Group Discussions

The variety of activities and techniques suggested for improving the writing skill shows that EFL/ESL learners need scaffolding to gain mastery over it. The present study employed the reader-response approach to provide the assistance EFL learners require for writing argumentative essays. Five upper-intermediate EFL learners in a private class participated in the qualitative case study. The participants were not selected from the fields related to the English language and did not have any previous instruction on literary texts. During the treatment that took 20 sessions, each session 2 h, the participants read five short stories. Different classroom activities were used as sources of information, which helped the researcher to collect the required data. The classroom activities consisted of group discussions, writing tasks, and responses to the short stories that helped the learners to reflect on the short stories. Think-aloud protocols helped the researcher to learn about the participants' mental processes during writing. The semi-structured interviews provided the researcher with the information necessary for a deeper understanding of the efficacy of the classroom procedure. As the results of the study showed, successful writing requires manipulation of meta-cognitive strategies and thought-provoking activities. Although the findings of the study cannot be generalized, they can inspire EFL/ESL teachers and material developers to seek a variety of procedures in their approaches to teaching writing.

This study examined group discussion in problem based learning strategy aided authentic material on students’ learning outcome. The focus of the study was to know the influence of group discussion which used authentic material in developing the learning outcome and students’ critical thinking. The topic of the discussion was taken from the students’ ability to analysis and solve English semantic phenomena. The positive hypothesis of the study was the group discussion on problem based learning strategy aided authentic material influenced the students’ learning outcome and developed student’s critical thinking.
This study was done by analyzing empirical data which was gained by using quasi-experimental based on quantitative and qualitative analysis. Quantitative analysis was applied to analyze the influence of the students’ learning outcome, while qualitative analysis was applied to describe students’ critical thinking which was gained by problem solving instrument descriptor. Two classes were chosen as the subject of the study. Experimental and control class was chosen by using random sampling technique. The study was done by following steps (1)preliminary study, (2)drafting learning model, (3)developing and validating research instrument, (4) completing the draft of learning model, (5)pre-test, (6)implementing the learning model, (7)post-test, (8)analyzing the data by using SPPSS 16.0 for windows.
The data finding showed that learning strategy by applying group discussion was significant in gaining the students’ learning outcome. Moreover, the result of problem solving data analysis in problem based learning aided authentic material was able to develop students’ critical thinking skills. The consideration of the number of the group discussion member and the choosing of authentic material which is aided should be relevant to the students’ ability and also their daily life in order to gain the maximal learning outcome.

Group discussion is a communicative event where participants share their ideas on a given topic for various purposes. The topics may be related to academic concepts, social or workplace issues based on where the discussion is taking place and who is participating in it. Whatever may be the topic of discussion, participants are expected to share their views in a cooperative manner using appropriate language. Though some studies attempted teaching group discussion skills in academic settings, there appears to be less attention given to group discussion instruction for employment. While employers view group discussion as an essential component in the selection process, the incidence of many candidates getting eliminated at the group discussion stage itself points to the fact that the existing practices to teach group discussions are not helping the participants to perform efficiently. This paper is an attempt in making some modest contribution to this gap identified. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how a course on group discussion can be designed to develop employability skills in tertiary level students.

This study examined if creating intimacy in a group discussion is more effective toward reaching consensus about climate change than a focus on information. Participants were randomly assigned to either a group that spent the first part of an online discussion engaging in self-disclosure and focusing on shared values (intimacy condition) or discussing information from an article about climate change (information condition). Afterward, all groups were given the same instructions to try to come to group consensus on their opinions about climate change. Participants in the intimacy condition had higher ratings of social cohesion, group attraction, task interdependence, and collective engagement and lower ratings of ostracism than the information condition. Intimacy groups were more likely to reach consensus, with ostracism and the emotional tone of discussion mediating this effect. Participants were more likely to change their opinion to reflect that climate change is real in the intim...

Awareness of apt strategy use helps learners in the development of their English language skills. This study aims to explore the change in the understanding and consequent use of the metacognitive strategy of 'brainstorming' in the various stages of group discussions. Six female and twelve male first year students doing their Engineering in Kolkata, India participated in the study. The data was collected through four rounds of one on one semi-structured interviews, five rounds of group discussions, a questionnaire based on their use of the strategies, a strategy use sheet, and classroom observations. The data was analyzed qualitatively and through data triangulation it was found that students were using the strategy of 'brainstorming' to organize their arguments in the preparatory stage of the discussion. This is at variance with the meaning and understanding of the strategy as discussed in the literature available. Also, since this strategy was introduced to the learners towards the end of the training programme, it is imperative to determine what strategy the students used to organize their ideas in the earlier rounds of group discussion. This will help to identify the alternative strategies which can be used to address the issue of organization of arguments in group discussions. Other findings and the pedagogical implications of the study have been discussed as well.

Group discussions are used as a means of shortlisting candidates in most campus recruitments. Many professional courses, therefore, incorporate orientation programmes to develop group discussion skills within their English syllabus. These programmes however focus on the verbal aspects of language use, while non-verbal parameters are rarely given importance. However, non-verbal parameters play an important part during the selection process of candidates. Hence, the English teacher needs to focus on these as well when teaching group discussion skills. In this paper, I will attempt to capture the progress of three first year engineering students with regard to four non-verbal parameters in communication-facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and posture. One male and two female students were observed during five rounds of group discussions across ten weeks. The data gathered from these observations was analysed qualitatively to identify emerging trends in non-verbal parameters. The findings suggest that progress was manifested not only in the form of increased use of certain parameters but also as a decrease in the use of certain elements which form part of these parameters. This study has implications for the nature of teacher feedback on non-verbal aspects of communicative speaking tasks in the context of formative assessment.

The variety of activities and techniques suggested for improving the writing skill shows that EFL/ESL learners need scaffolding to gain mastery over it. The present study employed the reader-response approach to provide the assistance EFL learners require for writing argumentative essays. Five upper-intermediate EFL learners in a private class participated in the qualitative case study. The participants were not selected from the fields related to the English language and did not have any previous instruction on literary texts. During the treatment that took 20 sessions, each session 2 h, the participants read five short stories. Different classroom activities were used as sources of information, which helped the researcher to collect the required data. The classroom activities consisted of group discussions, writing tasks, and responses to the short stories that helped the learners to reflect on the short stories. Think-aloud protocols helped the researcher to learn about the parti...

Drawing on a recent experimental social-psychological study of group deliberation, this chapter suggests that affect may not only influence, but replace cognition. Vis-à-vis this result, we present a weak version of the rhetoric-as-epistemic thesis. Rhetoric is understood to provide a probable form of knowledge of the available means of persuasion which may contribute to achieving the epistemic ends of groups. In particular, the use of argumentative and suasory devices, widely understood, may facilitate that information possessed by individuals is reflected in the group’s decision. Thus, with respect to deliberative discourse, rhetoric need not create knowledge, but may help to socialize it. The chapter stresses the importance of studying the conditions under which what someone knows provides the reasons for which a collective decides.