THE MULTI -LEVELL ANGUAGE

CL ASSROOMK AY L A D E V E N B U R G ,

E N G L I S H L A N G U A G E F E L LO W, PA N A M A

A LITTLE BACKGROUND

HELP! MY STUDENTS ARE ALL AT DIFFERENT LEVELS!

Where does this happen?

• In programs with fewer teachers than levels

• In programs where students progress by grade

• In multi-grade classrooms

• In almost every class!

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE?

• Meeting the needs of all groups

• Meeting the needs of individual students

• Meeting course objectives

• Distraction while working

• Use of first language among students

• Dependence on teacher

• Two (or more) textbooks

• Varying ages of students

• Complex planning

IN MIXED-LEVEL CLASSES, WHAT ADVANTAGES ARE THERE FOR STUDENTS?• Students can:

• develop responsibility for their own learning.

• become more independent learners.

• learn at their own pace.

• learn to work well in a group.

• develop strong relationships with their peers.

• become partners in learning.

• motivate each other to work and learn!

IN MIXED-LEVEL CLASSES, WHAT ADVANTAGES ARE THERE FOR TEACHERS?

• It challenges you to be creative and increase your

teaching skills.

WHAT ARE...

• …the program’s goals?

• …your goals?

• …your students’ goals?

OUR OBJECTIVES TODAY

• To discuss solutions that will:

• help students reach their learning goals.

• help teachers provide classes that meet the program’s

goals.

• help teachers better manage lesson planning and teaching

classes of multi-level students.

KEY STRATEGIES

Increasing learner autonomy

Dividing and combiningstudents

Planning and preparingmaterials

ENCOURAGING LEARNER AUTONOMY

• Practice Guided Release of Responsibility.

Source: ascd.org

ENCOURAGING LEARNER AUTONOMY

• T: “What did you do last weekend?” “I watched

TV. I cooked for my friends. I did my laundry.”

• T: “Sandra, what did you do last weekend?” S:

“I played soccer, and I went to the movies.”

• Ss work with a partner asking and answering the

same question.

• Ss write their answers individually in paragraph

form.

I do it.

We do it.

You do it.

You do ittogether.

ENCOURAGING LEARNER AUTONOMY

• Provide scaffolding.

• Pre-teach vocabulary and pronunciation.

• Check comprehension.

• Teach study skills.

• Encourage reliance on peers.

• Provide a schedule of tasks.

ENCOURAGING LEARNER AUTONOMY WITH SCAFFOLDING

• Speaking slowly

• Synonyms

• Cognates

• Antonyms

• Examples

• Gestures

• Graphic organizers

• Sentence

stems/structures

• Build on background

knowledge

• Pictures

• Hands-on

participation

• Peer explanation

(great in a multi-level

class!)

• Pre-teaching

vocabulary

• Asking comprehension

questions

• First language support

ENCOURAGING LEARNER AUTONOMYBY PRE-TEACHING VOCABULARY

• Anticipate needs

• Explain and give examples

• Model pronunciation

ENCOURAGING LEARNER AUTONOMYWITH STUDY SKILLS

• Note-taking

• Dictionary use

• Asking appropriate questions

ENCOURAGING LEARNER AUTONOMY

• Provide scaffolding.

• Pre-teach vocabulary and pronunciation.

• Check comprehension.

• Teach study skills.

• Encourage reliance on peers.

• Provide a schedule of tasks.

• Now your learners are ready to work more autonomously!

DIVIDING AND COMBINING

How do your studentsspend the majority of their class time?

• Whole class?

• Divided class/2-3 large groups?

• Small groups?

• Pairs?

GROUPING

• What factors do you consider when grouping or pairing

students in a multi-level class?

• Age

• Learning style

• English proficiency

• Personality/motivation level

LIKE-ABILITY GROUPING

ADVANTAGES

Students feel comfortable with peers.

DISADVANTAGES

Students may lack the skills to answer each other’s questions.

Students work with other students with similar language level or ability.

When should we use it?• To work on level-specific skills• For problem-solving• With plenty of scaffolding and

GRR

Students can work from the same textbook or materials.

DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION

• What does it mean to differentiate instruction?

• Often used with like-ability grouping.

• Differentiate:

• Content

• Process

• Product

CONTENT, PROCESS, OR PRODUCT?

