The use of pair and small group activities in the second language (L2) classroom has been
supported by both theoretical and pedagogical arguments. However, L2 researchers and
practitioners have expressed concerns about their use in some instructional contexts. This
small-scale study explored instructors’ and learners’ perceptions about the use of pair and
small group activities in a Thai EFL context, and examined whether the learning opportunities
theoretically attributed to pair and small group activities occurred in an intact classroom. It also
investigated whether learners who actively participated during the pair and small group activities
showed improved production of the target forms. Sixteen Thai EFL learners completed the
pair and small group activities as part of their regularly scheduled English classes at a large
public university in Northern Thailand. The results indicated that learners who had more
participation during the pair and small group activities demonstrated improved production of the
target forms, even though they did not perceive the activities as useful for learning language.
Issues in the use of pair and small group activities in L2 classrooms are discussed. |