How can English

teachers help their

students become great
collaborators?
Ben Knight
Director for Language Research
Cambridge University Press

© Cambridge University Press

 1. What are ‘collaboration skills’?
2. Why do your students need them?
3. Making your students great collaborators
4. Learning English and collaboration together
5. Collaboration online

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 What is collaboration?

People working together to achieve a shared

goal.
• Take personal responsibility for own contribution to a group
task
• Encourage effective group interaction
• Manage the sharing of tasks in a group activity
• Work towards task completion
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© Cambridge University Press
Encouraging effective group interaction
Component Can Do Example
skill Statements language

Offers help to
others when they Can I help?
need it.
Engaging and
Primary supporting others
Encourages others
What do you
to share ideas
think?
about the topic
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Managing the sharing of tasks in a group activity

Component Can Do Example

skill Statements language

Clarifies the
It says we
requirements of
Secondary Agreeing what should…
the task.
needs to be
done Lists the steps
First we have
necessary to
to…
achieve tasks.
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 Cambridge Life Competencies
Framework

Cambridge.org/clcf

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 Why develop their collaboration
skills?
• Get help and support from other students
• Reduce pressure on individuals when doing
activities
• Develop self-management skills, leading to
learner autonomy
• More practice for speaking and interaction in
English

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 Employers National Association of Colleges and
Employers (NACE), USA

3. Ability to
1. Ability to work 2. Ability to make communicate 4. Ability to plan,
in a team decisions and verbally with people organize and
structure solve problems in/outside an prioritize work
organization

8. Proficiency with
5. Ability to obtain 6. Ability to 7. Technical
computer
and process analyze knowledge related
software
information quantitative data to the job
programs

9. Ability to create 10. Ability to sell

and/or edit and influence
written reports others
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Ground rules
• Contributing
School 21,
• Sharing London
• Respect

www.school21.org.uk

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 Primary level

Taking turns

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Primary: make a map of a town

Power Up Level 3 Unit 8 © Cambridge University Press

Taking turns
• Teach the language for taking turns
• It’s my/your/his/her turn. You first.
• Explain that they will draw a town
• Decide 4-5 places to include, where to put them, and draw them.
• Start with group in the front
• Pick 3 students and take them through the first step, using the
phrases for taking turns
• Split them into groups – 4 or 5
• 5 mins for to decide places – then check
• 5 mins for to decide where and who to draw each – then check
• 10 mins for step 3 (or homework) © Cambridge University Press
 Secondary
level

Roles
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Roles
• Which roles? • Team leader or organiser
• Train them in the • Note taker
roles • Time keeper
• Assigning roles • Presenter
• Checker

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Secondary: Planning a special event

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Uncover Level 1
 Secondary: Planning a special event
• Decide groups and roles in advance
• 4-5 in a group (drop checker if only 4)
• Roles
• Check their understanding of roles (matching task)
• Explain that they will plan a special event
• Decide what, where, when, who
• Decide which event
• 3 mins to decide which event. Checking that each person is doing their role
(organiser, note taker, time keeper and presenter)
• Complete the task
• 10 mins to complete the table – check
• 5 mins to prepare presentation – one from each group © Cambridge University Press
Roles matching task
1. Organiser a) Makes sure you finish on time

b) Tells the class what you did

2. Note taker
c) Writes notes about what you decide
3. Time keeper d) Makes sure that you are following the
instructions correctly
4. Presenter
e) Makes sure everyone is doing something
to complete the task well
5. Checker
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 University
level

Agreeing &
disagreeing
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respectfully
University students: agreeing and
disagreeing respectfully
Task: selecting applicants for
a university scholarship
Applicants want to study
different subjects, so the first
discussion is about which
subjects are most important.

Unlock Level 4 Speaking & Listening © Cambridge University Press

Discussion
Hotel
Medicine/Doctor
Management
Which proposed course of
study in the table will make
the greatest contribution to Chinese
Mechanical
society? Which will make Engineering

the smallest contribution?

Why?
Law

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Language for disagreeing

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Practising the language

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Intonation in discussion

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Group discussion
• Into groups
• Check instructions
• Check language points
• Check roles
• Set time limit
• Each group presents results
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Reflection/quiz on collaborating
Answer with a score of 1-5: 1=strong no, 5=strong yes
• Did you use the phrases for disagreeing respectfully?
• Did everyone in your group contribute to the
discussion?
• Did everyone agree with the result?
• Was it a good discussion?
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 Top 10 Tips for collaboration
1. Establish rules for group
activities
2. Choose a task that needs
collaboration
3. Very clear instructions –
and keep checking
4. Prepare groups in
advance
5. Assign roles
6. Focus on one
collaboration skill for
each big activity
7. Teach them the language
for collaborating
8. Set lots of time limits
9. Do an example first
10. Feedback or reflection
on collaborating
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 Online Collaboration

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 Online issues
• Can’t see so well what’s going
on, so have to be much more
careful about instructions and
organisation
• Smaller steps and tighter
management
• Technical skills with breakout
rooms

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Collaboration online
• Online classroom rules
• Clarity of instructions – show on screen, and check with them;
screen shot of instructions
• Set a time limit for each step
• Clear objectives – share these with the students
• Breakout rooms
• Prepare groups in advance
• For younger kids, involve parents
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 Our goal
1. Teach children how to
collaborate
2. Create learning
experiences to develop
their collaboration skills
while learning English

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© Cambridge University Press