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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES
AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
THE FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
BÙI THỊ QUỲNH TRANG
THE EXPLOITATION OF GROUP WORK TO
INCREASE THE 4TH AND 5TH GRADERS’
MOTIVATION IN CLASSROOM
TO STUDY ENGLISH
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILC1ENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (TEFL)
Hanoi, May – 2011
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES
AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
THE FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
BÙI THỊ QUỲNH TRANG
THE EXPLOITATION OF GROUP WORK TO
INCREASE THE 4TH AND 5TH GRADERS’
MOTIVATION IN CLASSROOM
TO STUDY ENGLISH
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILC1ENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (TEFL)
SUPERVISOR: MS. VU TUONG VI, M.A.
Hanoi, May – 2011
ACCEPTANCE
I hereby state that I: Bui Thi Quynh Trang, class E1K41, being a candidate for
the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College
relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the
library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the
library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or
reproduction of the paper.
Signature
Bui Thi Quynh Trang
Date
4th May, 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements.....................................................................................i
Abstract......................................................................................................ii
Lists of figures, tables.............................................................................. iii
Lists of abbreviations………………………................................................iv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Statement of the problems and rationale for the study ................... 1
1.2. Aims and Objectives........................................................................3
1.3. Significance of the study ……….…................................................3
1.4. Scope of the study………………....................................................3
1.5. Organization ....................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. An overview of group work ........................................................... 5
2.1.1 . Definition of “group work”................................................. 5
2.1.2 . General advantages of group work for children.................. 5
2.1.3 . Disadvantages of group work............................................. 9
2.2. An overview of the 4th and 5th graders...........................................10
2.2.1 . Characteristics of the 4th and 5th graders............................10
2.2.2 . Ways children learn languages..........................................13
2.3. An overview of motivation..........................................……......... 13
2.3.1 Definition of “motivation”..........................….....................13
2.3.2 Types of motivation.............................................................14
2.3.2.1 Intrinsic motivation................................................. 15
2.3.2.2 Extrinsic motivation..........................................……16
2.3.3 Student motivation...............................................................17
2.3.4 Student’s motivation in the classroom.................................18
2.3.5 The importance of motivation in language learning........... 18
2.3.6 Characteristics of motivated learners.................................. 19
2.3.7 Ways to increase classroom motivation of children ...........20
2.4. Using group work to increase classroom motivation of children...23
2.4.1 Ways group work increase classroom motivation of
children……………………………………………............23
2.4.2 Ways to organize group work to increase classroom
motivation of children..........................................................26
2.5 Related studies................................................................................29
2.5.1 Related studies in the world..................................................29
2.5.2 Related studies in Vietnam................................................. 30
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1. Multi-case study............................................................................ 31
3.2. Settings of the study...................................................................... 32
3.2.1 The organization....................................................................32
3.2.2 The language teaching for the 4th and 5th graders..................33
3.3. Selection of subjects...................................................................... 35
3.3.1 Fourth and fifth graders........................................................ 35
3.3.2 Teachers of English...............................................................38
3.4. Research instruments......................................................................40
3.4.1 Observations......................................................................... 40
3.4.2 Semi-structured interviews ...................................................41
3.4.2.1 Semi-structured interviews with the 4th and 5th
graders..................................................................................41
3.4.2.2 Semi-structured with teachers of English .........…..42
3.5. Procedures of data collection........................................................ 43
3.6. Procedures of data analysis............................................................45
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Research question 1........................................................................47
4.1.1 Group formation....................................................................47
4.1.2 Instructions...........................................................................50
4.1.2.1 Getting students’ attention........................................ 50
4.1.2.2 Giving instructions.................................................... 51
4.1.3 Disciplines........................................................................... 54
4.1.4 Checking..............................................................................56
4.1.5 Feedback..............................................................................58
4.1.6 Winner announcement................................................…..…59
4.2. Research question 2....................................................................... 62
4.2.1 The 4th and 5th graders’ general view of group work …..…62
4.2.2 Ways group work motivates the 4th and 5th graders to study
English in C1 classes...........................................................63
4.2.2.1 Ways group work intrinsically motivates the 4th and
5th graders to study English in C1 classes .................63
4.2.2.2 Ways group work extrinsically motivates the 4th and
5th graders to study English in C1 classes ….............65
4.3 Research question 3....................................................................... 71
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.1. Summary of findings..................................................................... 79
5.2. Pedagogical implications...........................................................….80
5.3. Limitations of the study................................................................. 81
5.4. Suggestions for further research.....................................................81
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Observation Scheme
Appendix 2.1: Interview questions for the 4th and 5th graders in English
Appendix 2.2: Interview questions for the 4th and 5th graders in
Vietnamese
Appendix 3.1: Interview questions for teacher A
Appendix 3.2: Interview questions for teacher B
Appendix 4.1: Exercise 7: Listen and say which boy (Incredible English –
Class Book, p. 38)
Appendix 4.2: Exercise 5: (Incredible English – Activity Book, p. 46)
Appendix 5.1: Transcription of the interview with teacher A
Appendix 5.2: Transcription of the interview with teacher B
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to
my supervisor, Ms. Vu Tuong Vi, M.A, who has always been willing and
ready to give me precious advice. Her proper and critical guides during
the research process were the solid support for study.
Moreover, I would like to show my special thanks to organization
X for their assistance and support for my observations and interviews
during the research process.
Furthermore, I am grateful to teacher A, teacher B and all kids in
the cases, whose enthusiastic participation in the research are the decisive
factor in the completion of the study.
I am also obliged to Ms. Pham Thi Minh Tam and Ms. Nguyen Thi
Kim Hue for their valuable advice and useful materials.
I would like to say thanks to the teaching assistants of the two
classes in the case study for their priceless support.
Lastly, I want to sincerely thank to my beloved family and friends
with their significant encouragement and help, especially, my close friend
Tang Quynh Tho and my classmate, Pham Thi Thuy Linh, whose sound
advice greatly assisted me in finishing the research on the right track.
ii
ABSTRACT
The modern language teaching approach puts a strong emphasis
on communicative language teaching and learner-centered activities.
Therefore, group work has been worldwide applied in English
Language Teaching. In teaching English to children in Vietnam,
group work has recently utilized but only in a few learning centers in
big cities. In attempts to prove the effectiveness of group work, the
researcher investigated the use of group work in specifically two
specific English classes for children in organization X, Hanoi, which
provide learners with an ideal learning environment.
A highly visible advantage of group work for young learners is
increasing their motivation to study. As a result, the case study aims
at discovering how group work is organized to increase the kids’
motivation. To answer to question, a detailed description of the
process of group work managing in the two cases and an analysis of
different ways group work positively impacts on the children’s
motivation are signified in the case study.
iii
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Page
Figure 1
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5
Table 6
Table 7
Table 8
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Table 9
Figure 6
Figure 7
English levels for junior young learners in
organization X
Basic information about the 4th and 5th graders
Basic information about teacher A and teacher B
Steps in group formation in case 1 and case 2
Checking process in case 1 and case 2
Positive and negative feedback in case 1 and case 2
The 4th and 5th graders’ general views of group work
Intrinsic motivation from group work
Extrinsic motivation from group work
The percentages of the children who like and no longer
like working in groups if there is no points and
competitions.
The 4th and 5th graders’ frequency of having
difficulties in group work in general
The frequency of encountering difficulties in group
work of the 4th and 5th graders in case 1.
The frequency of encountering difficulties in group
work of the 4th and 5th graders in case 2.
The frequency of encountering difficulties in group
work of the 4th and 5th graders in case 1 and case 2.
The 4th and 5th graders’ perceived awareness of the
negative effect of difficulty (a), (d) and (f) in case 1
The 4th and 5th graders’ perceived awareness of the
negative effect of difficulty (a), (d) and (f) in case 2
33
37
39
47
57
58
62
64
67
70
72
74
74
75
76
77
iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CLT Communicative Language Teaching
T Teacher
Ss Students
1
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study
Group work is closely related to Communicative Language
Teaching (Cummins & Davison, 2007, p. 287) as it is used commonly in
interactive, cooperative, learner-centered and task-based learning, the
four main different types of learning associated with CLT. In the world, it
has been a regular feature of an English class for a long time; however,
the situation is quite different in Vietnam. Except for universities
specializing in foreign languages, CLT and group work seem to be more
easily found in certain English teaching centers than in numerous public
schools and colleges. Besides, CLT and group work are much more
popular to adolescents than children as a result of their limited application
in primary and secondary schools and the strong influence of existent
traditional English teaching methods. Therefore, group work can be
claimed to be infrequently used in English classes for children in
Vietnam. Furthermore, the traditional teaching method – teacher-centered
is still widely used in Vietnamese primary schools, which degrades their
activeness and creativity. Consequently, a lot of primary pupils have
encountered various difficulties when working in groups in English
centers, where they can approach CLT.
The insufficient group work application in the context of second
language teaching in Vietnam is a regret because group work has been
proved to have a variety of advantages for learners such as increasing
students’ talking time, providing real English conversations and creating
a more secure, positive and funny classroom atmosphere (Martine, 2006,
p.2), and motivating learners (Voorhis, 1985, p. 7). Among these benefits,
2
motivating learners is considered as a significant one as “Motivation is
the fuel that drives a person to fulfill their goals, wants, and needs”1.
Being fully aware of the essence of motivation in learning, educators has
been seeking effective principles and strategies in stimulating learner to
study generally and study second languages specifically.
The current situation of applying group work in English classes for
children in Vietnam inspires the researcher to conduct a study on group
work for children in a famous and reliable English center in Hanoi. This
organization is widely known as the ideal English learning environment
for student because it provides “courses that are carefully designed to
meet the needs of aC1ost 13,000 adult and young learner students every
year”2 with the learner-centered teaching approach and “principled use of
a range of proven teaching methodologies”3. Therefore, group work can
be assumed to be applied effectively in kids’ classes in the organization.
To examine it, the study “The exploitation of group work to increase the
4th and 5th graders’ motivation in classroom to study English in C1
classes, organization X, Hanoi – A case study” aims at describing
techniques used in implementing group work in two classes for the 4th
and 5th graders of the language learning center and finding out the ways it
motivates the learners to study English.
Due to the demand of the organization, their real name is not
revealed in the research.
1 http://www.fitness-equipment-health.com/importance_of_motivation.html 2 3 http://www.britishcouncil.org/vietnam-english-cf-why-study-with-us.htm
3
1.2. Aims and Objectives
First, the research attempts to discover the process of managing group
work by the two teachers in two C1 classes chosen for the case study,
then, finds out how group work stimulates the children to study English
in class. Lastly, the search for probable difficulties imposing on the 4th
and 5th graders is conducted for the aim of checking the effectiveness of
the methods used in group work control. In brief, the research endeavors
to seek achievable answers to the three questions:
1. How is group work organized in C1 classes?
2. In what way does group work motivate the 4th and 5th graders to
study English in C1classes?
3. What difficulties do the 4th and 5th graders encounter when
having group work in C1 classes?
1.3 . Significance of the study
The research paper is expected to be a contribution to the collection
of available research proving the high value of group work in English
teaching and learning. Claiming the great motivation group work
stimulates in children, the study is supposed to be an incentive for other
teachers for kids to enhance the application of group work in English
class activities.
In addition, the study would help other researchers who are
inspired by the same topic find useful information for their future study.
1.4. Scope of the study
As specified in the title, the research paper investigates the use of
group work in two C1 classes to motivate learners to study English in
4
class. Specifically, a description of the process of organizing group work
and group work’s impacts on the children’s motivation based on the 4th
and 5th graders and the teachers’ opinions are presented in the study.
Thirty Vietnamese children of grade 4 and 5 and two foreign
teachers in two C1 classes will participate in the study as truthful
informants.
1.5. Organization of the study
The study is divided into 5 chapters:
Chapter 1 – Introduction – gives the reasons for the choice of the
topic, states researcher questions and provides an overview of the
development of the study.
Chapter 2 – Literature Review – depicts relevant literature
underlying the topic including key terms related to group work, children
and motivation and reviews related studies by other researchers in the
world and in Vietnam.
Chapter 3 – Methodology – outlines the research methods and the
procedures for collecting and analyzing data.
Chapter 4 – Results and discussions – presents the data collected
with analysis, explanations as well as discussions to answer the research
questions stated in chapter 1.
Chapter 5 – Conclusion – summarizes key points of the whole
study, mentions the limitations of the study and gives suggestions for
further studies.
5
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. An overview of group work
2.1.1. Definition of “group work”
“Group work”, in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 8th
Edition, is exactly cited as “work done by a group of people working
together, for example, a group of students in a classroom”. However,
“group work” in pedagogy is understood as a teaching and learning
method used in CLT that was clearly signified by Beard (1978, as cited in
Dunkin, ed., 1987, p. 288):
“Group work is a discussion of academic work that affords students the opportunity to organize their thinking by comparing and indicating ideas and interpretation with each other and to give expression and hence form to their understanding of a subject.”(p. 65)
For the purpose and the scope of the research, group work is more
simply meant to be the working of a group of three to five students on a
game or an in-class activity. According to Brown (2001), group work is
“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. It implies small group work, that is, students in groups
of perhaps six or fewer” (cited in Salas, 2004, p.2).
Adapting from Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1991), Davis (1999)
generally divided group work into three types: informal learning groups,
formal learning groups, and study teams as follows:
Informal learning groups are unplanned temporary gathering of
students within an in-class lesson. Informal learning groups can be
formed by asking students to turn to a student next to them and discussing
a question given by the teacher for two minutes or grouping three to five
6
students to solve a problem. In general, informal learning groups can be
initiated at any time of any size in a class so that the students have the
chance to work together to comprehend materials more, apply what they
have learnt into an activity or just have change of pace.
Formal learning groups are “teams established to complete a
specific task, such as perform a lab experiment, write a report, carry out a
project, or prepare a position paper”, which are graded when being
completed. The time of working in groups may be a single class session
or some weeks. Working together in class or at home until the task is
finished is the feature of formal learning groups.
Study teams are “long-term groups” which normally exist over a
course with stable membership. Study teams’ responsibility is to support
members with encouragement and assistance in complete course
assignments. The larger the class and the more complex the subject
requirements are, the more valuable study teams can be.
Among the three types of group work above, “group work” the
researcher studies belongs to informal learning groups. Specifically,
“group work” in C1 classes in organization X includes groups of three to
five pupils, which are set up by the teachers and last for a class session or
an in-class activity.
2.1.2. General advantages of “group work” for children
It is said that group work came into the standard English Foreign
Language teaching system with communicative methodologies in the
1970s and has been worldwide utilized in classroom activities. The
reason for the large application of group work is its numerous advantages
7
in learners’ language study. The following ones are specifically for young
learners:
i. Group work supply opportunities for children to use the
language for themselves.
ii. Group work is a change of activity, which meets the needs of
children who learn quite little in a lesson and who want to
practice in numerous ways.
iii. Group work motivates children highly and the quality of work
produced by a group is often higher by any individuals of that
group.
iv. Children with a negative attitude become more focused and
change their behaviors to suit their groups. It results from the
fact that they can see others are impatient with them because of
their negative attitudes.
v. Children cooperate and learn from each other. “Learning from
one’s peers is often more effective than learning from a teacher”
(Retter, 1980, p. 11). More importantly, learning how to
cooperate has a educational value that develops children’s
human characteristics. As a result, an English lesson goes
beyond teaching the language and knowledge.
vi. Children who are late for class or have missed some class can
catch up with others more easily with peer’s assistance.
vii. Children like holding their name cards used in group works and
they are stimulated to speak English when they have real
aspiration to communicate.
(Adapted from Retter, 1980, p. 11)
8
viii. Group work gives children with a sense of accomplishment
when they attain a group objective. 4
ix. Group work increases children’s talking time (Martine, 2006, p.
36).
Long and Porter (1985) estimated that in a class of 30 students
within a 50-minute-lesson, each student if only talks to the teacher would
get 30 seconds of talking time. Through a calculation, the number means
the taking time is “just one hour per student per year” (Long & Porter, p.
208, cited in Martine, 2006, p.36). Group work can effectively increase
students’ talking time as it provides opportunities for them to talk to their
peers beside to the teacher.
x. Small group work and pair work create a more secure and
positive classroom atmosphere (Martine, 2006, p. 36).
“Most children like to have other children around them, and sitting
with others encourages cooperation” (Scott and Ytreberg, 1990, p.6). The
security shy children can feel from their groups gives them the
confidence to speak. Speaking in small groups for them is actually “safer”
than in front of the whole class.
xi. Small group work and pair work are more fun (Martine, 2006,
p. 37).
