competition vs. cooperation

MET | Rita Balbi | October 28th, 2001

I would feel the need of an exchange of ideas and, maybe, a discussion of tasks, with someone doing this module. So far I have sort of completed units 1 and 2. Is anybody interested?

I look forward to being in touch with someone, especially someone being at the same stage.

Thanks.

Rita Balbi
Italy

Tasks | Simon Mumford | October 30th, 2001

Rita,

It seems to me tasks can be almost anything we ask learners to do where they are working by themselves or in pairs, groups, etc. and this includes things I previously thought of as being 'games'.

As the final stage of a PPP lesson can be a task, and the presentation and practise stages preparation for this, perhaps the distinction between TBL and PPP is not that clear. What do people think?

My own interest is the difference between competitive and cooperative tasks and the effect on the learner, especially in terms of motivation and the amount of anxiety created. I know some people are very hostile to competition in the classroom however I feel that in some situations it can be beneficial. Also I feel cooperative tasks tend to be more closed, with a definite outcome, whereas competitive ones seem to be more open, with learners justifying their position. Therefore it may be in the interest of learners to have both types so they get different types of practise.

Simon
Turkey

Re: Tasks | Rita Balbi | October 30th, 2001

Hi Simon,

Thanks for your ideas. I see a very clear distinction between TBL and PPP because TBL uses language as a means while PPP as an end. This does not mean that PPP is always "bad", however. I tend to favour cooperative tasks; the reason is that I consider cooperation a value to foster and because students can learn from each other.

Rita

Cooperation vs. competition | Francesca Michalski | October 30th, 2001

Simon,

The question you have raised of competitive or cooperative activities in the classroom is a controversial one. I have a couple of colleagues here in Brazil who published a book of classroom activities, many of which had a competitive nature. In the introduction, they justify this by noting that within the competing teams there is a need for collaboration, so in fact, both elements are present. They also add that competition is part of life and involves a search for excellence by trying to find a more efficient way of doing things than others. Their background is that of high school teachers working with teens. When dealing with adolescents, I have certainly found competitions to be an effective way (one of the few, alas) to motivate them. Nowadays I only work with adults. I avoid competitions in certain situations:

1) When there is an extremely competitive person in the class who has a tendency to become aggressive during competitions, thus spoiling the atmosphere.

2) When competitions are between individuals rather than groups. I think this is more stressful as if you lose, you have no one to share your failure with. Also, the weakest students, in terms of language ability, will inevitably be the losers unless the competition is based purely on luck. By mixing students of different abilities, the weaker students have a chance to be winners.

3) When I know a particular student dislikes competitions. However, I would certainly not ban competitions from my classroom as, in the right situation, they can be extremely motivating for the students. Activities involving pairwork and groupwork involve cooperation, so, in the communicative classroom, we are encouraging this all the time. I find that the odd competition can provide variety and liven things up.

What do your students think? Have you asked them? It might make an interesting topic for discussion.

Francesca

Re: Cooperation or competition | Jerry Talandis Jr. | October 30th, 2001

Interesting discussion. For my two cents worth, I'll say that here in Japan, I often find that competition doesn't really work for me most of the time. Perhaps it can work for children, but for older students, turning a speaking activity into a "game" seems to trivialize things. I've noticed that most of my students don't seem to increase their efforts when I turn things into a competition, so I usually don't bother. What works better for me is to give them power and responsibility over what topics they can talk about. That seems to appeal to their higher sense of maturity and is more effective than creating some incidental competition.

I guess my position is that turning activities into games and competitions is just another arrow in a quiver of techniques. It can hit the mark when the target is chosen wisely.

Jerry

Re: cooperation or competition | Dominic Marini | October 30th, 2001

In my classes (here in Japan) I have found that competitive games work best after material has been reviewed and students "get it". The students are revisiting language that they have learnt (?) or at least been exposed to, so a game can be a way to use and experiment with the language. I would never use a game (competitive or collaborative) to introduce material because students would be overwhelmed by the language, pace and strategy related to playing and the stress of not being able to cope.

Regardless of whether a game is called cooperative or competitive team members must collaborate to win, and teams must collaborate in following the rules, in order to play. This collaboration broke down in a Japanese University class made up exclusively of Chinese foreign students. In a class using Pictionary for vocab review many of the students kept cheating despite being warned not to, not being awarded points and finally being penalized. The result was a waste of time and a perplexed yours truly.

Dominic
Fukuoka, Japan

Re: competition vs. cooperation | Simon Mumford | October 31st, 2001

Thanks for the contributions.

I think you are right to say ask the students, Francesca. My idea for an AR project was to set up two activities, one competitive and one cooperative, record them and analyse them, and interview the students on how they felt about them. I will be interested to see if the competitive activity produces more anxiety, and if this anxiety is of the facilitating or debilitating kind.

Simon