Coping with
Multilevel Classes:
Differentiation in
action through
reading and writing
Peter Lucantoni
Peter Lucantoni
• Started teaching in 1979 in UK, lived and worked
in Europe and Middle East, now based in Cyprus
• Author, Educational Consultant & Teacher
Trainer for Cambridge University Press
• Cambridge TKT, CELTYL, CELTA & DELTA
trainer and Cambridge CELTYL assessor
• Examiner for Cambridge ESOL speaking
examinations
• Classroom teacher
Workshop aims
What is a multilevel class?
What is differentiation and how do we do it?
Graded tasks
Content learning
Conclusions
What is a multilevel class?
• In a sense, every class is multilevel
• Classes are made up of people, and everyone is
different
• Language classes tend to be highly
heterogeneous
• Every teaching context is different
What is a multilevel class?
• Differences in learning styles, speed and
aptitudes, as well as motivation
• Very clear difference in language levels: skills
abilities, vocabulary range, grammatical
knowledge, pronunciation, …
• Differences in background and world knowledge
What is a multilevel class?
• In your group, find three things which are
common between you (for example, your first
language)
• Then for each person in your group, find one
thing which is not common between you (for
example, a hobby)
What is a multilevel class?
• Think of the students in a class you teach
• What is different between the students in the
class?
• Examples:
• Fatma doesn’t like using computers, Ali prefers
speaking to writing, Salma is very shy
What is differentiation?
• Teacher reflects on learners’ needs and
matches methods, resources, tasks,
learning environment to individual learners
or groups of learners
• Through differentiation all learners can
achieve success
How to differentiate
• Differentiation does not attempt to enable all
learners to achieve the same standard
• The point is to help learners to achieve their
potential – the best as individuals they are able to
achieve
• As a teacher you need to use your skills to
encourage learners to reach their personal goals
Freewriting activity
• You are going to ‘freewrite’ about two topics
• For each topic, you will be told when to start
and stop writing. Write everything you think
of, and don’t worry about grammar and
spelling
• You can write words, phrases and sentences
• Don’t stop to erase anything. Just keep
writing
Freewriting activity - topics
• 1 Working as a teacher of English
• 2 My free time activities
Freewriting activity
• Did you like this activity?
• Why/not?
• Would you use it with your learners?
• Why/not?
• Did it differentiate between different types of
learners?
How to differentiate
• Many ways available to teachers
• For each method below, think of one advantage
and one disadvantage
• Use same-ability groups
• Use mixed-ability groups
• Varying tasks
• Varying outcomes
• Varying learner support
How to differentiate
Same-ability groups:
 Most common way, sometimes called ‘streaming’
 Most effective way to help teacher match work to
different levels
 Creates competition between learners
 May cause less able learners to develop poor
self-image, especially if groupings rarely
reviewed
How to differentiate
Mixed-ability groups:
 Prevents stigmatisation
 Research shows less able learners work better in
mixed-ability groups
 More able learners may not reach potential
 Less able learners may rely too heavily on more
able learners
How to differentiate
Varying tasks:
 Contributes to success for all learners
 Learners cover same work and/or meet same
objectives
 Can be more preparation work for the teacher
 Learners need to become used to working on
different tasks from friends
How to differentiate
Varying outcomes:
 Helps all learners to be successful
 Ideal for meeting individual learner’s needs
 Can be more preparation for the teacher
 More resources may be required to meet all
learners’ needs
How to differentiate
Varying learner support:
 Can allow teacher to spend more time with less
able learners
 Provides more able learners with opportunity to
become more autonomous learners
 More able learners may resent less time with
class teacher
 Less able learners may rely too heavily on
teacher support
What makes writing difficult?
• It’s different from spoken language
• Writing is difficult in L1
• Lack of real-world knowledge and generating
ideas
• Different writing conventions
• Unfamiliarity with script
• Language difficulties
• Lack of motivation
content, effect
name/sound
spelling,
grammar,
uniform
of letters,
upper/lower
letter
vocabulary,
on
reader,
size, style,
case,
position of
uniform
punctuation,
appropriacy,
slant,
paper/body,
regular
capitalisation,
organisation,
spacing
regular
of
size ofstructure,
letters
order,
sequencing,
within
letters, letter
shape/slant,
word
spacing
paragraphing,
between
left-right
orientation,
words
linking
words,
direction
of each
word
count
letter, pencil
control, line as anchor
point
Connected text
Phrases
Words
Letters – a, j, Q, Y
Connected text
•
Remember that ‘connected text’ does not
necessarily mean ‘advanced’ or ‘difficult’
•
Even low level learners can produce
‘connected text’
•
How?
