Try and get as much work done as possible – in class and off class – in small groups. Group work is more interesting than individual practice. It is also more useful for learning to communicate effectively. After all we communicate with someone; our practice should reflect it.

Even when you deal with writing skills, it is best to get most activities done in groups because you can give the learners a facility which they don’t normally get when writing: instant feedback. Group composition teaches the learners a rare and powerful lesson about how other people actually respond to the way they write.

It is best to keep the group size to 4 or 5. In bigger groups the shy ones tend to stay quiet; in smaller groups there is not enough wealth of experience and insights to share. Most of the exercises in TRB can be done in small groups.

Don’t divide the class into permanent groups; instead, have new random groups in every session, at least every week or every fortnight. Fixed groups tend to reduce the opportunities for learning from one another. One of the members may emerge as the leader and dominate the group’s activities. Random groups provide more varied contexts for everyone. A learner who keeps silent in one group might open up in another. Similarly, a learner who dominates a group may find a challenger in another group.

I use the expression ‘plenary’ to refer to the whole class exercise after learners have worked in small groups. If the learners can meet out of class, you can save class time by getting them to do some of the small group activities ahead of the plenary in class.

For most shorter group exercises it is best to have all the groups all the time in the same hall. If they go into syndicate rooms, you can’t monitor them nor give comments at the end of each activity. Syndicate rooms are ideal for off-class preparation in groups.

It is quite easy to form random groups. Some easy and interesting ways of random group formation follow.

Here is the easiest and least time consuming method. (But there is little fun in this!)

Decide how many groups you want to make. If you have 43 learners and want eight groups, ask a person to say 1, the next one to say 2, the next one to say 3, and so on until you come to the eighth person who says 8. Now restart the process with the ninth person so you get a pattern like the following:

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8    1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8     1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8     1,2,3,4,5, 6,7,8    1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8     1,2,3, (total: 43)

Ask all the ones to form a group; all the twos to form a group; all the fives a group etc. This will scatter friends who always cling together. If learners sit at fixed places, you can alter the membership of the small groups by changing the place from which you start the counting process.

A, B, C, D, E, F     A, B, C, D, E, F     A, B, C, D, E, F     A, B, C, D, E, F

All the As will form a group; all the Bs will form another group, and so on. This will give you six groups of four members each.

You can bring in an element of fun by writing on the white board five or six animal names in a particular sequence and asking the learners to use them instead of numbers.

Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Rhinos, Yaks Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Rhinos, Yaks

If the learners are sporting enough, you can have animal names such as monkeys and donkeys. You can create variations by using the names of flowers, vegetables, bugs, viruses, political parties, etc.

Another interesting way to form groups is to cut up pictures from magazines into jigsaws. If you want six groups of five, choose six colourful pictures. Cut each picture up into five parts well ahead of class. Mix up all the pieces and distribute them in class. The learners have to move around to find out to which picture their piece belongs and with the help of the others holding the other pieces of the picture, build it. Announce a prize for the group that builds their picture first. It could be candies or even a round of applause. This quickens the process.

Playing cards are an excellent aid for easy group formation. Choose the cards depending on the kind of groups you want. If, for example, you want four groups of six, take six Clubs, six Diamonds, six Hearts, and six Spades; put them together, shuffle them, and deal in class. All those who get Clubs will be the Clubs group; all those who get Hearts will be the Hearts group, etc.

If you want five groups of three, take three Kings, three Queens, three Jacks, three Tens, and three Nines. Shuffle them and deal. All the kings to come together as a group, all the Queens another group, etc.

You can also use cards to form pairs. Take two of each card (eg two kings, two queens), put them all together, shuffle, and deal.

Instead of playing cards you can also use pictures of animals or objects.

Yet another easy way to form groups is to use beads or buttons. Have fairly large beads or buttons of eight different colours if you want eight groups. Mix up the required number of beads/buttons and distribute in class.