HANDOUT: IN-SERVICE COURSE FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS CANTON ZUG / LUCERNE 2022

«Challenging gifted learners and native speakers in the English classroom»

Michael Wirrer

1 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A. VOICES OF PEOPLE CONCERNED

My experiences of English lessons as a native speaker at Swiss public schools…

One of the main dilemmas in English classes are the native speakers. The native-speakers can often
speak better English than the teachers, and in majority of cases have more knowledge than most of the
teachers, in terms of the spoken language. Teachers do not know how to integrate them or how to
challenge them during their English classes. Once I began teaching, I fully realized how complicated it
was for teachers, to teach native speakers in a class of non-native speakers. Two completely different
English levels with no material available.
Source: Hürlimann, B., 2018 Zug
They have a right to be challenged…
Native speakers and gifted learners are often used by the English teacher as assistants for weaker
students, believing that this is a form of differentiation that keeps all learners meaningfully occupied and
happy ...how practical!
At the latest when concerned parents of native speakers dare to question the didactic and pedagogical
competences of non-native English teachers, then perhaps it is time to take a closer look at where and
how English classes are differentiated in a meaningful way and how the learners are challenged.
For social reasons, it may be justified that native speakers assist other fellow learners in English classes.
But this has nothing to do with didactic support measures for native speakers and gifted learners!
Neither does it have anything to do with learners who finish a task early and, as a "reward" to keep them
busy, have to write five more sentences ...how motivating!
If native speakers are lucky, they might get challenged with individually adapted tasks they can present
to the class...if there is time… Source: Rothmund,M. a concerned mother of a native speaker, Mels

B. THE DILEMMA OF THE MATRIX: PERFORMANCE VERSUS TRAINING // INTEGRATION

VERSUS SEGREGATION

Native speakers are often used as an assistant teacher to help the English teacher or to support weaker
learners. Very often they are "supposedly challenged" by having to produce more language quantitative wise.
This guarantees the learners’ INTEGRATION and "PERFORMANCE" of their already existing language
skills, but not a targeted training to improve their skills (TRAINING).
All these so-called support measures do not really encourage a native speaker or a gifted learner, as they
lack the experience of making progress. However, these learners are also entitled to real challenge and to a
sense of achievement in English classes.
At public school they should be specifically encouraged to expand their vocabulary with authentic texts and
audios and their writing skills through specific TRAINING of genres of literature. Preparation for internationally
recognized language diplomas (TEFL etc) could also be useful in this context. But these interventions would
also require SEGREGATING in foreign language teaching.
Source: Williams & Wirrer 2021

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C. CANTONAL REQUIREMENTS IN TERMS OF CHALLENGING NATIVE SPEAKERS AND
GIFTED LEARNERS …

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_______________________________________________________________________________________________
KANTON LUZERN

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 SOLUTIONS & IDEAS

• Sprachstand eruieren -> Cambridge Exam Assessment Placementtest e.g.

https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/test-your-english/

• Portfolio / Logbook vgl. S

• Peer-Learning

• Fördervereinbarung

• Höhere Anforderungen (Schreiben, grammatikalisch)

• Quantitative und qualitative Differenzierung

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 2. SUPPORT MEASURES (FÖRDERMASSNAHMEN)

2A MY AND MY COLLEAGUES’ IDEAS

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In order to challenge gifted learners and native speakers at public school the following support measures
published by various cantons and educational institutions can help:

2B THE NATIVE SPEAKERS

• Kinder, welche bereits Englisch oder Französisch sprechen, nehmen grundsätzlich am Unterricht mit der
Klasse teil. Mit ihrer Mehrsprachigkeit können sie die Fremdsprachenstunden bereichern und in gewissen
Situationen auch unterstützend tätig sein.

• Allerdings genügt es nicht, die «native speakers» nur in dieser unterstützenden Rolle am Unterricht
teilhaben zu lassen. Erfahrungsgemäss sind ihre Fähigkeiten im schriftlichen Bereich weniger weit
entwickelt als jene im Hörverstehen und Sprechen.

