Multilevel ESOL Classrooms

Multilevel ESOL Classrooms
Dr. Russikoff
Jocelyn Rodriguez
California Polytechnic University, Pomona



























Teaching English to Multi-Level Classes. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2016, from
https://www.englishclub.com/teaching-tips/teaching-multi-level-classes.htm
English Club website is a teachers guide to assist with teaching English to multilevel classes. This website breaks down the different special needs for individual students in all levels of English. It shows us the advantages of multilevel classrooms and the challenges teachers can face while teaching multilevel classrooms. It provides teachers with worksheets and activities that are fun and interesting for students. This will save teachers time when planning lectures and lessons for students. English Club is great for exploring different types of teaching method strategies. It also provides useful links that can assist with warm up ideas and activates by level.

Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2016,
from http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/esl/esllevels.php
If a teacher is having trouble distinguishing what level their ESL student is teachingfirst.com is a great website that can help with that. TeachingFirst.com breaks down ESL students into 5 levels. It explains what level a student is on depending on their capabilities. This will help teachers understand what they must do to make sure the student is able to understand lessons and be able to participate with classroom activities. Not only does teachingfirst.com provide teachers with a breakdown of the types of ESL levels it also provides professional resources that will help teachers save time with lesson plans and will help them be better teachers.

DelliCarpini, M. (2006, March). Scaffolding and Differentiating Instruction in Mixed Ability ESL Classes Using a Round Robin Activity. Retrieved December 07, 2016, from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/DelliCarpini-RoundRobin.html
This journal article by Margo DelliCarpini details the struggles of being an instructor of mixed ability ESL classes and that differentiation of instruction and scaffolding are vital to success. She demonstrated this by a technique called Round Robin. This is used in a variety of classrooms and subjects, which makes this very versatile. One way this technique can be utilized is by having students rewrite a variety of poems with common themes in different font formats. This is further explained by DelliCarpini, "This will provide a variety of "roles" students can assume while working with the poems. The rules for the Round Robin are that only one student at a time speaks, and everyone must participate. However, a student may simply agree with another in the group" (Round Robin Technique section, para. 1). Although each student must participate with a response, writing on the board can alleviate the pressure from students that are uncomfortable with their answers. The Round Robin technique can assist teachers with the needs of diverse student abilities, integration of purposeful information and collaboration of students.

Delisio, E. (2011). Differentiated Instruction, Flexibility Make Multi-Age Classes Work. RetrievedDecember07,2016,fromhttp://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profde v184.shtml
Ellen Delisio understands the plethora of work that goes into multi-grade and multi-age classrooms; however, she provides a new take on making these classes work. This take is flexibility. Students in all types of classrooms work at their own pace and it is the instructor's, "job to get everyone into the flow and moving forward" (Flowing Forward Section, para. 5). She also understands that students learn differently, regardless of age, and to teach to their ability rather than when their birthday is. Flexibility comes into play in many different ways. In regards to the course material, it is encouraged to slow down or speed up the material coinciding with how quickly the students are grasping it.

Treko, N. (2013). The Big Challenge: Teaching Large Multi-Level Classes. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2(4), 243-251. doi:10.5901/ajis.2012.v2n4p243
Nevila Treko concisely lays out the challenges that teachers of large multi-level classes face but confidently reports useful tools and resources to provide some help to fellow teachers. She wants to show her support for these classes when they are done correctly, as she gives the many advantages and rewarding aspects of these unique classrooms. This was definitely written to help teachers cope with this large responsibility as well as providing a reliable and dependable source. The issue with English classes with non-native speakers is the lack of adequate resources; therefore, many students of all speaking levels have no other choice than to learn together in one classroom. Since many of these situations are inevitable, she gives the audience hope that it may not be such a bad thing after all.
4, 2. N. (2015, November 17). Using Multi-Level Instruction for a Classroom of Diverse Learners. Retrieved December 07, 2016, from http://inclusiveschools.org/using-multi- level-instruction-for-a-classroom-of-diverse-learners/
This post by Inclusive Schools Network highlights the myriad of benefits that students obtain from having multi-level instruction for a classroom of diverse learners. It demonstrates the steps that administrators and educators need to take to achieve successful classes. Administrators must provide support for their teachers and give them the necessary confidence and resources to be effected multi-level teachers. The educators must do immense critical thinking in regards to how to tackle different types of students at one given time. However, the main focus is on the outcome of the students in these classrooms and how this technique, if you will, is providing a more rigorous and engaging program for the students.

Clandfield, L. (n.d.). Methodology: Teaching mixed ability classes. Retrieved December 07, 2016,fromhttp://www.onestopenglish.com/methodology/teaching-tips/ask-the- experts/methodology-questions/methodology-teaching-mixed-ability- classes/154208.article
In this methodology piece, Lindsay Clanfield provides many tips and techniques to handling a mixed ability class. The first strategy is adapting tasks, which means to tweak and make changes to a previous lesson or activity based on the needs of current students. Another strategy is extending tasks, which can provide early- finishing students to further develop a thought and give the other students more much-needed time. The last strategy Clanfield lays out is encouraging co- operation and peer questioning. This collaboration gives students not only a
sense of belonging, but new ideas that they never would have found elsewhere.

