ReflectionsonGroupInteractioninanEFLClass英语专业毕业论文.doc

Reflections on Group Interaction in an EFL ClassAbstract Group interaction is one of mainly teaching methods Its goal is to complete the specific tasks of teaching purposes In the new curriculum group interaction is being widely used in the English classroom teaching But in actual English class group interaction leaves much to be desired This paper studies the current situation of group interactions in EFL classrooms and reflects the problems that group interaction is not as good as we think The author studies group interaction from the perspective of English major students and does research on the students views expectations and attitude towards classroom group interaction Furthermore the study shows that students personalities the relationship between members of the group the role played by the teachers in the group activities and the choice of topics to a certain extent affect the effectiveness of the group interaction through self-reflection method Thus teachers should learn to perfect the group interaction starting from their own And students should be initiative and positive to follow their teachers step and cooperate with group membersKey words group interaction group members self-reflective approach摘要课堂小组互动作为课堂教学的一个重要途径其目标是更好的完成完善教学任务在新课程标准下课堂小组互动被大量的运用但是其效果却不尽人意本论文通过探讨课堂小组互动在英语专业课堂中的现状反思为什么课堂小组互动不如大家预期的问题作者从英语专业学生的角度考查了学生对课堂小组互动的看法期望及态度而且本文将通过文献查阅法及自我反思法发现学生的个人因素以及小组成员之间的关系话题的选择及老师的角色在很大程度上影响课堂小组互动因此老师要先从自身出发完善课堂小组互动而学生则要紧跟老师步伐主动积极地和小组成员合作关键词 小组互动小组成员自我反思法 Thesis StatementThis thesis studies the present situation of group interaction and analyses the reasons that result in the inefficiency of the group interactionContents1 Introduction12 Literature Review2 21 Definition of group interaction3 22 Previous research on group interaction4 23 Studies on group interaction in China53 Research method6 31 Research questions6 32 Reflective research method7 33 Research results84 Discussion 941 Discussion of details942 Discussion in relation to teachers part in group interaction10 43 Discussion about students part in group interaction115 Conclusion12Bibliography131 IntroductionRecently the use of group interaction in the classroom has become a widespread practice It is originated in the United States in early 1970s It makes substantial progress in the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s In the late 1980s to 1990s the experiments of group interaction also appeared in China Group interaction which is part of cooperative approach has come to be a hallmark of interactive language teaching It involves small heterogeneous teams usually of four or five members working together towards a group task in which each member is individually accountable for part of an outcome that cannot be completed unless the members work together in other words group members are positively interdependent Brown 1994 173 defines group work as a generic term covering a multiplicity of techniques in which two or more students are assigned a task that involves collaboration and self-initiated language Although group interaction is important for language acquisition there still exist many problems that have made it difficult to organize small group activities effectively In this paper the author presents the current state of English professional classroom group interaction through the literature review self-reflection method At first the paper introduces the rise of interactive classroom group and demonstrate some of the domestic and foreign researchers study English classroom group interaction results and analysis and point out the deficiency of research and describe the significant role and the significance of classroom group interaction in English classroom elaborated grouping about group interaction in our daily life in the English classroom and what interactive activities is used in a English classroom Then the paper introduces the present situation of group interaction of the English class and explains the reasons causing Chinese English major class low efficiency It is standing on the point of view students to look at the problem of the group interaction in the EFL classroom 2 Literature ReviewThe purpose of this part is to make everyone know the present situation of group interaction which can be divided into the following aspects At first it is crucial to overview the definition of group interaction and is designed to allow people to understand its origin and know the importance of group interaction Secondly it is necessary to set forth the research situation about group interaction in abroad and point out their deficiencies Finally it is also significant to demonstrate the situation in China and point out the shortcoming of the present study The author of this paper will put forward the content of his research about group interaction and the scope of the research by means of the previous study 21 Definition of group interactionIn China various approaches to English Language Teaching have been explored ever since the early 1980s With the increasing demand for communicative competence in English organizing small group activities has become increasingly popular in EFL classrooms So what is group interaction Group interaction is that teachers make students organized into groups based on student characteristics and student language level It belongs to interaction Note that what commonly calls pair work is simply group interaction in groups of two It is also important to note that group work usually implies small group interaction that is students in groups of perhaps six of fewer Its main purpose is giving students greater opportunities to speak and is often considered as an essential feature of communicative language teaching Brumfit 1984 Group interaction is solidly grounded in research principles Long and Porter 1985 for an overview Consider those principles we can think of other theoretical foundations of