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CHAPTER II. IMPLEMENTATION OF TECHNIQUES IN IMPROVING WRITING SKILLS
2.1. Interaction patterns in writing classes
All classes are mixed ability to one extent or another. Extreme cases, when you have near active level speakers with beginners, can be very challenging for the teacher. In these cases it is 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 new tense into use. 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 is 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 is not drastically higher, and the group can still work together for most of the class. Here may be given suggestions as:
Extension activities for stronger students by giving creative tasks that students can do at their own level; indicating mistakes using correction code to give students a chance to self-correct (Sp = spelling, Gr = grammar etc.); increasing the word limit; indicate where they could use more interesting way of saying something, etc
Support for weaker students by correcting the draft together before students copy up in neat; reduce the word limit, encourage use of dictionaries or vocabulary books; give an example piece of writing as a model before they begin writing; pair or group weaker students with stronger students.
As previously mentioned you may often be teaching a class which has students who are clearly of different levels. They may have different starting levels of English or they may learn at very different speeds - for any number of reasons. These are several strategies that a teacher can use to deal with this situation. 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.
Needs Analysis. Use a needs analysis to prompt the students to reflect upon their learning style, learning strategies, language needs, learning enjoyment, motivation, language strengths and weaknesses. Questions that might be included are:
What kinds of class activities do you enjoy from?
Which language skill do you most wish to develop?
Do you prefer working individually or with a partner?
Would you rather sit and listen to the teacher all lesson or participate in group work?
Students compare their answers in pairs or small groups. You should collect the information and prepare a statistical representation of the key questions and answers. This will help to develop the sense of shared community in the class.
Explain and discuss. Explain the mixed-level situation to the students and give a list of possible approaches to the teaching and learning. In pairs, the students rank the approaches/ideas according to their suitability for the situation.
Following feedback, you should highlight the strategies you plan to use.
A student contract. Developing with the students, or perhaps writing it yourself, a contract of behaviour for activities is a useful device. 'I will help and support my activity partner.' 'I will participate in group work.'
Tell them what you are going to do. If you think your students are not mature enough to carry out this kind of reflection, explain the situation to the class and tell them what strategies you will be using. If students know what to expect, you can hope that they will cooperate. All of the above work could be done in the mother tongue, although I feel it is best done primarily in the target language as it draws attention to the fact that this is a learning language issue. Encourage students to develop an awareness of their own language abilities and learning needs. What are their strengths and weaknesses, and how can they focus on these? How can they measure their own progress. This may take the form of a learner's diary, regular self-assessment, keeping records of mistakes, keeping a record of things learnt.
Work groupings. Varying the way students work in the class will help meet the variety of levels in the class.
Pair work. You can pair strong with strong, weak with weak, or strong with weak. Perhaps in a very controlled activity, the strong with weak will work well. In a freer activity, perhaps strong with strong will be of benefit. Variety in the pairings is the key here - and you should also be sensitive to the general relationships between different students, and learn to note who works well with whom.
Group work. These groups could be of mixed levels or similar ones. The hope is that in a smaller group, the weaker student will feel more able to contribute. Also, if the group is working with a set of information, divide the information between the students, forcing them to work together.
You may consider dividing your class into groups by level for the whole lesson, enabling you to give a different level or number of tasks to each group. Discussion of this strategy with the class should help prevent stigmatisation.
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