Using Pair Work and Group Work in L2 Classroom at Secondary Schools

This article presents the findings of a study on using pair-work! group-work (PW!GW) activities in L2 classrooms in Bangladesh. Using PW!GW activities in L2 classrooms is a popular means of increasing student-talk (Puente & Tajonera, 1999; Harmer, 200 I; Storch & Aldosari , 2010). This study explores the extent to which secondary school teachers are using this means, the benefits they are enjoying and the challenges they are facing in this regard. For collecting data three different sources e.g. classroom observations, interviews with teachers and FGD with students were used. The findings show teachers are frequently using PW/GW activities in their classrooms. The students also enjoy doing these. But teachers cannot reap the benefits of it to optimum level because of having unusually large student population and lack of enough room in the classrooms, lack of sufficient knowledge on the teachers' part in conducting PW!GW activities and giving feedback etc.