Connected text
•
What text types might your learners write?
You have two minutes. Think about:




PERSONAL WRITING eg, diary
CREATIVE WRITING eg, poem
SOCIAL WRITING eg, writing a postcard
PUBLIC WRITING eg, poster
Connected text
• Personal writing – notes, diaries, shopping lists,
reminders, recipes
• Creative writing – stories, poems, shape poems,
plays, songs
• Social writing – letters, emails, texts, greetings
cards, invitations, instructions
• Public writing – posters, class magazines,
menus, letters to other ss/classes
Group writing activity – Dictogloss
• In this activity, learners recreate a text
• First, put down your pencils and listen to the text
• Then, write down everything you can remember
about the text
• Show your ideas to your partners. Try to agree on
what you heard
• Listen again and redraft your writing
The man with seven lives
On a cold winter day, many years ago, a French
art teacher named Pierre Chevalier got on a train
in Lyon to go to Paris. When he started his
journey, he didn’t know that it was the beginning
of almost 40 years of accidents and near-death
experiences.
During the journey, the train came off the tracks
and fell into an icy river, killing 12 passengers.
Chevalier managed to swim back to the shore.
He had a broken leg and needed treatment for
shock, but was very happy to be alive.
English in Mind 2 (2nd edition), Puchta & Stranks, Cambridge University Press, 2010
Dictogloss
• Did you like this activity?
• Why/not?
• Would you use it with your learners?
• Why/not?
• Did it differentiate between different types of
learners?
Tasks
Give support
or add
challenge to
same task
Giving support to class tasks
• How can you help less able students to be
successful in completing a task?
• Example: allow students to read the tapescript
while listening
Giving support to class tasks
•Allow students to read
the tapescript during
listening
•Give sentence prompts
•Use the board
•Elicit key vocabulary
before a listening task
•Write numbers and
for open-ended tasks
their spelling on board
•Use L1 to have
•Use visual input, TPR,
students repeat
instructions or review
key vocabulary
•Give line numbers or
etc.
paragraphs for
vocabulary
Giving challenge to class tasks
• How can you challenge more able students
while they complete a task?
• Example: have them work on tasks with books
closed
Giving challenge to class tasks
•Have them work on
•Give an extension
tasks with books closed
to back for roleplay task
exercise to personalize,
such as write a
summary of their group
discussion
•Extend task, if it asks
•Create exercises for
•Have students sit back
for 4 questions have
students create 6 or 7
future practice and keep
an exercise box
Grading tasks
text level of challenge
+
differentiated tasks level of support
=
student success
Grading tasks
• Look at the three graded tasks.
• What are the similarities and differences?
• Which are the least and most challenging?
Why?
Grading tasks
A Read the text, then look at these sentences. Are they true
or false? Correct the false sentences.
1 The first Americans arrived there in 1300.
2 The first Native Americans came from Asia.
3 When the Europeans arrived, there were 300 Native
Americans.
4 The settlers called them Indians because they lived in
India.
5 The Native American and the Europeans didn’t fight at
first. (Adapted from Messages 2 Student’s Book, pg 65, Goodey & Goodey, Cambridge University Press, 2010)
Grading tasks
B Read the text, then look at these sentences. Are they true
or false? Correct the false sentences. Then write three
more true/false sentences for your friend.
1 The first Americans arrived there in 1300.
2 The first Native Americans came from Asia.
3 When the Europeans arrived, there were 300 Native
Americans.
4 The settlers called them Indians because they lived in
India.
5 The Native American and the Europeans didn’t fight at
first. (Adapted from Messages 2 Student’s Book, pg 65, Goodey & Goodey, Cambridge University Press, 2010)
Grading tasks
C Read the text, then look at these sentences. Are they true
or false?
1 The first Americans arrived there in 1300.
2 The first Native Americans came from Asia.
3 When the Europeans arrived, there were 300 Native
Americans.
4 The settlers called them Indians because they lived in
India.
