View Content #1422
| Contentid | 1422 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | Small Group Problem Solving, an effective communicative activity |
| Body | From: John Harbord on the TESL-L listserv. Write to Harbordj@ceu.hu if you have questions. Context of listserv posting: Alejandra asks for help with activities for a mixed level class. John's reply: Generally, the most suitable activities are those that are task- based, not language-based, i.e. those that involve students in using their available language abilities to get something done, e.g. solving a problem or puzzle. One such activity type which I have used with a wide range of levels is cutting up a story and giving a sentence to each student. It is even better if the complete story presents a puzzle which then has to be solved. If you do this, another factor that needs to be taken into account is group size. Groups should not be too large or strong students will dominate. For this particular activity, six might be the maximum (any less and putting the story together would be too easy) for more general problem-solving activities where all have the same information, 3-4 is a better maximum number. Problems can be imaginary situations which stimulate the imagination, from high fantasy (your spaceship has crashed on the red planet - this one actually exists as a teaching simulation but is not commercially avaiable, I think) to somewhat more real-life situations (your car has broken down in the desert - what should you do?), or local real-world problems (decide on how to redesign the school cafeteria/ the local shopping area etc.) Occasionally, an added bonus can be created if the problem is so real-world that someone might actually want to read the students' answers (eg. how to improve the orientation week for foreign students at our university). Although such activities can't really make up an entire course (though this is exactly what Prabhu and his colleagues did, so it's not impossible), they can make up a significant part. John Harbord Centre for Academic Writing Central European University Tel: 00 361 327 3196 |
| Source | John Harbord |
| Inputdate | 2004-04-02 15:02:00 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2004-04-02 15:02:00 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | Not set |
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| Active | 1 |
| Emailed | 1 |
| Isarchived | 1 |
