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Benefits of Implementing Group Work into 

the EFL Classroom

Group work is an effective technique for teaching andlearning and is a key factor to sustain interaction in
a language classroom. Group work in the EFL classroom has
largely been accepted as an effective strategy in the develop-
ment of students’ communicative proficiency in English
(Chen & Hird 2006). It has become an integral part of
English teacher’s repertoire of approaches and strategies. 

Group work (also called cooperative learning, collabo-
rative learning, collective learning, group study, etc.) covers
a variety of techniques in which two or more students are
assigned to do a single task together (Brown 2001). It devel-
oped as an active strategy with its proper characteristics and
practical implications.

A characteristic proper to group work is that communica-
tion is established at two levels: the vertical level (communi-
cation between the teacher and the learners), and the horizon-
tal level (communication between the learners themselves).

This results in intensive communication and interaction
between the classroom members, leading to a rich source of
feedback for both the teacher and the learners. 

In general, the advantages of group work can be classi-
fied into three types: cognitive, psychological and social.

In terms of cognitive advantages learning in groups is a
kind of training for logical and creative thinking and for the
development of the learners’ learning strategies and abilities

as they are working collectively and co-operatively to achieve specific tasks. When stu-
dents have to explain and negotiate their contributions to a group project, it assists them
in developing and increasing their meta-cognitive awareness. That is, in “low risk” con-
texts they begin to realize what they know and what they have yet to learn or find out.

The psychological implications concern the affective involvement of the learners as
group work facilitates the development of communication and interaction among the
classroom members. This would enable the learner to know better his self and try to
develop his personal characteristics by adopting positive ones such as the sense of
responsibility, a positive self-image and confidence in himself and in other participants.
This is because the learner would feel more at ease and less dependent on the teacher
when he works collectively with his friends.

As far as the social implications of group work are concerned, the latter stimulates
the learner’s integration in the group, which can be a means for acknowledging and uti-
lizing individual students’ additional strengths and expertise. Through communication

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Syuzi Hovhannissyan

Lili Karapetyan



and interaction, group members gradually become familiar with each other (Harrison &
Carroll 1991). The quality of relationship with the other group members is a major fac-
tor in the overall success of the group, so it is important to spend time getting to their
friends. Thus, it can foster the development of good social attitudes and moral values
such as the spirit of co-operation and help, mutual respect, receptivity and openness to
others, to their opinions and ideas.

One difficulty with group work is that you can’t work as quickly as you can by your-
self. Patience, communication skills and commitment are all required to make the most
of the contributions of all group members. Consequently, effective group work requires
each member to focus on the process rather than just the product. 

In class activity students are involved to actively participate, cooperate, share expe-
riences, work together, analyze, summarize and reflect on their activities. The teach-
ing-learning process is more student oriented, while the role of the teacher is to be a
facilitator. Doing the assignments in groups will create communicative positive atmos-
phere in which students are able to exchange their thoughts, ideas and learn to negoti-
ate with one another. Vygotsky stated that students need an opportunity to express their
verbal ability. By involving students to speak, they will internalize what they had told
to be a thought and evaluate their weaknesses and strengths (Vygotsky 1978).  In line
with the above point of view, Vernon A. Magnesen claimed that people learned 90%
from what they said and did. Piaget is also convinced that students learn through con-
crete experience by reflecting their experience. Working together in groups also gives
students the opportunity to learn from and teach each other. Classroom research has
shown that students often learn better form each other than they do from a teacher
(Kelas 2008).

Studies have also shown that a group can be highly effective when individual mem-
bers’ goals are linked to the group goal (Martocchio & Frink 1994).

Brown, Davis and Long show that students learn more and memorize better when
they work in small groups, rather than when they work individually. In order to have suc-
cessful peer-group work, students must have common understanding of the goal of the
task and come to one conclusion: what they are willing to achieve (Brown 2001; Davis
1993; Long 1985).

There are three general types of group work: informal learning groups, formal
learning groups and study teams. Informal groups are formed by just randomly clus-
tering students within a single class period. Formal groups are established to fulfill a
specific task with an outcome, such as writing a report or, for example, preparing a career
paper, etc. To set up formal learning groups teachers are suggested to discuss and use the
following steps: a) plan each stage of group work, b) explain the objectives of groups, c)
make the group work relevant to the students’ skills and abilities, d) divide the work
equally among all group members. Study teams, unlike informal learning groups, are
long term groups whose members remain the same through a whole term or so. Their role
is to provide members with support, encouragement, and assistance in completing course
assignments and requirements (Davis 1993). 

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Pedagogical Arguments for Group Work

There are many pedagogical arguments for group work introduced by different
authors. According to them group work may:
• Increase the language practice opportunities. Long and Corden argue that group

work generates student talk; they get to talk more than they do during a whole class
activity. Thus, the time for practising the new language increases (Long 1985; Corden
2001). 

• Improve the quality of student talk. Because group is a natural setting for a conversa-
tion, students feel secure and out of public display, this way the quality of their talk
improves, they do not have teachers “at hand” to correct them right away. 

