ERIC Number: ED158563
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1976
Pages: 44
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Small-Group Learning. An Integrative Approach to Foreign Language Teaching. Choosing among the Options. ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series, Vol. 8.
Baker, Reid E.
Small group work is an indispensable component of self-paced individualized instruction and can also make possible a high degree of individualization in the conventional instructional situation. Partial instructional approaches varying whole-class presentations, small group work, and individualized study are discussed. Group work can facilitate the development of communicative competence. Effective learning occurs in the small group environment because students learn by teaching each other and because the socio-emotional needs of students are satisfied. The teacher must plan and prepare carefully to enable students to understand why they are working in groups, what they are expected to do, and how they can go about it. Later in the learning sequence there are opportunities for creativity and student decision-making concerning activities. A summary of theory and research on the small group process examines characteristics and size of groups, patterns of communication, teachers' role perceptions, and "producer-consumer" exchanges. Various kinds of help are available to the teacher who wants to implement group work in the class, including group leaders from the class itself and native speakers. The ideal place for teachers to acquire skills in small group instruction is the preservice program. A representational selection of small group activities appropriate for either secondary or college level classes are presented. (SW)
Descriptors: Classroom Research, Communicative Competence (Languages), Group Behavior, Group Experience, Grouping (Instructional Purposes), Higher Education, Individualized Instruction, Language Instruction, Learning Activities, Pacing, Second Language Learning, Secondary Education, Small Group Instruction, Teaching Methods
Not Available Separately; See FL 009 582
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, New York, NY.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A