Running head: ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL 1

Action Research Proposal

Nguyen Quang Hieu

Hanoi University
ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2

Using group work to manage a large class with students of different levels

at Thanh Do University

Introduction

Aim of the Research

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether group work (including pair work) is an

effective way of dealing with problems of large classes and students of different levels at

Thanh Do University.

Research Questions

 What are problems of a large and multilevel class?

 Does group work help to deal with problems of large classes and students of

different levels?

Rationale

I teach General English at Thanh Do University. Most of the classes I teach are very large

and the students are at different levels. The above factors lead to some minor problems.

The students are very passive and unmotivated. They are not willing to talk or to

participate in any activities, except some higher level students. Some of the students even

do not pay attention to the lessons. There are not many interactions in the lessons so

everyone feels bored. It’s important to find out the way to deal with these above

problems. I think group work is one of the most effective ways. Not only in speaking will

I use group work but also in other skills: reading, listening, and writing.
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Literature review

This part reviews previous studies of large class, multilevel class and problems caused by

these factors. Group work and its benefits are also discussed here.

1. Large class

How large a class can be considered as large one? Hayes (1997) says there is no

quantitative definition of what constitutes a large class, as people’s perception of this

varies from context to context. In some private language schools a class with 20 students

may be perceived large. According to Murphy & Rosenberg (1998), regular (large) class

contains 22 - 25 students. Ur (1996) (as cited in Dewan, 2003) considers 40-50 students

in a class is a large class, while in Vietnam, large class generally refers to that of

containing more than 50 students (even up to 100), which to some foreign teachers may

be super large.

Wang & Zhang (2001) say that large class is one with more students than the teacher

prefers to manage and available resources can support.

In large classes, students can share a number of different ideas interesting life experiences

and learn to share responsibilities and help each other. Large classes are noisy but may be

fun and exciting. However, there are a number of problems and challenges of teaching

large classes.

Wang & Zhang (2011) argues that many language teachers hold a negative view on

teaching English in large classes. They often say such words as “out of control”, “hard to

organize class activities” or “impossible to communicate”.

Thaher (2005) mentions that in large classes, the teacher does most of the talking and

many students are neglected or deprived of participation in classroom activities.

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According to many teachers’ views and complaints, Hayes (1997) classifies the problems

associated with teaching in large classes into five categories: 1) Discomfort caused by the

physical constraints; 2) Control problems (discipline aspects); 3) Lack of individual

attentions; 4) Difficulty on evaluation; 5) Problems of charging learning effectiveness.

Strevens (1978) argues that an overcrowded class is one of the constraints on teaching

/learning effectiveness. According to him, overcrowded classes reduce teacher’s attention

per student and produce real physical discomfort and distraction.

Christensen (1994) discusses the number of problems that language teachers feel exist in

large classrooms. Due to large class sizes limiting the learning environment, language

teachers feel there are several pedagogical issues that are weakened at times. These

include difficulties with speaking, reading, and writing tasks, difficulties with monitoring

and giving feedback, problems in individualizing work, avoidance of tasks that are

demeaning to implement, difficulty getting around the classrooms, and poor attention of

students.

2. Multilevel class

The term “multilevel” has come to define classes where learners from a wide range of

levels, from beginning to advanced, are placed together in a class (Mathews, Aydinli &

Horne, 2006).

Hess (2001) says students in those classes differ not only in language acquisition ability, but

also in age, motivation, intelligence, self-discipline, literacy skills, attitude and interest.

Multilevel classes can provide opportunities for learners. Those with limited proficiency

have an opportunity to interact with more proficient English speakers, and advanced

learners benefit by using their English skills to help lower level students negotiate

meaning. Students in multilevel classes can learn to work together across differences and
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develop learning communities in which members learn from one another’s strengths

(Corley, 2005; Hofer & Larson, 1997; Jacobson, 2000; Wright, 1999) (as cited in

Mathews, Aydinli & Horne, 2006)

Multilevel classes can present challenges to teachers, who must engage the interest of all

the learners in their classes while helping them achieve their diverse educational goals. If

the instructor plans activities that meet only the needs of learners whose skills fall in the

middle, those learners with lower skills may become frustrated, and those with more

advanced skills may become bored (Boyd & Boyd, 1989; Wrigley & Guth, 1992) (as

cited in Mathews, Aydinli & Horne, 2006). Multilevel lesson planning must include

strategies for organizing group, pair, and individual work.

