Unit 31 · Grouping learners
Grouping learners means organising learners into different working patterns — learners working on their own, as a whole class, in pairs, in teams or in groups — and choosing the interaction pattern that suits the learners, the teaching approach, the activity and the stage of the lesson. The groupings chosen affect class or group dynamics, participation and how successfully the teacher can manage the class and facilitate learning.
◆What does ‘grouping learners’ mean?
There are different ways in which we can organise our learners in the classroom. For example, learners can work on their own, as a whole class, in pairs, in teams, in groups. Organising learners into different working patterns is what we mean by ‘grouping learners’.
◆Key concepts — what should we consider when grouping learners?
What should we consider when grouping learners?
When planning our lessons, we decide which way of grouping learners or interaction patternsThe different ways learners and the teacher work together in class, e.g. learner to learner in pairs or groups, or teacher to learner in open class, in plenary. When teachers plan lessons, they think about interaction patterns and write them on their plan. click to keep open · see glossary to use. The interaction patterns we choose depend on the learners and their learning stylesThe different ways in which learners prefer to learn, e.g. visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, group or individual styles. click to keep open · see glossary, our own teaching style(s) and preferences, the teaching approach, the learning context1. The situation in which language is used or presented; e.g. a story about a holiday experience could be used as the context to present and practise past tenses. Photographs can help to provide a context for a magazine article. 2. The words or phrases before … click to keep open · see glossary, the type of activity, the aimAims are not the same as procedures. click to keep open · see glossary or learning purpose of the activity and the stageA section of a lesson. Lessons have different stages or steps such as lead-in, presentation, controlled practice, etc. click to keep open · see glossary in the lesson. There are many different interaction patterns to choose from, e.g. whole classSee open class. click to keep open · see glossary (the teacher leads the class and the learners focus on the teacher), individuals, open pairs (two learners do a pairwork activity in front of the class), closed pairsSee pairs. click to keep open · see glossary (learners all do an activity at the same time working with a partner), groups, teams, mingles. Very often, the activity itself suggests a particular interaction pattern.
Here are some examples:
| Activity | Interaction pattern | Reason for using interaction pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Brainstorming | 1 Groups or pairs: students working with other students. 2 Students to the teacher (feedback). | Reviews and shares students’ knowledge of vocabulary and/or structure and the topic or context; develops learning strategies; energises the students and gets them all involved. |
| Bingo game | 1 Whole class: teacher to the students. 2 Student to the teacher. | Reviews students’ understanding of vocabulary; gives a change of pace; gives the teacher feedback; energises. |
| Reading and filling in a chart | 1 Individuals (students complete the charts on their own). 2 Pairwork: student to student. 3 Open pairs (checking answers). Student to student with the teacher facilitating. | Calms students down, allows students to practise scanning in their own time; enables students to check their work together to give confidence before the class check. |
| Class survey | 1 Mingling activity: students move around the classroom asking questions of other students. 2 Groups or pairs (students compare and discuss their answers). 3 Teacher asks different students in the class what they found out (feedback). | Gives students practice in all four skills and in managing their learning; gives opportunities for large amounts of practice; gives a change of pace; develops learner autonomy; every student in the class is active and involved. |
◆Key concepts — the effects of learner groupings
Appropriate learner groupings have a positive effect on class or group dynamicsThe relationships and way of working between the members of a group, which affect how well they learn together. click to keep open · see glossary (the relationships between the learners in the class or group) and on the teacher’s ability to successfully manage the class and facilitateTo make something possible. Teachers facilitate learning by planning and delivering lessons, maintaining discipline in the classroom and making it easier for learners to learn. See teacher role. click to keep open · see glossary learning. Whole-class activities, such as mingles, enable all the students to practise the language at the same time. These activities are good for increasing confidence, especially amongst shy or weaker learners. Individual activities give students a chance to work at their own pace and to focus and organise their thoughts. Pair and group activities provide students with opportunities for developing longer turns and fluency through interactionInteraction is two-way communication between listener and speaker, or reader and text. Interactive strategies are the ways used, especially in speaking, to keep people involved and interested in what is said or to keep communication going, e.g. eye contact, us… click to keep open · see glossary. They also help with confidence building and give students opportunities for practice in a non-threatening environment.
