OVERCOMING TEAM CONFLICTS IN A SECOND LANGUAGE, PROJECT-BASED LEARNING CONTEXT

Project-based learning (PBL) often requires students to work on teams, and while there are numerous benefits to collaboration in the second language (L2) setting, interpersonal conflicts that arise can impede the learning process if students cannot successfully overcome them (Dörnyei, 1997; Stoller, 2002). Students, therefore, need to have the requisite interpersonal skills and L2 linguistic repertoire to successfully collaborate; yet even at the university level, L2 students encounter difficulties resolving interpersonal conflicts. The need for the PBL instructor to facilitate the development of collaborative and cooperative skills, thus, becomes paramount. The current project examines the issue of team conflict resolution at an English-medium university among male, undergraduate engineering students enrolled in a first year, project-based communications course in the United Arab Emirates. Both student and instructor expectations will be explored through data gathered from two surveys. One survey investigates the issue of team conflicts from the student perspective by examining student expectations of team conflicts and negotiating skills. The second survey looks at the issue from the instructor’s perspective by examining instructor expectations, the major types of conflicts that students bring to instructors, the skills that students possess prior to team work, as well as the skills that arise from the experience of working on a team. Pedagogical implications and recommendations for future research will be discussed.

References:
[1] Dörnyei, Z. (1997) Psychological processes in cooperative language learning: group dynamics and motivation. The Modern Language Journal, 81:4, 482-493.
[2] Stoller, F. L. (2002). Project work: A means to promote language and content. Methodology in language teaching, 107-120.