Identifying Emergent Leaders in Small Groups in the Language Learning Classroom: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Researchers claim that when students work together in small groups in the language classroom, a single student often emerges as a group leader and that teachers should construct groups based on roles adopted by students. This advice is based on the assumptions that leaders emerge and that teachers can identify leaders in their own classrooms. This paper reports on research that empirically tested these assumptions. Students working in small, fixed groups rated their group members based on perceived leadership. The teacher was responsible for identifying the leader in each group. Individual difference variables of English proficiency, extroversion, and English-speaking self-efficacy (SE) were used to predict emergent leadership. In most groups clear leaders emerged, but the teacher accurately identified the leader in only half of the cases. The findings suggest that teachers should regularly vary group membership and be cautious when assigning roles within groups.