Differentiation In ESL Classes

There’s a new buzzword in TEFL Town: differentiation.

Okay, so it’s not really a new word and it’s definitely not a new concept, but our terminology has changed. 

What you might know as mixed levels or multi-level teaching or learning, is now also commonly known as differentiation and differentiated teaching and learning. 

Differentiation in ESL classes is quite common. But what is it exactly and how do we deal with it?

What is multi-level teaching?

Multi-level teaching is the teaching learners with different levels in the same class. In other words, teaching a mixed-ability class.

In TEFL, this can happen if our EFL/ESL students are grouped by age rather than English level. This is common practice in schools all around the world, so mixed-level ESL classes are a thing.

Let’s look at a multi-level teaching example.

Picture this: You offer private lessons from your home. Two brothers – one is 8, the other 10 – start English classes with you. The boys have travelled extensively with their parents and so, while they are Beginners, they have picked up quite a lot of English vocabulary and phrases.

They enjoy your classes so much that they persuade some of their friends to sign up too. Soon you have three new students in your class. A nine-year-old boy and two eight-year-old girls. They are Absolute Beginners. 

An Absolute Beginner is a learner with virtually no prior knowledge of English. 

Read more: What Are Absolute Beginner And False Beginner EFL Students

How do you approach this diverse little group of students with two significantly different levels of English?

This is, in fact, what happened to TTA alum Rebekah. Can you imagine! 

So we asked Rebekah to give us some pointers on how she dealt with this particular situation so we can understand multi-level ESL classes and differentiated teaching a bit better.

How to teach multi-level ESL classes: D is for differentiation

Rebekah, how do you teach multi-level ESL classes? 

Well, the textbook answer to this question is differentiation. 

But what is differentiation? What does differentiation really mean? And why is differentiation important?

Essentially, differentiated instruction is about meeting students where they are and providing them with the support that they need to learn and thrive. 

Sounds great, right?

In any class – even a class where all students fall within the same broad level – you will naturally have a range of learning styles, speeds and capabilities. The challenge for the teacher is to provide the material in such a way that the Beginners don’t get lost and the Advanced students don’t get bored. 

If you’re teaching English online, here’s an interesting post on how you can tackle learning styles online: Adapting To Different Learning Styles In Online Lessons.

Differentiation in the ESL classroom: ESL differentiation strategies

Differentiation can happen on three levels:

• content (what you teach), 

• the process (what students have to do), and 

• the product (what students produce). 

The internet is full of helpful advice about how you can differentiate in an ESL classroom. In a large class this could mean:

• Dividing the class up into smaller groups based on level
• Pairing students so that stronger students can provide weaker students with support

• Providing activities of varying degrees of difficulty

• Scaffolding activities for the weaker students

• Giving the stronger students the opportunity to take on more complicated tasks once they have finished the basic task

• Introducing individual lesson goals for students based on their capabilities.

But how could I implement these strategies with only five kids in the class?

When it comes to differentiation in the ESL classroom, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. 

The very essence of the concept of differentiation is that a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching doesn’t really work. So it’s not surprising that how you apply this principle in your classroom depends entirely on your class. 

Here’s what I’ve learnt:

Get to know your class

Understanding how your class works and what motivates your students is a good place to start when figuring out how to implement differentiation strategies. 

Take, for example, my little group of five students. 

• They are friends and they want to learn English together.
• They are choosing to learn English in their free time.

• They expect the classes to be fun. 

• There is a range in both age and level of English. 

It would be counterproductive for me to split the group in two based on English level. This makes things tricky as I need to figure out a way to keep all five students engaged and motivated. If I fail to do so, shenanigans are likely to ensue. Worse yet, one or more of the students may simply decide that they don’t want to learn English after all. 

Read more: How To Make A Needs Analysis Questionnaire For ESL Students

With this particular group of students, I decided to focus on:

• Playing plenty of games

• Varying the activities so that the kids get to draw, sing, act and move while they learn English

• Pitching the class at the level of the weaker students, but making sure to extend the more advanced students by requiring slightly more from them.

Scaffold instructions

When it comes to giving instructions, I like to provide the students with information in several different ways. 

Tell: I begin by giving the instruction in English. As all of the kids in the group are Beginners, I try to speak slowly and clearly, and to use only the essential words. 

Show: Where possible, I accompany the words with gestures or actions to convey the meaning. 

Write: The younger students in this group (who have only just begun reading fluently in French) struggle to read words written in English. However, I do like to write down the key words so that they can begin to associate the spelling with the pronunciation.

Check understanding: Once I have given the instruction, I wait a moment to see if any of the students have understood. If one of the more advanced students has understood, I let them explain the instructions to the rest of the group in French (the first language, or L1). 

Repeat: I then repeat some of the key words in English (with gestures) before providing the L1 translation, and ask the group to repeat the words back to me. 

I find this strategy useful because it:

• Gives me the opportunity to see how much the more advanced students understand.
• Makes the more advanced students feel like they have an important role to play in helping their friends learn English. 
• Gives the less advanced students an opportunity to learn and practice certain key words.

Personalise games

With this group of students, much of the lesson revolves around games. While we are all playing the same game, I’ve found that it is possible to personalise what is expected from each student. 

Personalisation is such an important part of teaching. It not only helps with motivation but with learning too! 

For example, if we’re playing memory game:

• The less advanced students need to give one word for the object on the card, eg. cat.

• The more advanced students need to provide additional adjectives, eg. the brown-and-white cat. 

If we are practising phrases by tossing a ball:

• The weaker students can stick to one question-and-answer set (eg. What is your name?/ My name is Anna), which they repeat every time they catch the ball.

• The stronger students need to practice three or four different question-and-answer sets. 

Sometimes the game doesn’t allow for this kind of personalisation. In such cases, I try to “level the playing field” by allowing the weaker students to go first or by giving them a slight headstart or more time if it is a timed activity. 

Divide attention equally

Where you direct your attention can impact the outcome of a class as much as the activities you have prepared. 

When you have different levels of English in one group, it’s easy to make the mistake of focusing most of your attention on the weaker students because they seem to need more help. Or, you might overlook the weaker students because the stronger students are more engaged and easier to communicate with. 

The advantage of teaching a small group is that you can give each student individualised attention. But it’s important to note that the attention doesn’t need to look the same for the weaker students and the stronger ones. 

With the weaker students, attention may take the form of encouragement or frequent praise. For the stronger students, it might mean delving a little deeper into one of their responses or challenging them to try something slightly more difficult. 

Remember that although the stronger students might not need quite as much praise and encouragement, everyone – especially when you are working with kids – likes to have their efforts recognised!