………………………… ….20
I.3. Teacher’s instructions for a successful group work………………………… ……22
I.3.1 Teacher’s instructions and its relation to teacher talk………………… … 22
I.3.2 The definition of teacher’s instructions for group work……………… … 23
I.3.3 The importance of instructions in organizing group work…………… … 24
I.3.4 Principles of giving instructions to group work………………………… ….25

vi
CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY

II.1. The informants ……………………………………………………………… ….…27
II.1.1 The teachers…………………………………………………………… ….….27
II.1.2 The students…………………………………………………………………………….27
II.2 Data collection instruments………………………………………………………… … 27
II.2.1 Questionnaires…………………………………………………………………… ….28
II.2.2 Classroom observations……………………………………….…………………… 29
II.2.3 Interviews ……………………………………………………………… ……29
II.3 The current situation of English teaching and learning at TNU…………… ……29
CHAPTER III: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
III.1 Result analysis…………………………………………………………………… 31
III.1.1 Classroom observations ……………………………………………… ……31
III.1.1.1 The organization and content of the teachers’ instructions… ……31
III.1.1.2 The language used for the instructions……………………… …….33
III.1.1.3 Physical expressions for the instructions………………… … …… 35
III.1.1.4. Observation of the nine classrooms in details…………… ….….36
III.1.2 Students’ surveys………………………………………………… ……… 49
III.1.2.1 Students’ opinions on the purpose of using group work in their class….…49
III.1.2.2 Students’ preference for group activities…………………………….50
III.1.2.3 Reasons for the effectiveness of teacher’s instructions………… ….51
III.1.2.4 Teacher’s most favourite group form………………………….…… 55
III.1.2.5 Difficulties students have experienced when following
teacher’s instructions…………………………………………………….… 56
III.1.3 Teachers’ interviews……………………………………………….…… 60
III.1.3.1 Teachers’ satisfaction on the lessons observed……………………….61
III.1.3.2 Teachers’ views on the success and failure of the instructions
and their plan for improvement……………………………… ………… …62
III.2 Discussion on the results…………………………… ……………………………64
III.2.1 How instructions are used for group work in 2
nd
year non-English

major classrooms at TNU? …………………………… ………………………… 64

vii
III.2.2. What facilitates and hinders the teachers when giving instructions
for group work. …………………………… …………………………… …… 65
III.3 Cause analysis for the results of the study…………………………… ………….66
III.3.1 Cultural background…………………………… ………………………….66
III.3.2 Class size…………………………… ……………………………………….67
III.3.3 Factors concerned with learners…………………………… …………… 68
III.3.4 The limited teaching time…………………………… …………………….68
III.3.5 Teacher’s awareness toward instructions for group work……………… 69
III.4 Recommendations…………………………… ………………………………… 70
III.4.1 Recommendations to the teachers…………………………… ………… 70
III.4.1.1 Design and select appropriate activities…………………………….70
III.4.1.2 Suggested group activities with improved instructions……………71
III.4.1.3 Rehearse instructions before applying in the classrooms………….73
III.4.1.4 Give instructions flexibly…………………………… …………… 74
III.4.1.5 Train students group work skills……………………………………74
III.4.1.6 Self train to be effective instruction providers…………………… 75
III.4.1.7 Improve body language …………………………………… …….75
III.4.2 Recommendations to the students……………………………………… 76
III.4.2.1 Be attentive in class……………………………………………… 76
III.4.2.2 Be cooperative with the teacher…………………………………… 77
PART THREE: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………78
1. Summary of the study……………………………………………………………78
2. Limitations and recommendations for further research……………………… 79

REFERENCES
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Questionnaires for students

Appendix 2: Classroom checklist for observations
Appendix 3: Post- lesson interview questions for teachers


