Paired Discussions in Linguistic Integration Classes: Studying Language,Developing Soft Skills,and Making Friends

Introduction

Paired discussions are a well-known method in language classes to develop second language skills and assess acquired language competencies. In linguistic integration classes for adult immigrants, however, the benefits of paired discussions go far beyond language training. Developing the soft skills necessary for integration into the labor market in the host society and establishing friendly interpersonal relationships, thus contributing to a favorable educational environment, are not the last benefits of such discussions.

This paper shares experiences of engaging adult immigrant students in meaningful discussions with their peers in the classroom while teaching them in linguistic integration courses for immigrant adults offered by the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration (Le ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration)—that is, full-time French courses in which students attend classes five days a week for 6 hours a day, alternating between two or three different instructors. The paired discussions were organized in groups of 16–18 students, unfamiliar with each other at the time the discussions started, who had spent less than a year in Canada and had different cultural backgrounds, so that each of them shared their L1 with no more than two other students. Based on information obtained through observations, classroom discussions with open-ended questions, and pedagogical experiments, the paper makes suggestions on the effects of paired discussions on students’ progress in second language proficiency, acquiring soft skills that enhance employability, and group dynamics.

Although the context of the experiences presented is that of linguistic integration courses in Canadian society, universally applicable skills such as second language proficiency and sociability that are benefits of the paired discussion method could be of great interest for adult learners in any modern society. This is because communication skills enhance students’ employability across various sectors of the modern labor market (Clokie & Fourie, 2016; Nisha & Rajasekaran, 2018).

The paper presents students perspective and the observations of the instructor, the effect of frequency of paired discussions, limitations, and practical recommendations.

Paired Discussions as a Pedagogical Technique: Conventional Considerations in Literature and Contributions of This Study

When considering the application of the paired discussion method, researchers usually focus on the benefits directly related to language studying, such as interactional ability, including the non-verbal and the verbal features (Vo, 2021), interactive listening, interactional management and non-verbal interpersonal communication (Ducasse & Brown, 2009) and interaction strategies (Jin & Zhang, 2016) such as turn-taking (Ahmadi & Montasseri, 2019), which involve recognizing and creating transitional opportunities for changing speakers (Gao & Wang, 2024) and consideration of the interlocuter (Brooks, 2009), backchanneling (Ahmadi & Montasseri, 2019), providing and obtaining feedback from other students (Taylor & Wigglesworth, 2009) because any language is best learned through social interaction (Larrotta et al., 2016).

This paper contributes to the existing literature by showing that, in linguistic integration classes for adult immigrants, the benefits of paired discussions are not only acquiring language proficiency but also developing the soft skills necessary for integration into the labor market in the host society, such as the ability to answer a question in more than one word and to support communication in the second language. The soft skill related to communicating and developing relationships with unknown or little-known people is crucial in a dynamic labor market where people are necessarily involved in multiple interpersonal contacts. This soft skill linked to advanced sociability is even considered more important for professional success than other aptitudes and skills (Goleman, 1996). According to Migration Policy Institute, practicing such essential soft skills related to communication as interview and networking skills significantly improve immigrants’ employment prospects and help them access middle and high-skill jobs (McHugh & Morawski, 2017).

When discussing their application in pedagogical practice, paired discussions are often considered a test to assess language competencies (Ducasse & Brown, 2009; May, 2011). To complement previous studies, this paper shows how integrating paired discussions into the routine of language classrooms enhances the general well-being of all participants, including the instructors. Indeed, as this paper demonstrates, if applied regularly, paired discussions transform adult students’ attitudes and behavior, consequently improving the overall classroom climate. Thus, this paper extends the discussion of the possibilities for applying paired discussion as a pedagogical technique, at least as presented in research literature. According to my, although somewhat limited, observations, language instructors often apply paired discussions as a routine in their classes without, however, examining the application and effects of this technique as thoroughly as this paper does. Consequently, by describing the procedure of paired discussions and their impact on group dynamics, this paper contributes to the pedagogical expertise of both new and experienced instructors.

