When asked whether they had had opportunities to work with small groups during mainstream lessons, both TAs answered positively and gave additional details. According to TA 1, pupils are more focused and engaged when they are working in small groups as opposed to whole class teaching because of the support given by peers and the intimate atmosphere of a small group lends itself to more time for work related explanations.
“Yes, it does help, small group does help the EAL students because they can, they have time to discuss and take in what is being taught and sometimes their peers explain to them as well what is happening and they have more time then to digest what is being said whereas with when the teacher is teaching a big group a lot of what is being said gets lost to the EAL learners because they don’t understand the work that is being given some of the times or what is being said”. (TA 1, interview)
TA 2 replied that not many teachers organize and plan group work but added that the lack of staff to supervise might be the reason some teachers do not do it,
“Some teachers do organize it, I have to say not many but those that do, I found that work really organized and that pupils are learning much better in a way so if there is extra support in the lesson and the teacher has that chance to organize, to have more staff in the
162 When asked about the advantages of small group work, it was the perception of both TAs that for NAEP, small group work could provide better opportunities because pupils felt more confident and at ease to speak, have more time to formulate responses and to ask questions. The statements below help to clarify how both TAs perceive the opportunities afforded by small group.
“Oh definitely, yes it does because when, when in small groups, they are able, there are times when there is question and answer and then they have more time then to speak whereas in a bigger group they don’t, they tend to be very shy and they don’t speak but when they are within a smaller group, then they tend to say more or they tend to be able to hear more, listen more and get the opportunity to speak.” (TA 1, interview)
“I think it is self-confidence, EAL students are, they will talk and interact with other peers easier if they are in a smaller group and interaction goes better”. (TA 2, interview)
“I believe that that is a very good example of enabling EAL students to get out of their shells and to actually show their ability more than in just the whole class room situation”. (TA 2, interview)
On the subject of interaction, TA 2 stated unless he is helping pupils with examination coursework, it would be preferable for pupils to interact with each other as he would not want other learners to feel left out or for it to seem as if they are not all receiving support. This is important for the emotional and social well-being of all pupils and for social harmony in mainstream lessons,
163 “I prefer them to interact with other student and that they don’t see me just helping them but rather collaborating with the other students, helping other students so that they feel equal amongst the other”. (TA 2, interview)
I asked TA 1 if, when supporting pupils in mainstream lessons, she ensures that they are able to interact with each other. To this, she replied that depending on the size of the group and the fact that she would not be able “to get around to all of them”, she would ask a more proficient pupil to provide support. Following this, TA 1 then informed me that, in terms of the actual organization of small groups, very often, NAEP with limited proficiency in English are seated together and this makes it difficult for them to develop their skills in English. When I asked if it was possible for her to try to group pupils, the response was,
“I don’t get the chance to do that because the teacher often put the students in the groups together and I've been into classrooms where I’ve seen the teacher actually seat maybe a student who speaks little English next to a student who is, who does speak English, who is monolingual but it doesn’t happen all the while.” (TA 1, interview)
The statement above addresses two points made by the TAs; the lack of planning time with mainstream teachers and not having an influence on teachers’ grouping strategies. When asked if they are involved in planning for small group work with mainstream teachers, TA 1 stated “On occasions, yes but not, not many times I have to say.” As mentioned before, there is a need for collaboration amongst staff working with NAEP because those
164 supporting, namely, the TAs would be able to better prepare for how pupils will engage in learning tasks. On this note, TA 1 explained,
“Oh, I think it would be extremely important because it would give the opportunity to prepare more tasks, that they are suitable for EAL and non-EAL learners and how they could interact maybe in a better way if I knew what’s going to happen and what’s the plan for their group work.” (TA 1, interview)
On the subject of whether or not interacting with peers during small group work helps NAEP to develop English, TA 1’s perception is that even if a pupil is not able to construct a complete sentence, they do learn “words” from other pupils and this in itself is progress in acquiring English. For TA 2, placing EAL pupils in “mixed groups”, that is, composed of NAEP and monolingual English speakers offer opportunities to interact, listen to and model language and contribute to discussions. Of significance is the fact that getting pupils to engage and to participate in group tasks creates a sense of belonging as mentioned by TA 2,
“EAL students can then contribute to the discussion and you give them the task that you think they are able to do even if it is time keeping but you encourage them to talk and to take part and that they feel, a very important thing for me, that they feel that they belong to that group as a member, that belonging.” (TA 2, interview)
When asked about the challenges that NAEP could encounter during small group work, TA 1 again spoke about self-confidence but this time in reference to the fact that some NAEP may lack the confidence to take part in group work. For TA 2, another challenge worth highlighting is that some
165 NAEP may not be familiar with the expectations of group work due to their unfamiliarity with the educational system. TA 2 explains,
“I am not saying much difference but the methods that teachers use is probably different and some students, I do not know, they used to go to school where the method is that they listen to teacher maybe they copy from the board but I think in British schools, they focus on interaction more than in others. That is my feeling and I think students sometimes are not prepared, that they are actually expected to interact in the classroom on such level that we would like them to be.” (TA 1, interview)
For this and other reasons, it is important that teachers prepare pupils to work in small groups.