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

1
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationales
In recent years, together with the increasing need for English learning, great efforts
have been made in order to improve the quality of English teaching. It is certain that
teaching English is a complex process involving many complex factors. Larsen –
Freeman (1991) points out: language teaching can be summarized into three fields:
language learner/ learning (How to learn); language/culture (What to learn); teacher/
teaching (How to teach). (Johnson, 2002). Since 1960s, the research on classroom
discourse has grown rapidly. Before that, teaching methodology has been explored and
an effective teaching method is tried to be found. Since teaching methods do not play a
decisive role in language classrooms, the focus has shifted from teaching methods to
teacher‟s talk in classroom process, or teacher‟s instructions.
Giving instructions is particularly important to language teaching. According to
pedagogical theory, instructions that the teacher uses in the classroom determine to a
larger degree whether a class will succeed or not since almost all of the classroom
activities and teacher‟s help are organized and provided to the students through
instructions.
In Vietnam, English has become an international language of communication as well as
a compulsory subject at most schools and universities. English proficiency is very
necessary for those who want to get a better job or, for the least of it, pass the English

exam at the end of their study course. In order to improve the English teaching and
learning quality, teachers at Thai Nguyen University, where I work, have been using
different techniques, one of which is group work – key features of learner – centered
orientation. They believe that group work help to provide their students with more
opportunities to exchange their ideas make them more confident and creative in
learning and promote their autonomy by allowing them to make their own decisions in
the group. However, many teachers complain that they are facing many challenges in
organizing and managing, especially giving instructions for group work. Some teachers


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

2
do not use English frequently and sometimes not confident in their use of the language.
Therefore, the effectiveness of their instructions for group work in class may not as
high as being expected. Along with a possible lack on the part of teachers to give
instructions in English in the classroom, there may also be a reason on the part of class
size. Most of the non-English major classes at Thai Nguyen University are large.
Hence, the noise as well as the mixed ability of the students may lead them to an
inadequate understanding about the instructions given. Since a better understanding of
the teacher‟s instructions for group work can undoubtedly help students successfully
fulfill their tasks in the group and certainly improve their learning, it is necessary to do
some research on teachers‟ instructions for group work from both theoretical and
practical perspective. The author hopes to make a modest contribution to an increased
understanding of giving instructions for group work in non-English major classrooms
at Thai Nguyen University. Basing on which group work can be organized in a more
effective way to create variety, dynamism, and freshness in the classroom.

2. Aims and significance of the study
2.1. Aims of the study
The study is conducted with a purpose to investigate how instructions are used for
group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms. Thus, the specific purpose is to
provide reality evidence of the use of instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-
English major classrooms. In this way, the factors that influence to the effectiveness of
an instruction will be clarified so that suggestions for better instructions will be
discussed in order to help teachers improve their instructions for group work
consciously.
2.2. Significance of the study
The study of teachers‟ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major at
Thai Nguyen University (TNU) is significant in three different ways. First to the
teachers, they should realize the fact that instructions play the decisive role to the


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

3
success of group work. They are the guiders that provide the students with all necessary
information such as time limitation, group size, and detailed tasks assigned to each
student. Therefore, a carefully planned instruction is really needed when organizing a

group activity. Similarly, an appropriate procedure is inevitable in giving instructions.
In order to help the students fulfill their tasks successfully, the teacher should explain
systematically. That means the teacher must have good organizational skills. In
addition to effective instructions, a friendly and co-operative climate should be created
so that students feel encouraging and rewarding to study. Furthermore, teacher‟s eye
contact and body language are also crucial. When giving instructions, the teacher
should bear in mind that they could use gestures such as using fingers to select students
or to show the number of members in a group, or use eye contact to warn some noisy
students as well as to check their understanding of the instructions. In fact, many
teachers have neither the habit of using the body language and eye contact nor the skill
to utilize them, so the effectiveness is not high as they expect.
Secondly, the research provides evidence of how instructions are used by teachers at
Thai Nguyen University. It also reveals the teachers and students‟ attitudes toward
good instructions. Therefore, from the research results, the teacher can decide which
techniques and procedure should be used to make effective group activities.
Finally, instructions are indispensable to the students in learning. They may make
progress after each lesson if the teachers‟ instructions for the class activities are well
organized.
3. Scope of the study
It is a fact that teachers have many ways to divide the class into small groups so that
students can work together at the same time in an activity. Thus, to limit the scope of
the study, the researcher intends to investigate only instructions for activities in which
the teacher divides the class into groups of two, three, four or five since they are the
common size of group activities in the classroom at Thai Nguyen University.


