VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE
DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
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MAI THỊ HẰNG PHƯƠNG
ORGANIZING PAIRWORK AND GROUPWORK IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGH
SCHOOL CLASSROOMS AT PHAM VAN NGHI UPPER SECONDARY
SCHOOL, NAM DINH PROVINCE: A CASE STUDY.
(TỔ CHỨC HOẠT ĐỘNG TỔ VÀ HOẠT ĐỘNG NHÓM TRONG LỚP HỌC
THPT TẠI TRƯỜNG PTTH PHẠM VĂN NGHỊ TỈNH NAM ĐỊNH: MỘT
NGHIÊN CỨU CÁ BIỆT)
MINOR M.A THESIS
Field: English Methodology
Code: 601410
Hanoi, July 2008
1
VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE
DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
-----------o0o------------

MAI THỊ HẰNG PHƯƠNG
ORGANIZING PAIRWORK AND GROUPWORK IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGH
SCHOOL CLASSROOMS AT PHAM VAN NGHI UPPER SECONDARY
SCHOOL, NAM DINH PROVINCE: A CASE STUDY.
(TỔ CHỨC HOẠT ĐỘNG TỔ VÀ HOẠT ĐỘNG NHÓM TRONG LỚP HỌC
THPT TẠI TRƯỜNG PTTH PHẠM VĂN NGHỊ TỈNH NAM ĐỊNH: MỘT
NGHIÊN CỨU CÁ BIỆT)
MINOR M.A THESIS


daughter and my friends who always stand for me with their consideration and
encouragement.
Mai Thị Hằng Phương
4
ii
ABSTRACT
Learning language well depends on many factors such as personal characteristics, the
structure of the native and target languages, opportunities for communicating with other
people and with native speakers......For students at schools, these factors can only work well
with the help of the teachers using different techniques, and approaches in language
teaching.
In communicative language teaching, students have more chances practicing in the
target language through different classroom activities, among them pair work and group
work appear to be the most appropriate application.
In my school, PHAM VAN NGHI upper secondary school in Y YEN district, NAM
DINH province, pairwork and group work are used widely in foreign language classes.
However, it seems that the using of these activities in the school is not very effective. This
research focuses on pointing out how to organize pair work and groupwork more effectively
after investigating how these activities are used in our school by collecting data through class
observation, and analyzing the questionanaire data .Some evaluation will be drawn and some
suggestions for the future use of these activities will be made.
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iv
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Candidate’s statement…………………………………………………….....……………....i
Acknowledgement………………………………………....……………………………......ii
Abstract…………………………………………………...……………….………….........iii
Table of contents…………………………………………....……………………………...iv
Appendix………………………………………………………...……………………........vi

2.1.1. Description of the English syllabus in PVN school.........................................20
2.1.2. Description of the students at PVN school........................................................21
2.1.3. Description of the teachers at the PVN..............................................................22
2.1.4. Description of physical setting...........................................................................22
2.2. Design and methodology...............................................................................................22
2.2.1. The participants..................................................................................................23
2.2.2. Research instruments.........................................................................................23
2.2.3. Data analysis.......................................................................................................23
2.3. Presentation of statistical results...................................................................................24
2.3.1. Questionnaires...................................................................................................24
2.3.2. Classroom observation ......................................................................................31
2.3.3. Examples of pair and group work......................................................................32
CHAPTER 3 : FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS ................................................................36
3.1. FINDINGS ....................................................................................................................36
3.1.1. How did teachers at PVN school organize pairwork and groupwork ?............36
3.1.2. Difficulties from teachers...................................................................................38
3.1.3. Difficulties from students...................................................................................38
3.1.3. Objective factors................................................................................................39
3.2. SUGGESTIONS ...........................................................................................................39
3.2.1. General suggestions...........................................................................................39
3.2.2. Some suggested exercises in working in pair and group...................................41
Part C : CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................44
1. Summary of the study ......................................................................................................44
2. Limitations of the study ...................................................................................................44
3. Suggestions for further study ..........................................................................................45
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................46
APPENDIX 1 :..........................................................................................................................47
APPENDIX 2 :..........................................................................................................................51
APPENDIX 3 :..........................................................................................................................56
APPENDIX 4:...........................................................................................................................59

