Pairwork in the ESL / EFL Classroom
Pairwork in the ESL / EFL Classroom
Pairwork in the ESL / EFL Classroom
A lot goes into a successful lesson. Teachers must consider the level of the students, and how this applies to the target language. Teachers must consider the length of the class, how it ties in with the overall course, and what objectives need to be met. The list goes on and on and on. And one area that can greatly improve the quality of the class comes with pairwork.
Put simply, students' talk time increases when they work in pairs. With more speaking practice comes more fluency. A goal of any class should be to get students to speak as much as possible, as this lets students feel comfortable and confident with the language.
Let's say, for example, you have two students who work together during a five minute activity. They then get to speak for roughly two-and-a-half minutes each. Compare this with a group of five students working together. In this case, each perhaps speaks for about one minute, likely less if one student dominates the conversation. This simply isn't enough to make the new language automatic.
How does a teacher effective arrange students into pairs?
To start with, you should try to pair up students of equal ability. This means that you must carefully way the strengths and weaknesses of each student, and pair them up not just because two people happen to sit next to one another! A weaker student with a weaker student will likely stick to the target language you have just introduced, which is fine because they both need to more restricted practice. However, two stronger students will not only incorporate the new grammar and vocabulary into their speaking tasks, they will also use material from past lessons. This means a wider range of grammar and vocabulary, as well as follow-up questions, active listening, and repairing communication breakdowns. In short, all students will work to the best of their ability in a speaking activity, no matter what their levels might be.
But it can also be effective to pair up a weaker student with a stronger student, at least some of the time. The stronger student now has a chance to help his partner with the target language. As a result, the stronger student checks his understanding of and ability with the language as he teachers, corrects, and helps his weaker partner. What's more, the weaker partner can see someone of a similar level, and thus what is within reach following more study and practice.
But be careful with mismatched pairs! These pairs should be used on a limited basis in any lesson, else students will grow bored, frustrated, and dissatisfied with the lesson. If a stronger student pairs up with a weaker student for a majority of activities, both will have end up with a weaker grasp of the new language material Neither student will have the chance to practice to his ability.
As a final point, you should lastly consider other points like the gender of the students, their age, background, hobbies, and countries of origin. Any and all could limit the effectiveness of the activities. If, for example, an older person and a younger person don't want to work with one another, then they will quickly finish the activity. Similarly, if two people of disparate hobbies try to talk about vacations, interests, or plans for the weekend, the activity will similarly finish quickly.
A lot goes into a successful classroom. Don't forget that pairs can make or break any classroom environment.
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