GROUP WORK IN VIETNAMESE EFL CLASSROOMS: ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

Group work has widely been used to improve students’ communicative competencies. Nevertheless, few studies have focused on how Vietnamese EFL students perceive group work implementation. This study seeks to fill this gap. A questionnaire (n = 297) and semi-structured interviews (n=10) were used to gather data from English-majored students at a university in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The findings showed that most students in this context considered group work an effective strategy in terms of opportunities to enhance language skills, healthy interdependence, and emotional stability. However, their participation in group work activities was still hindered by some negative aspects including unfair contribution and disorder; the reduction of autonomy, and especially, some constraining factors related to personal preferences for peers, teachers’ unclear instructions, difficulty in maintaining group harmony, and concerns of losing face. The findings suggest significant modifications for the successful implementation of group work in Vietnamese EFL classrooms from the students’ perspectives.