Effective Activities

Involving Pair and Group

Work

Yumi Yada and Bethany

Martin
Hachiken Junior High School, Sendai

Mid-year Conference
January 14, 2009
Warm Up Self-Introductions

Please discuss these questions with a partner.

1. Describe what you saw in the warm-up.

 2. How were the two activities similar to each other?

3. How were they different from each other?

4. Why do you use pair/group activities in your lessons?

5. What do you think the purpose and outcome of using

pair/group work is?

Introduction

English education in Japan has historically focused on learning

grammar in order to pass entrance examinations. Conversational
ability has not been a focus because it simply was not a perceived
need for students learning English in the past. However, in the last
ten years or so, the curriculum for English education in Japan has
been shifting toward an emphasis on developing communicative

[2]
abilities.
In an increasingly global society where English is a means for
international communication, Japan’s ministry of education (MEXT)
has been stressing the need for Japanese students to have practical
communicative abilities in English as well as a deeper
understanding of and positive attitude toward other
languages and cultures. MEXT envisions this happening not only
through the study of English and the cultures of English-speaking
peoples around the world, but also through the development of
students’ communicative abilities in Japanese and their
appreciation of Japanese language and culture.
How can activities involving pair and group work contribute to
the current goals for English education in Japan? This workshop will
seek to answer this question by

• demonstrating the difference between teacher-fronted and

pair/group activities;

• presenting ideas regarding the positive outcomes of using

pair and group work in Japanese EFL classrooms;

• providing examples of successful pair/group work

activities that we have used as well as some challenges we
have had with pair/group work and how we have worked
through them.

Why Pair and Group Work Activities?

Theories of language teaching abound for how learners will

most effectively learn to communicate in a new language. However,
many of these theories “assume the language learner lives and

[3]
studies in a country in which the target language is used.” In reality,
many students in an EFL context are not exposed to vast
input in the target language. Learners in Japan, for example, are
surrounded by Japanese in their daily lives, and the English they are
most consistently exposed to—for junior high learners—is limited to 3
weekly 50 minute lessons (Apple 2006).
Long and Porter (1985) argue that this is hardly enough time
for students to actually practice the language they are learning.
Studies show that in a traditional “lockstep” classroom, where the
teacher sets the pace and guides the class through grammar lecturing
or drill work, the teacher will talk for at least half of the 50
minute lesson. If 5 minutes are spent on administrative duties, and
5 minutes spent on collecting or distributing homework, then only 15
minutes are left for students. Long and Porter calculate that in a
class of 30 students, each student will only have 30 second per
lesson to practice the language out loud. That is only one hour per
student per year!
Pair and group activity can make a difference for our students
by increasing the amount of time they have to use the language they
are studying. Long and Porter further state that if just half of the
time remaining for students were used for individual students
talking in pairs or groups of three, their total individual practice
time would dramatically increase from one hour per year to five and
a half hours per year. While it is still a limited amount of practice, it
is a huge improvement.

Major Benefits of Pair/Group

[4]
 Work

Pair and group work activities will increase the chances that
our students have to practice English. Pair and group activities
will also

• contribute to student interest and motivation and an overall

positive classroom atmosphere;

• create a safe place for students to practice and receive

feedback from peers;

• give students an opportunity to learn by teaching;

• develop students’ lifelong learning skills—they can self-teach

when there is no teacher there to tell them what to do!

Other benefits. . .
• ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________

[5]
 ________________________________________________________________

Pair and Group Work Activities

Warm-up Activities

1. Renso: In rows, students write word associations on the board,

taking turns to write one after another. For example,

[whitesnowChristmaspresentmom] The row with the most
correctly spelled words at the end is the winner. I give the groups a
starting letter by writing a word with six different letters across the
board (one letter for each group to start with) so that they don’t
copy each other as much.

2. Shiritori: In rows, students write words that start with the last

letter of the previous word on the board. For example,

[birddoggreennew] For the older students, I make rules such
as “no three letter words,” or “no four letter words” to challenge
them further.

3. The Message Race: The last student in the row is given a

sentence which he has 20 seconds to memorize. At the teachers

cue, the student repeats the memorized sentence to the person in
front of him, who then repeats it to the student in front of her. The
person at the front of the row then writes the sentence she heard
on the board. The first row finished correctly is the winner.

