| Preface: How we came to write this book | p. ix |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Invitation to participate | p. 1 |
| What is group dynamics and why is it important for language teachers? | p. 3 |
| Why is 'group dynamics' such an unknown concept in L2 studies and where can we find more information? | p. 5 |
| What will you learn in this book and how will it help your teaching? | p. 8 |
| The importance of spending time on group dynamics | p. 9 |
| Becoming a group | p. 12 |
| What is a 'group'? | p. 12 |
| Initial emotions in class | p. 14 |
| Intermember relationships | p. 17 |
| How to promote acceptance | p. 19 |
| On the importance of knowing each other's names in class | p. 26 |
| Icebreakers | p. 29 |
| Moving students round | p. 31 |
| Summary | p. 32 |
| Managing the class: Rules, norms and discipline | p. 34 |
| What are 'group norms'? | p. 35 |
| Group norms need to be discussed and willingly accepted | p. 36 |
| If one breaks the norms ... | p. 39 |
| How to maintain group norms in the long run | p. 41 |
| Learning contracts | p. 43 |
| How to deal with institutional and competing norms and rules | p. 45 |
| Summary | p. 47 |
| How groups develop | p. 49 |
| Ehrman and Dornyei's system of group development in learner groups | p. 50 |
| When group development goes astray | p. 55 |
| Summary | p. 58 |
| The cohesive group: Relationships and achievement | p. 60 |
| The mature group | p. 61 |
| What is cohesiveness? | p. 62 |
| Group cohesiveness and group productivity/effectiveness | p. 65 |
| Promoting cohesiveness | p. 66 |
| Is there a possible downside to cohesiveness? | p. 69 |
| Summary | p. 72 |
| The classroom environment's contribution to group dynamics | p. 74 |
| The classroom environment | p. 75 |
| Spatial organisation | p. 77 |
| The arrangement of the furniture | p. 80 |
| Temperature, light and decoration | p. 83 |
| The ownership of the classroom | p. 84 |
| Movement in the classroom | p. 84 |
| Songs and music in the environment | p. 86 |
| The ideal classroom? | p. 87 |
| Summary | p. 88 |
| The teacher as group leader | p. 90 |
| Lewin and his colleagues' three leadership styles | p. 91 |
| Rogers' three attributes of the effective facilitator | p. 92 |
| Heron's system of facilitation | p. 95 |
| Hersey and Blanchard's situational-leadership theory | p. 97 |
| A synthesis of the different approaches | p. 98 |
| 'Transactional' versus 'transformational' leadership | p. 100 |
| Promoting learner autonomy | p. 105 |
| Summary | p. 107 |
| Student roles and role modelling | p. 109 |
| Informal roles | p. 111 |
| Inviting and assigning student roles | p. 117 |
| Role problems | p. 122 |
| Preparing students for performing their roles effectively | p. 123 |
| Self-fulfilling prophecies - or how we live up to the role that is expected of us | p. 125 |
| 'Near peer role modelling' | p. 128 |
| Summary | p. 132 |
| Trouble-shooting: Conflicts and apathy happen! | p. 134 |
| What causes conflict? | p. 135 |
| Potential benefits of conflict | p. 141 |
| Weathering the storm: Conflict resolution | p. 142 |
| Rebellion against the leader | p. 153 |
| When apathy sets in | p. 154 |
| Summary | p. 157 |
| The last classes: Affirming and closing | p. 159 |
| The significance of an appropriate closure of the group | p. 160 |
| Affirming and motivating | p. 161 |
| Emotional closure | p. 164 |
| Projecting into the future | p. 166 |
| The teacher-leader's needs | p. 166 |
| Summary | p. 168 |
| Conclusion: Wrapping it up | p. 170 |
| Brief summary | p. 170 |
| The need to consider the whole school environment | p. 174 |
| Parting words | p. 176 |
| References | p. 177 |
| Index | p. 184 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