Students’ perspectives always provide valuable information for those who work with them, as even thorough external observations are insufficient to fully understand the effects of a pedagogical technique. However, the perspective of participants in paired discussions within adult language classes is not adequately represented in the literature. Some studies have analyzed participants’ perceptions of specific characteristics of interlocutors in paired discussions (Soodmand Afshar, 2020), but the perceived advantages of paired discussions in general, as identified by the participants themselves, remain a rather unexplored area. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing adult students’ responses to the question of how they benefit from paired discussions.

Students’ Perspective and Instructor’s Observations

When I asked my adult immigrant students in linguistic integration classes what benefits they could derive from participating in the paired discussions in the second language that I usually offer them during my classes, they answered honestly: We can:

1. practice oral comprehension and pronunciation,

What the students did not mention but which is almost always present in their paired communications according to my multiple observations, is having fun together and thus developing friendly relations, which I consider to be the essential benefit of these discussions. Can you imagine a 15–25-min educational task where adult students will be fully engaged with their full attention and enjoy it and find so many benefits? Paired discussions are therefore systematically offered to students in my classes. For such discussions, I give various topics that are of interest to every student, and everyone can consider themselves an expert discussing these topics. Topics are mostly related to their routine (weekends), projects (careers) or lesson themes (e.g., comparing different institutions of the host society and your society of origin). The students are first paired up in random order, then in such a way that everyone participates with everyone in the group to give them the opportunity to get to know each other better and collaborate with different partners. The instructor controls that the students communicate in L2 and in each pair, the two participants speak.

In some topics, students are asked to present another student’s answer in front of the group. Such a task aims to stimulate active listening, a crucial soft skill in many professional activities in the contemporary world (see e.g.: (Gao & Wang, 2024)) and closely related to speaking performance (Gao & Wang, 2024). Indeed, when asked to present each other’s answers, students have no choice but to listen to and understand one another. My students always enjoyed such tasks, perhaps because it provided an opportunity to make friendly jokes and funny comments about each other. Empirical studies have shown that adult immigrants often appreciate making friends in language courses (Zagrebina, 2022) and that sharing experiences, particularly positive ones in the host society, improves their mood (Zagrebina, 2023). For the instructor, on the other hand, these moments of students’ jokes are periods of relaxation and genuine enjoyment of their own classes. Can you see the benefits for everyone’s well-being?

Some discussions are free—that is, there are no predetermined questions to ask or grammar rules to follow, as provided by the instructor in advance, such as those about your weekend or career plans. In contrast, before certain discussions, I explain what they are expected to do (e.g., use only past or future tenses or practice constructions such as: Why…? Because…). For some paired discussions, I distribute a list of questions that participants should ask each other. These questions are slightly different for each participant but related to similar topics. For example: “Have you ever been to (a city)? / What is the most beautiful city you have ever visited?”, “Have you ever eaten (a food)? Do you like it? / Do you like sea products? Why?”, and so on up to ten-fifteen pairs of questions. By participating in paired discussions, either structured (that is, using a list of questions to ask each other), semi-structured (e.g., during the first lesson, asking each other questions related to specific topics: your name, profession, family, and hobbies) or free form (such as weekends, vacancies, and career plans), all participants inevitably practice their second language and advance their sociability as mentioned above.

