Barriers to interaction:
- Student resistance: It is unfortunately true that some learners are not enthusiastic about pair and group work, particularly in mono-lingual classes in which it is a little unnatural to communicate to someone who speaks your language in a language you are both less proficient in! I have taught many students who have told me that they don't like pair work because they might learn mistakes from their partners. There is actually no evidence to support this worry but it is still common.
- Self-consciousness: I have met many learners who become very nervous and embarrassed when asked to speak English. As a language learner myself, I sympathise.
- Large classes: While theoretically the more students there are in a class the more possibilities for interaction there should be, this is not the case in practice. The more learners there are, the more difficult developing interaction can be since there are more people to monitor and, therefore, more chances of problems. In addition there is, of course, a greater likelihood of excessive noise which can mask bad behaviour and use of L1.
- Mixed abilities: Pairing and grouping students appropriately in classes that have a wide variety of levels (e.g. secondary schools) is much more difficult than in small classes of a homogenous level.
- Lack of motivation: If learners have no need to interact or don't want to, they probably won't.
- Insufficient language: Perhaps the most common reason for interaction in English breaking down, or indeed not starting in the first place, is that the students don't have the language they need to interact and, therefore, complete the task successfully.
How can we sell the benefits of interaction to students?
- If you don’t know…..you can’t tell them
- Do it early
- Address potential issues
- Demonstrate impact
- Get them to do an exercise
For one of your modules/sessions design a task to facilitate group interaction. Rate the task against the following:
1. Is the activity highly structured physically, spatially, and temporally? Students want to know: Who will they work with? Who will go first? Second? What will they use? How much time do they have as a group or individually? What is the process?
2. Do students know the rationale for an activity? Do students know why they are doing this activity? Do they know how it will help them improve their [abilities]?
3. What is expected of them by the teacher? Do group members know what you expect them to have, show you, turn in, know, or tell others when they have finished the activity?
4. How will the learning activity affect motivation? Will the students be motivated to participate in the activity? Is the activity fun? Interesting? Valuable?
5. Does the activity accommodate various group speeds? When some groups complete the activity early, what do they do?
6. How long will the activity take? Have you given them a task much longer than their attention span?
7. How will the students feel when the activity has been completed? Is there something built into the activity that will guarantee some sort of satisfaction when the activity has been completed? How can you show them success?
8. Does the structure of the activity give students time to process the new information before they are asked to respond? Is reflection time built into the activity?
So what can I do?
Explain what you do and why
Explain what you want students to do
- Show EXAMPLES
- Let them PRACTICE
- Give them FEEDBACK
- Let students experience something new and REFLECT on it (making sense)
About assessment, key messages: be explicit about:
- Length of assessment (longer is not better)
- The format (explain what is meant by a report, essay, poster, portfolio, etc.)
- What is the assessment criteria? (what does this mean)
- What will be assessed? (content, language, weighting)
About plagiarism:
- Request drafts, keep copies
- Have a common agreed approach
- Induction – New game, new rules
- Don’t tell them how – TEACH them how
- Show them how detection sources work
We want our students to:
- Identify global issues and address global questions
- Work in a globalised environment
- Collaborate internationally on research and other projects
- Work in multi-cultural teams
- Communicate with culturally and linguistic diverse clients & colleagues
- Generate and draw upon diverse values and perspectives
- Make the classroom a place where all feel respected, can join in, can make sense of what is happening