It is a common sense for most people in CLT that working and
talking with classmates are much more fun than doing so individually.
The sense is completely true with children. 4 http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/working-pairs-groups
9
1.2.2. Disadvantages of group work
Despite numerous advantages, group work, on the other side, has
some disadvantages. These disadvantages can be listed as:
i. “The teacher may feel like they are losing control of the class.”
(Martine, 2006, p. 38).
For teachers and students who are inexperienced in group work, it
might be a challenge for the teachers to control the class and for the
students to cooperate with each other. While managing group work in
class, teachers at the same time need to keep an eye on some groups of
students who might be very noisy discussing, therefore, they may be
overwheC1ed at first. In Martine’s research, she used a fantastic
metaphor illustrating the process of getting familiarized with using group
work of teachers:
“They (teachers) likened it to being a ring master in a multi-ring circus, but stressed with practice it is not difficult to watch out that the lions don’t eat the dogs and the humans don’t fall off the high wire.” (2006, p. 38)
ii. “Students will speak only in their L1.” (Martine, 2006, p. 38).
Working in groups, students may use Language 1 to understand
each other quickly so that they can come up with ideas easily. This
situation results from the challenge of tasks or the lack of fluency in
spoken Language 2 and vocabulary.
iii. Lazy or unmotivated students abuse group work to get
involved in learning little (Angel, 2008).
Group work involves participation of some students and if one
person does not contribute to the group’s product, others can take over his
10
or her position. Consequently, lazy and unmotivated students take
advantage of this to ignore group work or participate poorly.
iv. It is easy for shy and weak students to get pushed out or left
out (Skrzyński, 2001).
In a group, students’ ability is not always the same; therefore, ones
with higher ability may dominate others and ones with lower ability may
be left out of the group work.
2.2. An overview of the 4th and 5th graders
2.2.1. Characteristics of the 4th and 5th graders
Primary school children in Vietnam are generally aged from 5 to
11 years old. Scott and Ytreberg (1990) called primary school children
young language learners and divided them into 2 groups: the five to eight
year olds and the eight to ten year olds as “there is a big difference
between what children of five can do and what children often can do.” (p.
1). Those from 5 to 8 are assumed to start learning English while those
from 8 to eight are assumed to have learnt English for a period of time
(Scott and Ytreberg, 1990, p. 1).
According to Scott and Ytreberg (1990), it is impossible to claim at
the age of 5, all children can do x, at the age of 6, all children can do y, at
the age of 7, all children can do z, etc. However, it is possible to figure
out significant characteristics of primary school children from 5 to 10 and
more specifically from 5 to 8 and from 8 to 10 (p. 1).
The children studied in the research are at grade 4 and 5 in primary
school education system; thus, their ages rank from 9 to 11 years old. As
11
a result, the population of the research can belong to the second group in
the division of Scott and Ytreberg – children aged from 8 to 10 years old.
Children aged from 8 to 10 are commonly characterized by
cognitive, physical and language development
i. Cognitive development
Generally, at the age from 8 to 10 years old, the children are able to
do the things as follows.
- Form basic notions and opinions of the world
- Distinguish facts and fictions
- Use spoken and physical words to convey meanings. (Spoken
words are words formed by verbal speeches while physical words
are formed by illustrations such as mime, pictures, or objects, etc.)
- Make decisions on their own learning
- Have definite opinions of things they like and dislike
- Develop a sense of fairness about what happens in class and
respond to teachers’ decisions.
- Work with others and learn from others
- Give questions all the time
(Adapted from Scott and Ytreberg, pp. 3- 4)
ii. Physical development
Tucker (1977) in clearly pointed out:
“The fact that children find it less easy than adults to sit still for long periods, not to bang their heels against a chair, not to jump up, not move their arms, or touch objects, to voices, is not a question of having more energy to spill, but of comparative lack of integration and control of movement systems” (p.21).
12
Thus, activities organized for children in language lessons need to
give children an opportunity to move around within the classroom.
iii. Language development
Mother tongue and social background has a huge impact on a
child’ foreign language ability. Scott and Ytreberg (1990) found that
there were certain similarities between one’s mother tongue learning and
foreign language learning despite numerous differences (p. 4).
In a 8-to-10-year-old-child’s general language development,
children are “competent users of mother tongue” (Scott and Ytreberg,
1990, p. 4) and know well major rules of syntax in their first language. In
total, by the age of 10, children are able to:
- understand abstracts
- understand symbols (beginning with words)
- generalize and systematize
(Scott and Ytreberg, 1990, p. 4)
With certain language awareness and readiness of their mother
tongue, children aged from 8 to 10 are qualified for foreign language
classrooms.
It can be said at group 4 and 5, children have developed their
Language 1 finely because they have had about 4 or 5 years studying
their mother tongue as an important subject at school and used it in every
day conversations for about 7 years since born. “When a young child
learns another language, he approaches it in the same way as when he
learns Language 1”, Dunn (1984, p. 30) stated in his book. The high
13
development of the first language of the 4th and 5th graders supports their
study of English as the second language.
2.1.2. Ways children learn languages
The official website of Organization Xhas published some
ways children learn languages, which are shown in the following
ones:
• Having opportunities to be exposed to the second language
• Making associations between words, languages, or sentence
patterns and putting things into clear, relatable contexts
• Using all their senses and getting fully involved; by observing and
copying, doing things, watching and listening
• Exploring, experimenting, making mistakes and checking their
understanding
• Repetition and feeling a sense of confidence when they have
established routines
• Being motivated, particularly when their peers are also
speaking/learning other languages
(Adapted from Shipton, Mackenzie and Shipton, 2006)
2.3. An overview of motivation
2.3.1. Definition of “motivation”
Motivation is a concept which has been frequently used in
studying. In language teaching and learning particularly, it is considered
as the goal of educators and learners; however, it is not easy to define this
concept. Numerous researchers have different definitions of this term.
14
Biehler and Snowman (1982) denoted motivation as “the
willingness to expand a certain amount of effort to achieve a particular
goal” (p. 20). Meanwhile, according to Pan (2008), motivation is giving
reason, incentive, enthusiasm, or interest that causes a specific action or
certain behavior. He stated that motivation existed in every life activities
from simple acts like eating, which was motivated by hunger to higher
needs like education, which was motivated by desire for knowledge.
More simply, Moore (1992) formed a definition of motivation as “forces
or drives that energize and direct us to act as we do” (p. 172).
In the aspect of language learning, Gardner (1985) defined more
specifically: “Motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to
achieve the goal of learning the language plus favourable attitudes toward
learning the language” (p.10).
2.3.2. Types of motivation
With numerous definitions and common use in language learning,
“motivation” gets major concerns from researchers about its
classification. Gardner and Lambert were among the first theorists who
formed a distinction between “intergrative” and “instrumental”
motivation in 1959. As Gardner (1972) defined, integrative motivation
reflects a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture of the
target language. On the other hand, instrumental motivation reflects the
practical advantage of learning a language; in other words, instrumental
motivation includes the need and desire to achieve the reward for
achieving a high level of language. Stern (1992) contributed to clarify the
difference by giving the following examples:
- A student who is integratively motivated might say:
15
I am studying French because I think it will help me to understand
French people and their way of life.
- A student who are instrumentally motivated might say:
I am studying French because I think it will be some day useful in
getting a job.
Brown (1987) had a different classification that divided
“motivation” into ‘global’, ‘situational’ and ‘task’ motivation, in which
the first is the overall orientation of the learner towards the learning of
foreign language; the second is originated from the context of learning;
and the third comes from the way the learner approaches the specific task
in hand.
Above all, the most commonly used distinction of motivation is
between “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” motivation in language learning and
teaching, which sequentially formed by internal and external factors
stimulating people’s desire, effort and attitudes to achieve particular
goals. This paper will distinguish these two types of motivation further as
follows.
2.3.2.1. Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivators are said to include interest with the subject, a
sense of its relevance to life and the world, a sense of achievement in
mastering it, and “a sense of calling to it”. (DeLong and Winter, 2002, p.
163).
A student with intrinsic motivation carries out an activity “for its
own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, the learning it permits, other
16
feelings of accomplishment it evokes” (Lepper, l988, p. 5). He or she
might say things like the following:
“English interests me.”
“I feel good when I succeed in English class.”
Intrinsic motivation can be long-lasting and self-sustaining. Efforts
to build this kind of motivation are also typical of promoting student
learning strongly. “Such efforts often focus on the subject rather than
rewards or punishments.” (DeLong and Winter, 2002, p. 163).
On the other hand, efforts at enhancing intrinsic motivation can be
slow to influence on student behavior and can entail special and time-
consuming preparation. For stimulating individuals, a variety of
approaches to know each one’s interest may be needed to take effect.
This requires the teachers to take time to know their students well.
2.3.2.2 Extrinsic motivation
DeLong and Winter (2002, p. 163) continued with defining
extrinsic motivators as external motivators such as parental expectations,
earning potential of a learning course of study, and grades. An
extrinsically motivated student performs “in order to obtain some reward
or avoid some punishment external to the activity itself,” such as grades,
stickers, or teacher approval (Lepper, 1988, p. 5).
DeLong and Winter (2002) took some examples of extrinsically-
motivated students who might say:
“I need a B- in statistics to get into business school.” “If I flunk chemistry, I will lose my scholarship.” “Our instructor will bring us donuts if we do well on today’s quiz.”
(p. 164)
17
They pointed out that extrinsic motivators more readily change
behaviors and typically require reasonably effort or preparation.
Moreover, attempts at creating extrinsic motivators often do not involve
extensive understanding of individual learners.
Nevertheless, extrinsic motivators are blamed for “distracting
students from learning the subject at hand” (DeLong and Winter, 2002, p.
164). In addition, planning appropriate rewards and punishments for
student behaviors is a demanding task. Involving preparation; however,
extrinsic motivators typically do not work for a long term. It is because as
soon as the rewards or punishments are detached, students lose their
motivation.
2.3.3. Student motivation
Indentifying “student motivation”, Lumsden (1997, p. 9) noted:
“Student motivation naturally has to do with students’ desire to
participate in the learning process.” According to her, it is closely related
to reasons or goals that are hidden under their participation or
nonparticipation in academic activities.
Related to “student motivation”, the term “motivation to learn”,
which has a slightly different meaning from “student motivation” needs
to be clarified in the research. It is considered as “the meaning-fulness,
value, and benefits of academic tasks to the learner—regardless of
whether or not they are intrinsically interesting” by Marshall (1987, cited
in Lumsden, 1997, p. 9). Ames (1990) noted that motivation to learn is
exemplified by enduring participation in learning and dedication to the
learning process.
18
2.3.4. Student’s motivation in the classroom
Davis (1999) when discussing student motivation claimed
“Whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom will
be transformed, for better or worse, by what happens in that classroom.”
(p. 287). The statement can be understood that student motivation
whether intrinsic or extrinsic is decided by in-class activities. Some
learners are naturally excited about studying while some others may need
their teachers to motivate, challenge, and prompt them: "Effective
learning in the classroom depends on the teacher's ability [...] to maintain
the interest that brought students to the course in the first place"
(Ericksen, 1978, p. 3). Some students are stimulated to learn only by the
classroom environment, for example, children when entering a new class
may not feel interested in group work because of strange new friends.
Some others may be affected by the teaching method to participate in
class activities enthusiastically or unenthusiastically. Thus, teachers and
classroom environment are among the key factors affecting student
motivation in classroom. Student motivation in classroom; therefore, can
be defined as the motivation of students which is aroused by in-class
constituents.
2.3.5. The importance of motivation in language learning
For most language researchers, learner motivation plays a major
role in both Language 1 learning and in Language 2 learning, which can
be explained by the fact that no one except for each individual can
consistently control themselves (Glasser, 1998). The overall findings of
the importance of motivation in language learning shows that positive
19
motivation is closely related to success in language learning. More
specifically, different psycholinguists have demonstrated on it as follows.
Ur, P (1996) acknowledged “Learner motivation makes teaching
and learning immeasurably easier and more pleasant, as well as more
productive”. Correspondingly, Krashen's study pointed out attitudes and
motivation were the most influential in unconscious language acquisition
and motivational acts of learners was as “an affective filter on language
intake” (Krashen, 1981, p. 102).
In Bialystok's approach to student motivation’s role (1978), it was
assumed that learners would hunt for language input only if they felt
motivated. Gardner's socio-educational model (1985) expanded his
research into others factors impacting on language achievement, and
accompanied with learners’ intelligence, aptitude, attitudes, and social
anxiety, motivation is a vital dynamics. So, it seems reasonable to
conclude that attitudes and motivation are the most important determinant
factors in the learning or acquisition of second languages (pp. 19-20).
2.3.6. Characteristics of motivated learners
Naiman et al. (1978) came to a conclusion the most successful
language learners do not always approach the language easily, but they
necessarily own typical characteristics associated with motivation. These
characteristics form a distinctive motivated learner with the following
features:
i. Positive task orientation: The learner is willing to tackle tasks and
challenges, and has confidence in his or her success.
20
ii. Ego-involvement: The learner finds it important to succeed in learning
in order to maintain and promote his or her own (positive) self-image.
iii. Need for achievement: The learner has a need to achieve, to overcome
difficulties and succeed in what he or she sets out to do.
iv. High aspirations: The learner is ambitious, goes for demanding
challenges, high proficiency and top grades.
v. Goal orientation: The learner is very aware of the goals of learning or
of specific learning activities and directs him or her towards achieving
them.
vi. Perseverance: The learner consistently invests a high level of effort in
learning and is not discouraged by setbacks or apparent lack of
progress.
vii. Tolerance of ambiguity: The learner is not disturbed or frustrated by
situation solving a temporary lack of understanding or confusion; he
or she can live with these patiently, in the confidence that
understanding will come later.
(Ur, 1996, p. 275)
2.3.7. Ways to increase classroom motivation of children
Being fully aware of the essence of motivation in one’s language
learning, educators and researchers have studied to find appropriate
teaching methods and techniques. In general, they came to an agreement
that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation need to be combined to
promote students’ learning. However, intrinsic motivation should receive
more concerns as it is long-lasting and durable. More specifically,
different teaching strategies have been introduced my many theorists,
21
typical ones were complied in Kirk’s summary5 of motivation research
like the following:
i. Make it real
On the purpose of fostering intrinsic motivation, teachers should
create learning activities based on topics that are relevant to students'
lives by using familiar examples […], teaching with “events in the news”,
or connecting the subject with their culture, outside interests or social
lives.” (Brozo, 2005).
ii. Provide choices
Dornyei and Csizer (1998, p. 215) listed promoting “learner
autonomy” as one of the “ten commandments” of motivating learner.
When students feel a sense of autonomy, they are usually strongly
motivated. If they have no voice in class, in contrast, their motivation is
decreased. Thus, providing students with choices is an effective
motivator. The options just need to be as simple as letting them select an
alternate assignments, choose a song or create a punishment after
someone loses in a game.
iii. Balance the challenge
“Students perform best when the level of difficulty is slightly
above their current ability level.” (Wang and Han, 2001, p. 50). If a task
is too easy, students may feel they do not need much effort and the
teacher underestimate their ability, therefore, their stimulation for work
reduces. If the task is unattainable, learners may feel anxious, even
depressed. In the cases, scaffolding can solve the problems as 5 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motivation.html
22
“Scaffolding is one instructional technique where the challenge level is
gradually raised as students are capable of more complex tasks.”
(Margolis and McCabe, 2006, p. 218).
iv. Establish a sense of belonging
It can be called a community sense that people have a primary need
to feel connected or related to other people. A great deal of research has
shown that students who feel they belong to a community have a higher
degree of intrinsic motivation and academic confidence. In Freeman,
Anderman and Jensen’s survey, students said their sense of belonging
was fostered by “an instructor that demonstrates warmth and openness,
encourages student participation, is enthusiastic, friendly and helpful, and
is organized and prepared for class.” (Freeman, Anderman and Jensen,
2007, p. 203).
v. Adopt a supportive style
A supportive teaching style gives student autonomy to do its function
in learning; as a result, student interest and engagement are increased.
Supportive teacher behaviors are comprised of “listening, giving hints
and encouragement, being responsive to student questions and showing
empathy for students.” (Reeve and Hyungshim, 2006, p. 209).
Besides all techniques in promoting student motivation mentioned
above, official Organization Xwebsite noted factors dismissing children
motivation for learning, such as their feeling of:
- Feeling uncomfortable, distracted or under pressure
- Feeling confused by abstract concepts of grammar rules and their
application which they cannot easily understand
23
- Being over-corrected
And :
- Activities which require them (children) to focus attention for a
long time
- Boredom
(Adapted from Shipton, Mackenzie, and Shipton, 2006, p. 1)
These “harmful viruses” belong to traditional educational practices,
which prevent children from being stimulated. Teachers can avoid the
“viruses” of the list so as not to “spoil” children’s motivation for
language learning.
