See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/275098472

Group Dynamics in the EFL Classroom: The Role of the Cohesive Group of
Syrian Tertiary Learners

Conference Paper  in  Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences · August 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.504

CITATION READS

1 1,307

1 author:

Mohammad Musaab Wazzan

Social Sciences University of Ankara
2 PUBLICATIONS   1 CITATION   

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Mohammad Musaab Wazzan on 22 November 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 184 – 188

GlobELT: An International Conference on Teaching and Learning English as an Additional

Language, Antalya - Turkey

Group dynamics in the EFL classroom: The role of the cohesive

group of Syrian tertiary learners
Mohammad Musaab WAZZANa*
a
Antalya International University, School of Foreign Languages, Antalya

Abstract

Group Dynamics is perceived by many, as one of the very critical sub disciplines in the social sciences for language teachers.
Cohesiveness refers to the mutual support and commitment of group members to the group and to one another. In this paper, the
author endeavors to explore factors with the potential to develop a cohesive language classroom environment. In this environment,
initializing and sustaining co-operation and commitment is primarily sought. For reasons of convenience, 10 Syrian tertiary
learners, aged 18-24, from different academic departments in the University of Aleppo, Syria, taking a general English course have
been chosen to constitute the context of this present study. The paper highlights particular techniques utilized by the learners and
pinpoints particular problems they encountered. It has been clearly noticed that learning is likely to be more fruitful when the group
is cohesive, flagging the importance of raising the EFL teachers’ full cognizance about the efficacy and effectiveness of establishing
cohesiveness in the EFL classroom. Subsequent to collecting and analyzing the data, the results strongly indicate that students’
classmates play an essential part in their learning and in their motivation as well.
© 2015
© 2015 The Authors.Published
The Authors. Publishedby
byElsevier
ElsevierLtd.
Ltd.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Peer-review under responsibility of Hacettepe Universitesi.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Hacettepe Üniversitesi.
Keywords: dynamics; cohesiveness; rapport; motivation; productivity

1. Introduction

Teaching is a grueling yet fantastic discovery journey. Stevick (1980) indicated that “success depends less on
materials, techniques and linguistic analyses, and more on what goes on inside and between the people in the
classroom” (p. 4). Of paramount significance is the notion of the cohesive group in (English) language teaching

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +90-(242)-245-2382

E-mail address: mohammad.wazzan@antalya.edu.tr

1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Hacettepe Üniversitesi.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.504
 Mohammad Musaab Wazzan / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 184 – 188 185

contexts. We, teachers, need to be committed to offering students the opportunity to believe in themselves by
promoting cohesiveness in the classroom, thereby attaining effective results. According to Harmer (2007), groups
should be “unitary” and have a “similar attitude to progress” so that the individual would eventually be immune to a
“lack of spirit” and a “feeling of alienation” from peers and from the teacher. Of vital importance is the role cohesive
group’s play: mutually support and motivate each other.

2. Literature review

Evans and Dion's (1991) meta-analysis of studies addressing the relationship between group cohesion and group
performance found a significant positive relationship between the two variables, indicating that cohesive groups, on
average, tend to be more productive than no cohesive groups. Ergo, the class group can have a significant impact on
the effectiveness of learning.
In the latest edition of the Handbook of Social Psychology, Levine and Moreland (1998) point out that cohesiveness
has been the subject of more research than any other aspect of group culture. This reflects the general belief of scholars
that the closeness [rapport] and “we feeling” of a group is a key factor – if not the key factor – in determining every
aspect of the group’s life.
Dörnyei et al., (2003) quoted Mullen et al., (1994) saying that cohesiveness involves at least three components:
1. ‘Interpersonal attraction: Desire to the group because of liking the other members – this is, for example, often
the primary source of cohesiveness of various clubs.
2. Commitment to task: Desire to belong to the group because of the interest in the task; in other words, the
group feeling is created by the binding force of the group’s purpose – this is often the primary source of
cohesiveness in optional afternoon groups/circles at school such as the school choir or the drama group.
3. Group pride: Desire to belong to the group because of the prestige of its membership – this may be the
primary source of cohesion in the school’s football team that has won the country/state championship’ (p. 62).

3. Method

3.1. Research design

This study was conducted by virtue of a qualitative research design employing survey methodology to collect data
about participants’ perspectives and attitudes towards the cohesive group in the classroom.

3.2. Setting and participants

This study was carried out in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) environment where 10 Syrian tertiary
learners of English – from different academic departments in the University of Aleppo – were taking a general English
course in a language institute.

3.3. Research instruments

In designing my questionnaire questions (See Appendix A), I followed Dörnyei’s (2003b) and Oppenheim’s (1992)
recommendations for designing a good questionnaire, such as the need for a simple, explicit language and detailed
instructions. I administered the questionnaire by myself when I was in Syria. In a similar vein, I have recently received
similar qualitative data (questionnaire) from Aleppo (but carried out by different groups of Syrian tertiary students)
via the Internet. In fact, I have compiled, analyzed and presented both of them so that better results could be obtained.
186 Mohammad Musaab Wazzan / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 184 – 188

4. Results

Participants wrote down their perspectives on their learner group through the proposed open-ended questionnaire
questions (See Appendix A). Picked up, categorized and summarized are their key words/phrases/statements in tables
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 below.