Levy, S. (2016). Teacher, I'm Bored; Teacher I'm Lost - Teaching Multi-Level Classes. Retrieved December 07, 2016, from http://busyteacher.org/9946-teaching-multilevel- classes.html
In the article, "Teacher, I'm Bored; Teacher I'm lost – Teaching Multi-Level Classes," Stacia Levy explains why teaching multi-levels classes are so challenging in regards to meeting all of the individual students' needs. However, she also provides ten different methods to help alleviate the stress. She states that you must gauge what the students need; then determine what the students know and then choose themes that can satisfy all needs – this can be achieved by planning carefully and using the proper approach. Teachers must use a variety of learning strategies, activities, assigning projects, peer tutoring and drama. She understands that it can be very challenging but it can also be beneficial because of the rewards you gain from helping the students.

Ferlazzo, L. (2015). Instructional strategies for multi-level classes of English language learners. Retrieved December 07, 2016, from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/larry- ferlazzo/larry-ferlazzo-instructional-strategies-multi-level-classes-english-language
Ferlazzo gives some helpful instructional strategies for multi-level classes of English language learners because he understands how hectic such a class can be if teachers do not have enough resources. A lot of these classes happen because there are only small populations of learners and cause the beginners and the intermediate students to merge classes. He advises to find texts and activities that can be modified for different English levels and implanting jigsaw activities. He also shows teachers how to utilize technology for differentiation and create writing assignments based on visual prompts. Mixed-ability partner groups also provide help for both students as one can learn new information and the other can truly understand what they have already learned.

Adapting materials for mixed ability classes. (2011). Retrieved December 07, 2016, from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/adapting-materials-mixed-ability-classes
Budden understand the challenges mixed ability teachers face and gives some ways that teachers can adapt materials. This includes; rewriting reading texts and grading students based on language proficiency. For stronger students, she suggests extending activities and having them go more in depth to prevent them from disengaging. She also thinks you should fix their grammatical or speech errors as they go and have them justify their opinions with evidence. Weaker students should be guided much more and be provided with pre-lesson materials to prepare them. With these students it's best to focus on the bigger picture and ideas and worry about the simple errors later.
Watson, A. (n.d.). Tips for Teaching Combined Class/Multi-Grade Classes. Retrieved December 07, 2016, from http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/combined-classmulti-grade-classes
Angela Watson has experienced split classrooms as an educator for over ten years and wanted to provide some tips to keep teachers from becoming too stressed or unmotivated. The first is to discuss with administration what the goal is for a teacher of mixed classes. The second is to adapt your way of thinking from split students to more of a wide range of ability students. She then recommends a balanced literacy format and teaching two separate curriculums. This is all achieved by being immensely prepared and positive!

Balliro, L. (1977, September). NCSALL: Multiple Levels, Multiple Responsibilities. Retrieved December7,2016,fromhttp://www.bing.com/cr?IG=3C0EAE524B0E4CF6B665F742603 CC978&CID=0330642B1C7160F43D376DCF1D4061FC&rd=1&h=7CzX70Xqro9Kyw OErrdRwsaERkOMbgEBxIt9wAS3jP8&v=1&r=http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=4 44.html&p=DevEx,5084.1
In the journal article, "Multiple Levels, Multiple Responsibilities," Balliro states the many tasks that educators have not only to teach these students but tasks they have to do within themselves. They have to understand the difference between teaching a grade level class and teaching a class with a huge range of abilities. She wants teachers to know what it means to be multilevel and the perceptions and concerns people face with it. She also discusses meeting the needs of students and determining what those needs are. Aside from teachers, administrators and students have a slightly different task than the educators due and deal with less planning stress but more needing to focus on how these teachers are going to affect them.

Roberts, M. (2006). Teaching in the Multilevel Classroom. Retrieved December 7, 2016, from http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/download/adulted/multilevel_monograph.pdf
The multilevel monograph article shows readers what makes ESL classrooms multi-level. Such as that educational background in his/her first language, students comfort with the Roman alphabet, cultural expectations regarding the role of the teacher, a student's personality, student's goals, student's age, and students learning style. This article provides information to help teachers with lesson planning for the variety of groups in ESL classrooms. It also gives help with open-entry/open-exit multi-level classrooms management. This is for dealing with challenges that come up when new students at a different level arrive to the classroom.

Shank, C., & Terrill, L. (1995, May). CAELA: ESL Resources: Digests. Retrieved December 07, 2016, from http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/SHANK.html
The Center for Adult English Language Acquisition has a digest that provides insight into all that is the multilevel class. The first tip is to assess what students know before beginning to teach them. The next step is to plan profusely by choosing activities and strategies that would best fit the learners in the classroom. Different grouping strategies – whole group or small group – can benefit all students because it helps them learn to collaborate with others and gain new ideas. Teachers should also be utilizing self-access materials that are portable and can be used in more than one teaching situation. Teachers must do immense planning to create a successful learning environment for all types of learning styles.