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

4
Moreover, the respondents of this study are limited to 2
nd
year non-English majors
chosen randomly at TNU, therefore, their opinion about teachers‟ instructions might
not be a representative of all students at TNU in particular and students learning
English in general.
4. Research questions
As stated in the introduction, the study is designed to seek answers to the following
questions:
1. How instructions are used for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major
classrooms at TNU?
2. What facilitates and hinders the teachers when giving instructions to group
work?
3. What recommendations for improvement are needed to make instructions for
group work more effective?
5. Methods of the study
In order to examine the situation of the study, the researcher used the following
methods: observation checklists for every class of the teachers chosen, post – lesson
interviews for the teachers and post lesson questionnaires for the students.
The post – lesson interview questions are aimed at obtaining information about the
teachers‟ own judgments on their teaching, particularly on the instructions.
After each lesson, a questionnaire will be distributed to the students to get information
about their evaluation and reasons for their successful or unsuccessful in following the
teacher‟s instructions. The author uses questionnaires for this stage because of the fact
that they are easy to construct and uniquely capable of gathering a large amount of
information quickly in a form that is readily processable (Dornyei, 2003).

Observation of the teachers‟ classes will be carried out over a period of two months to
obtain information about their actual teaching practices. Specific episodes of events


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

5
observed during the lesson will be used to generate discussion topics during post –
lesson interviews.
6. Design of the study
The thesis consists of three main parts.
Part I is the introduction in which rationales, aims, significance, research questions,
scope, methods and design of the study are presented.
Part II, development, consists of three chapters.
Chapter 1 comes to basic concepts and knowledge relevant to the study as
communicative teaching theory, the use of teacher talk, group work – its advantages
and organization, the nature of instructions, and principles for giving instructions when
organizing group work.
Chapter 2 provides with an overview of the teachers and students chosen, the
classroom conditions, timetable and teachers and students relationship at TNU. Data
collection and statistical result are also presented in the chapter.
Chapter 3 discusses the findings of the research and suggests recommendations for the
improvement of instruction giving.
Part III, the conclusion, summarizes the major findings obtained from the study. Then
it deals with the limitations and puts forward some suggestions for further study.

A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

6
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
I.1 Communicative language teaching
I.1.1. An overview of communicative language teaching
The growth of interest in the utility of Communicative Language Teaching has been
shaped in the changes in the British language teaching tradition dating from late 1960s.
CLT marks the beginning of a great innovation within language teaching because of its
superior principles, which are widely accepted nowadays. It is claimed to involve the
making of new and different assumptions about the two fundamental questions: what is
learnt and how is learned. In fact, the communicative approach in language teaching
originates from the theory of language as communication. It then has been so rapidly
adopted and widely disseminated that it quickly occupied the status of orthodoxy in
British language teaching circles, and attained support of leading methodologists,
applied linguists, scholars and publishers as well as -institutions (Richard, 1985).
CLT is often mentioned as an approach that comprises two sets of theories: assumption
of what to teach, and assumption of how to teach.
 Assumption of what to teach
As regards the first assumption, the theory of language in CLT shows that language is
for communication. At the level of language theory, CLT has characteristics defined by

Richards and Rodgers (2001) as follows:
 Language is a system of for the expression of meaning.
 The primary function of language is to allow interaction and communication.
 The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative use.


