Since participation is fundamental to language practice, teachers often assign roles for group work so that everyone is integral to success. “At first it’s very hard to collaborate with different kinds of people,” said another student, Alan, who is from China. Yes, you as a teacher can also benefit from setting group work. It takes between four and seven years to really learn a language well, so it’s no surprise that even after high school students are still catching up to their peers who grew up speaking English. Benefits of Group Work in Language Learning An important aim of group work (GW) is to encourage fluency in language. Group work is the perfect way to do this. Now she likes learning about her classmates’ cultures and perspectives -- it’s part of what keeps class interesting. This is why it’s important to seize the opportunity to mix things up whenever possible. As a teacher, your job is to nurture your pupils as they grow and develop new skills. Group work aids their language learning in many ways even when they may not realize what is happening. For over 15 years we have been providing the best supply teaching experience to teachers and TAs from London, the UK and overseas. The tablemate then turned to her group and repeated what she said in English, adding, “We need to practice reading, too.”. Amel said she worried about accidentally offending her classmates because she didn’t know enough about other cultures to know when she was offending someone. The felt more invested in the course and in the class material, which promoted active learning in a large class environment. The idea is for students to get exposed to college-level work, but with a cohort of peers and the support of their high school teachers. It could simply mean they are going to play and talk, rather than complete regular class work. Meanwhile, you’ll find that your students are always forced to adjust if you change the groups each time you set such projects. “My goal with heterogeneous groups is to make sure that there is at least one speaker of a different language in each group.”. Always remember, school is predominantly about arming the young generation with skills to succeed in later life. Like anything in education, grouping works best when it is planned and used thoughtfully. Common Ground: Teaching Kids the Benefits Of Working Together Cooperative learning helps create the essential skill of working (and compromising) within a group. Similarly to how group work mixes things up, it can also be a change of pace. Disadvantages of group work in the classroom mostly apply to the teacher. It’s useful for YOU Yes, you as a … In the college classes instructors speak more quickly and the reading load is more burdensome, but students seem to like getting a taste of what to expect from the college experience. Schools following this model are small and keep a laserlike focus on language development and access to postgraduate opportunities, which means they often don’t offer as much choice as comprehensive high schools. “It is easy for English learners to become marginalized or for their needs not to be taken into account,” said SFIHS principal Julie Kessler. Too often simplifying language also means simplifying content, and that can be boring, leading to disengagement and less motivation. One of the most difficult aspects of teaching students who are learning English is keeping the cognitive rigor of learning activities high, while making sure students can access the content by simplifying the language. Group roles can help disrupt stereotypical and gendered role assignments, which can be common in group learning. “I think about the demands that they're going to have to face in college,” English teacher Heather Heistand said. 3. “Where they sit in the classroom is super important,” said Heather Heistand, an English teacher at SFIHS. Why Group Work Could Be the Key to English Learner Success, San Francisco International High School (SFIHS), Internationals Network model is quite different. Groups of 5 to 10 students meet on weekly a quarterly basis with a counselor facilitating the session. Heistand wasn’t surprised by this behavior. • It encourages the development of critical thinking skills. Increased productivity and performance: groups that work well together can achieve much more than individuals working on their own. In an ideal world everyone would just get along. In addition to an English gap, some have missed several years of school in their home countries. The best way to do this is by setting group work. Group work provides a platform to nurture independent and lifelong learning. What are the benefits of group work? Work done in groups can often simulate the tasks students Every teacher can reap the rewards of setting group work. The San Francisco public school is part of the Internationals Network, which started in New York and has decades of experience teaching students who are newly arrived to the U.S. and are learning English while attending American high schools. Sadly, there are those who shy away from setting their students such tasks because the outcome can sometimes descend into chaos if pupils don’t take it seriously. You’ll also receive a carefully curated list of content from teacher-trusted sources. The benefits of group work do not stop with the students. The social process Amel described is actually a big part of the educational strategy at SFIHS. You may think you already have a good idea of what your pupils are good at. Group counseling