SOME GUIDES FOR TEACHING MIXED ABILTY CLASSES TO IMPROVE THEIR COMMUNICATION SKILL AT NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL

Therefore, in this study I present some guides which I have used successfully with classes of different sizes and levels to teach mixed ability classes so that students can improve their

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

I RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

First and foremost, learning English can help people pursue and obtain more career opportunities These days, the job market is global—many companies need employees who can communicate with partners and clients all over the world Very often, that means finding employees who speak English

The global job market has even created new positions for bilingual people By learning English, people could become a translator, a language teacher or an English marketing professional for a global company

English is the most-used language online, with nearly 1 billion users typing and chatting in the language If individuals can understand and read English, they will be able to access and enjoy many more resources online

Obviously this is helpful if they are just using the internet to browse and have fun But many people and businesses also need to conduct research, market themselves or communicate and develop connections online—English will be crucial for success

Email is also now a very common way to talk with people all over the world Email is the primary way for many companies to communicate with customers or other businesses Being able to write emails or other correspondences in English is another important asset for employers

Whether it’s for fun or for work, if people can understand English, they will be able to communicate with more people online or use many more materials

Communication skills are essential for a successful career, satisfying relationships and a personal sense of accomplishment Communication is seen every day through TV commercials, interaction with the person opening a door for people and listening to the CEO of their company speak Effective communication empowers people, provides clear direction and increases productivity Without it, people lose motivation and the inability to make a decision, and they become angry because their messages are not understood

In fact, many Vietnamese students who have good professional knowledge, but can’t use English well don’t get good jobs So, English is the first and the most important standard for workers who want to work not only at foreign companies but also at national ones

It is easy for students to get frustrated in a class of mixed ability Stronger students may feel held back, weaker students may feel pressured The teacher may feel stressed The best solution to this is to have an open-class discussion about the classroom situation - to ensure the best for everyone it is better to acknowledge the situation and for everyone to agree how to deal with it It is probably best to stage and structure the discussion

Therefore, in this study I present some guides which I have used successfully with classes of different sizes and levels to teach mixed ability classes so that students can improve their communication skills

I do the research to know about the fact of teaching and learning communication skills in Nhu Thanh High School more clearly This study also investigates whether the guides can have positive impact on process among students and can develop their communication skills or not Bearing in mind, I

decide the research with title “some guides to help the mixed ability students improve their communication skills at Nhu Thanh High School.”

III RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study aims at finding answer to the following research question:

How can guides help the mixed ability students improve their communication skills at Nhu Thanh High School?

The question has been addressed to the class A1 that I have been teaching in

Nhu Thanh High School with the aim to examine how guides help the mixed ability students improve their communication skills

IV SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study does not aim to teach any skill in a systematic way, because it is experience not for teaching but for practice The study investigates giving guides

to help the mixed ability students improve their communication skills at Nhu Thanh High School

V METHODS OF THE STUDY

In this study, I use some research tools to collect and analyze the needed data Recording is used to record the process of giving some guides

The second tool used in this study is interviews with students at the end of the research to study whether giving guides is really suitable for them or not

Surveying through the answer sheets is used to know the practical situation of teaching and learning English in the mixed ability classes

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

What are mixed ability classes?

Mixed ability or ‘heterogeneous’ classes are terms used to describe classes made

up of students of different levels of proficiency These terms are misleading as

no two learners are really alike and ‘homogeneous’ classes do not actually exist (Ur, 1991) All classes are to some degree made up of learners who differ in many ways They may have different strengths, weaknesses and approaches to learning They may respond differently to various teaching methods and classroom situations

In this article, I cover mixed ability factors, the problems with and advantages of teaching mixed ability classes as well as strategies for teachers who teach mixed ability classes

Mixed ability factors

There are many factors that influence the characteristics of the learners that make up one single class Some of these factors include:

- Age or maturity

- Intelligence and multiple intelligences

- Learning style

- Language aptitude

- Language levels

- Mother tongue

- Learner autonomy

- Motivation or attitude towards the subject

- Cultural background

Advantages of teaching mixed ability classes

Due to the frustrations felt by teachers teaching mixed ability classes, it can sometimes be difficult to see the advantages of teaching mixed ability classes There are a number of advantages to teaching mixed ability classes Mixed ability classes provide a rich pool of human resources (Ur, 1991) Learners come

to class with different knowledge, experiences opinions, ideas and interests which can be drawn on to provide interesting, varied student-centered lessons (Hess, 2001) Such diverse classes are interesting to teach and provide greater opportunity for innovation and creativity There is ‘educational value’ in mixed ability classrooms, as through their interaction, students can help and learn from each other (Ur, 1991:305) Learner autonomy is developed in such learning environments, as teachers may not be able to always tend to the individual, learners help or teach each other, work together or individually Mixed ability classes provide opportunity for teachers to develop themselves professionally, as teachers need to adopt a problem solving approach to the difficulties they face and experiment with a range of teaching approaches

Why should teachers learn to manage mixed ability classes?

Teachers may feel frustrated by the challenges they face in their mixed ability classrooms and may not know how to create successful learning and teaching environments that meet the needs of all learners in a single class Bremner (2008) states that the ‘biggest stumbling block to effective mixed ability teaching would seem to be teacher’s attitude Teachers lack the knowledge of strategies to use in the classroom for a wide range of ability.’ Teachers who are familiar with the different abilities and needs of their learners and use mixed ability teaching strategies effectively are much better equipped to meet the diverse learning needs of their learners (Šimanová, 2010)

CHAPTER 2: PRACTICAL SITUATIONS

I METHODS OF THE STUDY

The research is done qualitatively in the context of English class A1 In this survey, I use the survey questionnaire for students This survey is designed to

collect information for the study on “some guides to help the mixed ability students improve their communication skills at Nhu Thanh High School”

II THE REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN MIXED ABILITY CLASSES

Teachers may encounter a number of problems when teaching in mixed ability environments These are some comments made by teachers about their experiences of teaching mixed ability classes:

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According to Ur (1991: 303), some of the challenges teachers of mixed ability classes may face include:

Discipline - Teachers may find their mixed ability classes are chaotic or difficult

to control Discipline problems occur when learners feel frustrated, lose concentration, get bored, or behave in a disruptive manner Some reasons why mixed ability classes may be more difficult to control may be because different learners may find the subject matter easier or more difficult to grasp, weaker learners may require more assistance from the teacher, or more advanced learners may dominate aspects of the lessons

Interest – Learners may differ in their learning styles, motivation and interests.

Teachers of mixed ability classes may find it difficult to provide content and activities that are motivating and interesting to all learners in a class

Effective learning for all – In mixed ability classes it is difficult to provide

effective learning for all learners The content or activities in a lesson may be too easy for some and too difficult for others

Materials – Materials are usually rigidly aimed at a certain kind of learner and

may not offer teachers options or flexibility

Individual awareness – Teachers may find it difficult to get to know and follow

the progress of all learners in a class In classes where there are many differences, teachers are not able to devote time and attention equally to all learners (Šimanová, 2010)

Participation – In mixed ability classes, more advanced learners tend to

participate more actively than weaker learners Lack of participation or attention from the teacher, may further affect weaker learners proficiency in the subject

Correction – Teachers may feel overwhelmed by the marking load and may also

not feel equipped to deal with the errors made by a student For example a subject teacher may not feel comfortable correcting a learner’s language errors

CHAPTER 3:

RECOMMENDATION TO IMPROVE

THE MIXED ABILITY STUDENTS’ ENGISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS

I RECOMMENDATIONS

According to the data analysis from the survey, it can be personally concluded that the most important feature that makes my students to engage more in the lesson is the kind of assessment which forces them to learn although the meaningfulness of tasks also more or less affect the level of engagement

the most meaningful tasks to my students are tasks that can help them to pass the tests at the end of the semester not tasks that give them reasons to communicate

as I expected

Therefore, I present some guides to help the mixed ability students improve their communication skills at Nhu Thanh High School”

II PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS

1 Adapting materials for mixed ability classes

In these cases it’s important to remember that all students will get something out

of the class, but not necessarily the same things, and not necessarily what you aim to teach them! For example, the beginners may begin to get a grasp of your classroom language whilst the stronger students may begin to be able to put a