5 The Native American and the Europeans didn’t fight at
first. (Adapted from Messages 2 Student’s Book, pg 65, Goodey & Goodey, Cambridge University Press, 2010)
Grading tasks
• Look at the text ‘A flying disaster’ and exercises
a-d, taken from English in Mind 2 (2nd edition) by
Puchta & Stranks, published by Cambridge
University Press (2010)
• How could you adapt the four exercises a-d to
give support to your less able learners, and to
provide challenge for your more able learners?
• Design two further exercises: one to support and
one to challenge learners
Meeting a famous person
• You’re going to write a story about meeting
a famous person
Meeting a famous person
• Write your name at the top of a sheet of blank
paper
• Write the numbers 1-6 down the left side
• Think of a famous person – anyone you want
• Write the answers to the following questions. Do
NOT write the questions! Write complete
answers, not single words or short answers
• Do not discuss anything with your partner!
Meeting a famous person
1 When did you meet the famous person? I met the
famous person …
2 Where were you?
3 Who was with you?
4 What did the famous person look like?
5 What did you do?
6 What happened in the end?
Meeting a famous person
• Did you like this activity?
• Why/not?
• Would you use it with your learners?
• Why/not?
• Did it differentiate between different types of
learners?
Content learning
• Content teaching is teaching/learning
language through content
• In other words, the content drives the
language, unlike more traditional
approaches where the language drives the
content
Content learning
• One of biggest differences among learners
is their knowledge of world, talents,
interests, general knowledge, knowledge of
other subjects
• An unsuccessful language learner does not
mean they have no knowledge or skills in
other areas
Content learning
What P flies in the sky?
What A travels in space?
Which E is a planet?
Which S shines brightly?
Which R can fly to the moon?
Which W is the opposite of black?
P
A
E
S
R
W
Content learning
• Look at the text ‘Medicine in the past’
taken from English in Mind 2 (2nd edition)
by Puchta & Stranks, published by
Cambridge University Press (2010)
• Write six questions based on the content
of the text
?
?
?
?
?
?
Poems
• What is a poem? What does it look and
sound like?
• Do you ever ask your students to read any
poems? Why/not?
• Do you ever ask your students to write any
poems? Why/not?
Poems for the future - modals
• In my future life I might …
• I could …
• I may …
• But I’ll definitely …
Poems for the future - various
• In my future life I’d like to be …
• And I’d like to …
• And …
• Then …
• Please …
In my future life I’d like to be a cat,
I’d like to sleep for twelve hours
Then dance around my flat.
I’d like to play by moonlight
And sunbathe in the sun,
I’d like to live – that’s my
I’d like to climb a palm tree
last wish,
And catch my tail for fun.
Please ban all dogs
I’d like to dine on fresh fish
from earth!
Then drink a sea of milk,
[Adapted from:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities/poems-
future]
Poems
• Did you like this activity?
• Why/not?
• Would you use it with your learners?
• Why/not?
• Did it differentiate between different types of
learners?
Group writing activity – Dictomove
• In this activity, learners recreate a text
• Student A from each group goes to the text,
reads, returns and dictates what they can
remember
• One other group member writes down everything
Student A can remember about the text
• Then Student B goes to the text, reads, returns
and dictates what they can remember
• A different group member writes down everything
Student B can remember about the text, etc
Music that changes lives
If you take a walk in the streets of Salvador, the
capital of the state of Bahla in Brazil, you’ll soon
hear music – probably the amazing rhythm of
drum groups, or the sound of a berimbau (a onestringed instrument) as people dance capoeira.
Most tourists don’t go to the small neighbourhood
of Cadeal. But if they’re interested in music,
maybe they should. Carlinhos Brown was born
here in 1962. He arrived on the Brazilian pop
scene in 1982 and in the 1990s he became
known internationally as the leader of the musical
group Timbalada.
English in Mind 2 (2nd edition), Puchta & Stranks, Cambridge University Press, 2010
Dictomove
• Did you like this activity?
• Why/not?
• Would you use it with your learners?
• Why/not?
• Did it differentiate between different types of
learners?
Conclusions
• Multilevel = rich variety of human resources
• Stronger students can become teaching
assistants
• Most tasks can be adapted to suit multilevel
teaching
• Effective classroom management is critical
• Collaborative work is what real life is all about
Any
questions?
peter@cup-training.org
https://www.facebook.com/
E2LPeterLucantoni