Teaching Different Levels In The Same Class

In an ideal teaching environment, all your students are the same. They produce the same English. They need the same language. They make the same mistakes.

In other words, it would be like teaching a class of 1-to-1s. Whatever you do in class would benefit everyone and everyone would proceed at the same pace.

Unfortunately this is not the way the world works.

Seldom do you have a class that are very similar. Your students may be different ages, come from different educational, professional and social backgrounds and have different linguistic abilities. Their language skills and needs will be different. 

Different levels in the classroom

Let’s be clear, we’re not talking about different learning abilities. Everyone has a different learning ability or a learning style which suits them better. Here we’re talking about different levels of English. 

Language levels are generally defined according to the Common Framework of Reference for Languages, or CEFR. The CEFR defines proficiency from A1 (basic user) to C2 (Proficient user). 

Read more: What Is The CEFR?

Sometimes our TEFL classes are divided by age rather than English level. This is especially true in schools, where students are grouped by year of education e.g. Grade 4, rather than level of ability e.g. Intermediate. This means that a class of 20 students will include students of varying levels.

If you’re working in a language school or teaching an exam class, this shouldn’t usually be the case, but it still could be. Even though students are tested before they are put in a class, a shortage of teachers or classrooms or a surplus of students can result in students being prematurely pushed up a level.

At the best of times, trying to keep an eye on all your students at the same time and make sure they are all focussed, stimulated and satisfied is challenging. And it’s next, uh, level, when it comes to students of different levels.

But fear not! There are a few things you can do to teach students of different levels as best as you can!

How do you teach a class with different levels?

With difficulty, haha.

Jokes aside, there are a few options. It all boils down to classroom management.

Grade your activities

This option is a bit of extra work for the teacher! Whatever the main activity for the lesson is, have multiple options for the different levels. For a language structure you can have an easier and a more advanced version. For reading texts and other tasks you can give more support to the lower-level students.

Have extra activities 

Students with a higher level of English or who are faster learners will usually finish an activity before the others. You don’t want to rush the other learners but you don’t want to let the faster students sit and twiddle their thumbs for ten minutes. When they’ve finished, have an activity on hand to give to them to complete while they are waiting. 

Utilise the faster students 

If they finish an exercise quickly, get them to write the answers on the board while the others are finishing. You could also ask them to help their partners which will effectively mean that they will work at the same pace. Especially with younger learners, you could let them help you set up the next activity if it involves handing out worksheets or preparing in some way.

Group all the stronger students in one group

Even if their discussion is above that of the other learners, it won’t matter because the groups are working within themselves and not with other groups. If it’s an activity rather than a discussion, you could give these groups an extra activity to do. 

Group a stronger student with a weaker student

This way they can help each other. The more advanced student can help the lower-level student with the activity and material. But at the same time, by doing this, they are re-inforcing learning for themselves.

Mingle!

A mingle is an activity which requires the students to speak to more than one student to complete the task – hence, a mingle! Because of the nature of the activity, the different levels of the students don’t come into play as much – everyone speaks to everyone!

Gamify your lessons

All students no matter their age or language level LOVE a game. Introducing the element of competition into an activity helps to make the class a level playing field. Just be careful not to group all the stronger students in the same group!

The thing that needs to be remembered is that faster students should not be penalised or punished for being quick. They should not have to wait doing nothing while other students finish. 

At the same time, weaker or slower students should not feel pressurised to hurry up because other students are finished already. Instead, think of ways you can take advantage of the fact that your students are of different levels.

Want to learn more about classroom management strategies and techniques for teaching EFL classes? Check out our webinar: 

And if you’re not teaching in a classroom yet, why wait? Enrol today for one of our award-winning TEFL courses and you could be a TEFL teacher as soon as next month!