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researcher only intends to draw a brief overview of pairwork and groupwork in classes at
PVN upper secondary school and to find out the ways to organize pairwork and groupwork
more effectively.
4. Research questions of the study
This study was aimed to answer the following research questions:
1. How do the teachers in PVN high school use pair and group work? And how often?
2. Is that a suitable way of teaching in PVN school? Why?
3.How to organize pairwork and groupwork in English class more effectively for improving
four skills to students at PVN upper secondary school?
5. Methods of study
To realize the aims of the study, a case study was used.The theoretical background of
the study comes from many published books written by different authors on language
teaching and language acquisition. The data collected for the study came from two sources:
the students and the English teachers at PVN upper secondary school (8 English teachers and
120 students) by making survey questionnaires and observation.
In this research, quantitative method is used, too. All comments, remarks,
recommendations assumption and conclusion provided in the study based on the analysis of
the statistics from the survey questionnaires conducted with students and teachers of PVN
upper secondary school. The study is also based on a qualitative method with the author’s
own experience and observation during 6 years of teaching English.
6. Design of study
This study consists of 3 parts:
Part A: Introduction which presents the rationale, the aims, scope, the method and
design of the study. The research questions are also mentioned in this part.
Part B: Development which consists of 3 chapters:
Chapter 1: Literature Review - reviews the theory about CLT, and pairwork and
groupwork.
Chapter 2: Practical Research –provides an analysis on the current situation of using
pairwork and groupwork in teaching and learning English at PVN upper secondary school.

N.2003:10). There are two related aspects that we should consider when talking about
definition of communication is “social” and “interaction”.
According to Dwyer (2000:8), communication is very important in daily life:
“For those working in our changing social and economic environment, effective
communication is as important as it has always been. Now, however, we must grasp the fact
that we are dealing with more layers of communication than ever before. The exchange of
information and ideas becomes more complex daily, as management structures flatten, work
teams emerge and interact with other teams and as globalization requires us to link up with
individuals and organizations at regional, national and international levels. Increasingly
sophisticated technology enables us to achieve a scope and range of communication
unimaginable even 20 years ago”.
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1.1.2. Communicative Language Teaching
1.1.2.1. Nature of Communicative Language Teaching
Communicative Language Teaching means little more than an integration of
grammatical and functional teaching. Littlewood (1981:1) states, “One of the most
characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays systematic
attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language”.
Communicative Language Teaching means using procedures where the learners mainly
work in pairs or groups employing available language resources in problem- solving tasks.
CLT stresses the importance of providing the learners with opportunities to use English for
communicative purposes and attempts to integrate such activities in to a wider program of
language teaching
1.1.2.2. The Techniques of Communicative Language Teaching
The techniques of Communicative Language Teaching are described by features.
Nunan (1991a:279) gives five features to characterize CLT:
+ An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.
+ The introduction of authentic texts in to the learning situation
+ The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the
learning process itself.

than a method. It refers to a diverse set of principles that reflect a communicative view of
language and language learning and that can be used to support a wide variety of classroom
procedures.
1.2. Definition of pair and group work
There are many definitions of pairwork and group work :
Students may be organized to do work in pairs or small groups in the classroom. The
advantage of small group work is that it promotes maximum participation from all students.
In a small group situation, ideally all students are involved in both "thinking and
doing."Small group work also promotes cooperative skills, such as listening and
communication skills, problem solving and sharing of tasks.
Research has shown that group work enhances the learning of all group members,
regardless of how skilled or unskilled individual members are.
The small group approach is most commonly used with children through the ages of
12, although it has shown to be beneficial for older children as well.
(Felisa Tibbitts)
According to Adrian Doff (1988 :137), the whole class is divided in to pairs by the
teacher. Every students works with his or her partner in pairs and all the pairs work at the
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same time (It is sometimes called simultaneous pair work). This is not the same as ‘public’
or ‘open’, pairwork, with pairs of students speaking in turn in front of the class. In fact, A
pairwork consists of two students working together at the same time.
Groupwork is a group of students working together. A class can be divided in to small
groups to work together (usually four or five students in each group), as in pairwork, all the
groups work at the same time.
1.3. Advantages and disadvantages of pair and group work
According to Hubert Skrzynski, pair work and group work have both advantages and
disadvantages. These are mentioned below :
1.3.1. The advantages of pairwork and groupwork
1.3.1.1. To increase the amount of student practice : When students work in pairs or
groups they have more chance to practise. Working in pair and group, students often feel more

