Teaching mixed-level classes

By Penny Ur
What is a large class? What is a heterogeneous ( mixed-level) group? What are the
problems we encounter when we have to teach classes that are both large and
heterogeneous? Penny Urs presentation suggested a series of practical teaching
principles illustrated by actual procedures that involve very little ( or no) extra
preparation and that can ma!e the teaching of such classes easier and more effective"
One of the big challenges that teachers face today is mixed ability classes, because
even if the learners are grouped according to level of language, any class, in a sense, is a
mixed-level group. In fact, the best definition I have heard of a mixed-level group is a
class of two. If you have two students, you have more than one level.
I will, rather, use the word heterogeneous to define the sort of groups that are mixed in
more than just level of language. ny class is heterogeneous. !tudents vary in"
bac#ground
interests
age
gender
personality
motivation
cognitive ability
learning styles.
Problems
!ome of the specific problems teachers face in wor#ing with mixed-ability groups are
the following"
$. %ow to teach the students and ensure learning. %ow to ma#e sure that they all
learn. %ow to cater for different needs.
&. %ow to choose suitable material. 'ost of the material in the mar#et is geared to a
single level, which is too easy for some and too difficult for others. (his can lead
to learners getting bored, ceasing to pay attention, and possibly disrupting the
class.
). %ow to cater for different interests.
*. +hat pace to use" too fast, too slow.
,. +hat level of difficulty.
-. %ow to reach individuals with different learning styles.
I am not going to deal explicitly with assessment in this article. I apologi.e but I am
much more interested in the learning process here.
Some advantages
+hile mixed-ability groups can pose challenges for a teacher, there are also advantages
to be gained from the experience. /or example, such educational principles as tolerance,
respect and cooperation can be developed. (his is good preparation for all involved, as
the class is a microcosm of what happens outside.
lso, if faced appropriately, teaching mixed-level groups can ma#e a person become a
better teacher, thin#ing of different and better ways to teach his or her students.
(herefore one progresses in his or her own professional ability.
(he heterogeneity of the group can also be seen as a plus. heterogeneous class has
richer human resources. 0ontributions to debates and discussions become much more
varied. 1earners have different ideas and experiences coming from different
bac#grounds. 2air teaching is a good strategy. +hen the teacher cannot reach every
single individual, he or she can have the learners teach one another, ta#ing advantage of
the diversity in the group.
Things that can help
I am not tal#ing about solutions 3too arrogant45 I shall propose techni6ues that have
helped a lot with the problems mentioned above and that ta#e into account all the
conditions of a heterogeneous group.
A. Keeping them motivated"
Variation" braham 1incoln said" #ou can fool some of the people all of the time and
all of the people some of the time but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time"
(his applies to teaching. (he teacher can teach all of the learners some of the time, some
of the learners all of the time but not all of the learners all of the time. (herefore, one
must vary his or her teaching to reach an optimal overall balance.
7ariation can occur on many different planes"
1evel
2ace
mount
8emands on the learners
0lassroom organi.ation" teacher-fronted, group wor# or individuali.ed.
!ome students learn best on their own, others really li#e wor#ing in groups. !ome
students prefer to learn from the teacher. !ome learners are more visual5 others more
aural5 some are more productive, while others prefer to listen or read more reflectively. I
want to ma#e sure that in my class I provide many different interactive patterns to cater
for different learning styles. !o, in terms of material, for instance, I use textboo#s,
wor#sheets, the board, the computer and other sources of input and interaction. 7ariation
is an important aspect of teaching.
Interest (he teacher needs to ma#e sure that all learners are involved in one way or
another. If one day a section of the class might be slightly neglected 3dealing with a text
on football that does not interest the girls4, it is necessary to ma#e sure that the following
day that group of students does tas#s that interest them much more.
+hat fosters interest9
!ame-li"e #eat$res. (he definition of a game is that it has a clear, achievable goal with
some #ind of constraint that stops it being done in the most obvious and easy way. ny
game has rules which stop you achieving success too easily. (his presents participants
with a challenge, and this challenge can increase their interest considerably.