triumphant language teaching and learning already discussed in this and other books on second language learning and teaching It is found that compared with lockstep lessons students receive significantly more individual language practice opportunities in group interaction Long Adams 1976 Pica and Doughty 1986 and engage in more negotiation of meaning Doughty and Pica 1987 They do not talk less accurately or carefully Porter 1983 Moreover learners in groups not involving native speakers produce the same or more talk and negotiation of meaning Varonis Gass 1983 Group work as a useful communicative activity in English as Foreign Language EFL classroom has been recognized and widely used all over the world22 Previous researches on group interaction As we know college English teaching is an important part of higher education It is significant for college students especially for those who major in English English major students must reach a certain proficiency level through four years learning in listening speaking and writing An effective way to realize this goal is through group interaction In the 1980 s interaction began to draw much attention and triggered a heated discussion both at home and abroad Therefore researchers started to go into further research With the increasing demand for communicative competence in English interactions of groups stand out and have been widely advocated At the same time the researcher found not only advantages of this interactive form but also some theories which support it such as the second language acquisition interaction hypothesis cooperative learning principle theory social and cultural theory and so on With the increasing study on interaction of groups the foreign researchers agree that group work in second language classroom is beneficial to the improvement of learners target language ability Long and Porter 1985 argue in favor of group work with the following pointsIt increases language practice opportunitiesIt improves the quality of student talkIt helps to individualize instructionIt promotes a positive effective climateIt motivates learners to learn Also we can find a lot of theories and solid evidence to support this view no matter in the traditional second language acquisition research or pedagogy and social culture theory such as interaction hypothesis in second language acquisition Gass 1997 Long 1985 think that inputis easy to understand through communicative interaction when learners have the chances to consult on what they have heard Meanwhile interaction can stimulate learners to use language He makes his language output be easier to understand At the same time hypothesis that he has built also gets checkout Swain 1995 From the perspective of education connected with activities and group work relative to the activities of the teacher interactions offer many opportunities to use target language and promote the independent learning and self-guide studying Brown 2001 Social and cultural theory also thinks that interactions of groups in second language class are beneficial to development of second language learners Lantolf 2000 Individuals develop their cognitive abilities through social interaction Lev Vygotsky 1981 In group activities the learners are not limited to the use of a second language to exchange information They may reflect on language factors when they are conducting a meta-language which work together to build on the target language knowledge In addition when learners communicate with peers they give each other or to accept help Therefore they are mutually supporters Social mediation in group work plays a catalytic role in the language development of learners Swain 2000 Besides a series of classroom studies further confirmed that group interaction push forward Foreign or Second Language Acquisition from different aspects Bejarano 1987 Although classroom group interaction is important for language acquisition there still exist many problems that have made it difficult to organize small group activities effectively The problems are big classes teachers lack of control of their class too much noise or silence dull activities little enthusiasm and the like Not all exchanges between learners contribute to the development of language skills because language learning depends on certain interactive mode Research shows that many factors can affect those interactive modes such as learners language level Iwashita 2001 learners interaction style Storch 2002 and other social language factors Cao Philp 2006 In addition a lot of research reveals deficiency and problems of the language classroom group interaction such as team members is lack of negotiations or correction interaction Buckwalter 2001 Secondly students are likely to pretend to understand for their face Rost Ross 1991 Also some members of the groups will lead the whole interaction process the other team members failed to participate in the activity Pica and Doughty 1985 And time control is also a factor 23 Studies on group interaction in ChinaThrough this analysis it is clear that students in China need to engage themselves in real interaction Chinese students should negotiate meaning with their peers and to obtain much comprehensible input and generate comprehensible output It is important for them to develop their abilities It can be effectively realized in group activities as has been evidenced above In China most of the discussion on group interaction has been based on theories abroad or aimed at students learning The research is still far from satisfactory and popular because they have peculiar factors such as culture difference insufficient modern tools Therefore these conditions impede the development of the group interaction and make it difficult Gu and Zhu 2000 argue that the problem in question is soluble by group interaction with its outstanding strengths especially by teachers effective techniques Consequently from the authors point