A Perspective Evaluation of Group Work in English Language Classroom

Abstract

Group work English language learning University students Jordan Collaborative learning Student centred approach 21 st century pedagogy Peer collaboration Student-teacher interaction. This paper provides insights into how Jordanian university students perceive their experiences in learning English through group work activities. A total of 55 students of Mutah University who learn English as a preparation for their TOEFL examination took part in this quantitative study which was carried out in the first semester of the 2019 academic year. The respondents are from different majors, such as Business Administration and International Relations. Data were collected through three sets of questionnaires with a 5 point Likert scale which focused on the learner perspectives regarding the use of group work for English language learning, the student-peer collaboration, and the student-teacher collaboration involved in the group work activities. Descriptive statistics involving frequency counts and percentage were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the majority of the students had positive views regarding the use of group work for language learning. They were also satisfied with the collaboration with their peers and the teacher throughout the group work activities. However, in comparison, the student-peer collaboration is perceived as less positive than the student-teacher collaboration. This study concludes that group work is favoured by the students but for the group work to be successful, their collaborative skills need to be improved. Contribution/ Originality: This study contributes to the current understanding of the student-centered approach to language learning which is currently at its infancy in the Jordanian education system. It also provides insights into the relevancy of group work activities in the context of English as a Foreign language (EFL) classroom.

Classroom Discourse as Institutional Interaction: From the Perspective of Conversation Analysis

“…Repair is also prominently made by teacher towards students (Rustandi et al, 2017). Teachers must support and value students so that they do not fear being ridiculed when contributing something to the team, suggest alternatives when the team is unable to decide, monitor the team's progress, reflect to seek understanding and clarification of what is occurring, and give clear, positive and specific feedbacks to help students improve their learning (Alali, 2020b).…”