Generally speaking, students are used to taking part in large classes, from 25 to
50 (or more) participants. This fact can be the justification of poor learning. The teacher,
according to Ge, finds many problems when facing a large group:

Ge: It is difficult to get to know a group with 50 people. It is difficult to monitor, to
understand each individual...then, the only possibility is to “apply” the syllabus and
leave. If the students leam, OK, if they don’t, OK. That’s it.

A problem that students highlighted in large classes is its heterogeneity, that is to
say, the mixture of students with different levels:

Ge: When the teacher asks if everybody understood, a few students answer
“yes”, and then you, who didn’t understand, become shy and afraid to talk.
You feel inhibited and remain silent.

Another feature of the group that the participants depicted is its competitiveness.

According to them, the members of the group, more than being collaborative, tend to
compete among them:

F: We don’t support each other

In fact, according to the participants, teachers use and encourage this competitiveness to
motivate their students. Unfortunately, according to some, this situation can lead to very
negative attitudes,

K: You don’t Ieam and you don’t participate when the teacher ridicules you in
front of the group, Better stay silent. The group starts bulling you. A big mass of
people against you.

X: .. .and I wish the earth would swallow me

or a radical change of strategies:

F: When I Ieam a new word, I want to hear myself using it, then, I usually
use it when talking with a native speaker. I don’t care if the person realises
that I make mistakes. But when I am in a classroom, I have to think twice
what I am going to say, because I know that if I make a mistake they will
talk about it and finish me off. In the classroom one has to be perfect.

However, there are also some advantages when being part of a group, and in front
of a teacher. When analysing the role of a counsellor, participants found themselves
describing the position of a teacher within the class and her relationship with the
students:

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