2.4. Using group work to increase classroom motivation of children
2.4.1 Ways group work increases classroom motivation of
children
A lot of advantages of group work mentioned earlier in the
research claim for the significance of group work. It provides children
with opportunities to practice speaking English and cooperate with their
classmates, improves their work quality, and creates an ideal atmosphere
with security, competitiveness and fun. Children therefore, get involved
in lessons more frequently and more enthusiastically. For these reasons, it
is not a hasty statement that group work motivates children to study
English in classroom. Karaoglu (2008) even claimed that group work is
an tremendous source of motivation.
There has been well- documented evidence proving that children
are motivated in classrooms by group work. Littlejohn (1982) specifically
pointed that small group work could lead to increased motivation to study
24
Spanish among beginners of the language. The participants in his survey
revealed that they felt more confident and comfortable to speak and make
mistakes in group work than in a whole-class work led by teachers.
Likewise, in an experiment by Fitz-Gibbon and Reay (1982), 14-year-
old non-native learners were mixed with 11-year-old native learners in
group work of a French class, about 75% of the participants appreciated
French more highly afterwards.
Overall, there are different ways group work motivates children to
study English in class, which are listed specifically below.
i. Group work gives children a sense of community
“Humans are gregarious and like being around each other.” (Harris,
2010, p. 53). That is why young people and adults usually like working as
a team and the case can be true with children. In Voorhis’s study, some
interviewees shared “When we got into small groups, I liked that, it’s fun,
and it gets my ideas going. It makes me more excited to be there because
of the involvement in the class.” (1995, p. 13). By designing more team
activities, benefits of group work can be exploited so that learners can
study through helping each other.
ii. Small group activities boost children’ self-confidence
Students usually find it easier to speak to groups of three to five than
to an entire class. Hence, group work can give quiet students a chance to
express their ideas about a topic. Once students have spoken in small
groups, they usually become less hesitant to speak to the whole class.
(Karaoglu, 2008).
25
iii. Group work helps avoid creating intense competitions among
students
Competition causes anxiety when students have the tendency to
compare themselves to each other, which can interfere their learning.
Bligh (1971) stated that students were more attentive, more productive,
and more enthusiastic to expose to the teaching method when they work
cooperatively in groups rather than compete as individuals.
iv. Group work promotes mutual spirit of membership and gain
productivity.
Group work brings mutual benefits to members and involves
responsibility as well as solidarity. As Brown (2001) claimed, “The
small group becomes a community of learners cooperating with each
other in pursuit of common goals” (p. 178). The spirit of membership
and solidarity is the motivator for learners to put greater effort to their
common work. Accordingly, their group work gains its productivity as
well as quality, which creates long-term retention and intrinsic motivation
in them. In addition, group work gains responsibility and create positive
pressure on learners, which motivate them to the in-class learning. One
student in Van Voorhis’s survey retold his feeling: “It motivates you
because everyone in your group expects you to know something. It makes
you feel some kind of bad when everyone adds something and you don’t.
it motivates you to do better.”(1995, p. 10).
v. Group work gives students more exposure to the target
language.
26
When working in groups, learners have more chance to interact and
use the target language more freely, which promote their intrinsic
motivation to learn the language. Brown (2001) stated that small groups
supports student initiation, face-to-face interaction and exchanges of
ideas (p. 178).
2.4.2. Ways to organize group work to increase classroom motivation
of the children
According to Johnson et al. (1998), cooperative learning is the
“instructional use of small groups so that students’ work together to
maximize their own and each other’s learning.” (cited in Abass, 2008, p.
16). In other words, effective group management creates effective
cooperative learning, which has been commonly claimed for its essential
role in motivating students. Thus, it can be affirmed that group work
strategies that helps facilitate cooperative learning produce motivation in
learners. The following strategies used in group work are considered as
typical motivational ones:
i. Decide how the groups are to be formed:
There are three common ways of forming groups for children:
- Teachers can arrange groups for students to maximize their
heterogeneity by mixing male and female, noisy and quiet students
(Smith, 1986, p. 8).
- Teachers can let students choose who they want to work with, although
there’s a drawback that students might self-segregate (Cooper, 1990, p.
58).
27
- Teachers also can “form the groups themselves” (Connery, 1988, p 69),
which means grouping students with similar characteristics such as the
same English proficiency the same gender, ethnicity or the same interest.
Each way has its own value and educators can use one of them in a
class for a long time if it works effectively or use all of them to create
opportunities for children to interaction with everybody in class.
ii. Be conscious of group size
According to Abass (2008), “Groups needs to be small enough that
everyone can contribute” (p.17). Generally, groups of four or five work
best as larger groups lessen each member’s occasion to involve actively.
Moreover, small group makes it hard to be passive for every member of
the group has to be responsible for their fair share.
iii. Have clear instructions and form routines
In response to disadvantages of group work as mentioned above –
group work makes teachers feel like losing control of classes, Doff (1991)
highlighted techniques in solving it as well as improving the effectiveness
of group work in motivating learners. That is in order to stop activities
getting out of control, teachers have to make easily comprehensible
instructions, give clear goals of tasks and set up regular principles so that
the know what to do” (p. 142). If a teacher move around the class to
clarify uncertainty and to supervise what students are doing, losing
control of the class is surely to be dismissed.
28
iv. Gain learner autonomy
Davis (1999) added another influential strategy that is making students
active participants in learning. Passiveness weakens their motivation and
curiosity. Therefore, student’s autonomy should be promoted. Posing
questions and giving hints are successful strategies which are widely used
in eliciting learners’ knowledge. “Don't tell students something when you
can ask them. Encourage students to suggest approaches to a problem or
to guess the results of an experiment.” (Davis, 1999, p. 64), those are
techniques that should get much concern from group work controllers.
v. Involve all students in class activities
Underwood (1987) stated that in a big class, teachers easily miss
some students’ out; however, they need to guarantee all students get an
equal turn to participate in any class activities in any form – asking,
responding, or sharing, etc. Hence, it is clearly understood that involving
all students in class activities are necessary in motivating them to study.
Hence, teachers are recommended to care more about quiet students, who
rarely raise their voice in class.
vi. Give positive feedback
Feedback is generally perceived as “information that is given to the
learner about his or her performance of a learning task” (Ur, 1996, p.
242). Positive feedback plays its vital role in inspiring learners as it is an
influential tool that promotes enthusiasm to learn and stimulate a sense of
excitement about learning (Tannahil, 2009). That is why Davis (1999)
listed it as a powerful tool in stimulating students to study: positive
29
feedback should be given frequently and properly so as to keep students'
beliefs that they can do well.
2.5. Related studies
2.5.1. Related studies in the world
As being stated previously, motivation is indispensible in learning
and group work is featured in cooperative learning and CLT. Since
cooperative and CLT have been recently the emphasis of second language
learning and teaching, group work and motivation have attracted
numerous scientists, psychologists and psycholinguists in the world and
in Vietnam to produce different studies on issues related to them.
In the world, group work firstly approached CLT in the seventies.
Later on, accompanied by learning motivation, it was the topic for many
researchers to pursue. In 1985, Long and Porter conducted a paper, in
which great assumed benefits of group work concerning increasing
opportunities of language practice, improving students’ speaking skill,
creating a positive classroom environment, and increasing student
motivation were proved to be true. In the next decade, Voorhis (1995)
through his qualitative research concluded that students’ interest in
materials and the active pursue of learning was enhanced by structured
cooperative groups. Following Voorhis’s study (1997), Biehler and
Snowman proposed different views of motivation with deep analysis and
some effective suggestions for group work organization. One year later,
Chiu Ming Ming (1998) examined how significantly teachers’
interventions in group work affected learners’ motivation. When the 20th
century came, a large-scale project named “SPRinG” (Social Pedagogic
Research into Group-work) was conducted by a number of universities
30
and institutes in the U.K. for the purpose of establishing major principles
and strategies to enhance the effectiveness of group work in primary
classes. Lately, Salas (2005) contributed to this field of research with
convincing analysis of advantages and disadvantages of group work and
recommended some effective activities and principles in group work.
Most recently, Sainsbury and Walker (2009) investigated the interaction
among group work, motivation and productivity based on the effect of
learners’ friendship and collaboration.
2.5.2. Related studies in Vietnam
On catching up with the CLT circumstance in the world, group
work in Vietnam has been already applied in English learning and
teaching and become an appealing topic for researchers to explore.
Nguyen (1999), Pham (1999) and Nguyen (2001) investigated general
techniques used in pair work and group work in teaching high school
students in Hanoi. Recently, Hoang (2006) conducted a research that
scrutinized the relation between group work and student interaction in
11th form English classes in high schools in Hanoi and suggested some
strategies in managing group work to motivate learner interaction.
Summary
Chapter 2 is the theoretical foundation for the study, which has
presented an overview of group work, children of grade 4 and 5 and
motivation. It has specifically pointed the relationship between group
work and motivation, which serves the base for later development of the
research. Moreover, a review of different studies in the world and in
Vietnam related to the current research topic has been conducted for a
more overall vision of the research issue.
31
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1. Multi-case study method
Case study was said to help investigators to produce an in-depth
research of examples of a phenomenon in its natural circumstances and
from the views of the participants involved in the phenomenon (Gall,
Brog & Gall, 1996). Moreover, Hutchinson (2005) remarked that it gave
the researchers to chance to see theoretical notions working in the real
world. Likewise, according to Johnson (1993), case study was highly
appreciated for providing “insights into the complexities of particular
contexts” (cited in Mackey and Gass, 2005, p. 172). For these great
strengths, case study is chosen to be the research method for investigating
into the issue.
A case study can be single or multi-case study. Since case study’s
limit is its results might not be typical for a large group of objectives, the
researcher decides to make her study a multi-case study instead of a
single-case study, which “involves the participation of more than one
individual learner or existing group learners” (Le, 2009, p. 29). In the
current case study, the ideas drawn from the assessments of the children
of group work in two classes are surely more valid than from which in
one class.
For all these reasons, the research method used for the study is
multi-case study with its most suitable characteristics. It is believed that
the findings of the study, thanks to its research method could contribute
to later research of the same topic.
32
3.2. Settings of the study
3.2.1. The organization
“Connecting the UK to the world and the world to the UK”6, the
organization is “for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We
have offices in over 100 countries around the world. We are a not-for-
profit organization and are registered in the UK as a charity. We began
operating in Vietnam in 1993 and have offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
City.”7 Those are what organization X talk about themselves in their
official headquarter website and the office one in Vietnam. Being a
famous and prestigious educational organization in the world, it provides
learners, not only the young and adults but also children with great
development opportunities of English.
3.2.2. The language teaching for the 4th and 5th graders
i. Level division
In terms of English language teaching to children in Vietnam,
organization X has in total six levels for primary pupils from grade 2 to
grade 5 (called Junior Young Learners), which are A, B, C, D, E and F. C
classes are at the third degree of mastering English among primary pupils
in organization X. At this level, the learners are divided into two sub-
levels: C1 and C2, which are in turn relevant to C1 class and C2 class.
For clearer imagination, the chart below illustrates the position of C1
level in the total six English levels for Junior Young Learners (JYLs)
6 http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/ 7 http://www.britishcouncil.org/vietnam-about-us.htm
33
Figure 1: English levels for Junior Young Learners in
organization X
After finishing the C1 courses and achieving qualified scores
during the courses, JYLs can shift to C2 classes, which teach them
superior knowledge. That is the traditional division of JYLs into different
classes, which means kids from grade 2 to grade 5 are mixed to learn
together in a class based on their proficiency in English instead of on
their grades.
However, since the beginning of 2011, organization X has made
the existent division even more specific. JYLs are now classified into two
groups: graders 2 and 3 learn together in a class and graders 4 and 5 learn
in a class. As the interests and emotions of a 7-year-old-child are quite
different from an-11-year-old, the learners should study with those who
34
are not only at the same level of English proficiency but also the same
age. Therefore, at C1 level, there are two kinds of class: C1 class for
grader 2 and 3, C1 class for graders 4 and 5.
ii. Teaching and learning materials
In terms of the materials used during the teaching and the learning
process of children in organization X, the organization chose Incredible
English, a remarkable collection of books of Oxford University Press
from Incredible English 1 to Incredible English 6 for “a six-level course
with a higher vocabulary load and more reading than most primary
courses.”8. The material is valuable for children language teaching
because of its outstanding features as described below:
“Incredible English Resource Pack gives teachers all the tools they need to make English lessons memorable and fun:
- Norton the puppet, flashcards, photocopiable masters and story frames book.
- Fun, lively stories, written by popular children's story-writer Michaela Morgan.
- Two pages in every unit combine learning another subject in English with language learning, with notes that make them easy to teach.
- Encourages learning of other skills, such as working with others, learning how to learn, and to understand more about their own culture and that of other children.”9
In relevance to each language level of primary pupils from A to F,
the organization identify a suitable book for each, which means A
learners study Incredible English 1, B learners study Incredible English 2,
and C learners study Incredible English 3, etc. Each Incredible English
includes of a class book and an activity book.
8 http://www.eflbooks.co.uk/book.php?isbn=9780194440097 9 http://www.eflbooks.co.uk/book.php?isbn=9780194440097
35
iii. Classroom management
In each class for primary pupils, teachers organize games and
group work most of the time with the help of teaching assistants. Games
have been widely applied in English classes for children and in
organization X, it is an unmentionable characteristic because it strongly
stimulates children to learn as a matter of fact. As for group work, the
main issue of the research, it seems unnecessary to mention why it is used
mostly in most classes for them since it has been clarified with numerous
advantages in the previous chapter.
3.3. Selection of subjects
3.3.1 The 4th and 5th graders
The target participants of the research are graders 4 and 5 at C
level. They have attended at least four courses of A and B level.
Therefore, they have got familiarized with group work since group work
is typical of any class at most levels of organization X. In comparison
with C2 learners, who are at a higher level of English proficiency, JYLs
in C1 classes encounter more difficulties when working in groups,
thereby, were chosen to be the target population of the research. As a
result, the researcher more easily searched for their problems in group
work.
The reason for the researcher to choose C1 learners of grade 4 and
5 instead of those of grade 2 and 3 is that the 4th and 5th graders are more
mature cognitively and emotionally than the other ones. Complex
questions in the interviews, hence, could receive critical answers from
them more conveniently than from the other learners.
36
As the researcher makes her paper a case study, she chose two
among 10 C1 classes of grade 4 and 5 as the target participants. The
reason for the researcher to choose these two classes is that the teachers
in the classes have different disciplines and techniques in organizing
group work for children based on the researcher’s own judgment as a
teaching assistant and some other organization X teachers’ suggestions.
As a case is selected because it serves the researcher’s purpose of
discovering, investigating and understanding meticulously a particular
phenomenon (Burns, 2000), the two cases in the current study have to
support the researcher’s purposes. And they do meet her demands, which
are: firstly, the two classes must include children at the same ages and
level; secondly, they must have group work in all lessons and have
different teachers with different ways of managing group work. These
conditions can help the researcher to describe and compare different
effective or ineffective ways of controlling group work, discover different
or the same perceptions of group work of the two teachers and figure out
different feelings of the children in the two classes in response to the two
different techniques.
There are 16 pupils in case 1 and 14 pupils in case 2. Their basic
information related to English learning can be described in table 1 below.
37
Info
rmat
ion
Grade
Years of studying English (years)
Frequency of having group work in English classes in primary schools
4 5 1 2 3 4
Nev
er
Seld
om
Som
etim
es
Fre
quen
tly A
lway
s
Cas
e 1
Num
ber
of
child
ren
8 8 1 4 8 3 6 4 4 2 0
Per
cent
age
of c
hild
ren
(%)
50 50 6.25 25 50 18.75 37.5 25 25 12.5 0
Cas
e 2
Num
ber
of
child
ren
6 8 2 3 10 2 5 4 4 1 0
Per
cent
age
of c
hild
ren
(%)
42.86 57.14 14.28 21.43 71.44 14.28 35.7 28.57 28.57 7.16 0
Total percentage (%)
100 100 100
*Note: More specifically, the frequency of having group work in English classes in primary schools of the children is transformed into percentages as follows:
Never (0% of total English classes) Seldom (1% - 25% of total English classes) Sometimes (26%-50% of total English classes) Frequently (51%-75% of total English classes) Always/ Most of the time (76%-100% of total English classes)
Table 1: Basic information about the 4th and 5th graders in C1 classes
From the collected data about the children’s background, it is
clearly seen that the numbers of graders 4 and 5 in both cases are aC1ost
the same. Normally, children at the same age have more common hobbies
and opinions, thus, find it easier to communicate and work with each
other. In a mixed class like this, the children are ensured to have equal
chances to interact with both friends at the same age and those a year
38
older or younger than them. Besides, half of the children have been
studying English for three years, which means they have certain
knowledge and skills of English. More importantly and more
outstandingly, the current situation of having group work in the children’s
English classes in their primary schools in Hanoi is mostly the same as
the researcher’s assumption. More than 35% of the children in both cases
never have group work, and just around 10% of them frequently have it in
their English classes at school. None of them always work in groups at
their schools, which is totally different from their situation in
organization X: 100% of their classes involve them in group work.
