The Implementation of Group Work In Awassa Primary Governmental Schools: Grade 8 in Focus
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Date
2011-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The main purpose of thi s study was to investigate the implementation of group work strategy in
primary school EFL classes. The focus was to assess if primary school EFL teachers
appropriately use group work strategy in their classes. Besides, the study was attempted to
answer some basic questions such as: how the EFL teachers implement it, how the EFL teachers
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and students perceive group work learning, whether they play their expected roles or not and
what problems they face whenever they employ group work strategy in their classes.
To this end, three data gathering tools were employed to collect necessary information from the
subjects of the research. The questionnaire was piloted at Bete Kihnet Primary School in Awassa
town and administered to 86 grade-8 students who selected randomly from 4 sections of two
primary schools, Tabor and Ethiopia Tikidem primary schools. An interview was also managed
for 5 EFL teachers and 5 grade-8 students selected using availability sampling and purposive
sampling respectively while an actual classroom observation was held in three sections of
volunteered EFL teachers. To analyze the data gathered through the above three instruments,
both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Quantitative method was used to analyze
the data gathered through questionnaire and qualitative method was used to analyze the data
gathered through an interview and classroom observation.
Analysis of the data indicated that primary school EFL teachers implement group work strategy
rarely. Though they perceive that group work strategy is an active teaching approach to EFL
classroom which give more chance for students to practice the language and for the teachers to
check individ ual student's progress, the EFL teachers use it rarely due to many reasons such as
shortage of time and large class size. The students also perceived learning through group work
though they affected by factors like language problem, anxiety, group size, etc.
According to the conclusions made, concerned bodies like the Ministry Of Education and school
administrative should either reduce the class size or increase the class time, to give EFL teachers
and students a freedom to check their academic progress at the end of each lesson.
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Keywords
Group Work, Awassa Primary, Governmental Schools