 Ways that learners (and classes) differ

 What the teacher can do to work with such differences

 # of Ss male/female
age ratio

Basic facts to
have books, learn at a class seating
first glance arrangement
material

actively reaction to
silent? doing teacher’s
talking? something? presence
Possible Factors for Changes in Class
Mood (from one teacher to the next)

Teacher’s attitude
(teacher often finds
what he/she expects to
find)

Students’ response to
teacher’s attitude
(if Ss find T unhelpful , no
amount of games will sparkle
the class)
 Learners may have different….
Ability to remember things Motivation
eliefs, political views, prejudices ersonalities, ways of relating

B
to and working with other
eliefs about what a teacher can

P
people
or should do
revious learning experiences
oredome thresholds
references for content to work
egrees of focus, distraction on and for classroom

D ifficulties or physical disabilities

methodology

easons for needing English

Intelligences
Jobs, home lives, health R eactions to things, moods,
habits

earning styles kills, aptitudes & abilities

L evels in various language

systems and skills
S ensory preferences
peeds of working & learning
 MOTIVATION

Strong external reasons why

Rewards within the
they want to study (pass an
studying itself (the fun of
exam, get promotion, please
learning, a personal
their parents…)
challenge)

The strength of Ss’ motivation will be a

factor in determining:
• how seriously they approach the work
• how much time they set aside for it
• how hard they push themselves
 MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES (MI)
Intelligence is usually thought of as being a single,
inborn capacity. But the theory of (MI), as first
proposed by Howard Gardner, views intelligence as
being multi-dimensional.

1. Verbal/linguistic 5. Musical/rhythmic
2. Logical/mathematical 6. Interpersonal (contact
3. Visual/spatial with other people)
4. Bodily/kinesthetic 7. Intrapersonal
(understanding oneself)
• The last two share characteristics of what has also
been called emotional intelligence
 SENSORY PREFERENCES
The mind is predisposed to process
experience in different ways

Some people respond best

to hearing things when they can to seeing
(AUDITORY) touch and feel things
tangible,
physical objects (VISUAL)

(KINAESTHETIC)

When planning classes, T may naturally bias lesson ideas

towards his/her own sensory preferences, forgetting that
there is a range of working modes appealing to visual,
auditory and kinaesthetic learners
Working with Individual Differences
I can’t really take all these
individual differences into
account. The important
thing is to “teach the
class”.
I can adapt class lessons
to respond to many
individual needs and
differences within the
group.
I teach very little to the class as
a whole – but my class has lots
of individual tasks and small
group work. I think the
classroom is always a set of
private lessons – as many as
there are individuals.
 Teach the Class or Teach the
Individuals

Teaching the Balancing whole Working primarily

whole class class work with with individuals'
attention to needs – privately
individual and in small
differences groups
Common Level Structures in Schools

classes organized classes organized

according to according to students'
language level age
• Language levels – Schools divide
learners into classes, using coursebooks
labeled for those levels (Advanced, Post-
Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, Intermediate,
Pre-Intermediate, Elementary, Beginner)
• Level systems from the Council of
Europe - (C2 –Mastery,C1-Operational
proficiency, B2 –Vantage, B1-Threshold, A2 –
Waystage, A1 – Breakthrough)
• Levels around exams students take:
KET, PET...
 What level is the class?

Conclusions about level:

• Every learner has an individual range of levels
• Every class is a mixed-level class
Ways to Find out about Learners’
Needs

Needs analysis is the different

ways of finding out (e.g., using
questionnaires, interviews, etc,)
what students need (or want) to
study on a language course.
Often a Needs analysis includes not only
information about why learners might need
language in the future, but also information
about:
– where learners are starting from: their present
language level, current problems, etc.
– what learners would like to learn (which may
be different from what they need)
– how they want to study it (people have very
different preferences about how they learn
things)
Balancing Course Plans and Needs
Getting Feedback from Learners
Why do many teachers avoid feedback?
Why might learners not give useful honest
feedback?
Learner Training means…..
……“Raise student awareness about how they are
learning and, as a result, help them to find more effective
ways of working, so that they can continue working
efficiently and usefully, even when away from their
teacher and the classroom”. – Work on teaching learning
as well as teaching English”.

Learner training includes:

• work on study skills ,e.g. use of dictionaries, reference

material, workbooks, notebooks, filed material

• student examination of the process of learning and reflection

on what is happening, e.g. of teaching strategies you use (and
the reasons why you use them).
Designed as a companion for “Learning
Teaching” Methodology I by C. Moscoso -
Office of Academic Research - ICPNA