3.3.2. Teachers of English
The two teachers of the two classes are among 40 foreign teachers
in organization X, Vietnam. They were involved in the interviews and
their classes were observed by the researcher.
As being organization X teachers, they are both qualified for their
job with the following achievements.
• Education to first degree level • Certificate level qualification (eg Cambridge ESOL CELTA, Trinity CELTA
or equivalent) • Two years full time practical experience post qualification • Familiarity with contemporary UK
Moreover, they hold extra qualifications that organization X requires
from a organization X Vietnam teacher:
• Cambridge ESOL Diploma in English Language Teaching • Masters and PhD degrees in ESOL and related subjects • Specialist qualifications in teaching English to Young Learners • Extensive experience in Business English Skills training • Teacher training experience
39
• Many years of teaching experience in Vietnam and other organization X centres around the world
• Experience in UK schools and knowledge of the UK National Curriculum • IELTS examiner trainer status
(Adapted from http://www.britishcouncil.org/vietnam-english-meet-the-
teachers.htm)
Their diplomas and teaching experience can be described in the
table below.
Information Teacher A - Case 1 Teacher B - Case 2
Spec
ialis
t qua
lific
atio
ns
The same qualifications for a organization X teacher
• Education to first degree level • Certificate level qualification (eg Cambridge ESOL -
CELTA, Trinity CELTA or equivalent) • Two years full time practical experience post qualification • Familiarity with contemporary UK
Different extra qualifications for a organization X Vietnam teacher
• Teacher training experience • Many years of teaching
experience in Vietnam and other organization X centres around the world
• Cambridge ESOL Diploma in English Language Teaching
• Masters and PhD degrees in ESOL and related subjects
• Specialist qualifications in teaching English to Young Learners
Tea
chin
g ex
peri
ence
Time of teaching in general
12 years 4 years
Time of teaching JYLs 4 years 4 years
Time of teaching JYLs in organization X, Hanoi
4 years 7 months
Table 2: Basic information about teacher A and teacher B
The teachers, who directly control the children’s group work and
know well about their in-class learning, were interviewed to explain
40
about the techniques they used in group work management and show
opinions about the kids’ difficulties in group work.
3.4. Research instruments
In order to increase the validity and reliability of the case-study, a
combination of observation and interview is exploited during the research
process.
3.4.1. Observation
Observation was chosen to be the very first instrument to collect
data in the research with its typical and powerful function as stated by
Langley10 (1988):
“Observation involves looking and listening very carefully. We all watch other people sometimes, but we don’t usually watch them in order to discover particular information about their behavior. This is what observation in social science involves.”
Since the researcher’s aim is describing different ways of
controlling group work for children in class, real experiences from the
observations of the chosen classes helped her achieve detailed and exact
descriptions.
The researcher observed two lessons of each class; each lesson
lasted for 120 minutes regardless of break time. Specifically, there were
two pair of observations, each of which is two lessons of the two different
classes about the same unit. For ensuring the reality and practicality of
the study, no changes in the classes happened and no interference from
10 http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/j.s.labonte/pdf/fieldandobservationresearch.pdf
41
the observer affected the teachers as well as the children. Besides, a
structured observation scheme was designed (see Appendix 1) to record
what were related to group work and audio tape was used for deeper
analysis. They are hoped to supply a meticulous collection of data to
answer the first question of the research: “How is group work organized
in C1 classes?”
3.4.2. Semi-structured interviews
3.4.2.1. Semi-structured interviews with the 4th and 5th graders
The number of children in the two classes takes up to 30 children;
therefore, it was a suitable way to employ questionnaires. However, due
to some private policies of organization X, the researcher was not allowed
to deliver written questionnaires to the children, hence, she turned her
questionnaires into interviews with multiple choice questions and scale-
ranking ones. These kinds of questions ensure that the data collected will
be easily transformed into statistics, tables and charts. To clarify
participants’ answers and gain the in-depth and validity of the data
collected, the researchers asked “why” and “how” questions besides the
written ones. In short, this way of data collection can be described as
semi-structured interviews, in which questions give options for
participants to choose.
A question form in Vietnamese was given to the young
interviewees, whose knowledge is not adequate enough to comprehend it
in English, so that they can refer to for more thorough understanding.
Each interview lasted for 20 minutes, thus, in total, it took the researcher
a considerable amount of time to interview all 30 participants. However,
42
the data collected from these interviews was actually more plentiful than
if from questionnaires.
In a closer look at the design of the interview questions, the
question form was divided into two main parts. The first part included
five questions asking the children about their personal information in
terms of their name, age, years of studying English and frequency of
having group work in their schools. The second part asked the pupils
specifically about their opinions of group work in their C1 classes. The
three first multiple choice questions of this part aimed at finding their
liking for group work. The fourth question consisted of 20 statements of
advantages of group work, on which sought for the pupils’ agreement or
disagreement. This big question was designed as a rating-scale question.
After that, two questions about children’s difficulties in working in
groups were designed in sequence to be a multiple choice and a rating-
scale question. In the later one, participants needed to define their
frequency of encountering different difficulties and evaluate their effect
on decreasing their motivation in class. Lastly, two open-ended questions
discovered their feelings about typical managing-group-work techniques
each teacher used in each class.
Being comprised of many questions, the interviews are believed to
fulfill the researcher’s desire of responding to question 2 and question 3
of the study sufficiently:
- In what ways does group work motivate the 4th and 5th graders to
study English in C1 classes?”
- What difficulties do the 4th and 5th graders encounter when having
group work in C1classes?
43
3.4.2.2. Semi-structured interviews with teachers
Kvale (1983, p.174) defined the qualitative research interview as
"an interview, whose purpose is to gather descriptions of the life-world of
the interviewee with respect to interpretation of the meaning of the
described phenomena". For this convincing reason, interviews are applied
to collect data from the two teachers about their perceptions of using
group work in their classes and their techniques and principles used
during group work management process.
Both open-ended and close-ended questions are employed in the
interviews, each of which plays a vital role. The first kind is exploited to
find free opinions of the teachers on the benefits or shortcomings of
group work for the children in their classes. Meanwhile, close-ended
questions about advantages and disadvantages of group work that affect
the kids’ motivation provide the participants with options to choose. It is
also the guide for them to express their ideas about. Each interview’s
duration was about 30 minutes.
This process is of use to collect detailed information that supports
the answers to the first and the third research questions.
3.5. Procedures of data collection
The data collection process can be divided into three phases.
3.5.1 Phase one
Firstly, to prepare for the data collection process, a detailed
schedule is planned followed by an observation scheme. Draft versions of
two semi-structured interview questions were designed in advance.
44
Then, necessary contacts with the participants and manager of
organization X were made to have their permission for observations and
interviews as well as their acceptance of taking part in the research. Later,
arrangements between the researcher and the two teachers needed to be
made based on their timetable and the lesson content of each class.
3.5.2 Phase two
After four lessons were chosen to be observed, the researcher
started observing and recording. The two first observations, which are
conducted in the two cases with the same teaching content, serve as a data
source and a basis for the correction of observation scheme and interview
questions.
When the two last observations were finished, the researcher based
on them to complete the interview form.
3.5.3 Phase three
Interviews were first piloted among five random learners of grade
4 and 5 in organization X, then, adapted to be better designed. The next
step was applying the corrected questionnaires to the target participants –
the 4th and 5th graders in the two cases in the forms of face-to-face
interviews or telephone interviews. Their answers to “How” and “Why”
questions, which were not designed in the interview form were noted by
the researcher.
When all data collected from the questions was presented in
numbers and percentages, the researcher used it to add or omit some
questions of the interviews for the teachers. It is because the researcher
45
aimed at discovering their awareness of the children’s feelings when
working in groups.
3.5.4 Phase four
The last phase of the study was interviewing the teachers face-to-
face. Each interview was audio-recorded for later data analysis.
3.6. Procedures of data analysis
Step 1: Classifying data
The data collected from the observation was presented in the
observation scheme.
The data collected from all questions including those in the
questionnaires and the interviews were put into different categories,
which were the data from “Yes/No”, rating-scale, multiple choice, short-
answer questions. For each kind of data, the researcher found an
appropriate way of coding and decoding.
Step 2: Coding data
The answers to “Yes/ No” questions in the interviews were
recorded and transcribed into numbers of “Yes” and “No” and later in
percentages.
The data from rating-scale and multiple choice questions was put
into tables with different items. The frequency of the options in these
questions, like which of “Yes/No” questions, was be presented in both
numbers and percentages.
46
Answers to short-answer questions, which expressed the same
ideas was paraphrased to be in a pattern. Then, the researcher counted the
frequency of each pattern and transferred the raw numbers into
percentages.
Besides, means were applied to calculate average values, which
supported interpreting the data from rating-scale questions.
Tables, charts, and graphs were be utilized to vividly illustrate the
data which had been coded.
Step 3: Decoding data
After the results were summarized clearly in tables, charts and
graphs, they were interpreted by the researchers to find out conclusions,
implications and recommendations.
47
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1. Research question 1: How is group work organized in C1
classes?
The data collected from the four observations and the interviews with
the teachers are presented to describe the process of organizing group
work including four main five main steps: group formation, instructions,
checking, feedback, and winner announcement.
4.1.1 Group formation
The steps of grouping children in the two C1 classes are briefly
presented in table 1.
Case 1 – 16 students (Ss) – Teacher A (T) Case 2 – 14 students (Ss) – Teacher B (T) - T arranged name cards on four tables based on gender: each group had to include both boys and girls and numbers of boys and girls in all groups were the same. - T said out loud names of kids when putting name cards on tables - Ss found their name cards and sat down - T named four group: A – B – C- D
- T arranged name cards on four tables based on gender and ability: each group had to include both boys and girls with high and low ability mixed and numbers of boys and girls in all groups were the same.
- T said out loud names of kids when putting name cards on tables
- Ss found their name card and sat down - T asked Ss to name their groups and used
their names throughout the lesson. - Ss discussed within their groups quickly and
produced 4 names: Puppet – Snake – Dinosaur – Monkey
Table 3: Steps in group formation in case 1 and case 2
These are the ways the two classes run in every lesson, which were
firmly stated by both teachers. In both cases, the number of groups was
four, which meant each group had three or four students. These numbers
48
are ideal for a group as Abass (2008) stated. The psychologist said groups
of four or five ensure that all members have equal chances to get involved
in activities because if the number is larger, each student’s engagement in
tasks is lessened (p.17). Similarly, Laughlin, Hatch, Silver and Boh
(2006) in their recent study found out “Three group members were
necessary and sufficient for the groups to perform better than the best of
an equivalent number of independent individuals” (p. 649).
Moreover, both teachers applied maximizing learners’ heterogeneity
in group formation. They mixed boys and girls in a group and the number
of each gender in all groups was aC1ost the same. Specifically, their steps
in group formation in both cases can be described as follows:
- Each student had a name card, yellow cards for girls and green cards
for boys. It did not matter what colour each gender got as long as
males and females had cards of different colours.
- The teachers put the name cards on the tables, four name cards per
each. They tried to make it as alternating as possible: green, yellow,
green, yellow, etc., which is relevant to “50% boys and 50% girls split
up” (Teacher A, case 1).
- Students found their name cards and sat at the tables.
In case 1, teacher A before putting the name cards on the tables,
shuffled the cards in front of the children so that they knew their group
members would be random. He did not consider their ability; however, in
case 2, teacher B did. He mixed both gender and ability in a group so that
boys and girls sit together and strong ones help the weak ones to learn.
He did not shuffle the cards because he had to consider the kids’ ability
when arranging them. To explain for his ignorance of children’s ability
49
when forming groups, teacher A said he assumed that all students in his
class were at the same level, they had passed a test before entering his
class, so they were able to work well with other classmates, who have the
same English level. He added: “If there is any student in my class who
can’t catch up with others, the kid should be moved down to a class of the
lower level, or else, it would be a disaster for him”. As a result, ability
was not his concern when the teacher grouped the children. However, in
both cases, the groups were not fixed, which gave the children chances to
interact with different friends. According to teacher A, this strategy kept
the class fresh: “It’s my idea’s to keep the class fresh […]. If they work
with the same partner every week, they get bored”.
The two teachers shared the same purpose of mixing boys and girls in
a table, which is for preventing problems before they starts. Teacher A
said: “It’s simply to improve behaviors. Groups of boys are
problematic.” Teacher B added:
“They can concentrate on the lesson more than talking to their friends. Because if there’s a table of boys, they will talk about football or something like that, but if they have boys, girls, boys, girls mixed, they are better.”
After the students found their name cards and sat down forming a
group, those in case 1 received their group names from the teacher, which
were simply “A, B, C or D”. In case 2, teacher B instead gave the
children the chance to negotiate with each other producing a name, which
can be considered as the first group product of the lesson. Their group
names vary from this class to another class, which results from unfixed
group members. In each class, there are new groups created due to the
teacher arrangement, and each new group has a new taste and
membership; therefore, new names are born. Teacher B’s purpose of
letting the kids name their groups’ themselves was to gain autonomy, to
50
empower the learners and most importantly, to motivate them to study
(Teacher B).
In conclusion, both teachers grouped the kids in their classes based on
gender on the purposes of keeping them fresh and well-behaved. Teacher
B, furthermore, created more chance for them to help each other by
mixing children with different ability. Although all kids in each class are
at the same level, their ability still varies. That is because entrance tests to
each class do not always assess the children’s ability accurately. For this
reason, teacher B’s group formation can be more highly valued than
teacher A’s.
4.1.2. Instructions
4.1.2.1. Getting students’ attention
Case 1: Teacher A asked the students to take out their class books
and turn to a page number, counted down from 5 to 1. If any student had
failed in opening the right page after 5 seconds, his or her group would
have got minus points. Afterwards, he gave instructions for the task.
Case 2: Teacher B raised his voice asking the students to take out
their books and also turn to a page number. He waited for all students to
open the right page and started giving instructions.
In case 1, time allowance and points were used to catch students’
attention to prepare for a new task. It was really effective in making them
focused. However, this way might depress the slow students because they
decreased their groups’ points affecting the groups’ achievements. Being
asked whether the kids in his class suffered from pressure in this step,
teacher A explained that taking books out slowly and opening the wrong
51
pages were just careless mistakes, they were not serious enough to put
them under pressure, and he needed to do so to force them to concentrate.
According to him, 90% of the children in his class at least decreased their
groups’ points once for such mistakes, thus, they easily accepted it
without pressure. Furthermore, 100% percent of the kids when being
interviewed agreed that they had not felt stressed for deducing their
groups’ points for such small mistakes.
In case 2, teacher B had a different view. He just felt it was not
necessary to do so; getting students’ attention before a task really started
did not need to be turned into a competition. He did not like competition
very much. Raising voice to catch their attention and waiting for them to
settle down were sufficient, he shared.
Each teacher had his own way of catching students’ attention. It is
difficult to assess which is better than which. From the four observations
in the two classes, the researcher subjectively realized that teacher A was
more powerful in calling the kids’ attention than teacher B. It is because
kids are not naturally disciplined; therefore, if the teacher is easy-going
with them, they are lazy even in opening books quickly. Moreover,
teacher B often spent more time on catching the kids’ attention than
teacher A. Consequently, it is suggested that teacher A’s techniques in
attracting the 4th and 5th graders’ attention can be applied in other classes
for kids.
4.1.2.2. Giving instructions
Both teachers gave all instructions or disciplines before the tasks
really started. None of them added more instructions while the kids were
carrying out the tasks which avoided interrupting their working process.
52
For example, with the same task: Exercise 7: Listen and say which boy,
(Incredible English - Class Book, p. 38) (see Appendix 4.1), the two
teachers have the following instructions:
Teacher A: We are going to listen and you have to say which boy: number 2, 3, 4,
5 or 6. And the 1st team to say, 1 point. If you make any mistake, minus 2.
