Instruction

Below is an outline of what teachers will find inside the Virtual Workroom and a suggestion for getting started.

  • Introducing the challenges is a series of seven podcasts, or short audio presentations, titled Making the Most of the Multilevel Class. Each podcast addresses a central challenge and highlights effective strategies to meet each challenge. Accompanying each podcast is a set of supplemental materials for application.
  • The virtual workroom also features:
    • Sample materials, assessments, demonstrations, and templates
    • Key research findings via digests, summaries, and fact sheets
    • Links for more in-depth study, through face-to-face workshops and online courses
    • List of additional resources and references

Needs Assessment In The Multilevel Class

How do teachers discover what their students can say or do in English? An instructor may assess learners before, during and after instruction.

The assessment can also take many different forms, from standardized tests to a broad range of informal measurements that teachers use every day.

In the multilevel class, assessment can be more challenging because not all English language learners are able to comprehend and complete the same assessment.

This area of the Virtual Workroom focuses on several different informal assessments and gives examples of how to adapt these for use within the multilevel context. These include:

This page also includes information on formal assessment instruments, such as CASAS pre-tests used to determine students' English language proficiency and their appropriate placement within programs.

Lesson Planning

  • Read an outline of general strategies for managing a multilevel ESL class.

    Many adult ESL classes, especially those located off the main campus site (for example, in churches or community centers), serve the entire local community and, hence, may have students of widely differing English proficiencies. This situation can provide challenges to the instructor. The following offer some general strategies for addressing a multilevel class.

    o    First, administer a Needs Assessment to determine the number and level of groups you will need in your class.
    o    Focus your instruction. Provide a self-contained lesson, one that can be completed within the time frame of your class on any given day.
    o    Plan for all groups to work on the same general topic (although each group may have a different lesson objective).
    o    Begin and end your lesson with the whole group together to create a sense of class community.
    o    Use a variety of teacher/student and student/student groupings (whole group, small group, pairs, individual) to allow for adequate practice of the lesson objective]

  • Listen to Podcast #2, Objectives and Levels and Content -- Oh, My! that discusses four key elements of a multilevel lesson: thematic instruction, leveled groups, leveled objectives, and whole-class presentations.

    Pre- and post-listening activities include identifying tasks that work well with cross-ability groups and developing a cross-ability practice activity from a textbook lesson.
  • Read about team-building activities that foster class community. This builds on the application activity associated with Podcast 2.
  • View a sample picture-story sequence and related script for multilevel lesson on time. This builds on the application activity associated with Podcast 2.
  • Download a template for a multilevel lesson plan
  • Listen to a Podcast #3, The Art of Orchestrating a Multilevel Lesson on the art of orchestrating a multilevel lesson, which presents strategies that build class community while working with the spectrum of learners' needs.

    Pre- and post-listening materials include identifying the stages of a lesson and working with lesson planning templates.
  • View a sample multilevel lesson plan on the general theme of time, discussed in Podcasts 2 and 3. View related activities and materials, including:

For More In-Depth Study

Group Work In The Multilevel Class

For More In-Depth Study

Materials For Multilevel ESL Instruction

  • Listen to Podcast #6, The Multilevel Materials Challenge which focuses on the challenge of locating and creating materials appropriate to the multilevel class.

    Pre- and post-listening materials include identifying activity resources and teaching tools for the multilevel class and repurposing single-level materials for the multilevel class.
  • View a list of Web-based visual resources to support multilevel instruction.
     
  • Read a list of commercially available books designed for multilevel ESL instruction.
    • Boyd, J. R., & Boyd, M.A. (1989). Input-output teacher's manual. Normal, IL: Abaca Books.
    • Hemmert, A. (2005). Out and about: An interactive course in beginning English: Teacher's resource book. San Francisco: Owl Publishing Co.
    • Jenkins, R., & Sabbagh, S. L., (2002). Stand out lesson planner. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
    • Wagner, S., (2006). Step forward: Multilevel activity book. Adelson-Goldstein, J. (Ed.), New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  • Download a fact sheet on using authentic materials.
  • View a set of Multilevel Activity Templates, with planning questions, directions and examples, of:

For More In-Depth Study

Many practices that support multilevel ESL classes also support students with learning disabilities.

Evaluation In The Multilevel Class

This area of the Virtual Workroom provides support in evaluating the progress English language learners have made toward their goals using both formal and informal methods of evaluation.

  • Listen to Podcast #7, Testing...123...Testing is about testing a group of learners with varying proficiency levels. Podcast #7 demonstrates ways to pre- and post-test students according to their level objectives for an individual lesson.

    Pre- and post-listening activities include reflection questions and sample assessment templates.

  • Read about three informal ways to evaluate multilevel ESL students.
  • Read about three types of strategies that help teachers and students alike be certain that the learners' proficiency in English is increasing.
    • Strategies to manage instruction to improve learning gains
    • Strategies to monitor the learners' progress towards their goals, and
    • Strategies that enable English language learners to reflect on their own progress in learning.
  • For answers to frequently asked questions about formal tests, including exit tests used to evaluate English language learners' progress, visit Assessment and Accountability.