provides a supportive environment to discuss problems and concerns and to work toward your goals. Group work boosts critical thinking skills, active learning and independent thinking. Active learning keeps children from daydreaming and dozing off. “More hands make for lighter work.” “Two heads are better than one.” “The more the merrier.” These adages speak to the potential groups have to be more productive, creative, and motivated than individuals on their own. Group work can allow students to undertake a wider variety of assignments. This concept teaches diversity, communication, and compromise. Think carefully about how students will be physically arranged in groups.Will it be easy for groups to form and for all students to be comfortable? In any given year at SFIHS, students speak between 17-24 different languages, which teachers see as an asset to their teaching. “But after you get used to it you will feel amazing, like you are working with the whole international.” Alan admits he was shy about collaborating at first, but when his teachers told him teamwork was part of his grade he got over his reticence. For the "Animal Farm" activity there was a “reader,” an “editor,” a “discussion leader” and a “question asker.” The reader is responsible for reading the text out loud; the editor helps make sure everyone knows what to write down; the discussion leader keeps the conversation moving and ensures everyone shares; and the question asker is the only one who can ask Heistand for help or clarification. “If we create the most heterogeneous mix of kids that we possibly can and put them in situations where they are asked to speak English together, they learn English very quickly.”. I couldn’t even understand why they think this way, and why they wear these clothes, and why they talk this language.” She also said that at first it was confusing to try to focus on English while being surrounded by other languages like Spanish and Chinese in class and in the halls. Students can allocate tasks based on expertise. They want to talk; they want to learn; they're curious,” Kessler said. Over recent years, a continuing theme in education is the overcrowding of state schools. In many schools English learners are grouped by ability when they receive targeted instruction, but the Internationals Network model is quite different. “You will be able to learn things by yourself very quick, but in teamwork you need to make sure that your teammate isn’t left out,” he said. Now he said he can see the benefits of both group work and individual work. “They're actually used to holding each other accountable for the norms that we have in group discussions,” she said. While you can’t force two pupils to be friends, putting them in a group together should help them to build bridges and find a mutual respect for each other. And she will often pair a lower-level English speaker with a higher-level English speaker who speaks the same native language. There is an age-old trick that educators have often used from time to time – group work. One Wednesday morning in Heistand’s senior English class, students started the class period by writing about why they agreed or disagreed with various statements like, “People should trust their leaders to make decisions for them.” Heistand says she always gives students a chance to prewrite before sharing their answers verbally, so that those who are less comfortable with English have something to share. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world – and there are sure to be conflicts between pupils throughout the school year. This enables teachers to see their students’ growth in action as students apply learning and analyze situations and decisions. The technique can then leave you with more time to complete tasks such as admin or marking homework. Benefits of group work Good group work has great potential for the following reasons: • Students are encouraged to become active rather than passive learners by developing collaborative and co-operative skills, and lifelong learning skills. This not only assists students to increase the opportunities to apply their knowledge, but also enhances their interest and ability of learning. Remember your view is malleable and should change as a result of the interaction. Grouping students should allow, and even force, students to work together. It takes more than just intelligence to secure good grades – it also takes confidence. "What Are the Benefits of Group Work?" There’s also very little direct instruction, in part because it wouldn’t be accessible to many of the students. The benefits of group work The benefits of group work Whatever form the group work takes on your course, the opportunity to work with others, rather than on your own, can provide distinct benefits. The benefits of group work include the following: Students engaged in group work, or cooperative learning, show increased individual achievement compared to students working alone. This means that after the group work is complete the classroom will be a more harmonious environment. Both Amel and Alan are also taking a college-level class at Community College of San Francisco, part of a program most seniors do if they have enough credits. Subscribe to receive weekly updates of MindShift stories every Sunday. “But again and again we come back to this idea that if we teach students how to learn and how to support each other in learning, they will have the skills to be successful once their language catches up with where their peers are from other schools.”