This introduces students to the duties of group members and familiarizes them with sample expressions.

(2) analyzing -- students analyze two dialogs (one where the group members make little progress in their discussion and one where they successfully communicate), focusing on the categories they were previously exposed to. This provides a realistic context for the expressions they studied.

(3) practicing -- students perform a scripted role-play where the focus is not on original ideas but on the appropriate use of group leader and participant phrases, which further contextualizes the expressions.

(4) synthesizing -- students conduct group discussions on several topics, during which they must not only use the group leader and participant phrases but also give their own opinions.

This groupwork training forms the foundation for a series of lessons which focus on sociocultural topics, such as making proper introductions, closing conversations, dealing with cultural misunderstandings, and understanding gestures. In addition, throughout subsequent lessons, a variety of CL structures are integrated into the materials, which both reinforce and supplement the group training.

Trials with these materials showed that student discussions were more focused, with students staying in English more than classes which received no training in how to work effectively in groups. Student comments, solicited on a regular basis after finishing each set of materials, were consistently positive. While most students centered on the language- learning aspects of the materials, there were often comments about the benefits of cooperation and the satisfaction of successfully working in groups.

One of the main benefits of these materials is that they treat groupwork not as a separate component, but as an integral part of the language lesson itself. Students learn that cooperation is a necessary aspect of using a language. Colleagues comment that this leads students to generalize their newly gained group skills to other language lessons where groupwork is used. More than one teacher was surprised when some students finished a groupwork task in record time due to the efficiency of having a group leader and an organized discussion. But perhaps the most impressive result was the case where a student was a successful job applicant when she organized and led a group discussion during the job interview, providing "real world" applications for this methodology.

Another benefit of these materials is that they allow all teachers, even those who have never heard of cooperative learning, to implement CL in their language classes, since features of CL are built into the materials themselves. While this may not be optimal, the benefits to the students far outweigh any possible problems that these "untrained" teachers may experience.

Since developing these materials, we have used them in a wide range of proficiency levels at junior colleges and universities with fairly universal success. In general, groups produce more English for longer periods of time than groups that have not received any training. Likewise, more proficient students are able to expand their language skills by focusing more carefully on their true opinions rather than worrying about how to proceed. It is my belief that if more students could be trained in how to have effective group discussions, the popularity (and usefulness) of cooperative learning would greatly increase. Since developing these materials, we have used them in a wide range of proficiency levels at junior colleges and universities with fairly universal success. At the same time, more proficient students are able to expand their language skills