• Ein Ansporn für zielgerichtetes Lernen von «native speakers» kann das Lernen auf eine Sprachprüfung mit
Diplom sein.
Tipp: Kinder, die zu Hause Englisch oder Französisch sprechen, lassen sich motivieren, wenn sie sich auf eine
Sprachprüfung mit Diplom vorbereiten können.
> Fürs Englische: «PET» oder «FCE»
Source: Kanton St.Gallen (Broschüre Fremdsprachen, 2015

• Es ist wichtig, mit «Native Speakern» und ihren Eltern zu vereinbaren, wann sie sich aus dem
Klassenprogramm ausklinken und selbständig an eigenen Vorhaben weiterarbeiten können.

• «Native Speaker» schreiben in der Regel die Lernkontrollen (Prüfungen, Tests etc.) der Klasse mit. In
Ausnahmefällen können die Lernziele auch mit anderen Leistungsnach- weisen geprüft und benotet werden.
Die Zeugnisnote gibt Auskunft über die Erreichung der Lernziele der Klasse.

• In einem grösseren Schulhaus mit Klassen, in denen einige «Native Speaker» sind, ist bei der
Stundenplanung zu prüfen, ob eine Englischlektion zusammengelegt werden kann. Dann ist es möglich, mit
allen «Native Speakern» gemeinsam an einem Projekt auf höherem Niveau zu arbeiten, während die
anderen Schülerinnen und Schüler in dieser Lektion v. a. üben. Evtl. kann für die «Native Speaker» auch eine
externe Person (z. B. Eltern, Pro Senectute «Generationen im Schulzimmer») für die Begleitung im Unterricht
auf entsprechendem Niveau gewonnen werden.

• Ein Wochenplan mit zusätzlichen Aufgaben für «Native Speaker» ist eine gute Möglichkeit zur individuellen
Förderung. Eventuell ist es auch möglich, den Wochenplanunterricht für «Native Speaker» zu einem anderen
Zeitpunkt anzusetzen.
Source: Spiess, Kanton Zug (2018)

2C OFFICIAL EXTRA MATERIAL BY KLETT & BALMER // OPEN WOLRD

• TEACHER’S BOOK (Anforderungen erweitern) & SUPPORT & BOOST

• HANDOUT: «OPEN WORLD 1 -3; Integrating native speakers in the classroom»

- IN GENERAL
Roles of the Native Speaker = PERFORMANCE
There are many ways a native or near-native speaker of English (NFSS) might be successfully integrated
into EFL lessons. They can adopt one of the following roles, if they wish to do so:

• Expert on language: Encouraging the student to help others check their work, or inviting
him/her to supply more sophisticated vocabulary in class.

• Expert on language variety: Having the student share input about his/her own variety of English (e. g.
supplying the American English equivalent of a British English word used in the Coursebook).

• Expert on English-speaking culture(s): Inviting the student to share information, ideas an

opinions about his/her English-speaking experience (e. g. school life in the US, Irish landscapes
and weather, Anglo-Indian cuisine).

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• Coaching role: Explaining something to another student / group of students. It is important to discuss
with every native speaker what role(s) they would like to take on and how often, what they
really want to achieve in their English lessons, which areas they want to work on, etc.

- COURSEBOOK (one idea for every unit per volume) p.5 & 6

- EXTRA IDEAS

2D TRAINING THE THINKING SKILLS & MOTIVATION ➔ TRAINING THE LANGUAGE

Es gibt Schülerinnen und Schüler, die gerne die Aktivitäten mit der Klasse mitmachen, weil sie hier brillieren können.
Grundsätzlich sollen die «Native Speaker» und Gifted Learners so oft als möglich in die Themen des Unterrichts
integriert werden, jedoch mit dem individuellen Können angepassten Aufgabenstellungen (z.B. eigene Wahl eines
Themas) . Gerade der themenorientierte Ansatz (Content and Language Integrated Learning) bietet im
Zusammenwirken mit der Handlungsorientierung (TBL) gute Möglichkeiten für «Native Speaker» und
fremdsprachlich begabte Lernende sich vertiefter mit den Inhalten auseinanderzusetzen. Hier anerbieten sich die
unterschiedlich kognitiv aktivierenden «Task Types» mit den entsprechenden «THINKING SKILLS» für eine
inhaltliche Differenzierung.
Source: Spiess, Kanton Zug St.Gallen (2018)