On the other hand, poorly chosen groupings can result in problems in the classroom. Here are a few examples of classroom problems with possible reasons for them:
| Classroom problems | Some possible reasons |
|---|---|
| Learners misbehave, e.g. they use their mother tongue, become noisy, don’t do the activity. | Groups are too big; talkative learners are grouped with other talkative learners; friends are grouped with friends. |
| Learners are bored. | Learners are always in the same learner groupings. |
| Learners are very teacher-dependent. | Whole class work and individual work are the main learner groupings used; the teacher does not encourage or facilitate learner autonomy. |
| One or more learners dominate (has/have a strong influence on what happens / other learners get less chance to participate actively). | In whole-class or individual activities, the teacher allows the same learner(s) to answer; in pair and group work, dominating learners are paired with learners who allow themselves to be dominated. |
| One or more learners don’t want to join in or participate. | There are few pair and group activities where learners are paired with other ‘shy’ learners or with learners with whom they feel comfortable. |
| Some learners have nothing to do because they have finished the activity more quickly than others. | Possible fast finishers are all grouped together rather than being mixed with learners of different working speeds. |
| Some learners are frustrated because they do not have time to finish the activity. | Slower learners are paired with slower learners. |
| Teachers are unable to monitor learners and learning successfully. | The above problems mean that the teacher has to manage the class and deal with difficulties rather than monitor and promote learning. |
You can see from the table how much learner groupings can affect what happens in the classroom. Overall, it’s important to have a balance and varietyTo introduce different things such as different types of activities or tasks, language skills, interaction patterns, pacing or timing into a lesson. Teachers try to include variety in their lessons, so that learners stay interested. click to keep open · see glossary of learner groupings in any one lesson.
◆Key concepts and the language teaching classroom
Read these tips and tick the ones which are most important for you:
- It is useful to include a variety of interaction patterns in a lesson to keep the students interested and motivatedWanting to learn and being willing to make an effort; motivated learners work hard and stay interested. click to keep open · see glossary and to give them different kinds of practice.
- Young learners do not have such fixed learning styles as adults and it is an important aspect of their development for teachers to introduce them to a range of learner groupings.
- All classes are mixed abilityThe different levels of language or ability of learners studying in the same class. Teachers sometimes prepare different tasks for different learners in the class so that all of the learners are able to succeed in an activity. See differentiation. click to keep open · see glossary: students are at different points in their language learning, have different learning strengths and different intelligences.
- When grouping students in young learner classes, it is important to consider their cognitiveRelating to thinking and mental processes such as remembering, understanding and solving problems. click to keep open · see glossary and physical development. Young learners of the same age may not be at the same point in these aspects of development.
- Most of the time learners work well together in different groupings, but sometimes individual learner characteristicsThe typical things about a learner or learners that influence their learning, e.g. age, L1, past learning experience, learning style. click to keep open · see glossary mean that some learners find it difficult to work together, e.g. one learner is shy and another is quite dominant.
- With a class of between 20 and 30 learners, we can manage a range of interaction patterns quite easily. With classes of more than 30 learners, interaction patterns such as pairs, groups, mingles, teams are possible, but need more careful planning.
- Gradual introduction of pair and group work is important when learners are used to working as a whole class. It is useful to start by doing short, quite structured pairwork activities and gradually introduce longer and more varied groupings.
- Activities do not always have to be done in the same learner groupings. Discussion activities can be done in teams rather than in groups or as a whole class, and role-plays in groups rather than pairs.
- Learners can be absent from class. It is frustrating when we plan groups for an activity and one or more of the learners are absent. So it’s important to consider how we will manage, for example, if the predicted class of 20 (5 groups of 4) is a class of 18 on the day.
- Sometimes a student arrives late for class after we have organised the groupings for the activity. You can deal with this by putting the student in a group and have the group explain quickly to him or her what they are doing.