4. Sentence Race: The teacher reads a sentence that the students

will write on the board as a team—one student, one word at a

time. The first row finished correctly wins.

[6]
5. Scattegories: In pairs or groups, students race to think of one

word for each category before the time runs out. All words must
start with a letter designated by the teacher. Categories could be
nouns, verbs, animals, drinks, places, etc. Sometimes I make
points more difficult to earn. For example, a team only scores a
point if no other team has the same word.

6. Yes Game: Students form questions for the ALT, JTE, or another

student using a given grammar point, such as “Have you ever~?”

or “Do you like~?” If the questioned person says “Yes,” the
questioning team gets a point. The goal is to collect the most
points in a set amount of time.

Main Activities for Pairs

1. Pair or whole class interviews: Using the target grammar,

students interview each other in pairs or by mingling with the

whole class. The results of the interview are then reported as
students write their own sentences at the end of class or for
homework.

2. Gap fill interviews: Pairs have two different handouts, both

missing information that the other has. Students interview each

other with simple structured questions such as, “Whose pen is
this?” or with more open-ended questions such as in a map activity
(e.g. “Where is the post office?”)

3. Comics: Students create dialogues for comics in pairs. This can be

open-ended with a simple “English only!” rule. Or it can be more

[7]
 guided with requirements of using certain grammar points or
vocabulary words.

4. Mastermind: Students try to guess their partner’s secret

sentence by making possible sentences using the day’s grammar.
5. Mad libs: This is similar to Scattegories, only the words students

think of are later inserted into a story. This usually turns out to be
entertaining for students and teachers alike.

Main Activities for Groups

1. Sentence Races, Read and Run style: In teams, students send

one person at a time to look at pictures shown by the teacher or

dispersed around the classroom. The student reports what he saw,
and as a group, students try to complete a sentence about that
picture. The teacher can check each sentence before the group
can move on to the next picture, or students can self-check with an
answer sheet they receive upon completing their sentences.

2. Song response: In groups, students listen to a song and

brainstorm about ways to describe the song. It could be as simple
as an adjective brainstorm, or a writing activity based on the
following prompts: “This song makes me…” or “I like this song
because…”

3. Song ordering: Students put scrambled lyrics in order as they

listen to a song. Or try this variation: students listen to the song

and fill in gaps on a lyrics sheet, checking with their group for
answers before getting the correct answer from the teacher. It can

[8]
 be helpful to include a “hints box” for filling in the blanks.

Reflecting on the Challenges of Pair/Group

Work

Group activities have been the most difficult for me to

manage. A lot of kids seem to get lost in the group for various
reasons. They may be slower than the group or relying on other
students to find the answer for them. Some things I have tried with
success are having the group assign roles to each member of the
group, such as note taker and time keeper, or having the group assign
an order for answering questions so that each member has a chance
to try.
Pair work seems more “fail-proof” for student participation.
Those who avoid participating in small groups may feel more pressure
to participate when there is only one other person relying on them for
the activity. Or they may feel more at ease with only one other person
to use English with. I also think that some students who will not
participate in a small group won’t necessarily participate in pair work
either, or even in a more teacher-directed activity. Pair and group
work at least increases the number of opportunities that participating
students have to use what we are studying. They also have more
chances to learn by teaching and to gain confidence through the peer-
support of pair or group work.
Ideas from Discussion

[9]
 Resources

JET Lounge provides language teaching resources

with ALTs in Japan in mind. http://www.c-
english.com/jetlounge

MES English is a great resource for flashcards, games, phonics, and

make-your-own-worksheet capabilities. I use it often for ES, JHS and
special needs classes. http://www.mes-english.com/

The Sendai EDUCOM Project provides teaching resources created

by ALTs. http://www.sendaiedu.com/

ESL Kids is useful for making worksheets. There are also many ideas
for teaching children. http://www.esl-kids.com/

Make Beliefs Comix Students can make their own comics from
scratch using characters and scenes available on the website, or as I
have used it in class, you can make comics with blank bubble boxes
for students to fill in later. http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/

Online articles about pair/group work

Apple, M.T. (2006). Language learning theories and cooperative learning techniques
in the EFL classroom. Doshisha Studies in Language and Culture, 9(2), 277-
301. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://elib.doshisha.ac.jp/cgi-
bin/retrieve/sr_bookview.cgi/U_CHARSET.utf-
8/BD00011583/Body/006009020004.pdf.