Independent together: Supporting the multilevel learning community. (2003). Winnipeg: Manitoba Education and Youth.
In chapter 4 of the teacher support guide, Independent Together, differentiation in the multilevel classroom is discussed regarding planning, diverse learning needs and curricula. They also discuss considerations for differentiating instruction like differentiating learning tasks and expectations. This type of consideration includes student independence and assessment expectations. Teachers must also differentiate materials and resources like math and sciences resources, art materials and text sets. Organizing and managing for differentiation includes learning centers and groupings – flexible and cooperative. The multilevel classroom can be achieved by the Workshop Format, which helps teachers teach "individually all at once." The five stages in the format are whole-class, cooperative and flexible groups, flexible group(s), cooperative and flexible groups, and whole-class once more. Teachers should also differentiate for student success due to the diverse learning styles and languages.



Activities for Multi-level Classes. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2016, from http://activity- resources.jpf-sydney.org/ar/multi/intro.htm
This article, About the Multi-level Classroom, discusses just that. It lays out what a multi-level classroom – combined year and proficiency levels, non-native speakers and motivation levels. The advantages of such classes were also stated; enabling students to collaborate as well as work independently, increasing student motivation and confidence, and helping students develop managing and organization skills. The different strategies stated are splitting the class, differentiating tasks, focusing on abilities and skills other than language, using group or pair work, peer tutoring and utilizing teaching assistants and native speakers in the community.

Kim, G. (2015). Embracing Diversity: Toolkit for creating inclusive, learning-friendly environments.RetrievedDecember7,2016,fromhttp://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/00 2201/220101e.pdf
In the UNESCO sponsored specialized booklet, Practical Tips for Teaching Multigrade Classes, the section about managing such classrooms talks about many ways to deal with classroom management to diverse groups of students. The teachers need to understand current context and create a future vision. This includes assessing student needs and clearing stating goals. They need to prepare the classroom by picking the right tasks, activities and modes of teaching so many different learning styles and levels. The next step is to use appropriate activities and groupings and being efficient but also flexible with time. To help student motivation, teachers can use positive discipline. The largest task a teacher of multigrade classrooms must achieve is to demonstrate sensitivity to each student's uniqueness.

Haley, R. (2008, July). Fulfilling Dreams in Adult Education: Managing the Multi-level Classroom. Journal of College Teaching and Learning, 5(7). doi:10.18411/d-2016-154
The very uplifting article, Fulfilling Dreams in Adult Education: Managing the Multi-level Classroom, in the Journal of College Teaching and Learning; lays out how to manage the multi-level classroom and the importance of adult education. They substantiate their management tips by a myriad of statistical data that demonstrates the various attendance hours for different levels of adult education students as well as the comparison between attendance hours and progress made. Multi-level classrooms occur within all subjects but not all are successful. Creating a multi-level classroom that works is something that can be done with trial and error. The teachers must adapt lessons and activities to tailor to the different levels by being flexible. However, classes should remain structured. This helps students remain on task even with the countless distractions that are apparent in these classes.




Macpherson, E. (2016, August 8). 20 Simple Ideas for Teaching Math to a Classroom of Multi- Level Kids WeAreTeachers. Retrieved December 07, 2016, from http://www.weareteachers.com/20-simple-ideas-for-teaching-math-to-a-classroom-of- multi-level-kids-2/
Although this list of ideas for teaching math to a multi-level classroom, a lot of these tips can be applied to any class, especially ESOL classes. These differentiation ideas include integrating the subject matter into every part of the day. Varying your learning centers by switching modes of instruction based on the activities. Giving options for assignments and assessments so that students can choose and be able to guide their own learning. Giving short pre-quizzes, pairing students, maintaining flexible assignments and teaching families how to help practice at home are all tips that can be utilized in the ESOL classroom. Using tiered lessons and technology are great to add diverse material to a diverse class. Teachers should also be sure to check for understanding so that students do not get left behind.

Managing the Multilevel Instructional Program: Instructional Strategies in the Multi-Level, Multi-Subject Classroom (Adult Basic Education). (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2016, from http://www.calpro-online.org/training/multi.html
In the teaching module, Managing the Multilevel Instructional Program: Instructional Strategies in the Multi-Level, Multi-Subject Classroom (Adult Basic Education), the goal is to help teachers with multileveled adult classrooms. This module identifies the purposes of assessment and use of it, the underlying principles of student-centered learning, student and teacher outcomes, recognizing and using strategies and providing multiple learning styles. The management strategies are student-centered, developing a record keeping system, learning environment, grouping and use of tutors, volunteers and aides. The selection of materials used is also a strong component.
1
MULTILEVEL ESOL CLASSROOMS