Teach English in Langya Zhen - Qingdao Shi

I have been teaching Human Geography in China for the last three years. The International Department where I am currently working is located in Guangzhou/Canton in South China. I teach five different grades from junior three (one class) to senior three (there are three classes in senior 1, four in senior 2, and three in senior 3) – almost 250 students altogether (!). Classes are not big for Chinese standards; there are 20 students per class on average (in a Chinese public school it is usually 50 or even 60 depending on the region). The most common and challenging problem that our foreign and Chinese teachers alike are faced with is to teach classes of mixed ability (here: I discuss “mixed” in terms of the level of English; obviously, there are differences between students with regards to, for example, attitudes, motivations, interests etc.). During their first semester, all senior 1 students, notwithstanding their English level, study together. This poses a huge problem for teachers as some students in the same class have already a good command of English (they can understand teacher’s instructions, and can relatively freely express their thoughts), whereas others can understand only very little, are not able to speak out their ideas, and use very simple individual words rather than complete sentences. After the first semester students are put in different-level classes based on their TOEFL scores. Before that happens, however, our teachers, foreign teachers in particular, struggle with how to manage such classes of mixed ability students (also called “heterogeneous” classes – of mixed kind or sort). I have been experimenting with different methods in class, and also used some practical ideas and suggestions I found on-line** to better handle lessons – try to meet the needs of everyone, or at least most of the students, keep attention of the stronger students without losing the weaker students. In what follows, I would like to briefly discuss some of the ideas that have worked for me. First thing I usually do with a new class of students when a new school year begins, is to learn more about them, their previous experience of learning English, and their language ability. Apart from asking students to self-introduce themselves in class, I conduct short interviews with them and/or give them a short test to assess their level of English. Having gathered enough information about the level of English of each student (it can take one to two classes), I finally have a general idea about how to plan my lessons. In all my classes, I try to interact a lot with students and often ask for their feedback. If there is a need, I would adjust the pace and activities I use in my lessons. In any case, I make every effort so as to more advanced students don’t get bored by too easy tasks, and less advanced students stop paying attention when the material is too difficult, and they may feel frustrated as a result. Having learned about students’ language level, the next step is to clarify the rules that everyone should abide by in class, including course requirements, penalties etc. Sometimes, I do it both in English and Chinese to make sure weaker students can fully understand. Being able to speak Chinese, I can talk to weaker students (after class) who are not able or are too shy to communicate their problems in class (in English) to learn about their issues. In class, however, I make it clear that only English is allowed and do not react to any questions from students in Chinese. I also forbid students from using Chinese when doing group projects or pair assignments. I would deduct points from their final mark if they do speak their mother tongue. As far as class activities are concerned, I try to choose activities that can activate all or most of the students. With large classes (over 20 students), I often ask students to work in groups or in pairs. I either mix weaker students with stronger students, or divide the class into weaker and stronger groups and give usually the same material but different tasks (according to the level of each group). With regards to stronger students, I try to keep them interested by challenging them with extra work (the same goes with homework). For reading tasks, for example, apart from reading a text and answering text-related questions, I ask more advanced students to write a summary of the text or questions about the text. For speaking activities, I may challenge them by banning easy words to push their vocabulary to a higher level. When it comes to a group work, I sometimes nominate, or let students choose among themselves, stronger students to be a group leader or a mentor (he/she is responsible for dividing the work among team members, controlling the whole project from its inception to the final product etc.). I always make sure that all students participate in a group activity. If it is a presentation about a country students chose themselves, for instance, I require that each group member presents one aspect of the country. When it comes to weaker students, it is important to encourage them to speak even if they make mistakes, give them a lot of praise and support. They need to be reassured that they won’t be laughed at if they say something wrong and will receive help when needed. I make sure that weaker students have more time to prepare for a class activity, and usually give them preview material so that they can become familiar with new words we will work with in class. I try to grade students on the effort they make rather than their ability. When planning activities, I always remember to keep them varied in terms of topic, demands, classroom organization, materials etc. I have also experimented with an idea of extra/bonus questions on tests, and found out that it works very well with more advanced students. There is one more aspect of mixed ability classes that should be mentioned here, namely how to deal with students who make problems in class. There is always at least one student in class who may disturb other students or the teacher, by talking to other classmates, doing things not related to the topic discussed in class, or being not willing to participate in class activities. What I usually do is, I talk to such student(s) after class to find out the reason(s) behind their behavior, and then I decide on the action that should be taken. One solution can be to ask the student to work alone by giving him/her individual tasks, and communicating regularly with him/her after class about the student’s progress or problems I noticed or she/he encountered. I always try to communicate instead of ignore such students, and I am open to work with the student to find an optimal solution and compromise. In general, I avoid making threats, and whenever a problem occurs in class I try to turn it into a joke to release the tense atmosphere. Lastly, this brings me to the assessment of the students’ work. I prefer to evaluate what they can rather than what they can’t. I often remind them that what really counts is not so much the result or the score they get (Chinese students are very much test-oriented and score-oriented), but rather the process of learning and what they learned. If they work in a group, I give them an overall feedback (for the whole team) and an individual one (for each member of a group). With regards to pair or group assignments such as presentation, for example, I always asks students themselves how they would improve it, rather than give them solely my personal feedback. I also ask for a feedback from the students to improve my work. All in all, looking at it from my own work experience, I found out that each class is different and what may work for one group of students may not work so well for another. Thus, it is good to bear in mind that the teacher should be flexible, observe how students behave and respond to different activities, and adapt or adjust them accordingly. ** www.teachingenglish.org.uk; www.meyda.education.gov.il.