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

7
 The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and structural
features, but categories of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in
discourse.
Therefore, the purpose of language teaching is to develop "communicative
competence", a basic concept in CLT .
Hymes (1972) defined "communicative competence" as "what a speaker needs to know
in order to be communicatively competent in a speech community,."( Hymes, 1972,
cited in Richards and Rodgers, 2001). His viewpoint shows that acquiring
communicative competence means acquiring both knowledge and ability for language
use. Sharing the same view of communicative competence with Hymes and Yalden,
Munby (1979) stated:
"To communicate effectively, a speaker must know not only how to produce any and
all grammatical utterances of a language but also how to use them effectively. The
speaker must know what to say, with whom, and when and where."
(Munby 1979: 17)
Apart from those definitions, Canale and Swain (1980) also described the concept of
"communicative competence" in term of four dimensions. They are grammatical
competence (grammatical and lexical capacity); sociolinguistic competence (the ability

to understand and produce appropriate language in the social context which the
communication happens); discourse competence (the ability to comprehend the
message underlying a coherent and cohesive text); and strategic competence (the
ability to employ communicative strategies to initiate and redirect communication).
 Assumption of how to teach
If the first assumption in CLT is concerned with what should be taught, (in this case,
that is communicative competence), then the second assumption is related to how the


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

8
teaching should be carried out. In other words, syllabus theory and syllabus models are
the second

central point that is mentioned in CLT.
One of the linguists devoting great contribution to communicative development is
Wilkin D.A. who proposed the first syllabus models which was developed into his later
book Notional Syllabus in 1976. This syllabus model, remarked by Richards (2001) as
an tempt to illustrate the functional view of language in syllabus design, specifies the
two categories namely notional (e.g., frequency, motion, location) and communicative
function

(e.g., requests, offers, apologies, complaints). That is to say, a notional
syllabus comprises not only grammatical and lexical elements but also the necessary
concepts, notions as well as topics for learners to communicate about. (Richards,
2001). Wilkin' viewpoint of syllabus model is also strongly supported by Brumfit and

Roberts (1983: 85).
Syllabus aiming at communicative competence no longer concentrates so much on
grammar but looks at the nature of meaning and of interaction. Syllabus of this kind is
usually referred to as "Functional" or "Notional" or "Functional/ Notional."
Brumfit & Roberts (1983: 85)
However, notional syllabus faces the criticisms from other scholars such as Henry
Widdowson and Margie Berns. Berns, M. (1984: 15), argued that the textbooks based
on the functional view might be "sorely inadequate and even misleading in their
presentation of language as interaction." She also warned that if the context, a real key
to transmitting meaning to both form and function, was not seriously paid attention in
the textbook, learners' communicative competence development would be limited.
Therefore, the notional syllabus deals with the components of discourse, but may not
be concerned with discourse itself. Similarly, Widdowson, H. (1979) criticized Wilkin'
notional syllabus model as the replacement of one kind of list (e.g., a list of grammar
items) with another kind of list (e.g., a list of notions and functions). He meant notional
syllabus focuses on products rather than communicative processes.


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

9
It is apparent that there exist varieties of opinions about notional syllabus. However, it
is these arguments that contribute to the further development of CLT, which is the most
favorite approach now.
Another point to make about CLT is learner- centeredness. Students in a learner-
centered approach are seen as being able to play a more active and participatory role
than in traditional approaches. Accordingly, teacher roles will be redefined with the

change in activity organization because individual learner is thought to have unique
interests styles, needs and goals, which should be reflected in the design of method of
instruction (Richards
and Rodgers, 2001). To be more specific, teacher's instruction in learner- centered
approach includes:
 techniques that focus on or account for learners' needs, styles, and goals.
 techniques that give some control to the student (group work or strategy training).
 techniques that include the consultation and input of students and that do not
presuppose objectives in advanced.
 techniques that allow for student‟ creativity and innovation.
 techniques that enhance a student's sense of competence and self- worth.
(Brown, 1994)
In brief, CLT is identified with the following characteristics:
 It makes communicative competence the goal of teaching
 It develops procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that
acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication.
 It considers learner and his communicative needs the centre of language teaching
process.


