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meaningful learning. In group situations where questions and comments are encouraged, learners have the opportunity to ask about
what they do not understand, to get others’ ideas, to attach meaning to what might otherwise be meaningless.
In speaking, small-group discussion is hoped will improve students’ speaking competency, that is to communicate the language in
real-life used. Individual learner sharpens his own ability of solving problems in speaking by seeing how other learners do this and by
doing exchange ideas among other learners.
d. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Small-group discussion
According to Hoover 1964: 250 there are number of values to be gained through the use of small-group discussion:
a. It tends to develop group cohesion and responsibility.
b. It encourages the timid person to participate.
c. It enables to develop greater creativity than would otherwise be
possible. d.
It offers additional opportunities for leadership. e.
It may be used effectively to assit the class in planning and directing over-all learning activities.
It is also assumed that having a variety of group activities in the classroom will be effective in the way:
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a. It helps teachers deal with differences among learners.
b. It provides opportunity for students to plan and develop special
project on which groups can work together. c.
It increases students interaction and socialization. In short, social and emotional aspect is achieved as well as cognitive
purpose Ornstein, 2000: 329. In addition to this, Walton says that if it is not used all the time, it adds interest and variety to the classroom 1966:
162. This type of instruction also provides opportunities for teachers to measure individual students’ growth and development Hoover, 1968:
333. It is hoped that the advantages will be gained during the actions of this study.
Ur 1981: 7 also believes that group work bring advantages. The first advantages of group work is of course the increased participation. If
we have five or six groups then there will be five or six times the amount of talking. Class discussions are very wasteful in terms of the ratio of
teacher or student-effort and time to actual languagepractice taking place; group discussions are relatively efficient. Moreover, this heightened
participation is not limited to those who are usually articulate anyway; students who are shy of saying something in front of the whole class, or to
the teacher, often find it much easier to express themselves in front of a small group of their peers.
Just like a piece of coin having two faces, everything has its own good and bad. So does small-group discussion, it also has both advantages
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and disadvantages. The primay difficulties in using small-group discussion are: group work takes a lot of time in class
http:www.utexas.eduacademicctesourcebookgroups.pdf. Dealing
with thedisadvantages of small-group discussion, Walton says that in a discussion some tend to do all the talking, and those who do not
participate may learn less from hearing their fellow students talk than from hearing their teacher 1966: 162. In all small-group discussion
designs, however, the key to success will be in the instructors’ direction to the group. They need to be clear on what they are to be doing. The
instructors should be aware of what goes wrong during the implementation of small-group discussion in a classroom activity. The
instructor should be able to manage the time of discussion and should also pay attention to the individual participant in group. The students should be
made more aware of their role as individual learners who study and work in a team so that it encourages them to be active and cooperative during
the activity.
e. Roles Participant in a Small-Group Discussion.