[10]
Long, M.H., Porter, P.A. (1985). Group work, interlanguage talk, and second
language acquisition. TESOL Quaterly, 19(2), 207-225. Retrieved November
15, 2008 from
http://course1.winona.edu/hshi/documents/groupwork_interlanguagetalkand
L2acquisition.pdf.
Mantero, M. Iwai, Y. (2005) Reframing English language education in Japan. Asian
EFL Journal, 7(2). Retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www.asian-efl-
journal.com/June_05_mm&yi.pdf

Appendix

The following are handouts that we have used with some of the
activities described in this packet.

1. The Message Race

2. Pair or whole class interviews:

Have you ever…?
(3-nensei, adapted from sendaiedu.com)
Do you like/play Bingo
(1-nensei, adapted from sendaiedu.com)

3. Gap Fill
Whose ~ is this? (from sendaiedu.com)

4. Comics
Calvin & Hobbes dialogue arrangement
Blank comics
(I made the first example using makebeliefscomix.com;
the second and third blank comics came from Yen Woon
on sendaiedu.com)

5. Mastermind
To have (adapted from sendaiedu.com)

[11]
 6. Sentence Races, Read and Run style with pictures and
handout

The Message Race

These are sentences I have used with 3-nenseis. It is a review of

mainly New Horizon 3 and some of New Horizon 2.

It is easy for me I know how

to speak English! to play the guitar.
I watch TV every weekend. Tokyo Tower
was built in 1958.
Would you like to go to an I have a lot of homework to
Eagles game? do after school.
I have never been He has just finished reading
to the moon. that book.
Talking with my friends We have studied English for
makes me happy. three years.
My house is next to Watching TV
the post office. makes me sleepy.
I think sushi is the most Baseball is a popular sport in
delicious food. Japan.
An elephant is smaller than a Mt. Fuji is taller
mouse. than Mt. Zao.
Yesterday I wrote a letter to When I am cold,
my grandmother. I drink hot tea.
When I am sad, You have to call your mother
after school.

[12]
 I watch a funny movie.
It is fun for me to watch
movies and talk to my
friends.
English is used by many
people in the world.
I don’t know how
to drive a car.
[13]
I play tennis every day after
school.
She has lived in Japan
for two years.
It is difficult for me
to eat natto.
 Calvin and Hobbes are having a conversation.
Please put the sentences in the right order!

a. ….Only a lot MORE so!

b. Hobbes, have you ever kissed a girl?

c. A few, I guess.

d. GAAK! I was hoping it wouldn’t be so fuzzy!

e. Really? What was it like?

from http://teachingactivities.pbwiki.com/Comics+Lesson

[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
 My Secret Sentence
A B C D

----------------------
---
MASTERMIND!
Choose one word or phrase each from A, B, C and D to make your
secret sentence above. Remember: Don’t show your partner!

A B C D
Spiderman is happy to see you.
Kitty-chan is to meet Harry Potter.
Bethany is sad to talk to Rilakkuma.
We are to go to the library with them.
Doraemon is glad to hear the news from Mickey Mouse.
They are to study with Pooh-san.
Totoro is excited to eat with us.
I am to go shopping with Takeharu Sensei.

Now try to guess your partner’s secret sentence. Write your

guesses below. How many do you have correct each time?

A B C D OK!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

[19]
 What is the correct answer?
SENTENCE RACES
Make “right” sentences as fast as you can!

Practice!
0. ( ) is a picture ( ) by ( ).

1. The picture ( ) by ( D ) is

very popular.

2. This is a picture of (T T ), ( ) in ( ).

3. This is a (m )( ) by Dr. ( ).

4. ( ) is the book ( )( )( ).

5. Tokyo is the city ( )( )( ) many times.

6. This is a ( ) of the (W C )( )( )( ) in

2006.

[20]
[21]