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

10
These characteristics will be the principles for teacher to choose appropriate techniques
for increasing students' participation in communicative activities in classroom. The
concepts communicative activities will be discussed in the next section.
For some time after the rise of communicative language teaching, the status of

grammar in the curriculum was rather uncertain. Some linguists, like Cross (1995) or
Ur (1996), maintained that it was not necessary to teach grammar, that the ability to use
second language (knowing „how‟) would develop automatically if the learners were
required to focus on meaning in the process of using language to communicate. In
recent years, this view has come under serious challenges, and it now seemed to be
widely accepted that there is value in classroom tasks which require learners to focus
on form. It is also accepted that grammar is an essential source in using language
communicatively.
In CLT, the types of classroom activities and the way they should be conducted will
influence learning. Good teaching allows both learning and acquisition. Learning
would include activities while acquisitions presumably takes place during activities
where the focus is on the content or the function of language. The acquisition process is
in fact the major theoretical rationale for the communicative approach, and the
evidence is quite clear that without a stage of language use for communication,
language teaching is not very efficient.
I.1.2. Communicative activities
Communicative activities, defined by Harmer (1991), are those that give students who
are somehow involved in both the desire to communicate and a purpose involving them
in a varied use of language. Such activities are crucially important in a language
classroom since the students can do their best to use the language individually, arriving
at a degree of language autonomy.
Nolasco and Athur (1993) characterized communicative activities as follows:
 They involve using language for a purpose.


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

11
 They create a desire to communicate. This means there must be some kind of
"gap" which may be information, opinion, affect, or season that students seek to
bridge.
 They encourage students to be creative and contribute their ideas.
 They focus on the message and students concentrate on "what" they are saying
rather than "how" they are saying it.
 The students work independently of the teacher.
 The students determine what they want to write and say. The activity is not
designed to control what the students will
(Nolasco and Athur: 58)
Additionally, Harmer (1991) sorted communicative activities into oral and written
ones. Oral communicative activities include seven categories: reaching a consensus,
discussion relaying instructions, communication games, problem solving, talking about
you, simulation, and role-play. Written communicative activities also comprise
relaying instructions, writing reports and advertisement, co-operative writing,
exchanging letters and writing journals. By taking part in communicative activities of
both oral and written form, students can actually do things with language and make
language their own. Doing well this action needs active students' participation, which
will be discussed in the

following section.
I.2 Group work in Communicative Language Teaching
I.2.1 The definition of group work
Group work in the second language classroom has been recently recommended by
Flander (1970); Adams, McLean and Castanos (1976), especially by Adrian Doff
(1988: 137) which defines it as a process that “the teacher divides the class into small
groups to work together, all the group work at the same time. ”

A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

12
According to Joe Landsberger (1996), the philosophy of working in groups involves
shared and/or learned values, resources, and ways of doing things. However, each
group, and each individual, will only be as effective if they are willing to embrace
and/or respect differences within the group.
The main objective of most group work is the outcome. The entire group wants the
outcome to be good; however, the whole point of group work is for everyone in the
group to work as a team to accomplish the outcome of the task. It is important for
everyone to work together. When one person is not helping with the group effort or
working on their part of the project, it causes the whole group to strain, and can also
causes detrimental defects to the outcome of the task.
I.2.2 Advantages of group work
In fact, all-class teaching is often undervalued as a method. It is very valuable in
developing a sense of unity and ensuring that nobody is left behind; it also helps
learners stay focused on the task if they know they are likely to be asked a question in
the open class. However, working in pairs or small groups is the best way to ensure that
tasks are discussed thoroughly and that people who might be reluctant to speak in front
of the whole class get a chance to contribute. For some subjects such as foreign
languages, group work is the only way to make sure that students get the practice they
need. More generally, group work fosters negotiation and co-operative skills, especially
if the groups are changed regularly. They can also help provide motivation; students
will often work hard on a group project or performance, which they know, is going to
be seen by the whole class.
Using group work in the classroom has been recently recommended by Flander (1970);
Adams, Mc Lean and Castanos (1976), especially by Long , Porter, and Patricia (1985).

