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GROUPING STUDENTS
Jeremy Harmer
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DIFFERENT GROUPS
Whole-class teaching: Advantages:
It reinforces the sense of belonging.
It is suitable for activities where the teacher isacting as a
controller.
It allows the teacher to gauge the mood of theclass in
general.
Disadvantages: It favours the group rather than the
individual.
Many students are afraid of public failure.
It favours the transmission of knowledge fromteacher to student
rather than having studentsdiscover things.
It is no the best way to organise communicativelanguage
teaching.
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Seating whole-group classes:
Orderly rows
It allows clear view of all the students
It allows work with the whole class.
Useful for explaining grammar, watching a video, etc.
Circle and horseshoe
It is appropriate for smaller groups.
It allows for a greater feeling of equality betweenteacher and
students.
It is more intimate.
Separate tables
It allows the work in groups, pairs and as a whole-
class.
It is easy to arrange group work.
It is useful in mixed-ability classes.
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Students on their own:
Advantages:
It allows teacher to respond to individual student
differences.
It is less stressful.
It can develop learner autonomy.
It can be a way of restoring and tranquillity.
Disadvantages: It does not help to promote the sense of
belonging. It
does not encourage cooperation.
It means a great deal more thought and materials
preparation.
It takes more time than interacting with the whole-class.
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Pairwork:
Advantages:
It increases the amount of speaking time.
It allows student to work and interactindependently.
It allows the teacher to work with one pairwhile the others
continue working.
It promotes cooperation.
It is relatively easy to organise.
Disadvantages:
It is usually very noisy.
It allows students to talk about other
matters in L1. It is not always popular with students who
prefer working with the teacher.
It can be problematic the choice of the pairedpartner.
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Groupwork:
Advantages:
It increases the number of talkingopportunities.
It encourages broader skills of cooperation
and negotiation.
It promotes learner autonomy. Disadvantages:
It is likely to be noisy.
It is not always popular with students who
prefer working with the teacher. It is easy for students to fall
into group
roles that become fossilised.
It can take longer to organise.
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