The value of group work in developing oral skills for Chinese learners of EFL

Abstract:Researchers have demonstrated that group work is an effective way to improve students’ oral English and should be widely used in speaking classes because it can not only create a relaxed atmosphere with a sense of security to reduce students' anxiety， but also provide them with as many opportunities as possible to practice speaking English. In this paper， the author attempts to demonstrate the benefits of group work in enhancing oral skills for Chinese learners of EFL by relating the literature review of group work to his own language learning experiences which will be presented as a reflection， comparison and evaluation of the literature and the findings of the studies.

Key words:group work Chinese students EFL speaking English

1 The value of group work in improving the English Speaking proficiency of EFL learners

Group work， at its most basic level， can be defined asstudents working together in a group small enough so that everyone can participate on a task that has been clearly assigned' (Cohen， 1994， p.1). It is a form of cooperative learning and has been applied widely to various teaching contexts due to its invaluable benefits in terms of both teaching and learning. According to Long Porter (1985: pp. 208-212)， group work can be beneficial to the learners of EFL in improving their English speaking proficiency in linguistic， affective and personal aspects， and the pedagogical benefits range from improving the quality of student talk'， and helping to individualize instruction'， to promoting a positive affective climate'， and motivating learners'. Brown (1994: pp.35，173) supports Long and Porter's findings explaining that small groups give students opportunities for the practice of negotiation of meaning， conversational exchanges and face to face give and take' that would not be possible in other types of activities.

2 Challenges for Chinese speakers of oral English

According to Hu (2002) and Coleman (1996)， there are two main problems contributing to Chinese students' poor standard of oral English. The first is the widespread use of the grammar-translation teaching method which does not focus on oral communicative competence (Hu， 2002). Even today， the Grammar-Translation Teaching Method is the dominant teaching approach employed widely in the EFL classrooms across the country (Chen Hird， 2006). However， students' communicative ability can not be learned simply by means of reading materials and studying grammars， and English speaking proficiency can only be acquired in the process of speaking English (Hu， 2002). The second problem is the Chinese students' cultural characteristics and personal traits (Coleman 1996). He claims that Chinese students are too shy and they care strongly aboutface'. They do not want to be singled out in public and they do not want others to laugh at them or at their mistakes because they fear losing face in the classrooms.

3 How to implement group work successfully in oral classes

Group work is valuable to Chinese learners in many aspects， but effective group work in the classroom does not occur automatically. Indeed， group work requires teachers' careful involvement to be successful. Leki (2001， p.41) asserts that teachers must be aware of the importance of initial preparation for group work to ensure its efficiency and success. Once an activity begins， Hoekje (1993， p.5) emphasizes that teachers' circulation from group to group is critical， which enables teachers to provide students with help and suggestions. According to Hyde (1993)， a third consideration that the teacher needs to keep in mind to make group work work successfully is to arrange for frequent group change.

These three crucial steps to implement group work successfully are exactly the ways I have experienced in the TESOL lectures. The group work for each class is well prepared and highly relevant to our interest and learning objectives. For example， when we are going to do group work， the lecturer usually gives us some handouts，and especially， like the Hiccups and Hurrahs which are selected from our own work by the lecturer specifically to improve our academic writing. Moreover， our lecturer often prepares a number of different sorts of group work tasks for us to do to improve our English， for example， the whole group or small groups playing acting songs or discussing in-depth problem-solving of current affairs. These specifically designed tasks make our group work meaningful. Another very important detail I want to highlight here is that when we start group work， the lecturer usually circulates from one group to another to provide each group work with help and good suggestions making arriving at conclusions go more smoothly， which makes us more motivated and interested in group work (Hoekje，1993). Furthermore， the allocation of different numbers for different students ensure we have different group members every time， which can maximize the opportunities for our Chinese students to speak English and make the conversation and discussion always fresh and interesting (Hyde 1993).

Therefore， based on my own personal experience of learning advanced level English via group work， it is very clear that the descriptions of three essential steps by Leki (2001)， Hoekje (1993) and Hyde (1993) to ensure the success and efficiency of group work are valid and practical.

4 Conclusion:

From the above discussion， it is clear that group work is an effective way to improve Chinese learners' oral English. We Chinese teachers should try our best to apply group work to English speaking classrooms to help our students improve their oral English， which can not only create a relaxed atmosphere but also provide equal opportunities for every Chinese student to practice speaking English. In addition， teachers should also fully prepare and plan the activity well， arrange for frequent group change and circulate among the groups to encourage students to increase the quantity and quality of English output when implementing group work to ensure its efficiency and success in English speaking classrooms.

References:

[1]Brown， H. D.Teaching by Principles. An Interactive Approach to Language Proficiency. Upper Saddle River， N.J， USA: Prentice Hall Regents，1994.

[2]Chen， R. Hird， B. Group Work in the EFL Classroom in China: A Closer Look. RELC Journal，2006. 37. 91.

[3]Cohen， E. G.Designing group work: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom (2nd Edition). New York: Teachers College Press， 1994.

[4]Coleman， H.Society and the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press，1996.

[5]Hoekje， B. Group work， the Teacher's Role and the Student-centered Classroom. TESOL Journal，1993.3 (2)， 4-6.

[6]Hu， G.W.Potential Cultural Resistance to Pedagogical Imports: The Case of Communicative Language Teaching in China. Language， Culture and Curriculum.2002，15(2)， 93-105.