They all have used pedagogical arguments to support group work. There are at least 5
pedagogical arguments for the use of group work in second language learning. In order


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

13
to have a deeper understanding about group work, to accept and apply it in secondary
language classroom, it is essential to begin with a brief review of those arguments.
First, Long assumes that group work in creases language practice opportunities. In all
probability, one of the main reasons for low achievements by many second language
learners is simply that they do not have enough time to practise the new language. In
the secondary schools nowadays there is a large number of students in a confined
classroom. This makes learners have a few chance to speak. Moreover, most of the
classrooms are teacher – untied ones in which the teacher talks most of the time while a
majority of students listen, take notes and sit silently. Flander makes it clear that when
lessons are organized in teacher – centered manner, a typical talk for at least half, and
often for as much as two thirds of any class period. In these classrooms, only a small
number of students speak relatively frequently with the teacher. This leads to a small
number of successful learners and a relatively large number of failures. Group work
certainly helps but it cannot solve this problem entirely. To illustrate with the public
school setting, suppose that just half the time available for individual student talk is
devoted to work in group of three instead of to lockstep practice, in which one student
talk while other listen (or not, as the case may be). This will change the total individual
practice time available to each student from one hour to five and a half hours. It means
that through group activities in the classroom, every student has much more chance to
talk, discuss and find solution to the task given. Thus, it is not a surprise if their

learning result is improved.
The teacher-centered classroom, the lock step, limits not only the quantity of talk
students can engage in, but also its quality. This is because the teacher – fronted lessons
favor a highly conventionalized variety of conversation. In such settings, one speaker
asks a series of known information, or display questions, such as Do you come to class
at 7.00? or Do you live with your parents? The question to which there is only one
correct answer. The second speaker responds and then in the classroom, typically has
the correctness of the respond confirmed (yes, right, good). Only rarely does genuine


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

14
communication takes place. Another unfortunate effect of this sort of pseudo –
communication is that students‟ attention tends to wander. The reason is that students
are asked to give a prompt and brief answer, which requires little thought. Then,
teachers quickly „correct‟ any errors and students appreciate just as quickly that what
they say is less important than how they say it. Group work can help a great deal in
such situations. First, unlike the lockstep with its single, distance initiator of talk (the
teacher) and its group interlocutor (the students) face – to - face communication in a
small group is a natural setting for conversation. Second, two or three students working
together for five minutes at a stretch are no limited to producing hurried, isolated
sentences of utterances, thereby developing discourse competence, not just a sentence
grammar. Third, as shown by Long, Adams, Mc Lean and Castanos, students can take
on roles and adopt positions, which in lockstep work are usually the teacher‟s exclusive
preserve and can then practice a range of language functions associated with those roles
and positions. Finally, given appropriate materials to work with and problems to solve,

students can develop at least some of the variety of skills that make up communicative
competence in a second language. Clearly, group work improves the quality of student
talk.
The third argument is that group work helps individualize instruction. In a large teacher
– centered classroom, many individual differences are ignored because it is impossible
for the teacher to give individual attention to the students and to check all their work.
The individual differences include students‟ age, cognitive stage, sex, attitude,
motivation, aptitude, personality, interest, cognitive style, and prior language learning
experience. I would be a great success if these differences were reflected in the pacing
of instruction, in its linguistic and culture content, in the level of intellectual challenge
it poses, in the manner of its presentation and in the kinds of the classroom roles
students are assigned. Although group work obviously cannot handle all these
differences, still it can help. That is, small groups of students can work on different sets
of materials suited to their needs. Moreover, they can do so simultaneously, thereby


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

15
avoiding the risk of boring other students who do not have the same problem. Group
work, then, is a first step toward individualization of instruction, which everyone
agrees is a good idea, but which few teachers or textbooks seems to do much about.
Furthermore, group work promotes a positive affective climate. In a teacher – centered
classroom many students, especially shy or linguistically insecure, experience
considerable stress when called upon in a public arena. Research (see, for example,
Rowe, 1974 White and Lightbrown, 1983) has shown that if students pause longer than
about one second before beginning to respond or while making a response; or appear

