In most English language classes, there is a long tradition of grouping by ‘ability’ – a practice founded upon the idea that students have relatively fixed levels of ability and need to be taught accordingly. Mixed ability teaching is related to working together with students who have different personalities, skills, interests and learning needs. Though most classes are usually multi-level, teachers (especially those with little or no experience), find teaching such classes a very difficult and demanding task as it involves planning lessons which include a rich diversity of tasks corresponding to a variety of learning styles and abilities.
The adoption of a flexible methodology is considered a challenge by some teachers as they have to put more effort when designing their lessons, they might need to learn new organizational and / or classroom management skills ‘ and that may be something beyond their pedagogical skills.
However, teaching a non-homogeneous group of pupils can be viewed positively because it serves as a trigger for teachers’ professional growth and development as it involves the usage of variety of approaches, teaching techniques, interaction patterns, and tasks.
Problem
English language teachers often do not know how to teach effectively to students who are clearly of different levels, backgrounds, motivations and characteristics in general.
Objectives
General objectives:
The goal of this study is:
‘ To describe and inform about different kinds of mixed-ability classes a teacher may face
‘ To describe the strategies and actions that teachers can apply to deal successfully with mixed-ability classes
Specific objectives:
‘ To provide classroom management strategies to teach effectively in mixed-ability classes
‘ To inform how to motivate students in a mixed-ability class
‘ To provide information to teachers to cater for different types of learners
Justification
This study consists of two parts, in the first one the main goal is to make clear what a mixed-ability class is, explaining how a common class may become into a mixed-ability one; in the second part the main objective is to supply English language teachers with strategies to deal successfully with mixed-ability classes. The research is important because today’s students are no longer considered as homogeneous groups but individuals. Most classes are mixed-ability, teachers have to face classes with heterogeneous individuals with different motivation, abilities, backgrounds, etc. It is essential for teachers to know how to cope with mixed-ability classes because that can make them successful educators or, in contrast, can lead to frustration and anger.
In conclusion, through the surveys and questionnaireperformed to teachers and teacher trainees, it is possible to determine the knowledge and attitudes towards mixed-ability classes in schools, since they are responsible for guiding and accompanying students in the process of learning.
Research questions
‘ Why are there differences between English language learners?
‘ How does motivation affect the way and speed of students’ learning?
‘ Which is the role of a teacher in a mixed-ability class? (teaching styles)
‘ How to teach in a mixed-ability class? (differentiation, activities, classroom management, etc)
‘ How do students in a mixed-ability class learn?
‘ What challenges do teachers of a mixed-ability class face?
CHAPTER II – Background
Theoretical background
Many teachers are extremely worried about the fact that they have students in their classes who possess different levels of language proficiency. Indeed, mixed-ability classes are a major preoccupation for most of us because they appear to make planning very difficult. Furthermore, many teachers see mixed- ability classes as especially problematic. Yet in a real sense all classes have students with a mixture of different abilities and language level and it is inconceivable that any two students will have exactly the same knowledge of English at any one time. Even if we were able to assemble a class of real beginners, it would soon be clear that some were learning faster than others- or learning different things.
In private language schools and language institutes, teachers try to make this situation manageable by giving students placement tests so that they can be put into classes with people who are at roughly the same level as they are. Within other schools environments, students are often streamed, that is to say, re-grouped for language lessons according to their abilities. In other situations, however, such placement and streaming is not possible and so teachers are faced with individuals who have different language knowledge, different intelligences, different learning speeds, and different learning styles and preferences.
The response to this situation is to view the teacher’s role with a group in terms of differentiation. In a differentiated classroom there are a variety of learning options designed around students’ different abilities and interests; for example, teachers may assign different students different tasks. (Harmer 2007)
The term ‘mixed-ability’ is normally used for a group where these individuals differences are very pronounced and particularly where there is a marked difference in language level.
To be more specific, mixed-ability refers to:
‘ Classes in which there is a very clear difference in language level among the students. There may be differences in the level of their abilities in the receptive and productive skills, fluency and accuracy work, grammatical knowledge, size of vocabulary, command of pronunciation and so on.
‘ Classes in which there are clear differences in learning style, speed and aptitude among the students. Some students seem to be good at languages or perhaps good at all subjects, able to pick things up quickly and remember them, while others are slower, lack study skills and generally experience more difficulties in learning.
‘ Classes in which there are clear differences in the students’ background knowledge, knowledge of the world and their skills and talents in other areas. Some of these differences may be linked to age, sex, different levels of maturity, different interests and so on.
‘ Classes in which there are different levels of motivation. Some of the students may have a very positive attitude towards learning English while others may see it as just another school subject. (Tice 1997)
When Melinda Roberts (2007) was asked about what makes an ESL class ‘multilevel’, she answered the following: