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Adap%ngYourMaterialsforUseinMixed-abilityClassrooms
ManyteachersinEFLse0ngsarefacedwiththechallengeofdealingwithlargeclassesofstudentswithmixedabili;es.Insuchse0ngs,itcanbedifficulttomaintainlearner
mo;va;onandengagement.
Duringthesession,par;cipantswill:
• learnhowtoadapttheirmaterialsforuseinthesese=ngs,whethertheyareteachingyounglearners,teens,orolderstudents.
• exploretechniquesforconduc%ngac%vi%esinclassesofmixed-abilitystudents,includingpacing,personalizingac%vi%es,andgroupinglearners.Thetechniqueswilladdresswaystosimplifytasksaswellastomakeac%vi%esmorechallenging.
SusanIannuzzi
SusanIannuzzibeganherTEFLcareerinCairo,whereshetaughtandpilotedmaterialsforaninterna%onalpublisher,whichul%matelyledtoajump“behindthescreen”toeditandcreatematerials.Shehasauthoredorco-authoredmorethan25coursetextbooksthatareinusearoundtheworldinbothpublicandprivateschools.
ShehasalsoconductedteachertrainingacrossthewordwithaspecialfocusonmaterialsdevelopmentinEgypt,Eritrea,Kyrgyzstan,Bangladesh,Vietnam,Ukraine,Moldova,Rwanda,Ecuador,andBrazil.
Susanholdsamaster’sdegreeinLinguis%csandagraduatecer%ficateinTESOLfromtheUniversityofPiXsburgh.
©2018bySusanIannuzzi.Adap%ngYourMaterialsforUseinMixed-abilityClassroomsfortheOfficeofEnglishLanguagePrograms.ThisworkislicensedundertheCrea;veCommonsAQribu;on4.0License,exceptwherenoted.Toviewacopyofthislicense,visit:hQp://crea;vecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Adap;ngMaterialsforUse inMixed-AbilityClassrooms
SusanIannuzzi
Overview
• Shareaframeworkforadap%ngmaterials• Techniquesforgroupingmixed-abilitystudents• Applytheframework• Discusshowtoactuallyadaptmaterials
Why classes may have mixed abili4es….
Results of mixed abili4es in the classroom
Another result of mixed-ability classes
StrongerStudentsq Addchallenges
q Increaseoutput(amountofspeakingorwri%ng)
q Preventboredom
q Maintainconfidence
q Keeptheminvolved
Adap4ng materials: a guiding framework
WeakerStudentsq Simplify
q Reduceoutput(amountofspeakingorwri%ng)
q Reducefrustra%on
q Buildconfidence
q Keeptheminvolved
Grouping maDers!
• Strongerandweakertogether• Strongerhelpweaker• Aspira%onalforweakerstudents• BUT…maybefrustra%ngforboth
• Strongertogether/weakertogether• Studentsworkatownlevels• Maybeeasiertomanage• BUT…maycreatebadfeelings
• Trytousedifferentgroupingstrategies.
Remember! Time is not unlimited.
Vocabulary (primary, beginner)
Keyvocabulary• house• sun• flowers• windows• doorAtlevel:Teacherasksclass:Pointtotheflowers,etc.
Possible adapta4ons
Weakerstudents
• Pointtotheflowers.Ask:Flowers?
• Pointtotheflowersandmodel.Say:Pointtotheflowers.
Strongerstudents
• Pointtotheflowers.Ask:Windows?Student:No!Flowers!
• Increasedirec%oncomplexity.Say:Pointtoawindow,thedoor,andthesun.
Adap4ng materials: a guiding framework
StrongerStudentsq Addchallenges
q Increaseoutput
q Preventboredom
q Maintainconfidence
q Keeptheminvolved
WeakerStudentsq Simplify
q Reduceoutput
q Reducefrustra%on
q Buildconfidence
q Keeptheminvolved
Vocabulary (secondary / ter4ary)
TakenfromDoyouSpeakEnglish?SupplementaryEnglishtextcreatedbyUkrainianEnglishteacherswiththefundingoftheU.S.StateDepartment.
Precedingac%vity:Brainstormvocabularyinpairsorgroups.