not to know the answer, or make an error, teachers will tend to interrupt, repeat or
rephrase the question. She may immediately ask a different one, „correct‟ and/ or
switch to another students. Not all teachers do these things, of course, but most teachers
do so more than they could realize or would want to admit. In contrast, working in
small groups, students have a relatively intimate setting and, usually, a supportive
environment. As far as the small group setting is concerned, Barnes (1973:19) states
that an intimate group allows us to be relatively in explicitly and in coherent change the
direction in the middle of sentence, to be uncertain and self – contradictory. Moreover,
freedom from requirement for accuracy at all costs and entry into the richer and more
accommodating set of relationships provided by small group interaction promote a
positive affective climate. This in turn allows for the development of the kind of
personalized, creative talk for which most aural – oral classes are trying to prepare
learners.
Beside the pedagogical arguments for the use of group work as an aid to second
language teaching, there is now an independent psycholinguistic evidence for group
work utilizing. This evidence emerged from recent work on the nature of non – native/
non – native conversation. It is useful and necessary for us – Vietnamese teachers and
learners of English – to study this rationale.


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

16
Concerning the psycholinguistic rationale, many linguists like Long (1985), Adams,
Mc Leans and Castanos (1976) examine the quality and the quality of speech in both
teacher – led class discussions and small group discussions. The result is that the
amount and variety of student talk were found significantly greater in small groups than

in the teacher – led discussions, and group work enabled students to use language of a
broader range of social and interpersonal function than does lockstep, teacher – led
classroom interaction. This finding suggested that, compared with teacher – led
instruction, group work could serve as a more effective aid to second language
learning.
Comparing the accuracy of student production in teacher – fronted discussion and
small group discussion on decision – making tasks, Pica and Doughty (in press) found
that students perform at the same level of grammatical accuracy in their second
language output in unsupervised group work as in „public‟ lockstep work conducted by
the teacher. In addition, they found that the individual students talked more in their
teacher – fronted discussions.
Research into error correction by Pica and Doughty also found that the frequency of
error correction and completions by students is higher in group work than in lock – step
teaching. In a more detailed study, Bruton and Samuda (1980) stated that learners seem
more apt to repair lexical errors during group work, whereas pay an equal amount of
attention to errors of syntax and pronunciation.
It should be noted that Doughty and Pica (1984) also studied negotiation, the
percentage of conversational adjustments. They found that more negotiation was
occurred in the small group (66 percent) than in lockstep format (45 percent). The
reason, according to them, was that students are reluctant to indicate a lack of
understanding in front of their teacher and an entire class of students and so they do not
negotiate as much comprehensible input in whole-class settings.



A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

17
I.2.3 General Strategies for a successful group work
 Plan for each stage of group work.
The first step that needs to be taken when teachers intend to organize a group work is
the preparation step. When writing the syllabuses for a course, the teachers are to
decide which topics, themes, or projects that might lead themselves to formal group
work. Think about how they will divide their students into groups, help groups
negotiate among themselves, provide feedback to the groups, and evaluate the products
of group work.
 Careful and precise explanation
The second step is to explain carefully to the class how the groups will operate and
how they will be graded. Group work is more successful when students are graded
against a set standard than when they are graded against each other (Source: Smith,
1986). The teacher also needs to explain the objectives of the group tasks and define
any relevant concepts. In addition to a well-defined task, every group needs a way of
getting started, a way of knowing when its task is done, and some guidance about the
participation of members.
In order to get a successful group work, it is also necessary to train the students the
skills they need, especially the collaborative. They must learn to actively and tolerantly
listen, help one another in mastering the content, give and receive constructive
criticism, and manage disagreements.
This is the step where teachers must use their words carefully, precisely and simply
enough so that their students can understand and follow properly. Without teacher‟s
explanations, group work can not be successful as expected.




