Pairing Learners in Pair Work Activity

Autor/inn/en	Storch, Neomy; Aldosari, Ali
Titel	Pairing Learners in Pair Work Activity
Quelle	In: Language Teaching Research, 17 (2013) 1, S.31-48 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1362-1688
DOI	10.1177/1362168812457530
Schlagwörter	Cooperative Learning; Foreign Countries; Heterogeneous Grouping; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Language Proficiency; Language Usage; Teaching Methods; Writing (Composition); Males; College Students; Single Sex Colleges; Saudi Arabia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Kooperatives Lernen; Ausland; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Sprachgebrauch; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Schreibübung; Male; Männliches Geschlecht; Collegestudent; Saudi-Arabien
Abstract	Although pair work is advocated by major theories of second language (L2) learning and research findings suggest that pair work facilitates L2 learning, what is unclear is how to best pair students in L2 classes of mixed L2 proficiency. This study investigated the nature of pair work in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class in a college in Saudi Arabia. The L2 proficiency of the learners in such classes is often quite heterogeneous. Thirty learners allocated into similar (high-high and low-low) and mixed-L2 proficiency pairs (five pairs in each proficiency pairing) completed a short composition. The audio recorded and transcribed pair talk was analysed for the learners' overt focus on language use and amount of L2 used. In our analysis we took into consideration the effect of proficiency pairing as well as the dyadic relationship the learners formed. Our findings suggest that decisions regarding how to best pair students in heterogeneous classes depend on the aim of the activity, and that the dyadic relationship may be of greater significance than proficiency pairing. (Contains 7 tables.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10