. Therefore, you should be looking to develop confidence in your pupils at every opportunity. Nine times out of 10, you can do this when they are working independently. 5 super-smart teaching hacks for organised learning for you and your students, 4 Teaching Hacks to get pupils to put their phones away. Group work is defined as more than one person working together to complete a task or assignment. Meanwhile, you may find that another pupil is happy to take a backseat when they know that someone else is carrying the workload for them. And she thinks it will be an asset when she goes to college and meets people from diverse backgrounds. Here are just eight for you to consider. Benefits for students For example, Hirshfield and Chachra (2015) found that in first-year engineering courses, female students tended to undertake less technical roles … Group roles allow students to strengthen their communicative skills, especially in areas that they are less confident in volunteering for. For some members of your class, their fellow students are the closest thing they have to a family during their time overseas. “We have the luxury of having designed our entire program around the needs of this group that is often forgotten about or underserved in schools where multiple priorities exist.”. Teachers tailor instruction to many different academic levels, but they also need to reach students who speak many different languages. If you’re sick of the same old routine, set group work every once in a while. This information is all very valuable and can be used at a later date when holding one-to-ones or during parent’s evening. This doesn’t mean that group work should be shunned though. Overall, you should be a lot less pressed for time. If you watch on from the sidelines you should find that your students learn how to listen to each other, bring original ideas to the table and compromise as they work towards one common goal. You may find that someone – perhaps unexpectedly – is a natural leader. A. However, you also need to heighten their ability to work alongside other people in a team. Obviously there should always be a focus on your students working independently, but if group work proves to be successful there’s nothing wrong with relying on it more often throughout the year. The best way to ensure this happens is by being strategic when choosing which pupils go into a group together. “I am from a place where I only have the same people and same religion,” said Amel, a senior originally from Yemen. Group sessions involve sharing your experiences and listening to others experiences. And, the school has a uniquely supportive culture in part because everyone is learning English and supporting one another through that difficult process. Furthermore, group work gives you the chance to learn from each other. Kessler said the college program is part of the school’s mission to not just graduate students and help them apply to college, but to ensure that they get in and finish. When students study in a group, the priority is finding a time that works for everyone, not finding a time that is most effective for studying. Group work gives teachers a fantastic opportunity to monitor and observe as students collaborate. © 2020 Impact Teachers Ltd - All Rights Reserved. Instead, there are many benefits that you can take advantage of if you are currently teaching in the UK. Group members are more likely to hold each other accountable for not completing work if a particular task is assigned to them. If they’re foreign and living in the country for the foreseeable future, they’ll need friends who understand them even more. What is it exactly? And what’s more applicable to adult life than working as a team? By Susan Munro, Mary Utne O'Brien, John W. Payton October 19, 2006 Wright and Lawson (2005) found that group work helped students feel that the class was smaller and encouraged them to come to class more often. Educators are taking advantage of teens’ desire to flirt and socialize to help them learn the language. Well, it’s the process of allowing several pupils to work side by side to manage a workload and complete a project. Despite those challenges, graduates from Internationals schools do quite well. She encourages students to go to colleges with other students from SFIHS so they can help one another. LEARNING TOGETHER. For some students, sharing project responsibilities with others provides emotional comfort as well as tangible value. In language classes, GW is a strategy that enables students to discuss issues or to engage in joint activities with other students in a less threatening environment (Harmer, 1991). By doing so, we are getting students to work with people they may never have chosen to work with. It should build their communication skills, and help them learn how to r… Reports of 100,000 pupils being put into overcrowded state schools during 2010 soon changed to sports halls being converted into classrooms in 2014 and a Notting Hill primary school with a 92m catchment area. Heistand then assigned students to groups she had carefully crafted to discuss passages from George Orwell’s novel, "Animal Farm." Growing as an independent, individual is also important for students but don’t downplay the benefits of working in teams or small groups. The school day can be terribly rigid – for teachers as much as students. Teachers can offer guidance and correction as needed. 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