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Teaching Mixed Ability Teens

Many teachers complain that they have problems dealing with classes that are mixed ability.
This section attempts to provide some suggestions for dealing with mixed-ability classes.
The characteristics of such classes are:

While some students follow the lesson and are able to answer questions and do well in
tests, others fall behind, dont seem to understand and do badly in tests.

While some students pay attention and are cooperative, others misbehave and seem
disinterested.
Teachers feel concerned that they are not challenging the high-achievers enough and
at the same time are not giving enough help to those who are not doing as well.
Teachers find it hard to pitch their lessons at a level where all students can be
engaged.

In the past teachers may well have said that the problem was just that some students were
cleverer or simply better, but we now understand that the situation is more complex than
that. Our students are indeed mixed in many ways. They are different in terms of their
levels of:

Attention
Interest
Motivation
Learning styles
Types of intelligences
Physiological needs
Psychological needs
Speed
Maturity
World knowledge
Knowledge of and about English

And you can probably think of other areas in which they differ e.g. girls and boys who in their
class may be the same age, but may behave and respond very differently, because girls
generally mature more quickly than boys.
In order to give all students the chance to benefit from their lessons it is vital to take into
account their differences and plan lessons or activities within the lesson accordingly.

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Mixed Ability Tips 1

Type: reference material
Understanding that we need to address all the students in the class.
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 its 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 thats its 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.)

Mixed Ability Tips 2

Type: reference material
Understanding that students are at different levels of English.

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If students within the same class cannot cope with the same exercises, can you grade the
tasks i.e. design them so that the same task can be done by different groups of students at
different levels?

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
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information goes into a postcard here its their knowledge of the world that lets them down
not necessarily their knowledge of English.

Mixed Ability Tips 3

Type: reference material
Techniques for dealing with mixed ability students: graded dictation.
Heres an example of a graded dictation at three different levels:
The text is three jokes that the teacher can read out. Its 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?
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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.

Mixed Ability Tips 4

Type: reference material
Understanding that students work at different speeds and energy levels

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 Shes 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.

Mixed Ability Tips 5

Type: reference material
Understanding that students have different learning styles.
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Do you vary the way you present language and get students to practise it?
If you use a course book, sometimes its easy to fall into routines in class that some students
may find unstimulating and plain boring.
Howard Gardeners Theory of Multiple Intelligences tells us that we all may learn in
different ways and we also have natural preferences to the way in which we enjoy learning. If
we only teach in one way many students will be disadvantaged. They will find it difficult to
engage in the lesson and may switch off. They are not less able than others, they just need a
different kind of stimulation.
For example they may be more:

Visual and therefore respond well to pictures and enjoy responding to

language through drawing pictures. So when presenting language use
pictures to give new language context, e.g. use magazine pictures of
homes/houses to introduce the vocabulary of furniture.
Kinaesthetic and therefore respond well to activities that require
movement in class. These students would respond well to drama activities
like role plays that involve use of body language or action games, which
involve moving around the class.
Musical so why not use songs in class to introduce and practise new
language?
Logical and enjoy seeing patterns and organising their knowledge.

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