of view it is indispensable to study group interaction according to the present situation of Chinese classroom which can develop group interaction in China Although the previous studies show that there are a lot of problems in class those researcher are teachers Studies for students themselves do research are less In this regard after data analysis from literature review and self-reflective method the author of this paper attempts to discuss some problems teachers and students meet in group work and wants to give some suggestions to teachers on how to solve or avoid them in order to carry out effective group work 3 Research methodsAs teachers know group interaction is an effective way for students to develop their language abilities Not only do teachers study this kind of way but also college students should know the details Therefore in this part I will study group interaction from teachers part as well as from students part And in this part I will expound on the questions that the author intends to research and the progress that the author reflects 31 Research questions Questions which will be addressed are as follows How to group in English classroom What is grouped by How do students participate in group interactionWhat is the content of group interactionWhat are students attitudes toward group interactionWhat part does the teacher play in group interaction 32 Reflective research method Reflective approach is an important and necessary way to improve oneself It is experience and thinking through experienced ideological psychological feelings and behavior It is beneficial to improve the effectiveness of learning And I have been learning English for ten years and major in English in the college As a student I know whats going on in EFL classroom In this part Id reflect on the group interaction based on my own experience in the EFL classroom 33 Research resultsIn this part Id reflect on the typical EFL classroom and describe what happens there as to grouping learners participation attitudes and contents of interaction and teachers performanceFirst grouping in Chinese classroom usually are fixed There are two ways One way is grouped by student number Another way is grouped by the student themselves In those situations members of group are familiar with each other When the teacher requires students to do group activities they will discuss the activities in Chinese When teacher come to students desks once in a while they will pretend to discuss the questions carefully and use English to speak But once the teacher goes away students immediately use Chinese to discuss After discussing one or two students will be chosen to answer questions Second students normally participate in group work through tasks In other words choosing something leads itself to the group process Typical group tasks include games role-play and simulations drama interview brainstorming problem-solving and decision-making opinion exchange For example student A is an employer student B is a prospective employee the objective is for A to interview B In groups similar dual roles could be assumed with assignments to others in the group to watch for certain grammatical or discourse elements as the roles are acted out Or a group role-play might involve a discussion Third contents of interaction are usually the form of a certain task In the process of completing the task communication between participants is in a state of interaction Brown 1994173 defines group work as a generic term covering a multiplicity of techniques in which two or more students are assigned a task that involves collaboration and self-initiated language And he points that group work usually implies small group work that is students in groups of six or fewer Meanwhile it takes a lot of time in group interaction By one estimate Long and Porter 1985 if just half of our class time were spent in group work we could increase individual practice time five-fold over whole-class traditional methodologyFourthstudents attitude toward group interaction is positive Most of students agree that group interaction can push them to learn English because each group makes a community of learners cooperating with each other in pursuit of common goals Therefore group interaction is an increase in their motivation With Maslows securitysafety level satisfied through the cohesiveness of the small group closely relates to the sheer quantity of output made thus possible through group interaction and learners are thus freed to pursue higher objectives in their quest for success Finally teachers in so called traditional language classes is in control of the class Related to the issue of control is the sometimes misguided belief that a teacher should be in on everything a student says or does during the class hour Group interaction counters with the importance of meaningful purposeful language and real communication which in turn must allow the student to give cent to creative possibilities Yes the effective teacher will circulate among the groups listen to students offer suggestions and criticisms 4 Discussion 41 Discussion of detailsAccording to what has been revealed above three parts will be discussed as followsFirstly as we all know dividing the class into groups is not as easy as it sounds In some cases teachers can simply number off eg 1 2 3 4 5 6 and specify which the area of the room to occupy But to ensure participation or have the class in control teachers may want to preassign groups The best way is simply group work in groups of perhaps six or fewer because big groups cannot solve the problems of classes that are too large to offer many opportunities to speak Furthermore the best way to group is according to students English level The same level can be grouped together It is easy to communicate with each other In the meanwhile they can compete against each other But teachers should account for one or two of the following age or gender d