Adapting materials for mixed ability classes can take different forms

One way to adapt materials is to rewrite reading texts and grade the language accordingly for different levels In an ideal world where a teacher has all the time in the world to prepare their classes this may be the perfect solution However, the reality is that this sort of adaptation is extremely time consuming and not many teachers can actually go to this length to adapt materials for mixed level groups Another problem that can arise with this sort of adaptation is that it can be awkward to give out different texts to different students There’s a danger that they will instantly realise that they have been labelled as a weak or strong student and, in the case of the weaker students, this will no doubt effect their motivation

I would like to offer some ideas of how you can support your weaker students and offer extension activities for your stronger students whilst using the same materials as the starting point for the class This way the preparation time involved for the teacher isn’t drastically higher, and the group can still work

Extension activities for stronger

Reading

Ask early finishers to write new vocabulary up on the board with definitions

Rewrite a part of the text in a different tense / person

Write their personal opinion / a short summary of the text Write questions about the text

Pre-teach difficult vocabulary and leave it written on the board for students to refer to Use visuals if possible

If there are gaps, give students the answers in a jumbled order, with a few extras

Draw attention to the title, pictures etc and set the scene beforehand so their mind is on track for the topic

Break the text into chunks and give the option of only reading some of the text

Listening

Give out the tape script and nominate a ‘vocabulary master’ to look up tricky words or expressions

in a dictionary to then explain to the group

Focus on the accents or intonation of

Pre-teach vocabulary, use visual prompts when appropriate

Give students time to discuss answers before feeding back to the class

the speakers and get students to

If it’s a true/false activity, follow on

by asking ‘why/why not?)

Give students the tape script on

If it’s a gap fill, supply the words with a few extras

Writing

Give creative tasks that students can

do at their own level

Indicate mistakes using correction code to give students a chance to self-correct (Sp = spelling, Gr =

Increase the word limit

Indicate where they could use more interesting ways of saying something

Correct the draft together before students copy up in neat Reduce the word limit

Encourage use of dictionaries /

Give and example piece of writing

as a model before they begin writing

Pair or group weaker students with stronger students

Speaking

Ask students to justify / defend their opinions

Ban easy words like ‘nice’ to push their vocab to a higher level

Get students to record themselves

Pair students of higher level together

so they really go for it

Give students time to rehearse and gather their ideas before a role

Pair weak and strong together

Let students make notes before the speaking activity begins Allow

Grade students on the effort they make rather than their ability With a whole class mingle like a class survey or a ‘find somebody

who ’ practise the questions as a

Give weaker students more listening and thinking time before calling on them to answer questions

2 Tips for good classroom management with mixed ability groups

Some useful strategies for managing mixed ability classes (Šimanová, 2010, Bremner, 2008) are listed below:

Supportive learning environment – It is important to create a supportive learning

environment in the classroom, where learners feel confident and able to perform

to the best of their ability

Classroom management – By managing classes effectively, teachers can ensure

that learners will be involved as much as possible in the lesson Classroom management techniques include organising the classroom layout for maximum learning potential, involving all students, learning and using learners’ names, teachers cultivating a positive attitude through their own attitude to the class, praise and encouragement, grading and using relevant teacher talk, using the board effectively and managing learning activities by giving good instructions, asking concept checking questions, using pair and group work, setting time limits, monitoring the activity and including feedback on the activity

Learning to learn – Teach learners about different learning styles and the

different learning strategies for visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners Teach learners how to be resourceful so that they know where to find help if they get stuck Provide learners with the goal for the lesson and encourage learners to review and assess whether they have achieved the goal by the end of the lesson

Variety – Vary topics, methods of teaching, focus, materials and activities.

Variety will generate learner interest and motivation; and lessons will accommodate different learners’ levels, abilities and learning styles

Grouping – Use a range of interaction patterns in class Learners should work in

groups, pairs and individually Groupings should be changed often, thereby giving learners an opportunity to work with different learners

Pace – Teachers must be mindful of the pace of their lessons Teaching a class

too slowly or too quickly may lead to boredom or frustration A teacher must be aware of his/her learners’ abilities and pitch the pace of the lesson accordingly