| How: | | | | hard-working students do all the work, fall |
| | | | asleep etc. In a pair, one student is |
| 1. Make a list of pairs of names before the | | | | speaking and one is listening and formulating |
| lesson starts or while the students are | | | | a response, in a group of three, one is |
| coming in, or just tell them when the time | | | | speaking, and usually the other two are |
| comes: "Gianni, you work with Paola; Chiara, | | | | listening and formulating responses, in a |
| you’re with Stefano this time." | | | | group of four (or more), one is speaking, one |
| | | | or two are listening and formulating |
| 2. If there is an odd number of students make | | | | responses and the other one is asleep, aware |
| a group of three but break them up later in | | | | that s/he hasn’t got much chance of |
| the lesson and put them into pairs with | | | | getting a word in edge-ways. Or of course, in |
| someone else so they get more chance to | | | | a group of four, two speak to each other |
| speak. | | | | while the other two often either fall asleep |
| | | | or end up speaking to each other too, in |
| 3. You could put them in small groups to | | | | which case you might as well have put them in |
| start with if the activity allows. You could | | | | pairs in the first place. |
| even make the activity a competition in small | | | | |
| teams if the activity allows, seeing which | | | | If you have an odd number of students |
| team gets the most answers right. Use the | | | | don’t pair the extra student up with |
| board or a piece of paper for keeping score. | | | | yourself - make a group of three somewhere. I |
| | | | used to take on the "odd" student myself when |
| 4. Change the partners quite often so that | | | | I started in EFL but I found that it |
| the students don’t get bored with | | | | didn’t work. The other students |
| their partner. This is especially important | | | | weren’t daft - they realised they were |
| if there is a student who isn’t very | | | | missing out on the teacher’s attention |
| popular with the others. | | | | and I realised they were right - I was |
| | | | short-changing them by not monitoring them as |
| Why: | | | | I should. |
| | | | |
| 1. It’s good for the students to speak | | | | If you’ve got some talkative and some |
| to each other in English (see TT5 for further | | | | quiet students, pair the quiet ones together |
| explanation). | | | | for the fluency activities (as opposed to the |
| | | | vocabulary/grammar activities) to encourage |
| 2. It’s good for the students to work | | | | them to talk more. I used to put one |
| with another student sometimes rather than | | | | talkative student in a pair with a quiet one, |
| alone (see TT5 and TT13) for further | | | | thinking that the quiet one would speak more |
| explanation). | | | | if his/her partner was the chatty type. I was |
| | | | wrong - the talkative one monopolises the |
| Extra Info: | | | | conversation and the quiet one is happy to |
| | | | let this happen. |
| I don’t put my students into groups | | | | |
| bigger than 3 because I don’t think | | | | NB: If you only have one student, simply |
| they get enough chance to speak in such a | | | | "pair up" with your student. The worksheets |
| large group so they switch off, start | | | | are designed to be used in individual lessons |
| fidgeting, get frustrated, let the | | | | as well as group ones. |