First Advisor

Marjorie Terdal

Date of Publication

2-3-1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Department

Teaching English as a Second Language

Language

English

Subjects

English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers

DOI

10.15760/etd.7176

Physical Description

1 online resource (xv, 163 p.)

Abstract

Group work has come to play an increasingly significant role in the second language classroom due to its myriad advantages. Researchers have found that bringing language learners together for various activities provides them with greater opportunities to improve on the quality as well as the quantity of their linguistic output. A small group size and a structured activity are believed to be extremely beneficial to the language learners. In this study, eight ESL students were brought together in dyads and asked to interact verbally for the purpose of performing three types of goal-oriented activities within a specified time limit. The verbal interaction generated by the activities was measured by means of fourteen distinct communication strategies. The main aim of this research project was to identify the most interactive pair activity for further use in the second language classroom. This study found that the interaction patterns for each activity varied with each pair. In the first activity, even though there was an equal distribution of information among the members of each dyad, one member typically tended to contribute a greater number of strategies than his/her partner. In the second and third activity, where there was an unequal distribution of information, the member who possessed more information utilized more strategies than his/her partner. With regard to the link between (a) communication strategies, (b) interaction, and ( c) successful task accomplishment within a specified time limit, it was found that the use of a greater number of communication strategies resulted in greater interaction as well as an increase in the time taken to successfully accomplish the task. Conversely, the use of a lesser number of communication strategies resulted in lesser interaction as well as a decrease in the time taken to successfully accomplish the task.

Rights

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Comments

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/30553

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