Abstract:
This study was conducted to assess opportunities and challenges of group discussion in speaking
lessons of Teaching English as a foreign Language at Sendafa Secondary School, particularly in
grade 10. To assess the opportunities and challenges of group discussion in speaking lessons,
descriptive survey study was employed. Data were gathered from 150 students, 21.52% of the
total population in three randomly selected classrooms, and four English language teachers
The results of the study revealed that both students and teachers perceive group discussion
positively. As a result, the majority of students and all of the teachers responded that group
discussion creates conducive environment for learning, motivates learners to learn from each
other, make students feel free to speak with their friends without fear, enhances equal
opportunity for members to practice in the language and helps to develop tolerance and respect
of different ideas.
However, the followings were found to be the main challenges encountered during group
discussion. Both teachers and students confirmed that the nature of the activities which does not
motivate students to actively participate in group discussion is one of the challenges of group
discussion .Since students were not given orientations about their roles in- group discussion, they
did not play their expected roles, some students came with poor educational background and low
language proficiency ;consequently, they intended to use their L1 or they become careless to take
part in activities, group activities were conducted intermittently and the time given for group
discussion was not sufficient and teachers did not play their roles properly and they didn‟t use
group discussion regularly.
Therefore, possible recommendations were forwarded to the concerned bodies (school principals,
teachers and students) to play their roles properly and alleviate the existing problems as well as
to use the recommendations forwarded by the study as an input in improving student‟s
participation in group discussion of speaking lessons by the study.