• Students in Group A (lower proficiency readers) read an

abridged/simplified article about food additives. Group B

(higher proficiency readers) read the original article on the

same topic. The class comes together as a whole group for a

debate on food additives.

Newsela.com

CONTENT, PROCESS, OR PRODUCT?

• Students in Group A and B listen to the same “How to Buy

Happiness” TED talk. Group A’s questions for discussion focus

on stated facts and details from the lecture while Group B’s

questions for discussion involve more in-depth analysis of the

talk (main idea, inferring, paraphrasing).

Ted.com

CONTENT, PROCESS, OR PRODUCT?

• After a lesson on classroom objects, students in Group A label

items in a picture with a single noun (table, eraser, clock),

while students in Group B write sentences about the picture in

past tense (There was a table at the front of the room. The

markers were on the floor.)

CROSS-ABILITY GROUPING

ADVANTAGES

Lower level students benefit from partner’s knowledge.

DISADVANTAGES

Higher level students may not feel challenged.

Students work with other students who have a different level of skills in the language.

When should we use it?• When reinforcing or reviewing with higher level• When heavier demands can be placed on higher level

students• When students are all adequately prepared and motivated

to participate

Higher level students gain confidence and reinforce previously learned skills.

Lower level students need extra scaffolding to participate withconfidence.

DIVIDING AND COMBINING

• As you design your lesson plan, be strategic about the way your groupstudents for each activity.

• What types of activities work best with:

• Whole class?

• Small groups?

• Pairs?

• Like-ability grouping?

• Cross-ability grouping?

• Grouping based on student learning styles and personalities?

• Independent work?

PLANNING FOR MULTI-LEVEL CLASSES: MATERIALSL IKE-ABILITY GROUPS

• Scope and Sequence

pages of textbook

• Substitute activities that

accomplish the same

objective

• Fun with Grammar

WHOLE CL ASS OR CROSS-ABILITYGROUPS

• Create tiered Info Gap and

Jigsaw activities

• NewsELA.com

• TED talks

NEWSELA.COM: LEVELED READINGS

FUN WITH GRAMMAR:COMMUNICATIVE GRAMMAR ACTIVITIES

PLANNING FOR MULTI-LEVEL CLASSES: THE SCHEDULE

• How can creating a schedule of activities help you as the

teacher?

• How can it help the students?

TODAY’S CLASS SCHEDULE

Warm-up (whole group)

Conversation p. 28 in pairs

Discussion (cross-ability groups)

Check HW and vocab preview Pre-Reading questions

Level 2: Check HW

Grammar LessonWritten grammar practice

Tiered Reading (intermediate)Tiered Reading (beginner)

Wrap-up (whole group)

Grammar Review (cross-abiity pairs)

Oral grammar practice Oral Practice (Written practice=HW)

IN-CLASS SOLUTIONS

• Encourage learner autonomy.

• Alternate between whole-class, group instruction, and independent

work.

• Collect samples of student work.

• Provide self-access materials for students who finish early.

• Give your full attention to the group you’re with. Provide:

• pronunciation correction

• grammar feedback

• comprehension questions

• vocabulary assistance

OUTSIDE-OF-CLASS SOLUTIONS

• Lesson plan.

• What are the objectives?

• What do the groups have in common?

• Adapt and find materials.

• Which groupings will work best?

• Provide differentiated feedback.

• simpler for lower level students

• more in-depth for higher students.

• Create a schedule to share.

CASE STUDY: MICHIKO

• Michiko teaches a class of 18 students. Ten students are beginners, six

are high-beginners, and two are intermediate learners of English. She

taught some of them last year, but the beginners are all new. Each

group has its own textbook, levels 1, 2 and 3 from the same series.

• What can she do to prepare for classes?

• What can she do during class?

Submit your ideas to ELFKayla on Facebook.

CASE STUDY: YAMILETH

• Yamileth teaches a class of 20 11th graders. 2 are well ahead of grade

level expectations, 12 are working well with the 11th grade curriculum,

and 6 struggle to keep up with the class.

• What can she do to prepare for classes?

• What can she do during class?

Submit your ideas to ELFKayla on Facebook.

WHICH SOLUTIONS WILL YOU TRY?

• Encourage learner autonomy

• Experiment with grouping in different ways

• Differentiate instruction

• Try new resources

• Provide students with a class schedule

QUESTIONS?

kaylamashburn@hotmail.co

m

ELFKayla