/or example, here is a techni6ue where learners are shown a picture. In groups, they are
re6uested to write as many sentences as they can in a limited period of time to win a sort
of competition. It is a simple, engaging techni6ue in which students rarely revert to their
mother tongue, and they use the structures they have learnt. It can be used, for example,
to practice there is: there are structures. It is in fact a game, in which the time
limitation presents the constraint that challenges them, but it is presented as a spea#ing
tas#.
(he advantage of an activity li#e the one we have just mentioned is that learners can
complete it at different levels" the advanced students can elicit more complex sentences,
while the wea#er ones can be satisfied with simpler ones.
ny activity can be turned into a game by introducing a constraint element.
Vis$al materials. ;ive them something to loo# at. (hese materials do not need to be
particularly dramatic. +hen wor#ing in pairs or groups, referring to a particular visual
element fosters collaboration. If the visual aid is something funny, or a video, so much
the better.
%axim$m participation. (his is the #ey to effective teaching and learning. <verybody
should be involved at the same time, rather than having a series of interactions between
the teacher and single students.
B. &eaching the individ$al
'ollaboration 1earners wor# together in order to get a better result than they would on
their own. n example of this is the recall and share techni6ue, in which several items
appear on the board. (he learners are given a short time to loo# at them. (hen the items
are deleted and students have to remember as many as they can. (hey then share their
list with the group. (he moment of sharing gives the individual great relief.
It is also a very useful techni6ue for other aspects of language, li#e spelling or revision
of past tenses. (his is a case of situation collaboration, in which no matter what the level
of the student they will always get better results by sharing than they would have got on
their own. !o any individual, no matter how advanced, can benefit from this sort of
activity. ll activities based on recalling or brainstorming can really spur collaboration
in a mixed-level classroom.
(here are several educational gains here as well" wor#ing together, feeling li#e a
member of a team, and not very obvious but implicit pair teaching. =ut we have to be
aware of certain disadvantages, too. +hat about those learners who prefer wor#ing on
their own9 !o, we cannot do too much of this because there are students who genuinely
do not li#e wor#ing in groups.
>ot all tas#s wor# as collaborative activities. 2air wor# usually wor#s better than group
wor#, partially because it is easier to control, and partially because there is higher
participation. (wo students wor# well together, whereas, in a group of five, one or two
might opt out. (he teacher must ma#e sure that the tas# is such that it is li#ely to be
better done by a group than by an individual. =ut, the teacher must also allow for
individuals to wor# on their own if they prefer.
Individ$ali(ation (he teacher should ma#e sure that the material can be done at
different levels and at different paces. %e or she should allow for individual variations in
speed and level, even in a teacher-led or set exercise.
(he following are some examples of techni6ues to encourage individualisation"
8ifferent starting points. 1earners choose where to start. (his allows them to
ma#e choices based on their own interests and preferences at that moment.
;iving a time limit rather than a 6uantity-of-wor# limit. =y giving an instruction
li#e $%o as much as you can in five minutes& rather than %o exercise ', the
teacher enables students to wor# at their own speed and set their own limits.
llowing self-chec#ing and only as#ing the teacher when there is a problem.
(his allows students to ta#e more responsibility for their learning and to wor# at
their own pace.
Personali(ation. (he learners express their own opinions, thoughts and desires. (his
relates to their personal experiences as individual people. One might argue that this is
not easily done with beginners or young learners, but here is a very simple example"
Imagine you are seven years old and choosing a pet. ?se an element from each of the
three columns below to say what #ind of pet you would choose.
big
small
medium-si.ed
blac#
brown
white
cat
dog
pony
Once you have made your decision, find out if any of your classmates have made the
same one.
1earners wal# around and feel delighted when they find someone who shares his or her
taste. /or more advanced groups, you could as# a 6uestion li#e, What is the best
metaphor of an (nglish lesson?
variety show
conversation
0limbing a mountain
wedding
<ating a meal
8oing the shopping
football game
symphony
0onsulting the doctor
menu
It is very illuminating to hear other people@s ideas about a language class.
