Teach english new edition r

Chapter 3 
B
1 T he first in stru c tio n is clear, uses gesture an d rep e titio n , a n d th e n checks th a t stu d e n ts have 
u n d e rsto o d w hat is going on.
T he second in stru c tio n uses com plex language, is full o f n o n sequiturs an d includes 
in fo rm a tio n th a t is com pletely u n h elp fu l to th e students.
T he th ird in stru c tio n is perfectly efficient, b u t d oesn’t actually ‘inclu d e’ stu d en ts in any way. 
T he fo u rth in stru c tio n w orks in a n u m b e r o f ways. T he teacher an n o u n ces a change o f 
d irec tio n /a new stage. She m akes sure even the stu d e n t w ho is curren tly distracted is listening, 
an d th e n starts to elicit questions.
c
1 S upposing th a t th e teacher speaks for ab o u t tw enty-five m in u tes in to ta l (including taking the 
register, etc), the m a x im u m tim e any o ne stu d e n t could talk w o u ld be one m in u te an d fifteen 
seconds.
2
Advantages
Disadvantages
Teacher talking time (TTT)
• T is a good language 
model.
• Good Ts are good 
‘rough-tuners’ - so their 
language is useful for the 
students’ acquisition.
• S S like listening to the T.
• T can focus the attention 
and energy of the whole 
group.
• SS need sp eaking 
practice, not the teacher.
• It can be very boring if it 
goes on too long.
• It m eans S S are usually 
working only as a whole 
group.
• It m eans SS are only 
listening - which cuts out 
the learning potential that 
speaking, reading and 
writing offer.
Student talking time (STT)
• S S need the practice!
• STT can provide rehearsal 
(see Chapter 9).
• STT gives T and S S good 
information about how 
well the SS are doing.
• It can be very chaotic -
esp ecially in groups, etc.
• It may be less efficient 
than TTT for getting 
across specific 
information.
• It is easy for in d ivid u al SS 
to dom inate.
F
a 
p robably orderly rows w ith the aisle (if there is one) dividing th e team s, o r tw o sides o f a 
horseshoe; in sm aller groups, each team could be at a separate table 
b 
sitting in a circle (or 
horseshoe seating) 
c 
orderly rows (unless you can have tw o o r th ree pairs at each separate 
table) 
d 
separate tables e separate tables f ju st ab o u t any seating arran g e m en t g orderly rows 
(alth o u g h any seating arran g e m en t will do if they can all tu r n to th e front)
2 3 5

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Task File Key
G
1 These are am o n g the advantages an d disadvantages:
Advantages
D isadvantages
W hole class
• Creates a sense of group 
identity.
• Suitable for T-as-controller 
activities.
• Ideal for show ing things.
• Favours groups over 
ind ivid uals.
• Does not encourage SS 
to take responsibility for 
their own learning.
• Is not good for d ecisio n­
m aking, d iscussio n, etc.
Groupwork
• Increases sp eaking time 
for in d ivid u als (in contrast 
to w hole-class grouping).
• Opportunities for lots of 
different opinions.
• Encourages learner self- 
reliance through group 
decision-m aking.
• Can be noisy.
• Som e students get ‘ lost’ 
in groups.
• Som e students end up 
alw ays fulfilling the sam e 
group role.
• Can be difficult to 
organise.
• Som e S S prefer w hole- 
class grouping.
Pairwork
• Dram atically increases 
sp eaking time in contrast 
to w hole-class grouping.
• Students work/interact 
independently.
• Two heads are better than 
one!
• Easy to organise.
• Can be very noisy.
• SS 
may veer off the point 
of the activity.
• SS 
are not alw ays keen 
on pairwork.
• It depends who 
in d ivid u als are paired 
with.
Solowork
• Allows 
SS 
to work at their 
own pace.
• Less stressful than w hole- 
group ‘performance’ .
• Quiet.
• Doesn’t necessarily help 
group solidarity.
• More work for the teacher.