What are the problems most commonly confronted in group discussions and the

possible solutions?
Group work is often considered an essential feature of communicative language
teaching. The main pedagogical arguments in favour of group work can be summarized
as follows. It increases language practice opportunities, it improves the quality of student
talk, it helps to individualize instruction, it promotes a positive affective climate, and it
motivates learners to learn. From the psycholinguistic point of view, group work provides
the kind of input and opportunities for output that promote rapid ! acquisition. In spite
of these benefits, there are some problems often found in group discussions.
First and foremost, the problem is with grouping. "hen one group consists of
strong members only and another consists of weak members, then it will not be fair if
their outcomes are #udged on the same criteria. It is difficult to form a cohesive and
collaborative group of members who accept the group$s ob#ectives and work to achieve
the common goal. %e&t, the presence of a teacher near a group often inhibits the
performance of the particular group since it naturally doesn$t allow or allows much of
seniority difference in the group. In the presence of a teacher, a particular member or
members in the group may not be able to work as effectively as they are e&pected. There
are three principal leadership styles followed by group leaders' democratic, autocratic,
and laissez(faire. )sually, autocratic leaders cannot move freely in the presence of their
teachers. *nother difficulty in group discussions is the group size. Generally speaking,
the larger the group, the greater the diversity of information, skills, talent, backgrounds,
and e&periences available. +n the other hand, the larger the group, the less chance there is
of an individual participating. In larger groups, more powerful or forceful individuals will
tend to dominate the available communication time. *s the group size increases,
cohesiveness among the members declines. This is due mainly to the reduced interaction,
the need to divide tasks, the need for stronger, more autocratic leadership to keep order
and the number of cliques or factions which appear.
In the language learning activities, group members need to use the target language
as much as possible so that the activities are effectively carried out. ,ut sometimes, the
members resort to the use of their mother tongue when their goal is the outcome. The
obvious problem in group discussions is the lack of some students participation. The dis(
satisfied members may keep silent throughout the discussion. "hile e&troverted members
try to dominate the group discussion, introverted members may withdraw from
discussions and keep taciturn by their nature. +ther personality factors such
aggressiveness, being blocking, seeking sympathy affect the work of group members.
The teacher should make sure that these problems are prevented or solved in a
way so as to ma&imize group efficiency. -e or she should demand that each and every
member of the groups use the target language without fail e&cept when there is no
e&pression found in that language for a particular idea. In that case, the teacher should be
ready to help the students. ,ased on the type and nature of tasks, the teacher should limit
an optimum size for groups. -e or she should make sure the group members are united or
cohesive and collaborative. The teacher must know the roles and responsibilities of all
group members so that no one in each group keeps idle or non(participating. The teacher
is also responsible for giving necessary guide and assistance to those who need sympathy
or encouragement in group discussions. * certain amount of allowance for time should be
spared for the introverted(type learners in each group. They should be encouraged to
e&press themselves throughout the discussions. .ost importantly, an unwise #udgment
should not be passed on the sole basis of the outcome, but the participation of each
member in the concerned group should also be taken into consideration. Then, the teacher
will be able to e&ploit the effectiveness of group discussions in language teaching.