Upon discussing an obscure grammar point in class…

The class votes on which answer is correct. Everyone is incorrect, save one stalwart student. The class gives that student a hard time, but the student is steadfast in her decision. Finally, the teacher proclaims that the student is correct, and verbally applauds the student, saying, “Way to stand up for your grammar belief!” The correct student then actually stands up, and the class collapses into laughter. The student, realizing her mistake, smiles and says, “I win!”

The above anecdote illustrates the challenges an English language teacher faces daily in his or her attempt to bring balance to all the disparate factors students bring to the ESOL classroom. ESL learners are all very different, bringing a range of disparate characteristics and experiences with them.  Therefore, in the ESOL classroom, variation is the norm rather than the exception. 

As ESOL teachers, it is our responsibility to: 

• identify the multifaceted nature of the multileveled class,
• consider critical issues related to teaching a multileveled class,
• understand the most effective curriculum for the multileveled class,
• review teaching strategies for it (including types of activities and class sequencing), and 
• apply some of these principles to a “real” multileveled classroom (Bell, 1988). 

What to Be Aware of
It is important to first identify the multifaceted nature of a multileveled ESL classroom.  ESL students are all very different, bringing a range of different characteristics and experiences with them. The teacher must look upon these experiences as a positive addition to the classroom experience. There is the obvious definition of the term “variation,” but it is also vital to consider other types of variation in the classroom as well.  The below list can serve as a starting point when considering the multileveled ESL classroom.

The teacher should be aware of:

• First language
• First language ability/education
• Second language level/education 
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• Age
• Personality
• Confidence 
• Cultural background
• Cultural norms
• Religion
• Holidays in student’s culture
• Politics
• Concepts of hygiene 
• Motivation/desire to learn
• Reasons for learning
• Learning styles 
• Hierarchy (I.e., students’ perceptions of their place within a group or culture and their perceptions of where others belong.)

Consider your own classroom for a moment. What are some factors that come into play beyond this list? How can you as teacher/facilitator use these variations to make your classroom the most positive learning environment for your students? The answer is simple: look beyond your comfort zone and place yourself in the student’s.  In short, all classes are multileveled and multifaceted and that is part of what makes teaching language leaners so fun, challenging, and rewarding.

Critical Issues
There are several critical issues related to teaching a multileveled class: Among the most important are assessing/knowing students’ abilities, and redistributing teacher responsibility from the teacher as “potentate” (ah, hyperbole) to facilitator and creating a group identity within the multifaceted class. The critical issue in teaching a multileveled/faceted class is that the teacher must realize it is impossible to be all things to all students.  However, there are steps that can be taken to create an environment where students take responsibility for their own learning. Once this switch in paradigm is achieved, the class will begin to coalesce and become a unified group.  Below is an example of how to begin this process:

Assessment
If all students were of exactly the same level, what a wonderful world it would be. Sadly, this is never the case. The methods for determining ability are varied and numerous. However, once achieved, accurate knowledge of level will assist the teacher in providing the best class possible for student needs. In general, teaching to the middle level of the class tends to garner the best learning environment for all students. There are, of course, the outliers of low and high level students even within an accurately assessed group. These students can be approached by using the various grouping strategies discussed below.

Making Everyone Accountable
Take this idea from teacher Andy Nash (in Balliro, 2011), and create an activity where students work with the following sentence starters:

 A good teacher should ____________________.
 A good student should ____________________.

After agreeing on characteristics together, students change their statements into “ground rules” for the class, writing on butcher paper (or poster board):

 We (the students) will _______________________.
 The teacher will ____________________________.

Once this is done, students become stakeholders. This allows students to gain a certain amount of control and power within the classroom.

Creating Group Identity
Group identity helps students stay more consistent with their learning, overlook differences, and focus on common goals. The best way to do this is through shared positive experiences. Music and humor are excellent tools to achieve group identity. A great example is teaching the interjection uh-huh.  Play KC and the Sunshine Band’s seminal disco hit, “That's the Way I Like It.”  This song has never failed to get a class all singing: “Uh-huh, uh-huh!” From there it is a quick step to a group identity.

Now consider humor: Telling a joke that all students can laugh about can act as a binder of sorts. The trick is finding the humor that the class relates to and using it to create group identity.

Q: How far can a dog run into the woods?
A: Halfway because then he's running out!

Grouping Strategies
Various grouping strategies for the multileveled class are an excellent way to create unity.  There are the usual suspects: partners using think pair share, small groups (two or three students), teams, and the entire class.  But how to decide who goes where? You can try:

• Random/deliberate category sorting (keep in mind categories such as age and height, which might offend)
• Birth month
• Type of shoes (Those with sneakers, those with brown shoes, etc.)
• Students count off then all ones together, twos together, etc.
• Cross ability grouping by years of learning English; fold that line in half, and now you have an experienced student with a novice! Hooray! Cross-ability groups are good when doing information gaps, puzzles and games, dialogues and role-plays, and interviews
• Equal-ability groups by
• literacy level
• specific goals
• discussion groups (based on personality)

Additionally, get students up and moving. At first students may balk, but once they get moving they are able see and experience the benefits. Consider trying lines facing each other or concentric circles as a place to begin.

Moving from ideas to the reality of the classroom can be a challenge.  Adjective order will serve as an excellent example.  Have students first in multilevel small groups determine what they think correct adjective order is. Next, teach the correct order to the class. Then have students do an activity of some kind, in an equal ability configuration (e.g., both groups could play a 20-question type guessing game modified for their skill level).  Realia could be used for both levels. If, for example, you use clothing items the students are wearing, lower levels could work on guessing/determining color and material, while higher levels, using the same items, could determine subjective impressions (beautiful, comfortable, cool) and shape (skinny, narrow, wide). Finally, the class combines adjectives from each group to make cohesive sentences—not to mention a cohesive class! All members of the class have contributed and are now stakeholders in the successful outcome of the activity. 

Ultimately, creating cohesion and camaraderie even among the most diverse student populations makes your job as a teacher easier, and best of all it allows the students to be the best learners possible. The teacher is best as advisor and facilitator, not “leader of the class.” Krashen’s (1987) low affective filter hypothesis comes into play here in that students learn best in a nurturing and supportive environment.  Students learn best in a cooperative environment with a low affective filter. The teacher who is able to manage and succeed in a multifaceted classroom will help students achieve their goals beyond that of immediate English language acquisition, and will find his or her efforts more rewarding. Good luck! 

References

Bell, J. (2002). Teaching multilevel classes in ESL.  Carlsbad, CA: Dominie Press.

Balliro, L. (September 1997). Ideas for a multilevel class. Focus on Basics, 1(C).  Retrieved from http://www.ncsall.net/?id=443.

Krashen, S. D. (1987). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Herts, England: Prentice-Hall International.

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Bryan W. Lowry taught English in Japan. He has been teaching for 13 years. Mostly, he likes to see others think, grow, learn, and succeed. He works at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s English Language Institute, where he does just that.

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