Hello everyone;
I am currently struggling with a problem in class. During many of my lectures I turn around and see two or three students having a discussion. What I have come to find out in most cases is this: one student is struggling with the concepts in the course (or sometimes with English in general) and the other students in close proximity feel obligated to explain in the student's native language.
I feel compelled to let them help out the other student from falling behind because it also reinforces their understanding, but I also feel compelled to interrupt the small group discussion for the fact that while I am covering new material they cannot focus on both helping out their classmate and learning/covering new material. I also could be mistaken because I do not have a command of another language (outside of a few basic phrases) and the students could be discussing something not related to the lecture or class at all.
What is the right thing to do? ANY help would be appreciated.