Teacher B: Look at the pictures of the boys. So here, some boys like something
but they don’t like some other things. You have to tell me which boy is which
action. Tell me the number.
It seems that teacher B had more detailed instructions for the task than
teacher A. However, the task was quite familiar with the students in case
1; thus, teacher A need not have explained much to the kids. From the
observation of the researcher, most kids in both classes quickly
understood what they were going to do.
Moreover, in both cases, teachers themselves and the teaching
assistants made models for the students to understand thoroughly. For
instance, in case 1, in the follow-up activity of Exercise 5, (Incredible
English – Activity Book , p. 46) (see Appendix 4.2), teacher A wanted
the students to work in their groups talking about themselves and things
they like that start with the first letter of their names, he said:
“I’ll make an example. My name’s Leo. I like things beginning with L. I like ladybirds and lions. I don’t like naughty students. I don’t like chairs.”
Then, he asked the teaching assistant to make another example. She said:
“My name’s Thao. I like things beginning with T. I like tea and tigers. I don’t like smoking. I don’t like beer.”
53
From the two examples, the students clearly understood what they
needed to do.
Similarly, teacher B before asking his students to interview each
other in their groups about their hobbies made a conversation with his TA
as a model:
Teacher B: What do you like? Teaching assistant: I like apples. Teacher B: What don’t you like? Teaching assistant: I don’t like snakes.
Besides, teacher B sometimes checked the students’ understanding by
asking some of them to repeat the instructions. He applied this to those
who seemed to be unfocused on his speeches. Teacher A never did it in
his class.
Whenever the teaching content was something totally new or very
important to remember for the kids, both teacher A and teacher B asked
their teaching assistants to explain it in Vietnamese ensuring that all
students understand fully. For examples, teacher A asked his teaching
assistant to explain in Vietnamese the importance of schwa /ə/ that in
English it was the most widely used; teacher B asked his teaching
assistant to translate the word “jackfruit” into Vietnamese because it is a
new word and a familiar kind of Vietnamese fruit, which saved much
time if translating to Vietnamese rather than explaining in English.
It can be seen that both teachers are experienced in delivering
instructions. They used very simple words and made vivid examples for
the kids to follow. As Doff (1991) stated, clear instructions help teachers
to control the groups more easily. That is because the students know well
what they need to do without asking each other. Being fully aware of
54
their tasks, the students, hence, are motivated to start working. The two
teachers apparently surmounted the disadvantage of group work, which is
loose class control of teachers as stated in chapter 2.
4.1.3. Disciplines
After groups were established, the students in both cases stayed at
their tables working with other group members in certain tasks. A
competition between groups was set up since the beginning of the lesson.
The teachers added or reduced each group’ points due to a number of
principles. There were common disciplines in the two cases that both
teachers used, which are:
i. Plus points for a group if:
- Any of its group members has a correct answer if it is their turn to
answer
- Any group member finishes a task first or the whole group finishes first.
Specifically, in case 1, it is necessary that only when all group members
finish correctly (the teacher and teaching assistant check their products)
and if their group is the first to finish, they get 4 points. In an easier way
to get points, any student in case 2 who can finish correctly and firstly
brings 2 points for his or her group.
- Any group member has good sharing with the whole class, or a correct
answer to a difficult question. For example: a student in case 2 was able
to tell the names of different parts of a tree brought one plus point for his
group.
- All group members in the group have good behaviors during the class
55
ii. Minus points for a group if:
- Any group member speaks Vietnamese in class.
- Any group member has a rude behavior, such as making noise,
quarreling with friends, imitating the teacher’s voice or postures, etc.
- Any student is slow in finishing exercises on time. For easy tasks, the
two teachers set up time allowances and force the children to finish in
time. For example, when a teacher said: “I’ll give you two minutes to
finish”, the quicker ones in a group needed to help the slower to finish
their task within two minutes so that their group’s points could remain.
Teacher B sometimes used this strategy while teacher A always applied it
in his classes.
The principles above were used in both cases. Besides, there were still
some rules that teacher A utilized in his C1 class. He would decrease a
group’s points for any member of the group:
- Takes books away and opens new books slowly; or turns to a new page
wrongly after 5 seconds counted down
- Copies a word from slides to his or her notebooks after 10 seconds
counted down
- Gives an incorrect answer to a very easy question.
- Being back from break late. According to organization X principles,
break time for teachers and learners only lasts for 10 minutes. Therefore,
after a ten-minute-break, teacher A counted down 10 seconds; as a result,
56
the students needed to call each other to come back to the class quickly,
or else when 10 seconds ran out, their groups would get minus points.
Both teacher A and teacher B used a point system in their classes.
Nevertheless, it is obvious that teacher A took more advantages of points
when controlling his class - all individual errors were counted as groups’
errors. In general, points in both cases were not only used for recording
knowledge achievements but also for controlling behaviors. From the
four observations the researcher had and from the teaching assistants’
judgments, the kids in teacher A’s class were usually more obedient and
less rebellious than those in teacher B’s class. It might partially have
resulted from the fact that teacher B was more “easy-going” in adding
points and less strict in decreasing points. In short, in terms of behavior
control, teacher A utilized point disciplines for groups more successfully
than teacher B.
4.1.4. Checking
In most activities, teacher A checked the students’ answers in form of
a group competition and points were applied flexibly. It can be plus
points for correct answers and minus points for incorrect ones, or it can
be no points for correct answers but minus points for mistakes with easy
exercise; in some cases, it is plus points for correct answers and no points
for incorrect ones with difficult tasks.
In contrast, teacher B did not frequently apply group work in
checking. Instead, he mostly applied group work in its on-going process;
for example, students worked in groups to talk with each other about their
hobbies. For some difficult tasks, he also used group work to check
students’ answers motivationally. Meanwhile, for easy tasks, he just
57
required answers from the whole class and the students spoke at the same
time.
For further details, the table below visualizes the ways the two
teachers checked the students’ answers to exercise 7: Listen and say
which boy (Incredible English - Class book, p. 38) (see Appendix 4.1)
more vividly. This is an easy task for the children.
Case 1 – 16 students – Teacher A Case 2 – 14 students – Teacher B - T played the recording; stopped after each part of the exercise that needed an answer and questioned the class. - Any student could raise voice to get points for his group and the teacher checked his answer. - The 1st team to answer got 1 point; any mistake they made led to 2 minus points. - If 2 students from 2 teams said a correct answer at the same time, they would play one-two-three to find the winner to get points.
- T played the recording and stopped after each part of the exercise that needed an answer and questioned the class. - The whole class answered and the teacher checked. - No points were given to the groups
Table 4: Checking process in case 1 and case 2
From the table, it can be seen that when there were two groups having
the correct answer at the same time, teacher A asked them to play one-
two-three to find the group to get points. It was another game that gave
the two groups luck, to some extent, was motivating. In the specific
situation the researcher observed, he called a quiet student from each
group to play the game as he wanted to involve all students in class
activities. That seems to be useful in inspiring the quiet kids to study even
though they are just engaged in a minor part. This simple technique meets
58
the demand of motivating learners by involving all of them in class
activity as stated in chapter 2.
In the same situation, teacher B had another solution, he gave both
teams points. It can be concluded that teach A created competitions by
any chance in a lesson; whereas teacher B just used competitions and
points at the time he thought the kids needed motivation.
4.1.4. Feedback
With the same unit, the same teaching materials and the students at
the same level, both teachers during a lesson gave feedbacks right after
each performance of the kids. The frequency of giving positive and
negative feedbacks of a 120-minute-lesson in each case is listed in table 3
below.
Kinds of feedback Case 1 – Teacher A Case 2 – Teacher B
Pos
itiv
e fe
edba
ck
Frequency 23 times 20 times
Examples - Very good, Minh! - Good! - Well done! - Okay! - Alright! - Correct - Good, team A - Team A behave very well
today! Well-done. Thank you very much!
- Very good! - Good! - Well done! - Okay! - Well done, great! - Nut, great! - Woah, egg plant! - I’m very happy
today. You are well-done
Well-done. Thank you very much!
Neg
ativ
e fe
edba
ck Frequency 5 times 3 times
Examples - Not very good, very quiet, I can’t hear you.
- Alright, a little bit quiet. - Alright that’s wrong.
They’ve made a mistake. - My goodness, you’re not
very good at reading!
- You haven’t tried very hard.
- I’m very sad. Not very good!
Table 5: Positive and negative feedback in case 1 and case 2
59
The number of positive feedbacks outnumbered that of the negative
ones. Moreover, about 20 remarks were made in each class that lasted for
120 minutes to encourage the students. This means on average, the
students got one remark per 6 minutes. Many kids shared the same
opinion that: “I like to hear remarks. I feel excited to learn.” Besides,
some students in case 2 said they prefer feedbacks such as “I’m very
happy today. You are well-done.” to general comments like “Good” or
“Well done”. The kids actually cared a lot about their teacher’s feelings
and they felt enormously motivated when being aware that their teacher
was satisfied with them. About the negative feedbacks, both teachers
avoided criticizing strongly with absolute negative adjectives. They just
said “Not very good”, “A bit quiet” or showed their personal feeling as
teacher B used: “I’m very sad. Not very good.” These ways of
commenting on bad performances did not depress the students but still
show the teachers’ demand for better achievements.
In general, both teaches had proper feedback on the kids’
performance; therefore, only seven kids per 30 ones in both cases when
being interviewed said they wanted to listen to more remarks.
4.1.5. Winner announcement
Case 1:
At the end of the class and after many competitions, teacher A
asked all groups to count their points, which were symbolized by small
short lines written on the board. After finishing counting, each group
reported to him their group’s score and the teacher recorded it onto the
board.
60
Later, teacher A and the whole class checked the score of the group
having the most points. If the group miscounted their points, all points
would be minus and become zero. The group having the second most
points had the chance to become winner. The counting process continued
with the three other groups.
Case 2:
At the end of the class, teacher B counted the groups’ points on his
own and wrote the numbers on the board. Then, he declared the winner of
the day and usually gave them the chance to choose a song to listen as a
reward. For some other lessons, he gave the winner group presents like
football cards or stickers. However, such rewards were just sometimes
available to the children.
There are big differences between ways the two teachers ended
their classes. While teacher A asked the kids to count their points, teacher
B did it for the children. While teacher A gave no rewards to the kids,
teacher B did. Each teacher has his own reasons to do so. To explain why
he asked the kids to count points on their own and would omit all their
points if they had miscounted, Teacher A shared:
“When I did it I realized that it kept the idea of competition going until the very end of the class. Because the team that most likely to make mistakes with their points is the team that coming first as they have the most points.
So it’s not clear who wins until the very end. That’s great. Because before that, the team with four points lost interest in the whole point business because they knew the team with 12 points will be sure to win. But that’s not the case anymore. There’s an elements of suspense until the end.”
It is quite lucid that teach A utilized points system from the beginning
to the end of a lesson. Competitions lasted until the last moment and the
kids kept their high motivation till the end.
61
As for case 2, teacher B counted the points on his own partially
because the students’ scores were not quite high. They just varied from
10 to 20 points, which was normally half of the points of the groups in
case 1. This is because teacher B did not always check the students’
answers in form of competitions and gave them many points. Mentioning
rewards he presented the children, he said “They are just small gifts for
motivating them. The children like them very much.”
At the end of a class, both teachers kept the kids in groups and
announced the winner. Although they had different ways of ending their
classes, they succeeded in motivating the kids at this very last class
moment.
To answer the first research question, different steps in managing
group work have been described. There are some similarities and
differences between the two teachers in each step. In giving instructions,
both teachers effectively gave clear instructions with vivid examples. In
providing feedback, they both frequently encouraged the children with
numerous remarks and fair criticism. On the contrary, there is a clearly-
seen difference in group formation; teacher B considered the children’s
ability while teacher A did not. For other steps including getting the kids’
attention, checking and announcing winner, teacher A applied
competitions and points in group work more regularly than teacher B.
Furthermore, when group work management techniques in both cases
are combined, they satisfy the five demands of organizing motivating
group work as listed in the Literature Review: suitable way of grouping
kids, suitable group size, clear instructions, encouraging feedback, learner
autonomy increased, and overall learners’ involvement in class activities.
62
4.2. Research question 2: In what way does group work motivate
the 4th and 5th graders to study in C1 classes?
4.2.1. The 4th and 5th graders’ general view of group work
Questions
Case 1 – 16 students Case 2 – 14 students Number Percentage
(%) Number Percentage
(%) Frequency of enjoying group work in C1 classes Never (0% of total English classes) Seldom (1% - 25%) Sometimes (26%-50%) Frequently (51%-75%) Always/ Most of the time (76%-100%)
0 0 7 2 7
0 0 43.75 12.5 43.75
0 2 2 8 2
0 14.29 14.29 57.13 14.29
Preference between group work and individual work Group work is preferable Group work and individual are equally enjoyable Individual work is preferable
8 6 2
50 37.5 12.5
11 3 0
78.57 21.43 0
Whether group work motivate the children or not Yes No Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not
14 0 2
87.5 0 12.5
11 0 3
78.57 0 21.43
Table 6: The 4th and 5th graders’ general views of group work
It can be seen from both cases that no students disliked or rarely
liked group work in their C1 classes. Most of them frequently or always
did, which means they enjoyed group work of more than 50% of classes.
When being asked about their preference between group work and
individual work, none of the students in case 2 preferred individual work
and only two children in case 1 were in favour of it. In contrast, 80% of
the kids in case 2 and more than half of the kids in case 1 considered
group work as preferable.
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For the third question, which asked them to claim whether group
work motivated them to study English in their C1 classes, 87.5% of the
students in case 1 and nearly 80% of the kids in case 2 said “Yes”, only 2
kids in case 1 and 3 kids in case 2 sometimes did not feel motivated by
group work. None of all students interviewed felt no motivation to study
English from group work. In a general view point, group work can be
stated to have positive effect on the children’s motivation to learn English
in class.
Overall, from the statistics of the three first questions in the
interviews with the 4th and 5th graders in the C1 classes, it can be
concluded that group work get much interest from the kids and positively
affected their motivation in class.
4.2.2. Ways group work motivates the 4th and 5th graders to study
English in C1 classes
4.2.2.1. Ways group work intrinsically motivates the 4th and 5th
graders to study English in C1 classes
Based on from Lepper and Hodell’s viewpoint (1989) that intrinsic
motivation can be generated from four sources, which are: challenge,
curiosity, control, and fantasy and Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Scale (Lepper, Corpus & Lyengar, 1997), the researcher designed four
rating-scale questions asking the 4th and 5th graders about the intrinsic
motivation they can gain from group work. The data collected is
presented in the table below.
64
Group work motivates me to study English in class because…
Case 1 Case 2
1 2 3 4 5
Mea
n 1 2 3 4 5
Mea
n
a. I like to complete the tasks of group work.
0 0 1 5 10 4.56 0 0 2 6 6 4.29
b. When working in groups I feel excited about finding correct answers.
0 0 0 6 10 4.63 0 0 0 7 7 4.5
c. Activities in group work are interesting.
0 0 2 5 9
4.31 0 0 1 5 8
4.5
d. When working in groups, I speak English more than when working individually.
0 0 2 8 6 4.25 0 0 2 6 6 4.29
e. When working in groups, I remember knowledge better than when working individually.
0 2 5 2 5 3.12 0 0 4 4 6 4.14
1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Neither agree nor disagree/ Not sure 4 = Agree 5 = Strongly agree
Table 7: Intrinsic motivation from group work
The two first questions asked about the intrinsic motivation coming
from challenge and curiosity that group work can bring to the learners. It
is assumed that group work inspires the kids to learn English because the
tasks in group work themselves arouses the kids’ desire to complete and
solve them. From the table, the assumption can be affirmed to be true
with the 4th and 5th graders in the two cases, which is clearly proved by
the average rating 4.56 for the first question and 4.63 for the second one
in case 1. The means in these questions in case 2 are slightly smaller;
however, still above 4. Generally, these near-absolute-five average
ratings reveals most children in both cases were intrinsically motivated by
the sources of challenge and curiosity that group work stimulates in them.
65
The third question directly aims at the kids’ intrinsic motivation
because of its definition: intrinsic motivation is the motivation to engage
in an activity “for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides” (Lepper,
l988). The mean 4.31 in case 1 and 4.5 in case 2 vividly illustrate the
effect of the excitement group work gives to the kids. The reason lies in
the interesting teaching content and the way the two teachers organized
group work. A kid in case 2 shared: “I always like group work because it
is really fun and interesting.”
