Page 155 - Teaching English at Primary Level: From Theory into the Classroom

Teaching Mixed-Ability Classes

The teacher gives the learners the generic text and asks them to correct
it by collaborating in pairs or groups. If and when necessary, the teacher
may provide support in the form of examples or metalinguistic explanation
(‘“She’s” is a short form for “She is,” is this the right form here?’). In this way, the
pupils will become more autonomous and aware of the writing process. They
canthengobackto their ownworkand correcttheir writingindependently
using self-correction.
As Cameron (1996) points out, the teacher’s goal in giving feedback is to
close the gap between the learners’ current performance and their target
performance. However, it is equally important that by providing feedback
teachersdevelopthelearners’learningstrategiesandmetacognitivecompe-
tence. This can be done by using different feedback strategies besides pro-
viding corrective feedback, such as strategic or evaluative feedback, which
include the teacher’s advice for improvement or comments on the learner’s
performance, such as ‘This is a really good idea, well done.’, ‘Can you think of
a better example?’, ‘Can you think of a better word for this?’ In addition, by
using evaluative comments and giving feedback on content, we also make
surethat learnersunderstandthat formandaccuracyarenot theonlyoreven
the most important elements in developing writing. Learners may, in fact, as-
sume this is the case if we only provide feedback on form.

Teaching Mixed-Ability Classes
Learners come to the language classroom with different linguistic and cul-
tural backgrounds, different abilities, different approaches to studying, and
different attitudes towards learning foreign languages. Most teachers of YLLs
wouldprobablyagreewith Tomlinson’s(2000,p.2) viewthat ‘in most elemen-
tary classrooms, some students struggle with learning, others perform well
beyond grade-level expectations, and the rest fit somewhere in between.’ We
could say that all classes are to a certain extent mixed-ability and the more
teachers are aware of the differences between their learners, the better they
will be able to tailor their instruction to their needs. By implementing the
principles of differentiated instruction (DI), teachers will be able to respond
to learner differences in a systematic and consistent manner.
According to Tomlinson (2000; 2014), teachers can differentiate their in-
struction by adapting content, process, products or the learning environ-
ment. Content refers to the curriculum and the skills, i.e. what the learners
need to learn. Process refers to the activities we use in the classroom and dif-
ferent ways in which learners are engaged in them, such as pair work, group
work, individual work. Product indicates the tasks that students perform to

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