Supporting mixed ability learners at

Cambridge English: Key for Schools (A2)

and Preliminary for Schools (B1) –
speaking/listening skills
Outline of the webinar
• To look at A2 and B1 descriptors and identify learners
with different levels in the same class
• To look at the challenges of teaching mixed ability
classes
• To offer guidance on managing mixed ability classes
• To provide teachers with practical speaking and listening
ideas for teaching mixed ability classes
• To help teachers to prepare learners for exams
What abilities do students have?
CEFR Can Dos: speaking
A2 or B1?

• I can give a prepared presentation and answer clear

questions.
• I can give or seek personal opinions in an informal
discussion with friends, agreeing and disagreeing
politely.
• I can talk in detail about my experiences, feelings and
reactions.
CEFR Can Dos: speaking
A2

• With time to prepare, I can give basic information about

something I know well, for example: my country or a
sports team.
• I can ask and answer simple questions about home and
country, work and free time, likes and dislikes.
• I can describe what I did at the weekend or on my last
holiday.
What abilities do students have?
CEFR Can Dos
Speaking
1. With time to prepare, I can give basic information about something I
know well, for example: my country or a sports team. A2
2. I can give a prepared presentation and answer clear questions. B1
3. I can give or seek personal opinions in an informal discussion with
friends, agreeing and disagreeing politely. B1
4. I can ask and answer simple questions about home and country,
work and free time, likes and dislikes. A2
5. I can describe what I did at the weekend or on my last holiday. A2
6. I can talk in detail about my experiences, feelings and reactions. B1
What abilities do students have?
CEFR Can Dos
Listening
A2 I can understand simple questions and instructions.
B1 I can understand straightforward instructions or public
announcements.

Interactive listening
A2 I can understand what people say to me in simple, everyday
conversation, if they speak clearly and slowly and give me help.
B1 I can understand what is said to me in everyday conversations, but
I sometimes need help in clarifying particular details.
What abilities do students have?
CEFR Can Dos
Listening
A2 I can understand simple questions and instructions.
B1 I can understand straightforward instructions or public
announcements.

Interactive listening
A2 I can understand what people say to me in simple, everyday
conversation, if they speak clearly and slowly and give me help.
B1 I can understand what is said to me in everyday conversations, but
I sometimes need help in clarifying particular details.
Working with different levels
Working with different levels

More support needed

Too hard for this learner

..

..

..

Easy for this learner

Less support needed 

Identifying different levels
Participant task 1 (handout)
Which group does each learner belong to?

Group 1 = weaker learners who need easier tasks

Group 2 = stronger learners who need more
difficult tasks
Group 3 = learners who can do unchanged tasks
Identifying different levels
Group 1: weaker

More support needed

Which group does
each learner Jan and Ana
belong to?

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3

Group 2: stronger

Less support needed 

Identifying different levels
Group 1: weaker

More support needed

Which group does
each learner Jan and Ana
belong to?

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3

Lara and Peter

Group 2: stronger

Less support needed 

Identifying different levels
Group 1: weaker

More support needed

Which group does
each learner Jan and Ana
belong to?

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3

Lara and Peter

Group 2: stronger

Less support needed 

Challenges
Which of these challenges do you face?
1. Some students don’t like to participate.
2. Some students do all the work or dominate group work.
3. Stronger students finish early and get bored or
disruptive.
4. Students get frustrated and give up and become
disruptive.
5. Materials are not flexible enough for different learning
styles and abilities.
6. All of the above
Differentiated instruction
Address different needs by:

• adapting the learning content or task

• setting different goals
• adapting classroom management
strategies
Grouping learners
1. Group work
2. Pair work
3. Individual work
Group work – participation
• Small groups mean that each student has to
contribute
• Accessible topics give each student the
opportunity to participate

Classroom activity 1 (handout)

Group work – participation
• Small groups mean that each student has to
contribute
• Accessible topics give each student the
opportunity to participate

Classroom activity 1 (handout)

• Example phrases can support weaker learners
and extend language of stronger ones
Group work – monitoring
When the teacher cannot reach every single
individual, he or she can have the learners
teach one another, taking advantage of the
diversity in the group.
(Penny Ur – Teaching mixed level classes)
Group work – encouraging use of L2
Use activities with a game element so that
students are rewarded for using English.
The students themselves will monitor that
their classmates are speaking in English.
Group quiz activity
1. Students create a quiz in groups and
write the questions together.
2. Students then pass their questions to
another group for them to answer as a
team.
Pair work
Change pairings regularly to give everyone
opportunities to work with students of
different abilities
Do this by, for example, finding a partner
using questions and answers or another
matching activity
Pair work
1. Pair work – pairing students with a similar
level.
2. Pair work – pairing a stronger student
with a weaker student.
Pair work
Pair a weaker student with a stronger
student for more controlled/structured
activities.

Classroom activity 2 (handout)

Pair work
Pair similar level students together for less
controlled activities.

