A mixed bag: developing an inclusive teaching style to account for diversity in language classrooms

Judy Copage

Agenda

• Degrees of diversity

• Types of diversity

• Learning differences

• Methodology

• Managing material

• Setting individual achievement targets

Degrees of diversity

1

Quiz – Are you tea or coffee?

1 What would you rather eat for breakfast?A) A quick piece of toast and jamB) A full breakfast with ham, eggs and bread 

2 Without caffeine in the morning, you:A) can't really get up and going B) do just fine

3 You want to make a picture. What would you do?A) Take a photo B) Paint a watercolour

4 Do you have a demanding career?A) Yes B) No

5 You consider yourself to be:A) Outgoing B) Introspective

6 Are you a risk taker?A) Yes B) No

7 You tend to enjoy things that are:A) Modern and new B)  Traditional and tested

8 Your mornings are:A) Frantic B) Relaxing

9 You’d rather travel to:A) Asia B) Europe

10 What would you find more relaxing?A) Going for a jog or swim B) Reading a book

Are your students coffee or tea?

espresso latte instant don’t mind

tea with lemon

black tea

herbal only

highly gifted

good achiever OK class

averageoff and

onpoor

achiever blocked

• Large classes• Only a few hours a week

Types of diversity

2

Types of diversity

Personality Academic ability Learning

style

Language Aptitude

Motivation Attitude

Previous learning

experience

Language level

Intelligence

Personal background

Show diversity in societyPersonal background

Language level

Grammar

Vocabulary

Phonology

Skills

Strategies

Discourse

Functions

Language

competence

R W L S G V20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

R W L S G V20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Costas Elena

Intelligence

Accessing multiple intelligences

54

8

7

10

13 1412

11

9

6

1 23

VISUAL

Describe and draw

VISUAL

MATHEMATICAL

£7.01

LOGICAL REASONING

Learning differences

3

DYSLEXIA

Spatial/Temporal

Spelling Reading

Motor control

MemoryWriting

Listening

Organisation

DYSGRAPHIA

Handwriting

Motor skills

Written expression

Sequencing problems

• slow, illegible, ‘sloppy’• mixes upper and

lower case• uneven letter size and

spacing

• reversing letters/numbers • writing words backwards • writing letters and words

out of order

• fine motor skills• poor pen grip• muscle tremor• poor hand-eye

co-ordination

• may prefer right to left

writing• slow down or get stuck with

the details of writing • often lose the thoughts they

are trying to write about• have excellent expressive

skills in speaking

ADHD

Inattention Hyperactivity Impulsivity

• careless mistakes

• difficulty sustaining attention

• poor listening skills

• fails to finish• poor organisation• often loses things• often distracted• forgetful

• often fidgets• excessive physical activity

• noisy, talks a lot• always ‘on the go’

• often blurts out answers

• often has difficulty waiting turn

• often interrupts

On the positive side• Very creative

•Often gifted musically, artistically, physically• Good at lateral thinking• Can see the big picture

•Good visual spatial skills – can think easily in 3D• Good problem-solving skills• Good verbal skills• Good social skills

“I do not believe there exists a lazy, unmotivated child. Every child wants to succeed. Those who appear to be ‘lazy’ or ‘unmotivated’ have difficulties which are interfering with their performance.” Copeland (1992)

“The arena where the child does poorly is in a classroom, over an extended period of time. In situations where the child is highly motivated and receiving individualised attention, they can do very well.” Comings (1995)

It must be stressed that a learning difference is NOT an inability to learn, but instead:

“ an inability to learn through the usual methods of instruction despite adequate intelligence, a normal environment, and intact physical and emotional capacities. ... Put in its simplest terms, it is a breakdown in learning through the traditional methods which seem adequate for most children.”

(Copeland 1995)

Methodology

4

EXCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS (work against mixed ability):

• Teacher–centred lessons, all students listening to the teacher

• The teacher asks all the questions to the class or individuals

• The pace of the lesson is dictated by the teacher, and possibly, by the fastest student

• All activities are to be done in the same amount of time by the whole class

• Individual, competitive working style

• Tasks based around the idea of ‘one right answer’

• All achievement goals are set by the teacher

• All goals must be achieved by all learners

INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS (helps with mixed ability):• Teacher-centred delivery is minimal, to ensure learner-

centred work

• Students ask questions as well as the teacher

• Students are given teacher-like roles in class

• Open-ended activities allow for multiple, equally valid answers

• Project-like work, in co-operating groups, allow individuals to show their talents and all contributions are valuable

• Co-operative learning builds confidence and self-esteem

• Peer learning and teaching is equally valuable – the teacher can step back

Managing materials

5

Differentiation

• on the spot

• assigning easier / more difficult exercises

• using graded exercises

• dealing with fast / slow finishers

on the spot

• See the whole text and listen

• Use the red bookmark and listen

• Cover the text and listen

• Work alone• Work in pairs• Work in

groups

Which is more difficult?

Assigning easier/more difficult tasks

Assigning easier/more difficult tasks

Graded exercises

Graded exercises

• All students do all the exercises in order

• Ask students to choose the level of challenge they want

• Assign exercises to individuals according to ability

• OR: All students do the one star exercises for a maximum pass grade of C (scale A-E)

• Add the two star to get a maximum B

• Add the Roundup to get a maximum B+

• Add Extra Challenge to get an maximum A

Dealing with fast / slow finishers

Basic class material

Student’s book

Coping with diversity is ...• An awareness of how individuals learn differently and a willingness to respond to individual differences

• An openness to offering learners choice

• An ability to communicate with learners in a way that is accessible to a range of learners i.e. teaching through multi-sensory input

• Lessons with a variety of activities which cater for a variety of learning styles

• Enough flexibility to notice learning blocks and to respond to them

• Awareness of the needs, interests and experiences of the individual learners

• Allowing learning groups of mixed talents

• An ability to let go and trust individual learners to learn independently sometimes

And most of all, ...

DIVERSITY

judy.copage@pearson.com