interaction like tolerance and emphatic perspective, use target language to communicate each other, develop problem solving strategies, increase their
thinking and understanding, build their confidence, motivation, and responsibility, and learn cooperatively in their group.
In sum up, the purpose of group work in teaching reading is to increase students’ ability in communication by using target language and help them in
comprehending the reading text easily. Thus, it develops s tudents’ social
interaction and builds students’ motivation to share the ideas. Therefore, they may
gain confidence in learning and attain better academic achievement.
3. Techniques of Using Group Work
Harmer explained the procedures of group work, he classifies the procedures of group work into three parts. There are before, during, and after:
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a. Before
The teacher has to follow the „engage-instruct-initiate’ because students need to feel enthusiastic and understand what they are going to
do, and then give an idea of what they will have finished the task they are going to get involved in.
The teacher has to involve the demonstration when gives the instructions for students, in order to give clear instruction but if the
activity is familiar with students, teacher just give simply instruction. The teacher has to give students a time to finish their activity. It
will give the success of group work task because it helps to give a clear framework to work within, then it can encourage groups to be the first
finishers, and then it can be a game that has a slight sense of competition between groups are no harm’.
The instruction is important thing. The teacher should give students in understanding and agreeing of the task
, then to check students’
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Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching: Third Edition, New York: Longman Publishing, 1991, p. 122-124.
understanding on the teacher’s instruction, so the teacher ask them to repeat it, or they can translate into their first language.
b. During
When students are doing their task in group, the teacher can monitor students by standing at the front, side, back or anywhere else in
the classroom and keep on what is happening. In this position the teacher can „tune in’ to a particular group, decide whether to go over, and help that
group. Teacher can use an alternative procedure that is to go round that
class, watching and listening to specific groups. The teacher can stay or the teacher intervene the group if necessary and the teacher bear in mind
what they have said about the difference between accuracy and fluency work. If students are involved in discussion, the teacher has to correct
gently, help students with suggestion about something they are planning, or trying to move a discussion forwards, then the teacher act as a prompter,
resource, or tutor. Students have to avoid the temptations in using their first language and teacher persuades them back into English.
The teacher has an ideal opportunity to work with students when they are working in groups. Then the teacher has a chance become
observer, and get the information about students’ progress and seeing if
they will have to „troubleshoot’. However, teacher participation is vital in learning reading by using group work.
c. After
After group work finish, the teacher has to organize feedback from students. The teacher discusses about what happened during the group
work season, gives the assessment and makes correction. A few groups demonstrate the teacher’s feedback by using the
target language, if students make the mistakes, the teacher corrects it. It is used to give them information for future learning and action.
In group work students discuss an issue and guess the content of a reading text, and the teacher encourages them to give their conclusion.
Then the teacher and students compare their different solution, ideas, and problems. It helps them to get an understanding of the topic.
After that, the teacher asks students to make a conclusion on a piece of paper and give them a chance to demonstrate it in the class, or
they can write on the board, or read the text that they have written, or play audio or videotapes they have made.
Finally, the teacher has to construct feedback because it is important to enhance
students’ motivation in the future. The teacher gives feedback on the language mistake is only one part of that process.
4. Advantages of Group Work
Actually group work has many advantages. According to Jacobs, advantages of group work are:
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1. The quantity of learners’ speech acts can increase
2. The variety of speech acts can increase
3. There can be more individualization of instruction
4. Anxiety can be reduce
5. Motivation can increase
6. Enjoyment can increase
7. Independence can increase
8. Social integration can increase
9. Students can learn how to work together with others
10. Learning can increase
From Jacobs ’s explanation, it can be seen that group work has some
advantages to increase students ’ speech acts, motivation, enjoyment,
independence, social interaction, and learning. Then it can reduce their anxiety.
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Willy A. Renandya and George M. Jacobs, Learners and Language Learning, Singapore: SEAMEO, 1998, p. 172-175.
