Factors influencing group work of students in learning English as a foreign language (EFL): A case study at a Vietnamese university

Le Thi Nhan Duyen * and Nguyen Buu Huan

* Corresponding author (duyenctump@gmail.com)

Article Sidebar

Full Text: PDF

Received: 23 Aug 2016
Revised: 20 Sep 2016
Accepted: 29 Jul 2017
Published: 31 Jul 2017
DOI: 10.22144/ctu.jen.2017.021
Views
612
Downloads
340
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
How to Cite
Le, T. N. D., & Nguyen, B. H. (2017). Factors influencing group work of students in learning English as a foreign language (EFL): A case study at a Vietnamese university. CTU Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development , (06), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.22144/ctu.jen.2017.021
Issue
No. 06 (2017)

Main Article Content

Abstract

Group work has been largely used as an effective teaching strategy in English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom contexts to develop students’ communicative proficiency in English. Although several studies on group work examined  EFL teaching at universities in Viet Nam and in the world,  the question as to what factors influence EFL students’ group work in classroom in the Mekong Delta remains unanswered.  This paper therefore reports on a case study at a university in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, which explores the factors that influence EFL students’ group work in classroom contexts as well as the difficulties students encountered in group work activities. Data were collected from the questionnaire surveys and interviews. The findings showed that four factors influencing students’ group work in class include classroom context, student interactions, the role of the teacher and the tasks. Of the four factors, student interaction was ranked the most important factor. Moreover, challenges while working in groups were reported as students’ mixed abilities, difference in viewpoints, use of Vietnamese during discussion, time limitation and topic difficulty levels. 
Keywords: Communicative activities, group work, interaction, learning process, role of the teacher

Article Details

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

References

Allwright, D., Baily, M., 2004. Focus on language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bassano, S., 2003. Helping ESL students remember to speak English during group work. TESOL Journal. 12(1): 35-36.

Beebe, S.A., Masterson, J.T., 2003. Communicating in small groups. Boston: Massachusetts: Pearson Education Inc.

Blatchford, P., Kutnick, P., Baines, E., Galton, M., 2003. Toward a social pedagogy of classroom group work. International Journal of Educational Research. 39(1): 153-172.

Bossert, S.T., Barnett, B.G., Filby, N.N., 1985. Grouping and instructional organization. In: Peterson, P. L., Wilkinson, L. C., Hallinan, M. (Eds.). The social context of instruction: Group organization and group process. New York: Academic Press.

Brown, H.D., 2000. Principles of language learning and teaching, Fourth Edition. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall Regents, 350 pages.

Brown, H.D., 2007. Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy, Third Edition. Pearson Education. New York, 569 pages.

Brumfit, C., 1984. Communicative methodology in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Burke, A., 2011. Group work: How to use groups effectively. The Journal of Effective Teaching. 11(2): 87-95.

Chang, L.Y.H., 2010. Group processes and EFL learners' motivation: A study of group dynamics in EFL classrooms. TESOL Quarterly. 44(1): 129-154

Chen, R., Hird, B., 2006. Group work in the EFL classroom in China: A closer look. Regional Language Centre Journal. 37(1): 91-103.

Cohen, E.G. (1994). Designing group work: Strategies for the heterogeneous classroom, Second Edition. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Creswell, J., 2003. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches, Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Csernica, J., Hanyka, M., Hyde, D., Shooter, S., Toole, M., Vigeant, M., 2002. Practical guide to teamwork. College of Engineering, Bucknell University.

Davis, B.G.,1993. Tools for teaching. San Francisco: California: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Doff, A., 1988. Teaching English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gardner, R.C., 1985. Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.

Johnson, J.W., Johnson, F.D., 2003. Joining together: Group theory and group skills. New York: Pearson Education.

Le, P. H. H., McDonald, G., 2004. Mediation through the first language: A sociocultural study of group work in Vietnam. New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics, 10(1), 31-49.

Le, P. H. H., 2006. Learning vocabulary in group work in Vietnam. RELC Journal, 37(1): 105-121.

Long, M. Porter, P., 1985. Group work, inter-language talk and second language acquisition. TESOL Quarterly. 19: 207-228.

Long, M.H.,1989. Task, group, and task-group interactions. University of Hawaii Working papers in ESL 8: 1-16.