Group Dynamics in the EFL Classroom: The Role of the Cohesive Group of Syrian Tertiary Learners

Abstract

Group Dynamics is perceived by many, as one of the very critical sub disciplines in the social sciences for language teachers. Cohesiveness refers to the mutual support and commitment of group members to the group and to one another. In this paper, the author endeavors to explore factors with the potential to develop a cohesive language classroom environment. In this environment, initializing and sustaining co-operation and commitment is primarily sought. For reasons of convenience, 10 Syrian tertiary learners, aged 18-24, from different academic departments in the University of Aleppo, Syria, taking a general English course have been chosen to constitute the context of this present study. The paper highlights particular techniques utilized by the learners and pinpoints particular problems they encountered. It has been clearly noticed that learning is likely to be more fruitful when the group is cohesive, flagging the importance of raising the EFL teachers’ full cognizance about the efficacy and effectiveness of establishing cohesiveness in the EFL classroom. Subsequent to collecting and analyzing the data, the results strongly indicate that students’ classmates play an essential part in their learning and in their motivation as well.