For the two other ways group work intrinsically motivates the kids:
giving them more chance to practice speaking English and helping them
memorizing knowledge more effectively, the participants also showed
their strong agreement on them. There are only two kids in each case that
could not define whether they remembered knowledge better thanks to
group work or not.
In short, it is remarkable that most learners in both cases were
highly intrinsically motivated by group work to study English in class.
4.2.2.2. Ways group work extrinsically motivates the 4th and 5th
graders to study English in C1 classes
As mentioned in the Literature Review, extrinsic motivation is
rooted from factors outside an individual. Some examples of sources of
extrinsic motivation to study was stated earlier such as parental
expectations, teacher’ approval, grades or rewards, etc. Within group
work, there are certain external factors that enhance a student’s
motivation, which can be community sense, ability expression,
competitions, grades and rewards.
66
The researcher consulted from Items and Factor Loadings for the
Extrinsic Motivation Scale (Lepper, Corpus & Iyengar, 2005) and the
items of extrinsic motivation by Schmidt et al. (1996, pp. 65-66) based on
the real research context to form external factors that group work impacts
on the kids’ extrinsic motivation. Being questioned about their level of
agreement on such influences on their motivation, the kids gave the
answers, which are demonstrated in table 8.
67
Group work motivates me to study English in class because when working in groups…
Case 1 – 16 students Case 2 – 14 students
1 2 3 4 5
Mea
n 1 2 3 4 5
Mea
n
a. I have friends sitting beside, which is fun and interesting.
0 0 0 4 12 4.75 0 1 1 6 6 4.21
b. I feel I’m helpful to others when I give help to my group members.
0 0 0 12 4 4.25 0 0 1 7 6 4.36
c. I was helped by my group members.
0 0 2 12 2
4 0 0 3 10 1
3.86
d. I am more confident to raise my voice in class.
0 2 4 5 5 3.8 0 0 2 7 5 4.21
e. I feel I can gain responsibility as I try my best to get points for my groups
0 0 3 7 6 4.19 0 2 1 5 6 4.07
f. Group work helps me to express my ability.
0 4 6 6 2 3.75 0 1 8 4 1 3.36
g. My group members become friendlier and less rebellious.
2 2 4 4 4 3.38 0 2 4 5 3 3.64
h. I myself become friendlier and less rebellious.
0 0 3 7 6
3.8 0 1 4 5 4
3.86
i. I feel interested in discussing with friends and have the same answers or opinions as my friends’.
0 0 2 10 4 4.12 0 0 0 4 10 4.7
j. I feel interested in arguing with my friends to protect my ideas.
0 3 7 4 2 3.31 0 8 2 2 2 2.86
k. I find many good even close friends.
0 0 2 9 5 4.19 0 0 3 9 2 3.93
l. I suffer from less pressure. 0 2 3 9 2 3.69 0 1 0 9 4 4.14
m. I feel interested in getting points.
0 2 2 0 12 4.37 0 0 3 4 7
4.29
n. I find it easier to study on tasks than when working individually.
0 2 3 9 2 3.69 1 1 2 6 4 3.79
o. I feel I am more active and sociable.
0 0 0 12 4 4.25 0 0 6 6 2 3.71
p. I can get rewards from teachers after my group become winner.
0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 8 4.43
1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Neither agree nor disagree/ Not sure 4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree Table 8: Extrinsic motivation from group work
68
First and foremost, there is a big difference between case 1 and
case 2 in the final question of the sector. All the 4th and 5th graders in case
1 disagreed that they were motivated by group work because they could
receive rewards from their teacher. That is because teacher A, except for
points, never gave rewards to them. On the other hand, in case 2, most
students were motivated by rewards for winner group.
From the table 6, it is clear that all statements have a tendency to
receive more agreement than disagreement. Half of the means in both
cases for the 16 questions have the value of 4 upwards, which means the
participants were generally between “Agree” and “Strongly agree” with
these motivational ways group work affects them. Outstandingly,
statement (a), (b), (e), (i), and (m) are the most agreeable in both cases.
Therefore, a conclusion that having friends sitting beside, feeling helpful
to others, gaining responsibility, sharing the same ideas with others and
getting points in group work competitions are the most significant
external factors that increase the kids’ motivation. Specifically, a student
in case 1 shared her feeling about statement (a): “If I have to stay separate
from others, I would feel unsafe, I feel like I’m getting goose flesh.”
Giving explanation for his strong agreement on statement (e), a 4th grader
in case 2 said: “I don’t want to be left behind. I don’t want to contribute
nothing to my group, so I tried to raise my voice.” As for statement (i),
most children interviewed expressed immediately their strong agreement
on because they like talking with friends, especially finding many similar
ideas from others. And for (e), points are distinctively a powerful
influence on learners’ motivation generally; in this particular research
context, they are totally true with the kids. From the 4 observations, he
researcher realized that whenever points were provided, the kids
participated more quickly and actively than without points.
69
Besides, there are some other factors that get a few objections from
the participants; they are statement (f), (g), (l), (m) and (n). For (f), ten
learners in case 1 and nine learners in case 2 disagreed or could not
decide whether to agree or disagree with. Some of them said they felt
they were not good enough to show their ability vividly to others, but
they wanted to do it. Therefore, even not totally getting most favor from
the kids in both cases, expressing one’s ability is still the motive for them
to study in class, and group work helps them to do it as a result of
interactive communication between them. About statement (g) and (h),
the children mostly considered themselves as being friendlier to others;
however, some of them felt others were quite aggressive in group work
with a strong desire for points. On the other hand, the majority of the
kids in both cases, half of the children in case 1 and 8 per 14 children in
case 2 agreed and strongly agreed that their friends were friendlier and
less rebellious. Teacher A also agreed with this statement and clarified it
based on the separation of boys:
“A group of 4 boys can be a real headache for teachers and when they are split up, they are no longer a problem. Only when they are together, they are noisy. With boys and girls, group members become friendlier.”
Even though statement (m) was strongly agreed with by most
students in the two cases, there were two kids in case 1 who disagreed
and 5 kids in both cases who expressed no favour of getting points. They
gave the same reason, which was they did not appreciate points; they just
enjoyed group work for its interesting content and activity. A kid
expressed her opinion: “I don’t care about point. It is just for fun.” These
kids’ viewpoint can prove that points should not always be blamed for
weakening intrinsic motivation although it is commonly believed that
when points are not available, kids do not like studying.
70
Moreover, when answering the researcher’s question: “If there is
no points and competitions between groups in class, do you still want to
work in group?”, 100% of the children in case 1 answered “Yes”, only 4
of them said it would be much less interesting when working in groups
but they still wanted to do so. The situation is just slightly different in
case 2. One of the 14 students in case 2 said “No” to the questions
because he would lose his interest. However, other 13 kids confirmed that
they still enjoyed working in groups. The percentages of the answer to
this question in both cases are visualized in Figure 1.
Figure 2: The percentages of the children who like and no
longer like working in groups if there is no points and competitions
For statement (n): Group work motivates the kids to study English
in class because when working in groups, I find it easier to study on tasks
than when working individually, it gets means of nearly 4 in both cases,
which are high enough to claim that most children agree with it. A
student in case 2 excitedly said: “Working in groups, if I don’t understand
something, my friends will help me, and I know how to do the task. It is
certainly easier than working alone.” This is not only one student’s idea
71
but also many others’, who agreed with the statement. However,
compared with other ways group work inspires the kids to study English,
this approach seems less powerful. In total, 9 per 30 children of both
classes disagreed or were undecided whether to agree or not. That is
because there were certain difficulties that the kids had while working in
groups, which will be discussed in the next research question.
To sum up, group work strongly promotes the kids’ extrinsic
motivation in both cases. The sources of extrinsic motivation that it
stimulates in them are easy tasks, points, rewards, ego expression and
community sense. Easy tasks are rooted from their experiences in group
work that it is easier to work in groups than individually. Points and
rewards are rooted from the teachers’ principles in class. Ego expression
is exactly the wish for showing off ability. Lastly, community sense
originates from the feeling of security, helpfulness, responsibility, and the
desire get on well with friends.
On the whole, the results withdrawn to answer the second research
questions reveal that group work was effective in both intrinsically and
extrinsically motivating the 4th and 5th graders to study English in their C1
classes.
4.3. Research question 3: What difficulties do the 4th and 5th
graders encounter when having group work in C1 classes?
4.3.1. Frequency of difficulties in group work in general
Firstly, the participants were asked about their frequency of having
difficulties when working in groups in their C1 classes in general. Their
answers are illustrated in Figure 3.
72
Figure 3: The 4th and 5th graders’ frequency of having difficulties in
group work in general
From the line graph, students in case 2 met difficulties less often than
those in case 1. Specifically, while only about 10% of the kids in case 1
never met any difficulties, nearly 30% of the children in case 2 were
happily in the same situation. Likewise, the percentages of the students
who sometimes and frequently encountered difficulties in case 1
outnumber those in case 2. To explain for this difference, teacher A and B
said:
Teacher A: It is because in my class, the groups of kids compete with each other quite often; they need to control themselves for not having misbehaviors, for getting correct answers and being quick most of the time. Pressure from group work actually exists.
Teacher B: Perhaps, I don’t require the groups to be as quick as possible to win. I just group them tasks that I think they can communicate and tasks that they need inspiration.
Each teacher had different utilization of group work in his class.
Working in groups and competing for points most of the time might result
in difficulties for the kids. However, these difficulties may not be
73
negative to the children. According to teacher A, working in groups, the
kids do have to suffer from pressure, which is the consequence of his
punishments (minus points) and other members’ complaints. Whenever a
group member spoke Vietnamese, finished an exercise slowly or gave an
incorrect answer to an easy question, he or she would decrease his or her
group’s points, which would bring the kid a complaint or blame from
other members. Teacher A considered this kind of strain as “group
pressure” and explained for his choice of causing pressure to the kids:
“The advantages of points are strong compared with the advantages of having no points. It’s clear that the kids do suffer from group pressure. It’s the result of point systems but I’m willing accept it for the greater good.”
The advantages of group work are already presented in the
Literature Review and from the results of the research question 2.
4.3.2. Frequency of specific difficulties in group work
For further discovery of specific difficulties the kids in both cases
encounter when working in groups, they were interviewed to indentify
the frequency of each difficulty they met. The results are shown in the
Figure 4, Figure 5 and Table 9 as follows.
74
Figure 4: The frequency of encountering difficulties in group work of
the 4th and 5th graders in case 1
21.43
64.29
64.29
85.72
71.42
57.14
42.86
21.43
21.43
14.29
28.57
35.71
7.14
7.14
14
14.29
14.29
7.14
7.14
7.14
0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00% 120.00%
(a)
(b)
(c )
(d)
(e)
Never Seldom Sometimes Frequently Always
Figure 5: The frequency of encountering difficulties in group work of
the 4th and 5th graders in case 2
75
Statements
Case 1 Case 2 1 2 3 4 5
Mea
n 1 2 3 4 5
Mea
n
a. I feel sad and unconfident because I cannot get points for my groups (or decrease my group’s points).
4 8 3 1 0 2.06 3 6 5 0 0 2.14
b. I cannot catch up with my group members.
9 4 2 1 0 1.69 9 3 1 1 0 1.57
c. My ideas are not appreciated by my group’s members.
10 2 2 2 0 1.75 9 3 1 1 0 1.57
d. I feel annoyed because my group members decrease the group’s points.
8 4 2 2 0 1.875 12 0 1 1 0 1.36
e. I cannot get on well with my group members.
10 4 2 0 0 1.5 10 2 2 0 0 1.43
f. I feel depressed because my group is the loser.
5 4 3 4 0 2.375 8 4 2 0 0 1.21
1 = Never (0% of total English classes) 2 = Seldom (1%- 25% of total English classes) 3 = Sometimes (26%-50% of total English classes) 4 = Frequently (51%-75% of total English classes) 5 = Always/ Most of the time (76%-100% of total English classes)
Table 9: The frequency of encountering difficulties in group work of
the 4th and 5th graders in case 1 and case 2
From the two figures, it can be claimed that the kids in both cases
mostly never or seldom encountered difficulties from (a) to (f) as listed in
the table. From the means shown in table 3, the frequency of meeting
difficulties of the students in case 1 is higher than that in case 2. This can
be explained by the fact that teacher A exploited group work in his class
for extensively than teacher B. The more being involved in group work,
the more difficulties the kids encountered.
Among all difficulties, (a), (f) and (d) are the most likely to
approach “sometimes” frequency with the means of 2.06 and 2.375
respectively in case 1. These difficulties are all related to “point-
76
business” (Teacher A), which implies that grades and competitions get
much concern from the children.
However, difficulties are not necessarily negative towards the
children. A question was raised: “Do the most-encountered difficulties
have negative effects on the kids strongly?”. Answering this question, the
kids who met difficulties (a), (f) and (d) mostly agreed that the difficulties
did not badly affect them much. There are:
- 12 kids in case 1 and 11 kids in case 2 encounter (a)
- 8 kids in case 1 and 2 kids in case 2 encounter (d)
- 11 kids in case 1 and 6 kids in case 2 encounter (f)
Figure 6 and Figure 7 illustrate their opinions.
a. I feel sad and unconfident because I cannot get points for my groups (or decrease my group’s points). d. I feel annoyed because my group members decrease the group’s points. f. I feel depressed because my group is the loser.
77
Figure 6: The 4th and 5th graders’ perceived awareness of the negative
effect of difficulty (a), (d) and (f) in case 1
Figure 7: The 4th and 5th graders’ perceived awareness of the negative
effect of difficulty (a), (d) and (f) in case 2
The two charts clearly show that difficulty (d) caused no or little
negative effect to the kids in both cases even though in case 1, the
learners usually got minus points in group work activities. When being
questioned whether the kids in teacher A’s class felt annoyed by others
who got minus points for their groups, he stated that the kids easily
accepted it rather than felt infuriated:
a. I feel sad and unconfident because I cannot get points for my groups (or decrease
my group’s points).
d. I feel annoyed because my group members decrease the group’s points.
f. I feel depressed because my group is the loser.
78
“The annoy is slight because easy come easy go. Just minus 1, not 5, for example. It happened so often. 90% of children in class, except for quiet girls, get minus, so it is easier to accept.”
In a different situation of case 2, except for the kids with bad
behaviors, others rarely got minus points. The rest of the kids were aware
that minus points were necessary; therefore, they did not get angry with
this. “Minus points are for making them [naughty children] better”, one
student in case B shared.
For a firmer conclusion that the difficulties the kids faced were not
badly influential on them, they were asked the question: “Do such
difficulties make you dislike working in groups or learning English in
your C1 class?”. 100% of the children in both cases answered “No”.
In short, there are certain difficulties the kids in both cases faced.
However, their bad side does not strongly affect the kids’ motivation in
classroom. One student in case 1 even said more maturely than her age: “I
think I need to struggle in all conditions. I need to deal with difficulties.”
Summary
Overall, this chapter interprets data with specific analysis and
discussions, which answer the three research questions. Comparison and
contrast between the strategies of group work management by the two
teachers have been drawn and commented. Chapter 4 also serves as the
basis for the implications which will be presented the next chapter.
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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.1. Summary of findings
The study examined the exploitation of group work in two C1
classes in organization X, Hanoi in an attempt to answer the three
research questions. A combination of observations and interviews was
deployed to seeking for the data from thirty 4th and 5th graders and two
teachers of the C1 classes serving for the research aim. The results of the
study can be noted as follows.
Firstly, the two teachers both utilized group work quite often in
their classes and each person had his own strengths in organizing group
work effectively. Teacher A had a tendency to fully exploit competitions
and points in group work management, whereas teacher B was inclined to
employ them less but involve the learners in more communicative tasks.
However, both teachers used competitions and points with disciplines as
strong motivators for the kids to study in class. Others factors in their
control of group work such as purposely grouping the kids, providing
clear instructions, giving encouraging feedback, inspiring checking,
gaining learners’ autonomy, and largely involving learners in class
activities make group work a prominent and enormous source of
motivation.
Answering the second research question, the data collected from
the interviews revealed that group work organized in two cases had a
strong impact on the 4th and 5th graders’ motivation. It can be firmly
inferred from the data that the kids, thanks to group work, were
intrinsically and extrinsically motivated.
80
Afterwards, some difficulties the 4th and 5th graders encountered in
group work were found out. However, these difficulties did not severely
affect their motivation to study in classroom.
5.2. Pedagogical implications
From the research results, the techniques and disciplines teacher A
and teacher B in the case-study used can be indicated to be effective in
motivating the learners to learn English in class. Their procedures in
organizing group work and strategies in controlling the kids in groups as
described in the previous chapter can be used as the reference for other
teachers for kids.
