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POSSIBLE WAYS OF INTERACTION WITH MIXED ABILITY CLASSES

The problem of mixed-ability classes is very spread and common among many educational institutions. The reason for this is that there are varied learning styles, individual students’ pace of studying, preferences, interests and variations of motivation. Each student is an individual who needs to be properly approached to help him or her understand the subject and moreover, use the acquired knowledge in practice to get the best result. But it is a real challenge for teachers to work with a big group of students of different temperaments and learning abilities. Many of them, especially young teachers, don’t know how to cope with this problem and therefore their teaching methods are not effective. As a result, students with a higher level of knowledge may not be interested in studying English if the tasks are too easy for them and vice versa, pupils with a lower language proficiency may be at a loss through a very demanding and challenging task. Hence it is important for teachers to be aware of the problems resulting from mixed abilities in their classes and to decide on techniques and strategies that could be used to solve such problems.

Managing a mixed ability class can present a challenge for a teacher. Streaming students, grouping them into one “slow” and one “fast” separate class has been researched, and studies show that students don’t improve enough to suit a typical class. The main role of the teacher is not only to give clear instructions, but also to orchestrate the grouping, pairing, and teaming-up of students, especially if the teacher works with mixed ability classes, because there are below and above level students. Students may be paired or grouped with each other as either “like-ability” or “cross-ability groups. Like-ability group or pair consists of the students of the same level of knowledge of English. In such a case, students, who belong to this group can share responsibilities equally among all group member and be active participants. The benefit of like-ability grouping is that similar needs of the students can be addressed.

Cross-ability grouped students have different proficiency levels. The benefit of grouping students with diverse level of English knowledge is that the higher-level students can work together with the lower-level students and they can help each other with doing tasks.

Teamwork is always a cross-ability grouping (it would be difficult for lower level teams to win), as it is whole-class work, by its very nature. With pair work and group work, however, teachers may decide, based upon the task, whether to match students by like or cross-ability, in addition well as who to match with whom. A side benefit of ongoing and varied matching is the building of a strong, vibrant, comfortable, safe learning environment and classroom community [2, p.2].

If the work is individual, the teacher should let the “slowest” students do the task at their own speed, which is comfortable for them. It is not recommended to set the time limits, otherwise they will lose motivation and interest very quickly. To avoid this, the teacher can simply reduce their workload, for example, let them translate the half of the sentences at school and then finish the task at home. In any case, the teacher will be able to check their work later and give each student a piece of advice. This approach allows students to develop language skills at a pace that is appropriate for him/her and not be disappointed in his/her abilities.

For pair work, it is not suggested that the “fast” and “slow” students work together, because the “fast” one tends to dominate, and this discourages the “slow” one. As a result, no one benefits from this mode of interaction: the “fast” student is not very interested in the topic and cooperating, because it seems that only the "stronger" student works alone, and the “slow” has little chance to practice the language in the allotted time. It is better when students with more or less the same level of knowledge and temperament are paired together then they both need to contribute to the discussion, thereby practicing the target vocabulary, grammar, or functional language.

If the teacher involves students in group or project work, it is important to assign the right role to all the participants. The stronger students can generate ideas or make the final presentation, while the weaker students can be involved in the process of intermediate preparation, design, etc. It is important for the teacher to supervise the process and ensure that all group members participate equally in doing the assignment [1, p.8].

The selection of materials for conducting mixed ability classes is also important. If there are some students in the class who do the tasks faster than others and get bored waiting for the rest classmates, it is important to have extra exercises in reserve that may be of a higher level of difficulty than those in the textbook. The teacher can offer these tasks to the fast finishers, and the other students will finish quietly in the time allotted. Also, the teacher shouldn’t forget about the students, who perform tasks a little slower than the others. The teacher can come up and help the slow finishers, they need to feel the support and attention of the teacher.

A positive classroom atmosphere is essential for students to study, develop their knowledge well and feel comfortable. Research shows that a positive atmosphere improves students' academic performance and strengthens their self-esteem. Creating a positive classroom atmosphere requires effort from both the teacher and the students themselves. There is a strong connection between a good classroom atmosphere and having good behavior management. This will create a good learning situation [1, p.9]. To achieve this, the teacher can first of all remember students’ names, learn about their interests, find out about their difficulties in studying, support students and offer help.

In order to achieve a good learning situation with students the teacher should establish certain rules of behavior and present them to students. Students will act more confident, positive, and relaxed if they know what is expected of them in class.

Sometimes it may seem that students are losing their motivation to learn English. Reasons can be different. Lack of a sense of progress can demotivate even the most persistent student, so all of the student's achievements should be taken into account. The teacher should give the student an opportunity to realise his/her potential and always be involved in the learning process. If a student has a problem, he/she should not be left alone with it. It is necessary to maintain a balance so that students with different levels of knowledge of English remain engaged. If different skills are required in the lessons, it will help the students to have a positive experience with the material and be motivated to study something new.

One of the foremost ways to cope with mixed-ability classes is to give comprehensible information and directions and to present it in easy and manageable ways. This contributes to creating the students feel it’s more meaningful and interesting. A teacher has to establish tasks clearly and understandably for students by using various methods. The teacher should give the students the data within the whole class, and presenting an overhead or writing on the board [1, p.9].

If the teacher adheres to all of the above principles, he/she will be able to quickly find a common ground with mixed ability students and make their studying effective.

References

1. Ann-Christin Svärd. The challenge of mixed-ability classes. Autumn, 2010.

2. Harmer J. How to Teach English. Essex: Pearson Longman, 2007.

3. Roberts M. Teaching in the Multilevel Classroom /Pearson Longman, 2007.