3. Group work

According to Doff (1988), group work is a process that teacher divides the class into

small groups to work together (usually four or five students in each group), as in pair

work, all the groups work at the same time. When working in small groups, the students

can be assigned with many kinds of tasks such as discussion, role-play, and presentations

which help the activities successful, varied and motivated. It can be clearly seen that

group work is a cooperative activity in which the students work at the same time, sharing

ideas and responsibility and independently have their own ideas which contribute to the

group work’s success without every minute observation from the teacher and other

students.

Benefits of group work

According to Jiang (2009), there are five outstanding features of group work: 1) Group

work gives students a positive affective climate; 2) Group work increases the students’

self-confidence and self-esteem; 3) Group work promotes the students' social interaction;
ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL 6

4) Group work initiates learners' flexibility and independence; 5) Group work will benefit

the teachers.

Clearly, group work can increase the student talking time, helps to improve

communication. The students who have little chance to talk to each other now can share

ideas, become close in the short time and above all solve the common problem assigned

by the teacher. Because of the number of people involved, each with different experience,

knowledge, points of view and values, a larger number and variety of ideas can be given,

working in groups helps students to produce greater output (Harmer, 1999).

Students are encouraged to become active rather than passive learners by developing

collaborative and co-operative skills, and lifelong learning skills such as decision making,

problem solving, values clarification, communication, critical thinking, negotiation,

conflict resolution, and teamwork. Even quiet students have an opportunity to speak and

be heard in small groups thus overcoming the anonymity and passivity.

Working in a group students are more engaged not only intellectually but emotionally as

well. They have to think, contribute to the group, evaluate what other members of the

group say, share information, ask friends for clarification, and prepare a presentation

together. "Group work gives learners exposure to a range of language items and language

functions" (Krall, 1993).

There are, however, some problems that we have to take into account when using group

work. One obvious disadvantage is the noise made by the group who have a big argument

on the problem or by the group who are so excited about working with one another. This

can distract the other groups. The very bad effect of working in groups is that many

passive students or lazy students let their friends do everything provided that they still

have their names in the group’s results. Working in group can cause competitions. Most
ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL 7

students working in a group unconsciously perceive the situations as a competition. This

generates a destructive behavior and drains the creative energy of the group. Another

disadvantage is that working in group is a relatively slow process compared with working

alone. It requires individuals to come together at an assigned time, usually for about a

long time, and this can cause organizational problems. It is really time-consuming for the

students in group and the teacher. The teacher needs more time to organize the group

work and control all the members in the group let alone the unsuitable students in groups

which makes the class in disorder (Harmer, 1999).

Preliminary Investigation

At first, I am trying to investigate problems caused by one of large and multilevel classes

at Thanh Do University where I am teaching. Before that, I will also figure out how large

the class is (the number of the students) and how different the levels of the students are.

(They will be described in Subjects).

Method

I will use both survey and observation to conduct my action research. Firstly, I will carry

out a survey on students to investigate the problems caused by a large and multilevel

class. I will also observe and take notes the problems while teaching in and after the class.

Data collecting tools

Questionnaires will be used in the survey. The aim is to collect data about the problems of

a large and multilevel class. There will be 2 kinds of questionnaires: for students and for

the teachers.

For students: The questionnaires will include the questions to collect information about

the problems students have in class caused by large and multilevel class.