of the process of learning.Besides, students try to correct each other rather than learn the
mistakes. One of the main points of having learners speak to each other is to help them
increase their confidence and reduce the anxiety that is often found in a purely teacher-
centered classroom. Pair work and group work activities are usually geared to fluency
enhancement rather than accuracy practice.
1.3.2.3. To eliminate shy and weak students from the practice : Some shy or weak
students can be eliminated from the practice, because of individuals who always tend to
dominate. It is not a problem when they work in pairs, but as far as the groups are concerned,
the teacher should assign roles to avoid one or two learners taking over the activity and
others becoming passive observers.
1.3.2.4. To make noise and indiscipline : Working in pairs and groups in a large class
makes noise and indiscipline, the teachers have more troublesome than the learners have.
Participants in a pair work or group work activity are normally unaware of the noise and of
what other pairs or groups are doing. The only possible problem here could be if the
classroom had particularly thin walls.
It seems that there are as many disadvantages as advantages of these classroom
arrangements and one can not unanimously state which one is better, since each teacher has
his/her own likes and dislikes. It is his/her individual choice which one should be used
during the process of teaching a language.
1.4. How to organize pair and group work :
1.4.1. Preparation for group work:
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In order to prepare for group work, according to Felisa Tibbits, the teacher will need to
do the following:
- Select the activity
- Prepare any physical materials for group work ahead of time
- Anticipate the size and the selection of groups
-Anticipate how students will be organized within the groups (tasks and roles)
- Consider the timing of the group work
- Consider how the small group work will be shared with the entire class and linked with

Sometimes groups are organized only for one activity. Other times, teachers use the same
small groups for a series of activities, so that students get used to working with one another.
If the tables and chairs can not be moved for group work, then students can form groups
by turning around in seats to face the children behind.
1.4.1.4. Organize students within the group
A laissez- faire approach to group work would be that the teacher gives a general
assignment to the group- like organize a research project on ‘qualities of good leaders’- and
the students are left to organize themselves.
A highly structured approach would be that the teacher assigns a specific role to each
group member. Depending upon the task, the roles might include ‘materials handler’,
‘scribe’, ‘reporter to the large group’ and so on. A semi- structured approach might be that
the teacher recommend certain roles, but leaves it to the group to assign roles.
A more structured approach, with rotation of tasks within a group, is often used with
younger children. A less structured approach can be used with students with experience in
group work or for simple tasks that do not require that students take on different roles.
1.4.1.5. Time the group work
The teacher should anticipate student questions about timing, the task results, sharing
with the whole group, and so on. After giving clear instructions to the students, the teacher
should be available to answer questions, but not interfere with the groups’ activities.
It is common in many classrooms that a small group activity constitutes 20 minutes of a
40 minute- period, with 10 minutes allowed for sharing small group work with the whole
class
1.4.1.6. Share small group work with the whole class.
Usually the results of the small group work are shared with the class. This sharing can be
oral (reporting out), visual (written or graphic representation), or both.
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It is highly interesting to contrast the results of group work.
1.4.2. Steps of organizing pair and group work:
Harmer, J devides it in to 3 steps : before activities, during activities and after activities.
1.4. 2 .1. Before : The teacher makes students feel enthusiastic about what they are going to

give both those students and the rest of the class good information for future learning and
action.
Finally, it is vital to remember that constructive feedback on the content of student work
can greatly enhance students’ future motivation. The feedback the teachers give on language
mistakes is only one part of that process.
1.5. Difficulties in organizing pair and group work and suggested solutions
When teachers organize pairwork and groupwork, they encounter some difficulties.
1.5.1. Difficulties :
According to Andy Hoodith- Saitama University, there are three main difficulties
while working in pair and group.
1.5.1.1. Space : The furniture in the class is fixed, the teachers and students can not change
or have no time to do it. Sometimes the class is too crowded (with more than 50 students in a
small room), there is no space for them to move if they are asked to change their partner in a
pair work. For group work it sometimes appears more serious when the teachers want to
have groups of students with different abilities. The arrangement of classroom furniture can
mitigate against pair and group.
1.5.1.2. Instruction : It is neccesary for students to know what the teacher wants them to
do. This sounds obvious and easy, but in some case, some students hadn’t known exactly
what they had to do. Some teachers try to give instructions in students’ target language, and,
so funny it sometimes appears that understanding the instructions in target language is much
more difficult than doing the exercise.
1.5.1.3. Activity Types : Pair and group work are fine in theory, but what type of activity to
do with them is a problem. Some group members may sit doing nothing if teacher asks a
group of four or five to work with a small dialogue. And problem solving activities seem to
be difficult for pairs when one of them or none of them has no idea about the problem.
1.5.2. Solution :
Along with showing difficulties, Andy Hoodith also suggests some solutions for each
situation.
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If the furniture in the class are fixed and it is impossible to change the classroom, then