Frequency Matters

Working with two groups of immigrant adults at the same (intermediate) level of L2, I had the opportunity to observe how the frequency of paired discussions can affect the perceived usefulness of such discussions as well as social relations and the general psychological climate in the classroom. In one group, I had systematically organized at least two paired discussions of 20–25 minutes (the average time students in this group could communicate in pairs without stopping) per week for ten weeks, since I had five lessons per week with this group. In another group, paired discussions of 15–20 minutes (the average time students in this group could communicate in pairs without stopping) were organized only once in 3–4 weeks, since I had only one lesson per week with this group. While discussing the benefits of paired discussions in these groups, I discovered the following differences between the groups. Students in the group where paired discussions were practiced at least twice a week named several times more benefits of such discussions than students in the group where paired discussions occurred only once in several weeks. Observations of students’ behavior and interpersonal communications also revealed some essential differences between these two groups. In the group where discussions in pairs were practiced more frequently, the students were much more interested in each other’s opinions, listened to each other more attentively, asked several times more follow-up questions and therefore devoted 5–10 minutes more to discuss in a lively way their weekends or other subjects than the students of the group with rarer discussions. Thus, by practicing paired discussions in the classroom, the students, even without being aware of it, are developing an essential soft skill that immigrants to North America so often lack (Bartel, 2018)—the ability to hold meaningful conversations with unfamiliar or near-unfamiliar people by answering questions with more than one word. They also practice their networking skills and capacity to participate in job interviews, which involve communication with unfamiliar people. Networking and interview skills improve immigrants’ access to better jobs in the job markets of developed countries (McHugh & Morawski, 2017).

Another visible consequence of paired discussions is that students get to know each other better, are involved in collaborative activities with others, and thus have more opportunities to develop friendships or at least good relationships. It is therefore not surprising that the general psychological climate was much warmer in the group where paired discussions were organized more frequently. When performing any classroom task (not just discussions), students who practiced paired discussions at least twice a week, always reacted more vividly to others' suggestions, made more friendly jokes, and laughed together more often than students who practiced paired discussions only once in 3–4 weeks. Progress in communication in L2 (the main goal of linguistic integration classes for immigrants) was much more noticeable in the group with regular paired discussions—no language barriers, no hesitation in answering questions or giving an opinion in front of the group, use of more complex and sophisticated sentences in L2.

The fact that in both groups the paired discussions were applied from the very beginning of the courses—meaning that in both groups, the students were initially unknown to each other when discussions started—provides additional information on the effects of discussions when comparing each group with itself at the beginning and after several weeks. The progress was much greater in the group with more frequent discussions. Although various factors other than discussion frequency could affect student engagement in the task and their progress in L2 communication, such as personal characteristics, life experiences, and other influences, this experience with paired discussions allows for hypothesizing about the effects of paired discussions to test this method in further pedagogical practice. Indeed, creating inclusive groups of learners is a valuable pedagogical goal, and it is not always obvious why it works in some cases and fails in others. The method of paired discussions can be considered a tool (perhaps one among others) to stimulate positive group dynamics.

Practical Recommendation

Three key recommendations for applying the paired discussions technique in classrooms concern the following: the challenges of involving even reluctant students to participate; how to facilitate the procedure of discussions for participants from the very beginning to make the task more attractive and ensure feasibility for everyone, particularly for those unfamiliar with such a task; and how to make the paired discussions technique more effective.

Testing the Limitations of Paired Discussions

After the experience described in this article, I applied the method of paired discussions to four additional groups of immigrant adults at the same (intermediate) level of L2. This experience allowed me to reveal the limitations of the method in multicultural groups. While paired discussions were enjoyed a lot by students in three groups where everyone was open to communicating with everyone, these discussions often produced tensions in a group where several students were intolerant towards others whether on the basis of their ethnic origin, their gender or both, or their marital status (some unmarried men were reluctant to communicate, but with unmarried women). Thus, the positive effect of paired discussions depends, among other things, on the openness and tolerance of the students.

Conclusion

Paired discussions in linguistic integration classes for adult immigrants fulfill both linguistic and socialization functions. By participating in such discussions, students not only practice L2 communication, including overcoming the language barrier and enriching vocabulary, but also develop an essential soft skill required in the host society: the ability to carry on a meaningful conversation with other people using various techniques such as follow-up questions and suggestions. Often, if they are lucky, they also make friends or at least develop warm and supportive relationships in class. Such relationships contribute to a favorable educational atmosphere in the classroom and greatly facilitate the instructor’s work, since students who have good relationships with others seem to participate more enthusiastically in any classroom activity. The instructor must however be aware of the possible difficulties of applying paired discussions in the case of intolerant students. When identified, intolerant students should not be paired with those towards whom they may have intolerance to avoid tension during educational tasks.