For teachers: Questions to collect information about the problems when teaching.
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Subjects

52 second – year university students of class: DH KT2 – K3 and 13 teachers of Foreign

Language Department will participate in the study.The students are at elementary level

and are studying course book: New English File – Pre-intermediate. I choose this class as

subjects because it is the most crowded one and I am assigned to teach this class. To

investigate the different levels of the class, I collected the final results of the last semester

and at the beginning of this semester, I also gave them a placement test. The results in last

semester show that: 8% students got A (8.5-10), 19% B (7.0 – 8.4), 43% C (5.5 – 6.9),

27% D (4.0 – 5.4), 3% E (0 – 3.9). 2 male teachers and 11 female teachers will also be in

the survey. They all have more than three-year experience in teaching.

Procedure

I will carry out the Preliminary investigation in 2 weeks. I will observe students’

problems during 4 lessons (12 periods). At the end of 2nd week, I will give students and

the teachers the questionnaires to complete.

Possible Outcomes

From the students’ answers, there may be following problems in the large and multilevel

class:

1. Noise

2. Distraction

3. Students feel lost or out of place, lose interest or motivation.

4. Lack of individual responsibilities so students can do anything they like.

5. Their inability to hear the teacher or to see the blackboard or other visual materials

clearly
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6. Not enough space for them to sit comfortably, stifling and overcrowding

environment

7. Little homework, or assignments

8. Students can cheat in tests.

From teachers’ answers, there may be some other problems:

1. Difficulties in monitoring students’ work or giving them feedback

2. Difficulties in providing students with opportunities to practice or communicate

with each other

3. Difficulties in keeping discipline

4. Difficulty in learning students’ names

5. Problems in assessing students’ moods and needs

6. Difficulties in creating and developing good interactions with students

7. Difficulties in the correction of large amounts of paper work

Planning

I am going to use group work to deal with problems of large and multilevel classes

Action

I’ll divide 52 students into 8 small groups by mixed levels of proficiency. I’ll ask students

to sit in groups in all lessons. I’ll also have an orientation class to guide students what to

do in groups. I will carry out the plan over a semester.

At the end of semester, I will continue to ask some teachers in my department to observe

my lessons and ask students to answer questionnaires.

ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL 10

Observation

Hopefully, this technique can deal with the problems of large and multi level classes.

Students will interact more in different activities. Everyone will have a chance to talk and

express their ideas. The class will be active and dynamic.

This will also help students have motivation and interests in learning. The outcomes of

learning will also be better by using group work. Although the class is noisy, it will be fun

and exciting. Delivering responsibilities in groups will deal with multilevel problems.

Good students will do more difficult tasks; low level students will do the easy ones.

Group work will also help the teacher a lot in managing the class. It will be easy to keep

discipline, monitor students’ work or give them feedback or correct students’ paper work.
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References

Christensen, T. (1994). Large Classes and Their Influence on Language Teaching.

Journal of Hokusei Jr. Col., 30, 121-129.

Dewan, S. (2003). Teaching large multilevel classes. Journal of NELTA, 8, 1-5.

Doff A. (1988). Teaching English: A Training Course for Teachers. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Harmer J. (1999). The Practice of ELT. London: Longman
Hayes, D. (1997). Helping Teachers to Cope with Large Classes. ELT Journal.51(2),106-
116.
Hess, N. (2001). Teaching large multilevel classes. Cambridge: CUP

Jiang, Y. M. (2009). Applying Group Work to Improve College Students’ Oral English.

International Education Studies, 2 (3), 136-139

Mathews, J , Aydinli & Horne, V. R. (2006). Promoting Success of Multilevel ESL

Classes: What Teachers and Administrators Can Do. CAELA Belief, 2, 2-5

Murphy, D., Rosenberg, B. (1998). Recent Research Shows Major Benefits of Small

Class Size. American Federation of Teachers, 3, 1-3.

Thaher, M. (2005). The Effets of large class on EFL Students at An-Najah National

University. An-Najah Univ. J . Res. (H. Sc.),19 (3)

Wang, P. & Jiang, D. (2011). Teaching Large Classes in China. China Adult Education,

13, 157-158.