Problems and Perspectives in Teaching English in Mixed Ability Classrooms
PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES IN TEACHING ENGLISH IN
MIXED ABILITY CLASSROOMS
(M.SENTHILKUMAR,VMKV ENGINEERING COLLEGE,SALEM)
All children are born with potential and we cannot be sure of the learning limits of any child (Robert Fisher, 2001:1) Presently, the English language teachers throughout the world keep on buzzing a word that their students are in mixed level. In the past teachers may well have said that the problem was just that some students were cleverer or simply ‘better’ than others in the class. 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,Speed, Maturity,World knowledge.
The above said attributes are the causes for mixed ability classrooms. The characteristics of Mixed ability classes are:
• While some students follow the lesson and are able to answer questions and do well in tests, others fall behind, don’t 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.
Teachers have faced the problems of mixed-ability classes since the times of one-roomed schools with children who had not only different knowledge but also a different age and were supposed to learn different things. The situation nowadays is a bit different, but the problems of mixed ability classes remain.McKeown (2004) believes that many teachers see a mixed ability class as consisting of a group of average and able children with a subset of children who have learning problems. Ireson & Hallam (2001) suggest that teachers need to recognise that a
MIXED ABILITY CLASSROOMS
(M.SENTHILKUMAR,VMKV ENGINEERING COLLEGE,SALEM)
All children are born with potential and we cannot be sure of the learning limits of any child (Robert Fisher, 2001:1) Presently, the English language teachers throughout the world keep on buzzing a word that their students are in mixed level. In the past teachers may well have said that the problem was just that some students were cleverer or simply ‘better’ than others in the class. 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,Speed, Maturity,World knowledge.
The above said attributes are the causes for mixed ability classrooms. The characteristics of Mixed ability classes are:
• While some students follow the lesson and are able to answer questions and do well in tests, others fall behind, don’t 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.
Teachers have faced the problems of mixed-ability classes since the times of one-roomed schools with children who had not only different knowledge but also a different age and were supposed to learn different things. The situation nowadays is a bit different, but the problems of mixed ability classes remain.McKeown (2004) believes that many teachers see a mixed ability class as consisting of a group of average and able children with a subset of children who have learning problems. Ireson & Hallam (2001) suggest that teachers need to recognise that a
Bibliography: Fisher,RTeaching Children to Learn.Cheltenhom,Nelson Thomas Ltd, 2001 Mckeown, S.Meeting SEN in the Curriculam:Modern Foreign Languages London : David Fulton Publishers,2004 Ireson,J.,& Hallam,S Ability grouping in Education, London,Paul Chapman Publishing,2001 Salli-Copur, Deniz. Coping with the Problem of Mixed Ability Classes. The internet TESL journal.