Download resource

Please enter your details to download this resource
Login
 

Enter your details to access this video

Or if you already have an account login to watch the video (if you don't you can register here).
Login
Approximate reading time: 2 minutes

Small-group teaching is an approach in which learners are divided into small groups of roughly 4-8 students and work together supported by a teacher. It is a highly effective way to improve learning outcomes, particularly for EAL learners.

Small-group teaching can be focused on an induction to English, gap-filling areas of challenge or need, or pre-teaching content in the curriculum. 

Learners who learn in a small group often participate more than in a whole class session because there are fewer learners and more targeted support in the group. Teachers also find it easier to adapt learning for small multi-level groups or to select learners at similar levels to ensure comprehensive input occurs.

Small-group teaching for EAL learners

“We acquire language when we understand messages, when we understand what people tell us and when we understand what we read.” (Krashen, 2003)

Working with EAL learners in focused small-group settings can also provide opportunities to enhance motivation due to increased engagement and targeted support. Learning can be pitched at a level of challenge just above the learner’s ability to learn independently, therefore increasing their progress in the focus area of learning. This can build learner confidence significantly, a quality not often measured in EAL learner progress.

EAL learners can feel overwhelmed by whole class sessions where their peers are highly proficient in English and can, at times, feel excluded by being included in the mainstream classroom setting (at times when input is not comprehensible). Whereas in the small-group setting, they can feel less intimidated. This also “builds students’ responsibility for themselves and their group members through reliance upon each others’ talents and an assessment process which rewards both individuals and groups.” (Badache, 2011). When a learner is more actively involved in the learning (or will enjoy increased opportunities to speak and engage with the teacher), it can result in more opportunities to use the language collaboratively, a non-negotiable in the language learning classroom.

The small-group session also poses more opportunities for building friendships with learners of similar circumstances e.g. those with similar levels of English or from other cultures. These friendships are significant for feeling that sense of safety and belonging in the early days of learning English in their new context.

Beyond all these reasons, the small-group setting also provides a chance to connect the learning to the wider world. Learning English in a formal classroom setting requires a creative approach to supporting learners with making connections to real-life contexts. Similarly, the small-group setting can build additional bridges in this area (as well as wider learning) through increased opportunities to connect with the home language, increased learner engagement and increased confidence.

References

Krashen, S. (2003) Explorations in Language Acquisition and Use. Heinemann.

Badache, L. (2011) The Benefits of Group Work, University of Batna

Scott, C. (2012) Teaching English as an Additional Language 5-11: A Whole School Resource, Routledge

Scott, C. (2019) Learning Village in Action, www.learningvillage.net


More articles by this author

Bilingual world
Created: Wed 20th May 2020

If you have the opportunity to use a bilingual support partner to help families who have learners working from home, it may be useful to prepare a list of questions for this staff member to ask. Bilingual support is extremely useful when making contact with parents who speak little or no English.

Created: Fri 8th Jul 2016

Most schools with early stage learners of English will have some form of guided reading record. This record supports the learner, parents and the teacher in acknowledging, monitoring progress and rewarding good reading habits. We do this because we know the profound influence reading has on progress in literacy (not just reading alone. Try reading Krashen, the Power of Reading, 2004).

However, have you considered the impact of a similar record for learning EAL through the use of flashcard activities?

Created: Mon 24th Feb 2014

How can the new-to-English language learners and their teachers work together to provide a successful language learning experience when curriculum content is the priority? Rubin & Thompson (1982) researched and found 14 characteristics of a good language learner.

If each characteristic of a good language learner can be developed for young learners into a ‘child friendly’  question, translated into their mother tongue (maybe orally) and unpicked, question by question, each characteristic can act as a guide for learners to try out new strategies.

Back to Blog