In general, the useful methods in effectively organizing group work
can be withdrawn as the following techniques:
- Mixing boys and girls, students with high and low ability in a
group
- Giving clear instructions by using simple words and lucid
examples
- Providing encouraging feedback frequently
- Involving all students in class activities
- Gaining learners’ autonomy by giving them chances to decide
things to do by themselves
- Organizing competitions properly
- Using points as rewards flexibly or real gifts as motivators if
possible
Teachers for kids can consult from these techniques to increase
learners’ extrinsic motivation.
81
5.3. Limitations of the study
Despite the researcher’s strong desire to investigate the issue of
using group work to enhance learners’ motivation to study English in
class, the study encounters a number of limitations.
Due to the limited number of observations, two observations in
each class, which resulted from the restriction organization X, the data
presented cannot reflect fully and thoroughly the real situation in the two
cases.
Another limitation is the consequence of the lack of time to interact
with participants. As 30 interviews with all 30 learners in the two cases
needed to be conducted, half of them were made over telephone.
Therefore, the researcher failed in asking them as much as she expected.
Not many further questions for clarifying their answers were asked.
Besides, a careful examination of each difficulty the children met was not
really produced.
Furthermore, as a result of her lack of time and experience, the
researcher mostly described techniques in group work to extrinsically
motivate learners. The teaching content of each lesson and the attraction
of group work activities were not described and assessed, therefore, the
study has not shown methods of intrinsically motivating learners.
5.4. Suggestions for further research
The limitations of the study raise suggestions for further research.
The next research should require more observations and attempt to assess
teaching content in group work activities. More meticulous face-to-face
interviews with the learners should be conducted carefully since there
82
might have been a plenty of sharing from the kids unrevealed. In addition,
more classes of each teacher should be involved in the study, which
results from the fact that a class is not always typical for a teacher’s
teaching methods. Children in other classes of teacher A and B may have
different opinions and feelings when engaging in group work.
83
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Appendix 2.1: Interview questions for the 4th and 5th graders in English
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR CHILDREN IN
C1 CLASSES, ORGANIZATION X, HN I. GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Full name:
2. Age/ Group:
3. Years of studying English:
4. Number of courses studying in ORGANIZATION X:
5. How often do you have group work in English classes in your primary school? Put a tick (√)
in the box below the option you choose.
¨ Never (0% of total English classes)
¨ Seldom (1% - 25% of total English classes)
¨ Sometimes (26%-50% of total English classes)
¨ Frequently (51%-75% of total English classes)
¨ Always/ Most of the time (76%-100% of total English classes)
II. CHILDREN’S OPINIONS OF GROUP WORK
Please put a tick (üüüü) into the box next to the option(s) which is true for you.
1. How often to you like to work in groups in your C1 class?
¨ Never (0% of total English classes)
¨ Seldom (1% - 25% of total English classes)
¨ Sometimes (26%-50% of total English classes)
¨ Frequently (51%-75% of total English classes)
¨ Always/ Most of the time (76%-100% of total English classes)
2. Which do you prefer, Group Work or Individual Work?
¨ Group work is preferable
¨ Group work and individual are equally enjoyable
¨ Individual work is preferable
3. Does group work motivate you to study English in class?
¨ Yes
¨ No
¨ Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t
4. Please identify your level of agreement with the following benefits that group work
can bring to you by putting a tick (√) in the appropriate column
1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Neither agree nor disagree/ Not sure 4 = Agree 5 = Strongly agree
No Group work motivates me to study English in class because (when working in groups) …
Opinions 1 2 3 4 5
1. I like to complete the tasks in group work 2. I feel excited about finding correct answers 3. I speak English more than when working individually. 4. Activities in group work are interesting. 5. I remember knowledge better than when working individually 6. I have friends sitting beside, which is fun and interesting 7. I feel I’m helpful to others when I give help to my group
members.
8. I was helped by my group members. 9. I am more confident to raise my voice in class. 10. I feel I can gain my responsibility and I try more to get points
for my groups
11. Group work helps me to express my ability. 12. My group members become friendlier and less rebellious. 13. I myself become friendlier and less rebellious. 14. I feel interested in getting points. 15. I feel interested in discussing with friends and have the same
answers or opinions as my friends’.
16. I feel interested in arguing with my friends to protect my ideas.
17. I find many good even close friends. 18. I suffer from less pressure. 19. I find it easier to work in groups than individually. 20. I feel I am more active and sociable. 21. I can get rewards from teachers after my group become
winner.
5. How often to you have difficulties when working in groups in your C1 class? ¨ Never (0% of total English classes) ¨ Seldom (1% - 25% of total English classes) ¨ Sometimes (26%-50% of total English classes) ¨ Frequently (51%-75% of total English classes) ¨ Always/ Most of the time (76%-100% of total English classes)
6. Please indentify the frequency of the difficulties you have and their negative affection on your learning when working in groups. Put a tick (√) in the options that best suit you. 1 = Never (0% of total English classes) 2 = Seldom (1%- 25% of total English classes) 3 = Sometimes (26%-50% of total English classes) 4 = Frequently (51%-75% of toal English classes) 5 = Always/ Most of the time (76%-100% of total English classes)
a = not affects b = slightly affects c = affects d = strongly affectS
7. If you have difficulties when working in groups, do such difficulties make you dislike
learning English in your C1 class? ¨ Yes ¨ No
8. What do you think about counting your group’s points at the end of the lesson and get minus points for all if you miscount?
…………………………………………………………………………………………..……… 9. If there are no rewards for group winner, do you still like group work?
¨ Yes ¨ No
10. If there is no competition in your C1 class, do you still like group work? ¨ Yes ¨ No
No Statements\ Frequency and Identification of the effect 1
2 3
4
5
a b
c d
1 I feel sad and unconfident because I cannot get points for my groups (or decrease my group’s points).
2 I cannot catch up with my group members. 3 My ideas are not appreciated by my group’s members. 4 I feel annoyed because my group members decrease my
group’s points.
5 I cannot get on well with my group members. 6 I feel depressed because your group is the loser.
Appendix 2.2: Interview questions for
the 4th and 5th graders in Vietnamese
CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP
Tôi tên là Bùi Thị Quỳnh Trang, sinh viên năm thứ 4, lớp E1K4, trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ,
Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội. Tôi đang làm khóa luận tốt nghiệp về đề tài: “Sử dụng làm việc
nhóm để tạo hứng thú cho học sinh lớp 4 và 5 học tiếng Anh trên lớp ở lớp C1, trung tâm tiếng Anh X, Hà Nội”. Rất mong phụ huynh và các em học sinh giúp tôi trả lời phiếu điều
tra sau. Mỗi thông tin các em học sinh cung cấp sẽ là dữ liệu quan trọng trong khóa luận của tôi và được bảo đảm bí mật hoàn toàn.
Tôi xin chân thành cảm ơn!
I. THÔNG TIN CÁ NHÂN
1. Họ tên: 2. Tuổi: 3. Trường đang theo học:
4. Số năm học tiếng Anh: 5. Số khóa học tiếng Anh ở trung tâm:
6. Tại trường tiểu học, em có hay được làm việc nhóm trong giờ tiếng Anh không?
a. Không bao giờ làm nhóm (0% số buổi học)
b. Hiếm khi làm nhóm (1-25% số buổi học) c. Thỉnh thoảng làm nhóm (26-50% số buổi học)
d. Thường xuyên làm nhóm (51-75% số buổi học) e. Luôn được làm nhóm (76-100% số buổi học)
II. Ý KIẾN CỦA HỌC SINH VỀ LÀM VIỆC NHÓM 1. Em có thường xuyên thích làm việc nhóm không?
a. Không bao giờ thích (0% số buổi học) b. Hiếm khi thích (1-25% số buổi học)
c. Thỉnh thoảng thích (26-50% số buổi học) d. Thường xuyên thích (51-75% số buổi học)
e. Luôn luôn thích (76-100% số buổi học)
2. Giữa làm việc nhóm và làm việc cá nhân, em thích hình thức học nào hơn? a. Thích làm nhóm hơn b. Làm nhóm và cá nhân đều thích như nhau
c. Thích làm việc cá nhân hơn
3. Làm việc nhóm có tạo hứng thú cho em học tiếng Anh trên lớp không? a. Có
b. Không c. Có lúc có, có lúc không
4. Hãy cho biết quan điểm của em về các ý kiến sau. Đánh dấu (√) vào mỗi ô trống thể
hiện quan điểm của em.
1 = Hoàn toàn không đồng ý
2 = Không đồng ý
3 = Không rõ
4 = Đồng ý
5 = Hoàn toàn đồng ý
Làm việc nhóm tạo hứng thú cho em học tiếng Anh trên lớp vì (khi làm nhóm)……..
4. Em có thường xuyên gặp khó khăn khi làm nhóm không? a. Không bao giờ (0% số buổi học) b. Hiếm khi (1-25% số buổi học)
c. Thỉnh thoảng (26-50% số buổi học) d. Thường xuyên (51-75% số buổi học)
e. Luôn luôn (76-100% số buổi học)
STT Ý kiến \ Quan điểm 1 2 3 4 5
1 Em thích được làm các bài tập hay tham gia các hoạt động nhóm
2 Em thích tìm ra được câu trả lời đúng
3 Hoạt động làm nhóm rất thú vị
4 Em nói tiếng Anh nhiều hơn
5 Em nhớ kiến thức nhiều và lâu hơn học một mình
6 Em có bạn ngồi cùng, học vui vè thú vị hơn.
7 Em thấy mình có ích vì giúp đỡ được các bạn khác trong nhóm
8 Em được các bạn giúp đỡ
9 Em thấy tự tin đưa ra ý kiến trước lớp hơn.
10 Em thấy em có trách nhiệm hơn vì em phải cố gắng mang lại điểm số cho nhóm.
11 Em thể hiện được năng lực bản thân.
12 Các bạn trong nhóm của em hòa đồng với nhau hơn, thân thiện và bớt nổi loạn hơn.
13 Bản thân em hòa đồng với các bạn hơn, thân thiện và bớt nổi loạn hơn.
14 Em thích được trao đổi ý kiến với bạn và tìm được nhiều ý kiến giống với mình.
15 Em thích được tranh luận với bạn để bảo vệ ý kiến của mình.
16 Em tìm được những người bạn tốt (thậm chí là bạn thân)
17 Em thấy bớt áp lực hơn.
18 Em thấy thích thú khi giành được điểm số.
19 Em thấy làm nhóm dễ hơn làm việc một mình.
20 Em thấy mình năng động, hoạt bát hơn.
21 Em dành được phần thưởng từ giáo viên cho nhóm nếu nhóm chiến thắng.
5. Hãy cho biết mức độ thường xuyên của những khó khăn mà em gặp phải trong những khó khăn sau và sự ảnh hưởng của chúng đến hứng thú học tiếng Anh của em.
Đánh dấu (√) vào ô trống thích hợp với em.
1= Không bao giờ (0% số buổi học) 2= Hiếm khi (1-25% số buổi học) 3= Thỉnh thoảng (26-50% số buổi học) 4= Thường xuyên (51-75% số buổi học) 5= Luôn luôn (76-100% số buổi học)
a= không ảnh hưởng b= ảnh hưởng ít c= ảnh hưởng d= ảnh hưởng nhiều
6. Em có vì nhưng khó khăn đó mà không thích làm nhóm không? a. Có b. Không
7. Em có vì nhưng khó khăn đó mà không thích học tiếng trên lớp không? a. Có
b. Không
8. Em nghĩ sao về việc mỗi buổi học phải tính điểm số của nhóm và sẽ bị trừ hết điểm
nếu tính sai? ………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. Nếu thầy không tính điểm nữa, không ganh đua nữa em còn thích làm nhóm không?
a. Có b. Không
10. Nếu thầy không cho phần thưởng/ quà hay không có hình phạt trong buổi học thì em còn thích làm nhóm ko?
a. Có
b. Không
STT Khó khăn \ Mức độ thường xuyên 1 2 3 4 5 a b c d
1 Em thấy buồn và tự ti vì em không giành được điểm số cho nhóm.
2 Em không theo kịp các bạn trong nhóm.
3 Ý kiến của em không được các bạn coi trọng.
4 Em thấy phiền vì các bạn trong nhóm làm mất điểm số của nhóm.
5 Em không thể hòa đồng với các bạn trong nhóm
6 Em thấy buồn vì nhóm mình thua cuộc trong cuộc thi giữa các nhóm
Appendix 3.1: Interview questions for teacher A
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR
TEACHERS IN C1 CLASSES, ORGANIZATION X, HN I. TEACHER’S PROFILE - TEACHER A (CASE 1)
1. The following are Specialist qualifications of teachers in organization X. Can you circle the qualifications you have?
a. What are Organization X standards for recruitment of teachers?
• Education to first degree level
• Certificate level qualification (eg Cambridge ESOL CELTA, Trinity CELTA or equivalent)
• Two years full time practical experience post qualification
• Familiarity with contemporary UK
b. What extra qualifications do organization X Vietnam teachers hold?
• Cambridge ESOL Diploma in English Language Teaching
• Masters and PhD degrees in ESOL and related subjects
• Specialist qualifications in teaching English to Young Learners
• Extensive experience in Business English Skills training
• Teacher training experience
• Many years of teaching experience in Vietnam and other organization X centres around the world
• Experience in UK schools and knowledge of the UK National Curriculum
• IELTS examiner trainer status
All organization X teachers are all involved in ongoing professional development. This includes studying for further qualifications, regular in-service training sessions, and formal observations with feedback by academic managers.
Source: http://www.britishcouncil.org/vietnam-english-meet-the-teachers.htm
2. Can you add any extra qualifications you have in your teaching career?
3. Please fill in the table with your information
Years/ months of teaching English Numbers of years or months
To learners (children, young or adults, etc.) in general
To junior young learners
To Vietnamese children in organization X, HN
II. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Is increasing children’s motivation your main purpose of organizing group work for children?
a. Yes
b. No
2. Can you describe briefly the way you organize group work for children?
- Arrange tables
- Group children on purpose or randomly
- Disciplines
3. Why do you mix both boys and girls in a group?
4. In what situation a group can get points?
5. In what situation a group’s points can be minus?
6. What is your purpose of asking the children to count their points at the end of
the lesson and omit all points if a group miscount?
7. If a kid is naughty in class, what do you often do with him?
8. If a kid is too shy or unconfident to speak in class, what do you often do to
make him or her more confident?
9. Do you often give rewards to the kids?
10. Points can be considered as rewards. Some people says using rewards, which
increase extrinsic motivation can weaken intrinsic motivation while intrinsic
motivation is long-term, stable and more influential on children’s studying. If
no rewards are available, children no longer like studying. What do you think
about this?
11. It is said similarly about competition. When competition stops, children no
longer like studying in class. What do you think about this?
12. Please identify your level of agreement on the following benefits of group work for kids by putting a tick (√) in the options that best suit you.
1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Neither agree or disagree/ Not sure
4 = Agree 5 = Strongly agree
No Group work motivates the kids to study English in class because (when working in groups) …
Opinions
1 2 3 4 5
1 They like to complete the tasks of group work.
2 When working in groups they feel excited about finding correct answers.
3 For them, activities in group work are interesting.
4 When working in groups, they speak English more than when working individually.
5 When working in groups, they memorize knowledge better than when working individually.
6 When working in groups, they have friends sitting beside, which is fun and interesting.
7 They feel they are helpful to other group members.
8 They are helped by other group members.
9 They are more confident to raise voice in class.
10 They feel they can gain responsibility because they try more to get points for their groups
11 Group work helps them to express their ability.
12 Their group members become friendlier and less rebellious.
13 They feel interested in getting points.
14 They feel interested in discussing with friends and have the same answers or opinions as their friends’.
15 They feel interested in arguing with my friends to protect their ideas.
16 They find many good even close friends.
17 They suffer from less pressure.
18 They find it easier to work in groups than individually.
19 They feel they are more active and sociable.
20 They can get rewards from teachers after their group become winner.
13. Please indentify the frequency of the kids’ difficulties in group work based on your
observation and their negative effect on the kids’ motivation to learn. Put a tick (√) in the
options that best suit you.