• Individualize instruction. As Long, Richards, Rodger and Davis argue, group work
helps to assign individual students different assignments and responsibilities, in this
way each of them will be responsible for their portion. So, having different skills and
abilities students will get assignments which will be equivalent to their skills and abil-
ities (Long 1985; Richards & Rodgers 2001; Davis 1993). 

• Provide a “positive affective climate” (Brown 2001). In small groups students feel more
secure, even those students who talk rarely in the classroom get motivated to talk in small
groups. Thus, small groups provide a more supportive climate to express oneself (Long
1985). In small groups students are less vulnerable and less criticized. Even not talkative
students become active and cooperate with their peers (Brown 2001).

• Motivate learners. Dornyei and Long argue that group work motivates learners to
speak freely. They highlight two aspects of group dynamics, i.e. group cohesiveness
and group norms. The cohesive group is the one where all the students feel the
strength of “we”, they are happy to be a part of “we”. This way they stick to each
other, and the commitment to excellence is more obvious. These positive relations
serve as keystones to motivate each other, to “pull each other along” and create an
enjoyable atmosphere for themselves. On the other hand, if the group establishes
effective norms for learning, group motivation increases greatly (Dornyei 2001; Long
1985).
However, methodologists are not unanimous as to how many participants a group

should involve. Richards & Rodgers and Davis claim that group size should not be too
large, i.e. maximum five people should be engaged in one group. But they also state that
it depends on the tasks the learners will carry out, as well as on the time limits they will
have. Groups should be small in order to allow each student to express himself/herself.
In this case they will also have more time to communicate (Richards & Rodgers 2001;
Davis 1993). 

Student Behavior in Small Groups

A lot of research has been done to discover how students behave while learning in
small groups. The research by Muller shows that children in autocratically led groups
seem to be discontented, often aggressive and there is a lack of motivation. Whereas in

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democratically led groups they are far more productive and complete tasks successfully.
Sometimes student behavior depends not only on their personalities but also who they are
working with. In her study Muller shows empirical evidence of 6 groups working togeth-
er; some groups were successful, while the others were not, mostly because they coul dn’t
find common understanding of the task (Muller 2001).

Group work is a keystone for sustaining interaction in a big classroom and for moti-
vating learners to practice their language. However equal time should be provided to the
students to participate and cooperate in small group discussions. This way they all get
turns to share their ideas with each other as well as to the audience they will be exposed
to later. Group work promotes learners to be responsible, it encourages taking risks and
helps to overcome difficulties with an impressive ease. 

Implementing Group Work into the Armenian Educational Setting

Despite the above mentioned benefits of group work it is hardly ever used in the
Armenian formal educational setting where the whole studying process is teacher-cen-
tered rather than learning-centered. The majority of learners undergo the process of learn-
ing through traditional educational methods in which they are not likely to experience a
student-centered learning environment in terms of group work. Most of the language
teaching and learning processes in classrooms do not develop contextual communication
atmosphere whereas students cannot use contextually fixed expressions in communicat-
ing with one another. In real classroom situations teachers just ask students to arrange a
dialogue, memorize the dialogue, then perform it. On the other hand, teaching and learn-
ing activity is often disturbed by several factors i.e. the thought that English is difficult
to learn, has complex grammar and strange pronunciation, etc. These make students
speak less. In learning activity, students seldom get an opportunity to express ideas, opin-
ions, and thoughts, the activities often seem monotonous, there is less interaction
between teachers and students on the one hand, and students to students on the other
hand. Whereas, as Kelas states “teaching English as a foreign language should be direct-
ed to be a lively communicative process” (Kelas 2008).

We strongly believe that implementing group work into the Armenian educational
establishments will stimulate effective learning and teaching, active involvement of
learners who will find more opportunities to express themselves and feel less anxious and
more capable to communicate with the teacher and even with each other in the group.
Group work will provide Armenian EFL students with opportunities for developing skills
like organization, negotiation, team work and co-operation which Armenian students
very often lack.

References:

1. Brown, H. D. (2001) Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language
Pedagogy. NY: Pearson Education.

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2. Chen, B., Hird, B. (2006) Group Work in the EFL Classroom in China: A Closer
Look. // RELC Journal, Vol. 37(1). www.relc.org.

3. Corden, R. (2001) Group Discussion and the Importance of a Shared Perspective:
Learning from Collaborative Research. RELC Journal, 1(3). www.relc.org. 

4. Davis, B. G. (1993) Collaborative Learning: Group Work and Study Teams. Retrieved
October 23, 2009, from http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/collaborative.html.

5. Dornyei, Z. (2001) Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. UK:
Cambridge University Press.

6. Harrison and Carrol, (1991) The Dynamics of Cultural Influence Networks. //
Administrative Science Quarterly (43). California: California University Press.

7.  Long, M. H. (1985) Group Work, Interlanguage Talk, and Second Language
Acquisition. TESOL Quarterly, 19(2). California: California University Press.

8. Martocchio, P. (1994) A Review of the Influence of Group Goals on Group
Performance. // Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 37(5). Texas: Texas
University Press.

9. Muller, A., Fleming, T. (2001) Cooperative Learning: Listening to How Children
Work at School. // Journal of Educational Research, 94(5). Penssylvania:
Penssylvania State University.

10. Richards, J.C., Rodgers, T.S. (2001) Approaches and Methods in Language
Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

11. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological
Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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