- Unit 13 for more information on learning styles and other learner characteristics
- Units 27, 28 and 30 for classroom functions, the language learners use and teacher roles
- Units 32 and 33 for correcting learners and giving feedback
✎Follow-up activity
(See page 243 for answers)
Here is a lesson plan from a methodology book for primary learners. Study the lesson plan and decide on appropriate learner groupings for each stage. What aspects will you have to consider when grouping the learners?
| Time | Teacher’s activity | Pupils’ activity |
|---|---|---|
| 5–10 minutes | 1 Warmer: brief revision of colours. | Pupils stand in lines behind flags of different colours. The teacher says a colour. Pupils behind the flag of that colour put up their hands. |
| 10 minutes | 2 Bring in a goldfish or a picture of a fish to introduce the topic to pupils. Discuss the fish – what it looks like, its colour, its parts. Check who has a fish at home. | Pupils gather round the tank and say what they know about fish. They tell each other something about their own fish. |
| 3 Tell pupils you are going to tell them a story. Pupils predict what the story will be. Get feedback from the pupils. | Pupils talk together to try to guess what will be in the story. | |
| 10 minutes | 4 Explain the activity, i.e. pupils have to colour their fish as the story requests. Give out colours and photocopies of a fish drawing. | Group monitors give out crayons and blank sheets. |
| 5 minutes | 5 Tell the first part of the story with actions and pictures. Continue the story with instructions for colouring. | Pupils colour in the fish drawings, following instructions. |
| 5 minutes | 6 Get the pupils to compare drawings. | Pupils compare drawings. |
| 7 Elicit from different learners the colours of the little fish. Use sentence prompts, e.g. His face is … | Pupils talk about the colours of the fish to the whole class, e.g. His face is … | |
| 5 minutes | 8 Ask pupils what they thought about the story, in L1 if necessary. Ask whether the big fish was right not to give the little fish colour for his lips. | Pupils give their opinions to the class. |
(adapted from Children Learning English by Jayne Moon, Macmillan 2000)
See Unit 13 for more information on learning styles and other learner characteristics.
Check your answers — answer key (book pp. 237–244)
Learner groupings and aspects to consider at each stage of the lesson.
1 Team game: mix of abilities and learner characteristics in the teams.
2 Whole class: everyone can see, shyer learners are not pushed to the back.
3 Group work: balance of learner abilities in groups, possibly strong with strong and weak with weak; class feedback: making sure dominant learners don’t take over.
4 Whole class: silence, not chatting in L1.
5 Individual work: listening, not chatting in L1.
6 Pairwork: give learners key language to use, otherwise they might just point or use L1.
7 Whole-class feedback: use of names to make sure everyone has a chance to answer.
8 Class discussion: provide some useful language for giving opinions, use of names to make sure everyone has a chance to give their opinion.
💡Reflect
Think about these teachers’ comments. Which do you agree with and why?
- My classes are only 45 minutes long, and it takes time to arrange students into different groupings for different activities. I think it’s a waste of time.
- When my students work in pairs and groups, the classroom becomes a noisy place. Other teachers comment on it in the staffroom. It makes me feel as if I’m not doing a good job.
- I teach groups of business people and they prefer working on their own. I’m not sure if I should include other learner groupings or not.
🔍Discovery activities
- Try out some learner groupings that you haven’t tried before and write up the results in your Teacher Portfolio.
- You will find some useful information on grouping young learners in Chapters 7 and 8 of Children Learning English by Jayne Moon, Macmillan 2000.
- For more information on practical aspects of grouping learners and on interaction patterns, look at Module 16 of A Course in Language Teaching by Penny Ur, Cambridge University Press 1996.
✎TKT practice tasks
These multiple-choice tasks are exactly as in the book, but interactive: pick your answers, check your score, and retry anytime. The scoring uses the official answer key from the back of the book.
📖Glossary terms in this unit
Key terms highlighted in this unit — study them on the flashcards page.
Editorial note — OCR and reconstruction notes for this unit
Pages 204–208 (pdf 209–213). Page 204’s three-column table came through the OCR with its cells jumbled (numbering split from the interaction-pattern text); it was re-read from the page image and rebuilt row by row. Practice task 31 numbers its seven teaching strategies 1–7 and uses only A–C (options may be used more than once), so it is encoded as ONE match question with seven stems and a three-item pool. The printed box heading ‘Problems with group or pairwork’ labels the A–C pool. The Time column of the follow-up lesson-plan table uses merged cells; the continuation rows carry . Only the Unit 13 cross-reference is printed in this unit; the other seeAlso items are navigation aids for related Module 3 units.