A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd

year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

18
 Create group tasks that require interdependence
The students in a group must perceive that they "sink or swim" together, that each
member is responsible to and dependent on all the others, and that one cannot succeed
unless all in the group succeed. Knowing that peers are relying on individuals is a
powerful motivator for group work (Kohn, 1986). Strategies for promoting
interdependence include specifying common rewards for the group, encouraging
students to divide up the labor, and formulating tasks that compel students to reach a
consensus. ( Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991)
 Create assignments that fit the students' skills and abilities
Early in the term, the teacher should assign relatively easy tasks. As students become
more knowledgeable and familiar with group work, then he/she can increase the
difficulty level. For example, in a research methods course, the teacher begins by
having students simply recognize various research designs and sampling procedures.
Later, team members generate their own research designs. At the end of the term, each
team prepares a proposal for a research project and submits it to another team for
evaluation. (Cooper and Associates, 1990)
 Assign group tasks that allow for a fair division of labor
Teachers should try to structure the tasks so that each group member can make an equal
contribution. This task of the teacher in fact is not easy to fulfill if the class is large
with mixed ability students. In this kind of class, the teacher usually find hard to keep
an eye on every student, even after they have assigned different tasks for different
students in each group. One of the effective ways to check the students‟ labor division
is to set up "competitions" among groups. When there is a prize or punishment, then
the students will be more excited to do their tasks. Apart from holding a competition,
offering a group test taking is certainly of great help. On a group test, either an in-class
or take-home exam, each student receives the score of the group. It is predictable that

A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

19
groups consistently achieve higher scores than individuals and thus students enjoy
collaborative test taking (Hendrickson, 1990; Toppins, 1989).
 Decide how the groups will be formed
Dividing students is one of the most important steps that play a decisive role to the
success of group work. There are a number of choices for the teacher to create variety.
They can randomly assign students to groups to maximize their heterogeneity: a mix of
males and females, verbal and quiet students, the cynical and the optimistic (Fiechtner
and Davis, 1992; Smith, 1986). The other way is to let students choose with whom they
want to work, although this runs the risk that groups will socialize too much and that
students will self-segregate (Cooper, 1990). Self-selected groups seem to work best in
small classes, for classes of majors who already know one another, or in small
residential colleges (Walvoord, 1986). Still teacher may form the groups themselves,
taking into account students' prior achievement, and their levels of preparation, work
habits, ethnicity, and gender (Connery, 1988). In addition, the teacher can also try to
sprinkle the more able students evenly among the groups (Walvoord, 1986). A middle
ground is to ask students to express a preference, if they wish, then the teacher makes
the assignments himself/ herself.
I.2.4 Factors that affect the success of group work
There are many factors we might considered when deciding how to put individual
students into group work. It is advisable to base such decisions on any of the following
principles proposed by Harmer (1999).
Friendship: When grouping students, it will be better if we are sure that we are putting

friends with friends. Otherwise, the result may not as high as our expectation since
most students are not willing to speak to the one they find unpleasant.


A study of teachers’ instructions for group work in 2
nd
year non-English major classrooms at
Thai Nguyen University

20
- Streaming: Grouping students according to their ability or level of participation is
a complicated task for teachers. Thus, this technique is not frequently used in the
language classrooms.
- Chance: Teachers can put students sitting next or near to each other together to
form groups. Some teachers may even give each student a letter from A to E or a
number from 1 to 10, and then ask As to form a group, Bs to form another group and so
on. Sometimes teachers group students basing on the colour of the clothes they are
wearing.
- Changing group: It is better for the students not to stay in the same group,
working with the same friends from the beginning to the end of the activity. A
sequence may start with the teacher and the whole class before moving between group
work and individual work until it returns to the whole class grouping.
In addition to the principles above, John Honeyfield (1991) suggests some criteria for
the formation of groups that teachers should follows. He offers free grouping where
students can make their own decision about who to work with in a group. He also
suggests groups based on level of proficiency. The other way to group students is to
choose students randomly, which means students may be grouped on the basis of who
is sitting next to whom in the class.
It can be easily realized that teacher can choose any kind of grouping that they think is
effective and suitable to their students. However, as long as teachers use group work in

the classroom, instructions for the students so that they know whom to work with and
how to work will be of the greatest importance.
I.2.5 Teacher’s roles in group work
While organizing group work the teacher has different roles, both in setting and
managing it. The first role that the teacher must carry out is the role of a designer who