| With the implementation of new curriculum reform,the teaching method of cramming has been gradually phased out.At the moment,collaborative learning is widely used in English class,mainly in the forms of group work and pair work.A large number of empirical studies show that collaborative learning is conducive for students to learn second language.At present,researchers both at home and abroad attach greater importance to effects of group work on L2 learning with only a few focusing on pair work.In this regard,the study endeavors to further explore whether different pairing formations affect LREs and L2 use on the basis of previous studies,as a way of improving efficiency in English class.The experiment focuses on the following three questions:1.What effect does pair formation method(student-selected vs.teacher-assigned)have on the quantity and types of LREs produced?2.What effect does pair formation method(student-selected vs.teacher-assigned)have on the patterns of dyadic interaction?3.What effect does pair formation method(student-selected vs.teacher-assigned)have on L2 use?The researcher has randomly selected twenty sophomores from two parallel classes(A=20,B=20)respectively from a vocational school in Nantong,Jiangsu Province.All participants selected are female students in case that gender may influence the accuracy of the result,with their English at the intermediate proficiency level.In the process of experiment,they have been divided into 2 groups,namely student-select pairs and teacher-assigned pairs.The instruments employed are oral task and interview,of which oral task is the major one.Data collection includes two parts.One is transcript of oral task and the other is records of interview.The major findings yielded were:Firstly,pairing formation methods had significant effects on the quantity and types of vocational students’ language-related episodes.Teacher-assigned pairings produced much more language-related episodes of all the types except mechanical LREs than student-selected ones.It is also found that student-selected pairing produced more off-task LREs characterized by totally personal nature,which may,to some extent,attribute to friendship factor.As a result,the present study further consolidates some findings of the previous studies,suggesting that student-selected pairs were less task-oriented than teacher-assigned ones.Secondly,in terms of patterns of dyadic interaction,the study found that there was no striking difference between the two pairing formation methods as both groups predominantly exhibited a collaborative relationship.There are two possible explanations as to the findings.The first refers to the instruments used by these studies to examine the nature of peer interaction.The second possible explanation lies in that some of the students,though in the teacher-assigned pairs,might have had some familiarity with each other due to participating in similar previous courses and this might have partly contributed to the collaborative interaction among them.Thirdly,pairing formation methods had a significant effect on L2 use.The experiment data showed teacher-assigned pairs produced more L2 words and larger number of longer L2 turns.This can be attributable to the following reasons.Firstly,the student-selected pairs suffered from off-task behavior as they generated a large number of off-task episodes,which was in line with the data of interview.Secondly,it seemed there were some competitive spirits among the teacher-assigned pairs,and students paid more attention to L2 use,the result of which could be reflected by larger number of longer L2 turns.In general,pairing methods do have some implications on LREs and L2 use according to the experiment.The teacher should give preference to teacher-assigned pair formation in the follow-up interactive teaching as well as focus on dyadic patterns and do some adjustments if necessary.It gives full paly to peer interaction,further improving efficiency in English class. |
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