Table 1. Responses to “how students feel in the first few lessons of a new class group?”
Key words/phrases Frequency Percentage

Relaxed 3 30%

Sociable and respectful 3 30%

Motivated 4 40%

Table 2. Responses to “do you feel that there are some cliques in this class group?”

Key words/phrases/statements Frequency Percentage

Yes. 0 0%

No, we are like a family. 10 100%

Table 3. Responses to “would you like your NEW group in another class group to be very similar to the ones in this
class group and why?”

Key words/phrases/statements Frequency Percentage

Definitely! I am confident and relaxed in this group. 8 89%
The previous group was better than this one because students were more 1 11%
sociable and more active.

Table 4. Responses to “do you feel that this group is composed of people who fit together?”

Key words/phrases/statements Frequency Percentage

Yes, because we are like one family. 6 75%

No, because some students are not in the right level, and others missed a 2 25%
lot of lessons.

Table 5. Responses to “I am dissatisfied with my class group.”

Key words/phrases/statements Frequency Percentage

Yes. 0 0%

I disagree because we are all polite, respectful and friendly. 10 100%

These results demonstrate that the participants had a very positive sentiment towards their group and classmates.
To illustrate this, they maintained that they greatly felt like a “family” with their class group which so profoundly
suggests that cohesiveness was high. Likewise, many found their classmates “respectful,” “polite,” and “friendly”.
 Mohammad Musaab Wazzan / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 184 – 188 187

Others were “confident” which may highly indicate that they co-operatively approached tasks, and/or that their
classmates play a pivotal role in upgrading their language learning and perhaps other skills.
It is interesting to note that 40% of students felt motivated in the first class of their groups, and almost 100% of
them were satisfied and happy with their class group. Probing further, I firmly believe that group productivity is hinged
upon this feeling and support. On the other hand, others mentioned that they felt that the group was a mixed-level one,
and that some students missed a few lessons (two students left two questions unanswered.) Personally, I felt that this
was the prime obstacle for some of the groups. Nonetheless, the majority of the comments were very positive.

5. Conclusion

Group cohesiveness is an indispensable prerequisite of group success that leads to continued progress. In fact,
Hadfield (1992) maintained that ‘successful group dynamics is a vital element in the teaching/learning process’ (p.
10). Within its very limited scope, this study is an attempt to investigate the learner group with the hope of exploring
this fact as well as what happens between this kind of learner group. In fact, the aim of the current study, with all its
restrictions, has been to contribute towards a better understanding of the relationship between group dynamics and
language learning. To conclude, group cohesiveness has a significant impact upon learners’ positive evaluation of
their learner group (Clemen, Dörnyei, and Nobels, 1994). Put differently, tapping into the power of group cohesiveness
has the potential for strengthening rapport amongst the group members, and thus increase their motivation to learn.

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my close friend Hazem Abu Helal (PhD Candidate at the University
of Southampton) for his valuable comments and recommendations regarding this paper.

Appendix A.

Questions for Syrian tertiary learners of English as a Foreign Language

My Group
Do you feel that this class group has helped you to feel more...
relaxed?........................................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................. .
confident?..............................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................... .
sociable?................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................... .
willing to use the L2?...........................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................... .
Do you feel that there are some “cliques” in this class group?
If yes, please write down the threats that made you know this.
.....................................................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................. .
Would you like your new group in another class group to be very similar to the ones in this class group? WHY?
.................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................. .
Do you feel that this class group is composed of people who “fit together”? If yes/no, HOW/WHY?
.................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................. .
Explaining WHY, do you AGREE or DISAGREE with the following statements:
188 Mohammad Musaab Wazzan / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 184 – 188

There are some people in this class group who do not really like each other.
I am dissatisfied with my class group.
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................ .

Adapted from Dörnyei et al., (2003)

References

Clement, R., Z. Dornyei and K. A. Noels. (1994). Motivation, self-confidence and group cohesion in the foreign language classroom. Language
Learning, 44, 417-448.
Dornyei, Z. (2003b). Questionnaires in Second Language Research: Construction, Administration, and Processing. London: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Dornyei, Z., and Murphy, T. (2003). Group Dynamics in the Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Ehrman, M. E. and Z. Dornyei. (1998). Interpersonal Dynamics in Second Language Education: The Visible and Invisible Classroom. Sage,
Thousand Oaks, CA.
Evans, C. R., and Dion, K. L. (1991). Group cohesion and performance: A metaanalysis. Small Group Research, 22, 17186.
Hadfield, J. (1992). Classroom Dynamics. Oxford University Press.
Harmer, J. (2007). Motivating the Unmotivated. British Council.
Levine, J. M. and R. L. Moreland. (1998). Small groups. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske and G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of Social Psychology (4th
ed., Vol. 2). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 415-469.
Oppenheim, N. A. (1992) Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. Continuum: London.
Stevick, E. W. (1980). Teaching Languages: A Way and Ways. Rowley, MA: Newbury Hou

View publication stats