communicative competence and our students can learn the real things from daily life.
Students are required to work in pairs, in group to practise English in common situations.
Additionally, students also have chances to listen to both native and non-native speakers
from the tapes used with the textbook. The textbook also develope students’reading skill and
writing skill. At the end of each term, students have an exam for four skills
The objectives of the English course are clear. At the end of the course (after 105
periods), students are required to obtain :
- General knowledge of English grammar and an active vocabulary
-The ability to communicate with foreigners in English in common situations like : showing
ways, making requests…..
-The ability to read English pre- intermediate book, English newspapers or magazines
2.1.2. Description of the students at PVN school
Like students of other school, in order to be 10th form students of PVN school, they have
to pass a national examination. All the students of PVN school come from the countryside.
New students here have the same level of English language proficiency. They have learnt
English for 4 years at secondary school. However, they have a basic knowledge of English
grammar but their language skills are not quite good. Comparing to students in the past now
the students are more aware of the important of learning English, they are more intelligent,
more active and more motivative in learning English. Students have to spend 3 years at PVN
school in order to get general certificate of education. Besides many other subjects, they
have 3 periods of English per week, they have 15 munites tests every two weeks and 45
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munites tests every four weeks. In class, they are given chances to practise mainly four
skills : speaking, listening, reading and writing skill.
2.1.3. Description of the teachers at the PVN
If students are the most important factor in the learning process, teachers are the most
important factor in the teaching process. In PVN school, there are 8 teachers of English
language aged from 25 to 59 but none of them have ever been to any English speaking
countries. Of the eight teachers, only 5 have been trained at VNU - CFL, two have been
trained from Hanoi University of Foreign Studies and one has been trained from Hanoi

class of the teachers in the English group. They come from different districts.All of them
come from the countryside. They started to learn English from six form, it means they have
learnt English for at least 4 years.There are two old teachers aged 45 to 59 and six young
teachers, aged 25 to 35. A survey is conducted among teachers and students at PVN upper
secondary school to find out the information about the current situation of classroom
activities : pairwork and groupwork. The survey questionnaire includes information about
pairwork and groupwork at school (see Appendix 1 and 2). The results of the survey is
illustrated in Table 1 and 3. The researcher should give questionnaires to the teachers and
students before observing the classes.The researcher observed 15 classes and then analyze
the data collected from the questionnaires and classroom observation sheets to find
information to answer the research questions. After analyzing the data, some conclusion
must be drawn and some suggestions for further research must be made, too
2.2.2. Research instruments
In order to get the needed information the researcher use two following research
methods : questionnaires and observation.There are two types of questionnaires : one for
teachers and the other for students. Each of them has ten questions.The questionnaires are
mainly used for exploiting teacher’s and students’ knowledge , their experience, and their
attitude toward pair and group work .Observation is done in classes of different aims and
purposes : teaching speaking, teaching reading, teaching listening, teaching grammar and
teaching writing, the researcher has to design the Classroom Observation Sheet before
observing classes.The classes observed must be from grade 10 to 12 and with all eight
teachers of English in PVN upper secondary school.The classes observed must not be
prepared especially for being obseved.
2.2.3. Data analysis
Data analysis is not simply a single description of the collected data. In fact, it is the
process by which the researcher interprets the data collected from the survey questionnaires.
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The scheme and coding catergories in this research emerged from an examination of data
rather than being pre- determined and imposed on the data.
2.3. Presentation of statistical results

you often use pair
work and group
work ?
a. Speaking 8 100
b. Writing 4 50
c. Reading 3 37,5
d. Listening 3 37,5
e. Other option : 0 0
4 How do you
create pairwork
and group work ?
a. Students at the same tables 2 25
b. Students from different tables 1 11,3
c. Students sitting next to each other 4 50
d. Students sitting far from each other 0 0
e. Students in different rows 1 11,3
f. Good students with good ones.
Weak students with the weak ones
0 0
g. Good students with the weak ones 0 0
h. Other options 0 0
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5 In your opinion,
pair work and
groupwork are
most useful for
teaching ...
a. Grammar 8 100
b. Pronunciation 3 37,5
c. Vocabulary 1 11,3

7 87,5
b. Use the same topics as in the
textbook but not the same copies
4 50%
c. Take an extract or information from
another reference books
1 11,3
d. Self- Design 2 25
e. Collaborate with your coleagues or
get their opinions
2 25
f. Other option 0 0
8 How useful do you
think pair work and
group work are to
improve learning
at your school ?
a. It is a vital activity in language
teaching
2 25
b. It is one of the important and useful
activities in language teaching
5 62,5
c. It is a good activity to be applied 2 25
d. It is neither good nor bad 0 0
e. Its usefulness is not clear 0 0
f. It has no use 0 0
25