Group work in foreign language classes: “Deep action”, sources of stress and problems among participants

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses data from a classroom research focusing on student interaction during group activities in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class, aiming to better understand how students feel about this kind of activity, especially with regard to the existence of situations that may be characterized as “deep action” (Holliday, 1994). The research was conducted in a university context and data was collected from reflective journals written by students participating in an English course, in which different ways to form groups were used. Results show that, contrary to what some researchers and many teacher manuals say, the groups can cause relationship problems among participants and that group work can be a source of stress in EFL classes. In addition, the refl ective diaries proved to be an important tool to understand what Holliday has called “deep action” in the classroom.

Keywords: foreign language teaching, group work, deep action.