Adap4ng for weaker students
• Assignfewercategoriestobrainstormpergroup.Thencombinegroupstocompletethechart.
• Donotrequireaddi%onalitems/requireoneitemperlist.• Givesomevocabularyitemsandhavethegroupsputtheminthecorrectcolumn.
• GivefirstleXeroftargetvocabularywordstostartthemoff.
Adap4ng for stronger students
• Requiretheaddi%onalitems.• Writesentencesusingthenewvocabulary.• Rankthesportsaccordingtopreference,levelofdanger,etc./Writeasentencestoexplainyourchoices.
• Learnwordsforequipmentneededtodothesports.
Adap4ng reading materials
Reading
• Studentsreadashorttextandanswertheques%ons(atlevel).
Adap4ng for weaker students
• Putanswersoncards.
• Studentsmatch(ingroupsorontheirown).
• Giveparagraphsforanswers.
• Splitintogroupstoanswerques%ons.
Adap4ng for stronger students
Createinferenceques%ons.
• IsMaxmorelikehisfatherormother?Whydoyouthinkso?
• DoyouthinkMax’sparentsarehappywithhim?Whyorwhynot?
How do we write inference ques4ons?
Tip! Createinferenceques%onsbyreviewingcontentincomprehensionques%onsinthetextbookorteacher’sguide.
Adap4ng materials: a guiding framework
StrongerStudentsq Addchallenges
q Increaseoutput
q Preventboredom
q Maintainconfidence
q Keeptheminvolved
WeakerStudentsq Simplify
q Reduceoutput
q Reducefrustra%on
q Buildconfidence
q Keeptheminvolved
Ideas to adapt reading ac4vi4es
Weakerstudents • Pre-teachhardvocabulary.• Usevisualstoexplainmeaning.• Giveanswersoncardstomatchtoques%ons.
• Splittextintoblocks.
Ideas to adapt reading ac4vi4es
Strongerstudents • Iden%fykeyvocabulary.• Choosefivewordsandwritesynonymsorantonyms.
• Rewritesentencesindifferenttense.
• Writeques%onsforotherstoanswer.
Learning together in mixed-ability classes
Wri4ng project
Thetextbooksaysthis:
Findaphotoofaninteres;nghomeontheinternet.Writeadescrip;veessayaboutit.
Howcanwedothisingroups?
Wri4ng project
• YourTeacher’sGuidesaysthis:
Leveled tasks
Tailor the task to the students’ levels
• Groupstudentsaccordingtolevel.
• Studentsworktogethertocreateoneproduct.
• Groupisaccountable.
• Teacherisaresource.
Tip! Occasionallyusinggroupsduringwri%ngtaskscansavealotof%mewhengrading.(15groupsof4=15assessmentsversus60!)
Prepara4on is key!
• Beclearaboutgoals.• Focusonneededlanguage.• Rememberouradap%onframework!
Wri4ng project: Weaker students
Control the input
• Relevantlanguage:vocabulary,grammar• Maximizestudents’%meontask.
Adjust the output
• Fillintheblanks.Thehouseisinthe_________.Theweatherisprobably________.Thereissome__________ontheground.Thehouseismadeof__________,buttherearen’tany_________.
Wri4ng project: Stronger students
Expand the input
• Newvocabulary• Inferences–grammar• Wholivesinthehouse?• Whatistheirpersonalitylike?• Whatistheirjob?
StrongerStudentsq Addchallenges
q Increaseoutput(amountofspeakingorwri%ng)
q Preventboredom
q Maintainconfidence
q Keeptheminvolved
Adap4ng materials: a guiding framework
WeakerStudentsq Simplify
q Reduceoutput(amountofspeakingorwri%ng)
q Reducefrustra%on
q Buildconfidence
q Keeptheminvolved
Par4ng words
• Remembertheguidingframework’sgoals.
• Youknowyourclassbest!
References
MixedAbilityAdapta%onshXps://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/ar%cle/adap%ng-materials-mixed-ability-
classesLeveledTaskshXps://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/mul%-level_tc_-
_part_2.pdf
Email:[email protected]
americanenglishwebinars.comamericanenglish.state.gov
facebook.com/AmericanEnglishatStatefacebook.com/AmericanEnglishforEducators
Thankyou!
