"Приемы разноуровневого обучения английскому языку"

МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБЩЕОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ                «СРЕДНЯЯ ШКОЛА № 8 С УГЛУБЛЕННЫМ ИЗУЧЕНИЕМ ИНОСТРАННЫХ ЯЗЫКОВ» ГОРОДА СМОЛЕНСКА

«Приемы разноуровневого обучения на уроке английского языка»

(статья)

Автор: учитель английского языка

 высшей квалификационной категории

Савельева И.Г.

Смоленск

2023

Diaries

Students regularly write in a diary or journal. They can write about whatever they wish and however much they want. The focus is on fluency. Teachers can read and respond to the content. Students can also illustrate these diaries and/or include pictures or text from magazines /internet etc. This creates a real and personal communication between the student and the teacher.

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Surveys

Students design questionnaires for the class and decide how to present their findings. Weaker students can choose just a few simple questions to ask e.g. What is your favourite xxxx? And then present their findings using charts, posters or oral presentations.

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Brainstorming

Doing any work on a given topic allow time for students to think of language they already know on the topic. You can do this as a class with teacher writing suggestions on the board or with students working in groups on big pieces of paper. For example:

Bank robbery

gun		robber		scream
	money		manager
customer		police		getaway car
	fear		mask
		arrest

All students can contribute, even if it is only single words.

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Class stories

You can tell a story with the class, encouraging them all to contribute ideas and vocabulary. Accept as many contributions as possible especially the crazy ones! For example:

One day – what kind of day was it?

Students make suggestions and you incorporate them into the story.

OK, it was a sunny, hot, boring day. A man – what did he look like? etc.

Don’t compare students to others, but praise them for what they have managed to do, regardless of what others around them have produced. We all need to know that our contributions are of value.

Here’s an example of a graded dictation at three different levels:

The text is three jokes – that the teacher can read out. It’s nice for students to be encouraged to listen to something that can engage them on different levels like something funny. But be careful - jokes are often hard to understand in a foreign language.

What do you call a spaceship with a faulty air-conditioning unit?
A frying saucer!

If a jumper and a vest had a fight, which one would win?
The jumper, of course - vests are completely 'armless!

Have you heard about the new footballing exam designed to test players' teamwork?
If they don't pass, they fail!

Students who are stronger get a blank sheet of paper to write the dictation on, students who need some help get sheet A and students who you feel need a lot of support get sheet B.

Sheet A – fill in the gaps

What do you ____ a spaceship with a faulty ___________ unit?
A _______ saucer

___ a jumper and a vest ___ a ______, which one would ____?
The jumper, _______ - vests are _________ 'armless

Have you _________ about the new footballing ________ designed to _______ players' teamwork?

If they don't _______, they fail.

Sheet B – circle the word you hear

What do you name / call / say a spaceship with a broken / faulty / falling air-conditioning unit?

A flying / frying / fried saucer

If a jumper and a vest / west / nest had a fight, which one would win / lose / draw?
The jumper, of course - vests are completely 'armless

Have you heard about the new footballing quiz / exam / test designed to test players' / payers’ / prayers’ teamwork?
If they don't pass, they fail.

The advantage of graded activities like these is that everyone is working on the same text at a level they find comfortable. The main disadvantage is that teachers need to prepare more material for a lesson.

• Allow students time to think about tasks

You can do this by setting up student-centred activities where students work in small groups. This means they are not all competing to respond to your questions.

You may set them a writing task in response to a reading or listening text and they work together, helping each other in a less stressful manner.

For example, they could listen to the Beatles’ song – She’s leaving home. Ask them to write the note that the girl leaves her parents or the dialogue the parents have once they discover their daughter has gone.

If groups are mixed (less and more able students together) peer teaching can take place, with students helping each other by explaining language points in mother tongue, explaining vocabulary. You may be surprised at who helps who.

Here is an example of a writing task that is graded:

A. Write a postcard to a friend, telling them about your holiday.

________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________

B. Fill in the gaps or circle the word you want to use:

Dear ________, I am having a great / fine / terrible time here in ____. The weather is sunny / rainy /snowy. Everyday I go swimming / jogging / skiing. The food is terrible / ok / great. Yesterday I went to a circus / museum / zoo. It was _______. Best wishes,

________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________

While one task is open and challenging for students, the second offers support. It is still challenging, as students need to read and choose their words. The first task may be very daunting for a less confident student and also they may be unaware of what kind of information goes into a postcard – here it’s their knowledge of the world that lets them down not necessarily their knowledge of English.

Are we addressing all the students in the class?

Sometimes without being aware of it ourselves we are making the difference between students greater by favouring some students and ignoring others. Consider the questions below to reflect upon your own teaching and consider whether you are directing your lesson to all the students in the class:

• Can all the students see you?
• Can you see all the students?
• Can all the students hear you?
• Do you know all the students’ names?
• Do the weaker students sit at the back, where it’s more difficult for you to make eye contact with them?
• Do you ask questions to the class and give everyone time to respond or do you let the quick students call out the answers first, so that’s it’s always the same students who do the answering?
• Are you fair?
• Do you encourage all the students?
• Are you patient?
• Are your instructions clear?
• Is your lesson well signposted? (i.e. do students know what they should be doing at any given time? Do you give time limits for activities? Has everyone noticed that you want to give some new instructions or explain something?)
• Are all the students comfortable? (If a student is too hot, in pain, hungry, upset, preoccupied etc they are not in the right condition to learn.)