1. Dialogue building
2. Role-play
3. Discussion on a general topic
4. All of the above
Pair work
Discussion of likes and dislikes
Talk to your partner about the activities below. Which do you like
doing? Which do you dislike doing?
• watching romantic films
• reading books
• dancing
• shopping
• playing computer games
• doing sport
Setting different goals
• Writing a different number of paragraphs
for a writing activity
• Memorising a different number of new
words
• Setting different targets e.g. achieving
different scores in end of unit quizzes
• Allowing the students to choose whether
they write or speak about a topic
Differentiation: adapting tasks
Give students a goal that is feasible for all,
but with options to stretch stronger students.
Adapting tasks
Creating a questionnaire on sport
Learners could create questions the following ways:
Adapting tasks
Creating a questionnaire on sport
Learners could create questions the following ways:
1. Create the questions by ordering the words given:
you/tennis/often/play/how/do
Adapting tasks
Creating a questionnaire on sport
Learners could create questions the following ways:
1. Create the questions by ordering the words given:
you/tennis/often/play/how/do
2. Choose correct forms:
How often do you (play/playing) tennis?
Adapting tasks
Creating a questionnaire on sport
Learners could create questions the following ways:
1. Create the questions by ordering the words given:
you/tennis/often/play/how/do
2. Choose correct forms:
How often do you (play/playing) tennis?
3. Complete the gaps:
How often … you play tennis?
Adapting tasks
Creating a questionnaire on sport
Learners could create questions the following ways:
1. Create the questions by ordering the words given:
you/tennis/often/play/how/do
2. Choose correct forms:
How often do you (play/playing) tennis?
3. Complete the gaps:
How often … you play tennis?
4. Create questions from prompts:
How often/tennis
Adapting tasks
Creating a questionnaire on sport
Learners could create questions the following ways:
1. Create the questions by ordering the words given:
you/tennis/often/play/how/do
2. Choose correct forms:
How often do you (play/playing) tennis?
3. Complete the gaps:
How often … you play tennis?
4. Create questions from prompts:
How often/tennis
5. Create questions with no help at all
Presentations
Guess the picture
• What can you see?
• Where do you think it is?
• Describe the people and what they are doing.

Extension question:
How do you think the people are feeling? Why?
Parallel activities
Practise recommendations: You should (read/see/try/go to/etc.)
Write one thing you would recommend in each of these categories:
Book
Film
City to visit
Hobby
Pop group
Restaurant

All students complete the table. Pair strong students together. Each
student should choose two things to recommend to their partner. Early
finishers can talk about more.
Waiter: tries to be polite and to do a good job.
Child: very difficult and keeps changing his/her order.
Mother: doesn’t like anything on the menu and asks for other things.
Father: an easy customer, likes the food on the menu.

Today’s Menu

Soups
Vegetable Noodle Soup £3.00
…………………………………………………………………….
Chicken Soup £3.00
………………………………………………………………………………………..

Mains
Fried fish + chips …………………………….................................................. £5.50
Spicy chicken + rice ……………………………............................................ £5.50
Vegetable fried rice ………………………………….…………………................. £4.50
Garlic prawns + chips or rice ……………………………….…………………... £5.50

Sides
Extra chips ……………………………............................................................. £2.00
Mixed salad ………………………………………………….……............................. £2.00
Green salad ……………………………………………….………............................. £1.50
Roll and butter ……………………………....................................................... £1.00

Desserts
Ice cream …………………………….................................................................. £2.00
Fruit salad + ice cream ………………………………………..……………........... £3.00
Chocolate mousse ………………………………………………..…….................. £3.00
Listening
Integrated practice
Listening
Integrated practice
Give students a reason to listen to each other:
• prepare a question to ask after a student
presentation
• provide a list of words and/or expressions
students listen for when listening to a role-play
Parallel activities – listening
Film-making competition

Maximum length of film: (14) ........................

Type of film: (15) ........................
Subject this year: The (16) .........................
Parallel activities – listening
Film-making competition

Maximum length of film: (14) 18 minutes/12

minutes
Type of film: (15) comedy/drama
Subject this year: The (16) weather/family

Participant task 2
Parallel activities – listening
Film-making competition

Prizes:
First prize: visit to a film school
Other prizes: books and modern (18)
........................
Where the best films will be shown (19)
........................
Parallel activities – listening
Film-making competition

Prizes:
• First prize: visit to a film school
• Other prizes: books and modern (18)
cameras/films
• Where the best films will be shown (19)
The cinema/The Market Square
Parallel activities – listening
How could you adapt this type of listening
question for lower level learners?

Why did Sally decide to write her first book?

A People said her stories were good
B Her family bought her a diary
C Her penfriend suggested it
Listening activities
Extending activities
Listening – classroom activity 3
Strategies for differentiation
Stronger learners – List 1
Add more questions/activities.
Replace the task with a different, more Replace the task with a different,
difficult task on the same topic.
Give these learners less time to
complete the task.
Encourage these learners to help
others in the class.
Give these learners a choice of self-
study activities to do when they have
completed the task.
Weaker learners – List 2
Reduce the number of
questions/activities.
easier task on the same topic.
Give these learners more time to
complete the task.
Pair them with a student who can help
them.
Allow them different ways of showing
what they learned, using visuals,
graphic organisers, posters, etc.
Classroom management

Group work Same level

Pair work Mixed level

Classroom management

Group work Same level

Pair work Mixed level

Outline of the webinar
• To look at descriptors for A2 and B1 levels and identify
learners with different levels in the same class.
• To look at the challenges of teaching mixed ability
classes.
• To offer guidance on managing mixed ability classes.
• To provide teachers with practical speaking and listening
ideas for teaching mixed ability classes.
• To help teachers to prepare learners for exams.
Further information
Literacy in primary CLIL
14 and 16 December 2015

University of Cambridge
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