1 = Never (0% of total English classes) 2 = Seldom (1%- 25% of total English classes) 3 = Sometimes (26%-50% of total English classes) 4 = Frequently (51%-75% of total English classes) 5 = Always/ Most of the time (76%-100% of total English classes)
a= not affect b= slightly affect c= affect d= strongly affect
No Statements
The frequency of each
difficulty that happens in your class
Identification of effect
1 2 3 4 5 a b c d
1 They feel sad and unconfident because they cannot get points for their groups (or decrease their group’s points).
2 They cannot catch up with other group members.
3 Their ideas are not appreciated by other group members.
4 They feel annoyed because other group members decrease their group’s points.
5 They cannot get on well with other group members.
6 They feel depressed because their group is the loser
14. What do you think you can do to solve the problems the kids meet?
Appendix 3.2: Interview questions for teacher B
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR
TEACHERS IN C1 CLASSES, ORGANIZATION X, HN I. TEACHER’S PROFILE - TEACHER B (CASE 2)
1. The following are Specialist qualifications of teachers in ORGANIZATION X. Can you circle the qualifications you have?
c. What are Organization X standards for recruitment of teachers?
• Education to first degree level
• Certificate level qualification (eg Cambridge ESOL CELTA, Trinity CELTA or equivalent)
• Two years full time practical experience post qualification
• Familiarity with contemporary UK
d. What extra qualifications do ORGANIZATION X Vietnam teachers hold?
• Cambridge ESOL Diploma in English Language Teaching
• Masters and PhD degrees in ESOL and related subjects
• Specialist qualifications in teaching English to Young Learners
• Extensive experience in Business English Skills training
• Teacher training experience
• Many years of teaching experience in Vietnam and other ORGANIZATION X centres around the world
• Experience in UK schools and knowledge of the UK National Curriculum
• IELTS examiner trainer status
All Organization X teachers are all involved in ongoing professional development. This includes studying for further qualifications, regular in-service training sessions, and formal observations with feedback by academic managers.
Source: http://www.britishcouncil.org/vietnam-english-meet-the-teachers.htm
2. Can you add any extra qualifications you have in your teaching career?
3. Please fill in the table with your information
Years/ months of teaching English Numbers of years or months
To learners (children, young or adults, etc.) in general
To junior young learners
To Vietnamese children in organization X, HN
II. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Is increasing children’s motivation your main purpose of organizing group work for children?
a. Yes
b. No
2. Can you describe briefly the way you organize group work for children?
- Arrange tables
- Group children on purpose or randomly:
- Disciplines
3. What is your purpose of letting the kids name their groups by themselves?
4. Why do you mix both boys and girls in a group?
5. In what situation a group can get points?
6. In what situation a group’s points can be minus?
7. If a kid is naughty, what do you often do with him?
8. If a kid is too shy and unconfident to speak in class, what do you often do to make him or her more
confident to speak English?
9. Do you often give rewards to the kids?
10. Points can be considered as rewards. Some people says using rewards, which increase extrinsic
motivation can weaken intrinsic motivation while intrinsic motivation is long-term, stable and more
influential on children’s studying. If no rewards are available, children no longer like studying. What
do you think about this?
11. It is said similarly about competition. When competition stops, children no longer like studying in
class. What do you think about this?
12. Please identify your level of agreement on the following benefits of group work for kids by putting a tick (√) in the options that best suit you.
1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Neither agree or disagree/ Not sure
4 = Agree 5 = Strongly agree
No Group work motivates the kids to study English in class because (when working in groups) …
Opinions
1 2 3 4 5
1 They like to complete the tasks of group work.
2 When working in groups they feel excited about finding correct answers.
3 For them, activities in group work are interesting.
4 When working in groups, they speak English more than when working individually.
5 When working in groups, they memorize knowledge better than when working individually.
6 When working in groups, they have friends sitting beside, which is fun and interesting.
7 They feel they are helpful to other group members.
8 They are helped by other group members.
9 They are more confident to raise voice in class.
10 They feel they can gain responsibility because they try more to get points for their groups
11 Group work helps them to express their ability.
12 Their group members become friendlier and less rebellious.
13 They feel interested in getting points.
14 They feel interested in discussing with friends and have the same answers or opinions as their friends’.
15 They feel interested in arguing with my friends to protect their ideas.
16 They find many good even close friends.
17 They suffer from less pressure.
18 They find it easier to work in groups than individually.
19 They feel they are more active and sociable.
20 They can get rewards from teachers after their group become winner
13. Please indentify the frequency of the kids’ difficulties in group work based on your observation and their negative effect on the kids’ motivation to learn. Put a tick (√) in the options that best suit you.
1 = Never (0% of total English classes) 2 = Seldom (1%- 25% of total English classes) 3 = Sometimes (26%-50% of total English classes) 4 = Frequently (51%-75% of total English classes) 5 = Always/ Most of the time (76%-100% of total English classes)
a= not affect b= slightly affect c= affect d= strongly affect
No Statements
The frequency of each difficulty
that happens in your class
Identification of effect
1 2 3 4 5 a b c d
1 They feel sad and unconfident because they cannot get points for their groups (or decrease their group’s points).
2 They cannot catch up with other group members.
3 Their ideas are not appreciated by other group members.
4 They feel annoyed because other group members decrease their group’s points.
5 They cannot get on well with other group members.
6 They feel depressed because their group is the loser
14. What do you think you can do to solve the problems the kids meet?
Appendix 4.1: Exercise 7: Listen and say which boy
(Incredible English – Class Book, p. 38)
Appendix 4.2: Exercise 5
(Incredible English – Activity Book, p. 46)
Appendix 5.1: Transcription of the interview with teacher A
Interviewer – I; Teacher A - A
I: Is creasing children’s motivation your main purpose of organizing
group work?
A: Yeap, but not directly. Yeah, I’ve tried to change dynamics, change
the pairings, so it’s my idea’s to keep the class fresh, but it’s not simply
motivation. I mostly split up problem students to prevent problems, etc.
so, it’s one of my main.
I: So it’s just one of, not the main one? Because children in UP classes
are not smart enough to discuss with each other with lots of ideas. So you
just group them to have a competitive environment?
A: Competitive, then, fresh. If they work with the same partner every
week, they get bored. I split up problem combination, so I have them
boys, girls, so that problems stop. So it does not only motivation but there
are also other factors.
I: So can you name the main purpose?
A: Ok, I guess the main is motivation because I have teams and points.
The second is to keep the class fresh. The third is to split them up before
trouble begins.
I: So is your main purpose is motivating them to study?
A:Yes, sure.
I: Can you describe briefly the way you organize group work for children
in UP 1 class?
A: It’s the same for all my classes, that every kid has name cards, in this
class, yellow for girls and green for boys. It doesn’t matter what color as
long as they have different colors. As I start the class, I shuffle the cards
in front of the children so that they know it’s going to be random.
Once I finished shuffling the cards, I put them out on the tables, four
names per table, when possible I try green – yellow – green – yellow and
50 boys – 50 girls split. Then, they become team A, B, C, D, of course 4
tables of 4. I explain to them that I start every lesson like that.
I: What’s your purpose of including both boys and girls in a group?
A: It’s disciplines problem. With teenagers, actually they like it, the boys
like talking to the girls, and vice verse. With juniors, that’s not the case.
It’s simply to improve behaviors. Groups of boys are problematic.
I: In what situations a group can get points?
A: The first group that finishes get 4. If it is an accurate exercise, I say, 1
point for correct but minus 2 for mistakes. To force them to pay more
attention, I often say no point for but just minus points for mistakes if it’s
too easy so as to undermine the value of points. And I often put a time for
games that are easy. And one reason to finish on time is if any one isn’t
finished, a group cannot finish on time will be minus points. Principle of
points is fluid; it’s not fixed in my mind.
I: In what situations, a group’ point can be minus?
A: Most because of speaking Vietnamese, and misbehaviors and also
errors. But I think the most of the minus points comes from speaking
Vietnamese, from not being back in time from the break, and from not
finishing various tasks sometimes. When they copy words from the
board, I gave them 10 seconds, if they were not finishing in 10 seconds,
minus 1. And I ask them to take out their student books, turn to page 30,
same situation 10 seconds. Just to keep the pace of class up.
I: Do you think when you minus their points, they feel they are under
pressure?
A: Yeah, it’s very like pressure but most of the time, they are just careless
mistakes. So they just don’t pay much attention, so they don’t listen to the
page number I say, for example. So I don’t feel sorry for them. The only
time I do feel sorry for students is for students who have very poor
handwriting, because they often get minus points for not recording new
words in time. I try to be as lenient as I can but I think they are the only
students under pressure.
I: What is your purpose of asking the children to count their points after
each lesson? Why don’t you count it by yourself?
A: It’s the new thing. It started with young, very young learners. Lower
primary 1, when they practicing with numbers. When I did it I realized
that it kept the idea of competition going until the very end of the class.
Because the team that most likely to make mistakes with their points is
the team that coming first because they have the most points. So it’s not
clear who wins until the very end so that’s great. Because before that, the
team with four points lost interest in the whole point business because
they knew the team with 12 points will be sure to winner. But that’s not
the case anymore. There’s an elements of suspense until the end.
I: And another point, why do omit all points of a group if they miscount at
the end of a lesson?
A: Mostly to keep the competition going until the end.
I: Do you think it’s unfair some children may feel it’s unfair because
they’ve tried very hard during the class but they lost all because of a very
mall mistake?
A: There’s only upset child. It’s a girl who was crying. But no, I don’t
feel sorry for them. They need to be careful and they need to check with
each other. What happened is only one student count, he/she is likely to
make mistakes, but when t4 members count, they can confirm, 14, 14 yes,
14 that’s right. And that’s what they should do.
I: I know the girl you mentioned. She told me that she was scared because
she was afraid that her group members would scold her for miscounting.
What do you think about this?
A: No, I don’t think she is responsible for the point. If she doesn’t count
the points, others have to do it. It’s a group task, not only hers. If she was
blamed, that’s because of the group dynamics. I think the exact pressure
doesn’t come from me. It’ is group pressure within their own group
dynamics.
I: If a kid is naughty, what would you do to change his or her
misbehavior?
A: If it is very small error, I minus his group’s point. When I minus 1
point from a team. The logic behind is the naughty kid has to suffer from
the pressure from teammates and from me to improve his behavior.
Because when I get minus 1 from a team, the rest of the children say “oh
what are you doing shzz?” So I use that for minor misbehaviors. And it
usually works, especially for teenagers who care a lot about their peer and
teachers.
I: If a kid is too shy to speak in class, what would you do to make her
more confident?
A: For a lot of activity, for example, S come to the board rub out a box
and guess the words. I nominate Ss, I don’t say team A send the best
student in your group to go to the board. I say: team A - Duc, team A -
Khue, I took students from every corner, every students every lesson.
I try to encourage and force them to participate. More complicated with
making them her speak more in group work but I try to include every one.
I: Do you often give rewards to children in your class?
A: No, outside points, no I don’t. I think points are enough. Some
teachers give them presents etc. Children are naturally competitive
enough they want to win.
I: Points can be considered as rewards, which is a source of extrinsic
motivation. Meanwhile, extrinsic motivation can degrade intrinsic
motivation, which is long-term and more stable than extrinsic motivation.
If no rewards are available, children no longer like studying. What do
you think about this?
A: That’s not entirely true, a lot of stuff we teach without points. I always
use points in my class but some teachers don’t. It’s content-based
learning, intrinsic motivation in itself. Content-based learning so children
want to know behind: how bees make honey, they want to know about
insects, dinosaurs, for example. It can be value in the topic. What’s I’m
doing in my class, what I’m trying to make my class structurally fun, I
suppose to Content-whilst-fun. the actual way the class run with Random
teams, points is the very Solid base. So on the other day, when we are
learning something boring, it sometimes happen, the class still keeps the
flow.
I: If there are no points, do you think children may dislike group work or
don’t want to work anymore?
A: No, I think children are naturally communicative. Certainly, the strong
wouldn’t help the weak. Certainly they wouldn’t make much effort to
finish quickly and accurately. It will become more like enjoying the tasks
rather than completing the tasks if there wasn’t any point pressure on
them.
I: Competitions, when competitions stop, children may no longer like
working in groups?
A: Yes, to some extent, I don’t think there should be points in every step
of a class. I think there should be some time that children forget all
about points, but I always teach with points.
I: How children are friendlier and less rebellious?
A: A group of 4 boys can be a real headache for teachers and when they
are spilt up, they are no longer a problem. Only when they are together,
they make each other nosier. With boys and girls, group member
becomes friendlier.
I: They suffer from less pressure when working in groups, what do you
think?
A: I disagree. They do have more pressure but I don’t think it’s bad
pressure. They are good pressure. Because groups pulling them. But they
do have pressure. Anyway, they have less pressure than when they are
individually access. 90% of the time the teacher doesn’t single any of
them out.
I: Do you think there are some kids in your class who cannot catch up
with others in group work?
A: If I got a kid that cannot catch up, I would move him down to the
lower level class.
I: Do you think the kids are annoyed because other group members
decrease their group’s points?
A: The annoy is slight because easy come easy go. Just minus 1, not 5
for example. It happened so often. 90% of children in class, except for
quiet girls get minus, so it is easier to accept.
I: Why do you use points very often despite their shortcomings?
A: The advantages of points are strong compared with the advantages of
having no points. It’s clear that the advantages of points outweigh the
advantages of having no points. It’s the result of point systems but I’m
willing accept it for the greater good.
I: According to my survey, the kids in your class met more difficulties
than those in teacher B’s class. What do you think about this?
A: It is because in my class, the groups of kids compete with each other
quite often; they need to control themselves for not having misbehaviors,
for getting correct answers and being quick most of the time. Pressure
from group actually exists.
I: Thank you very much!
Appendix 5.2: Transcription of the interview with teacher B
Interviewer - I; Teacher B - B
I: Is increasing children’s motivation your main purpose of organizing
group work for them?
B: Yes, sure. It’s my purpose.
I: Can you briefly describe the way you organize group work for children
in your class?
B: I arrange the tables: 4 tables, each table there are three to five students.
I: You group the children randomly or on purpose?
B: On purpose. I mix strong and weak students. I also base on gender.
Both boys and girls are in a table. I put the naughty children in the front
position.
I: What is your purpose of mixing both boys and girls in a group?
B: Mixed gender can give benefits. They can concentrate on the lesson
more than talking to their friends. Because there’s a table of boys, they
will talk about football or something like that, but if they have boys, girls,
boys, girls mixed, they are better.
I: What is your purpose of letting the kids name their groups on their
own?
B: It empowers learners, motivates them, gain their autonomy. I make
them have negotiation from the very beginning of the class. I won’t say
you are Monkey, you are Dolls. But they can decide who to be by
themselves. They have negotiations since the beginning of the class.
I: In what situations a group can get points?
B: When one member from the group finishes first, when the whole
group finish first and when someone answers a difficult question. It’s also
for other good behavior or good sharing with the whole class?
I: In what situation a group’s points can be minus?
B: When rudeness happen, when they speak Vietnamese or they are slow
in doing easy exercises on time or something like that. Sometimes tasks
are easy, I give them 3 minutes, if they can finish, and they are minus
points, but just sometimes.
I: What would you do if a kid in your class is naughty?
B: I move the naughty to the front, talk to the child and finally contact
parents.
I: Do you use points to control his behavior?
B: Yes, I do, but just for small mistakes.
I: If a child is too shy or unconfident to speak in class, what would you
do?
B: I’ll try to help them as much as I can. I talk with them at the end of the
class, or ask TA to help them. She knows students; she knows who’s
weak and strong.
I: Do you often use rewards for kids after group competitions?
B: Sometimes, I do. The rewards can be a song, football cards, stickers.
But I don’t use rewards very much. They are just small gifts for
motivating them. The children like them very much.
I: Points can be considered as rewards, a source of extrinsic motivation.
Meanwhile, extrinsic motivation can degrade intrinsic motivation, which
is long-term and more stable than extrinsic motivation. Some people say
when no rewards are available; the kids lose their motivation to learn.
Do you think the children in you class still like studying in class without
points?
B: I think they probably still like group work and studying in class. But
now these guys, in my classes are used to it. It may take them some time
to adjust to a new routine. Firstly, they might not be motivated very
much.
I: What about competitions. When competitions stops, don’t you think
your children might no longer like studying in class?
B: I don’t really like competition very much. But I think it’s motivating.
They like competitions they need some kind of competition. If there no
competition, they will not be as interested in studying as before but I
prefer group competitions rather than individual competitions.
I: How often do your kids encounter difficulties in group work in your
opinions?
B: Sometimes. Sometimes, we have difficult kids. They have to work
with each other. They want their groups to win so they are aggressive. I
use minus points to calm them down.
I: According to my survey, the kids in your class met more difficulties
than those in teacher B’s class. What do you think about this?
B: Perhaps, I don’t require the groups to be as quick as possible to win. I
just group them in tasks that I think they can communicate and tasks that
they need inspiration.
I: Thank you very much.
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