)pen *nding. 2rovide students with open-ended exercises and activities. n open-
ended item has many right answers, so learners can respond at different levels. closed-
ended item, on the other hand, has only one right answer. Instead of teacher-answer,
teacher-answer, open-ended items yield the interaction pattern of teacher-answer,
answer, answer. Aou get more learner-tal# than teacher-tal#, and the answers are
unpredictable and very often interesting. !ome students will give easy answers, while
others will give more difficult ones. (his #ind of techni6ue develops creative, higher-
order s#ills.
closed-ended exercise is homogeneous. /or example"
)omplete the following sentences by putting the verb in parentheses in the
correct past form*
o !he BBBBBBB early. 3leave4
o %e BBBBBBB the ca#e. 3ma#e4
o I BBBBBBB there for six hours. 3sit4
o (he man BBBBBBB the boo#. 3read4
part from the fact that this can be done without understanding, it is inappropriate for a
heterogeneous class. =ut this can be turned into an open-ended exercise. /or instance,
the teacher could put in the target form and as#ing the learners to end it up.
o !he left BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
o %e made BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
o I sat BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
o (he man read BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
nother possibility is doing it the other way round"
o !he BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB early.
o %e BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB the ca#e.
o I BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB there for six hours.
o (he man BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB the boo#.
nother type of open-ended tas# is brainstorming. /or example, an oral fluency exercise
focusing on can+could could consist of answering the following #ind of 6uestion" ,ow
many ways can you thin! to use an empty tin can? (- pen? - piece of plasticine?)"
<xercises on adjective position and vocabulary could answer these #inds of 6uestions"
,ow many ad.ectives can you thin! to describe the noun /road? ,ow many nouns can
you thin! that could be described by the ad.ective /hard? 0omparatives could be
wor#ed on through 6uestions li#e" ,ow many things can you thin! of to compare a train
with a car?
In a similar vein, originality or lateral thin#ing thin#ing can be fostered through
activities li#e"
(hin# of ten ways to compare a tree with a piece of spaghetti.
(hin# of as many reasons as you can about why a lesson is li#e a wedding.
!uggest at least three advantages of being an only child : of not having a cell
phone : ...
>ame ten things you have never done.
'omp$lsory pl$s optional. One more way of ma#ing lessons and activities
personali.ed is by giving students the opportunity to do more than what is re6uired.
!uch phrases as $%o at least"""& $0ptionally& $1f you have time"""& are #ey components
of instruction, particularly with mixed-ability groups. (he class is given a tas# that is
easy enough to be done successfully by everyone 3or nearly everyone4, but they are also
given an optional tas# which may be done if they have time, such as the following test
item"
2est on the past tenses
Part -" )omplete using past tenses
,er mother """"""" to 3ittle 4ed 4iding ,ood* $2a!e this ca!e to
your grandmother but dont tal! to strangers&"
3ittle 4ed 4iding ,ood """"""" through the woods and on the way
she """""" the wolf"
$,ello 3ittle 4ed 4iding ,ood& ------ the wolf" $Where are you
going?&
3ittle 4ed 4iding ,ood """"" what her mother """"""
$1 am going to visit my grandmother& she """"" $5he lives in the
forest over there"&
2he wolf """"" off through the forest and """"" to the grandmothers
house"
Part 6" 0ptional* 7inish the story as you li!e but not in the usual way"
'oncl$sion
<very group is heterogeneous, and we must ta#e this into account. (he activities
outlined above are just a small part of the things we should do with our students in order
to meet the needs of all of them. (he important thing is to bear the group@s heterogeneity
in mind constantly and to see# to address it in every lesson.
=IO8(
2enny ?r has thirty years@ experience as an <nglish teacher in primary and secondary
schools in Israel. !he teaches courses on aspects of foreign-language teaching
methodology at Oranim cademic 0ollege of <ducation. !he has published a number of
articles on the subject of foreign-language teaching, and several boo#s with 0ambridge
?niversity 2ress, including 8rammar Practice -ctivities 3 &CCD4, 9ocabulary -ctivities 3
&C$$4 and - )ourse in 3anguage 2eaching 3 &
nd
edition coming out in &C$&4