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 THE THINKING SKILLS AND CORRESPONDING LANGUAGE

Defining
I can see a NOUN
This is an ADJECTIVE a NOUN
These are small things that make …
There is one object which does …
There are many / a lot of attachments
Describing
The object looks like
This is ADJECTIVE (shape, size, colour etc.)
It is different from this other object
This is similar to what we saw before
Classifying
This object belongs to this group
It is another one of this sort
These go with this type
These things should be put into this class
There are four items in this category
Describing a time sequence
First comes this event
Then, second is another occurrence
Afterwards,
Finally,
The last thing
Describing processes
The first thing that happens
Then you must do something else
After this happens, the next thing
Comparing and contrasting
A is like … and B is like …
A is similar to B for differences
A is different from
A is bigger than B and C is the biggest
A runs faster than B does
Showing cause and effect
If you … then …

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 As a result of doing A, the …
In consequence what happens is …
Because of…
B changes, and therefore C changes too
hypothesising & predicting
I think
I believe
if we do this, the result will be …
What happens is, your theory (of) why this happens
When you ..., you will see ...
source: Tritt.G. & Wirrer M. (2012). p.4

EXAMPLE (OPEN WORLD 1 Coursebook ,unit 6 Where does all that plastic go ?

EXTENSION:
problem solving task = How can we (the class contribute to
use less plastic etc.
- A manual
- An essay
- A newspaper article
2E PERFORMING & THE TRAINING THE LANGUAGE

LISTENING (TRAINING )
Have the student listen to (authentic) texts, articles, books about a topic which is related to the current
unit in the teaching material answering accompanying questions / presenting the audio to the peers etc.:

•TED talks for kids and teens: https://www.ted.com/playlists/129/ted_under_20

•TED Education: https://ed.ted.com/
•BBC AUDIOS: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01k2bx3/clips
•SMITHSONIAN (educational): https://www.si.edu/
TASK: Look for an audio or a video that matches the topic you are OR will be working on !

READING
Have the student read (authentic) texts, articles, books about a topic which is related to the current unit in
the teaching material answering accompanying questions / presenting the book to the peers etc.:

• Teaching material Open World (Support & Boost: boost worksheets PERFORMANCE
• Reading high level readers: https://readers.english.com/catalogue/readers TRAINING
• https://www.onestopenglish.com/teenagers/clil
• Reading authentic themed articles:
- British Council:
Level Upper Intermediate: https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/upper-
intermediate-b2-reading
- Level Advanced :TASK:
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/advanced-c1-reading
Formulate a more challenging task in terms of Thinking Skills
- https://www.cornelsen.de/mittlere-schulformen/faecher/englisch

TASK: Look for a reading text, article, book etc. that matches the topic you are OR will be working on !

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 ADDITIONAL IDEAS TO TRAIN AND PERFORM SPEAKING

SPEAKING PERFORMANCE & TRAINING

TASK: Give the GIFTED LEARNERs a topic or a question related to the current unit in the teaching
material, and have them do a mini-short report in plenary. (TRAINING the CONTENT).

• Expert on English-speaking culture(s) and language varieties: Inviting the student to share information, ideas
and opinions about his/her English-speaking experience (e.g. school life in the US, Irish landscape and
weather, Anglo-Indian cuisine).

ADDITIONAL IDEAS TO TRAIN AND PERFORM SPEAKING

WRITING PERFORMANCE & TRAINING

If the "native speakers" have no or only few written competences, the focus can be placed on them. In particular,
they should be integrated into regular lessons for written tasks and encouraged in the area of spelling and creating
texts by setting higher expectations for them. For motivational reasons, they can be allowed to choose the topic for
written assignments (keyword "autonomy" of learning motivation).

• Having the learners write authentic texts: short reports on personal experiences in her/ his home country,
travelling experiences, short stories for their classmates./ PERFORMANCE

ADDITIONAL IDEAS TO PERFORM WRITING

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 • TRAINING Make them use CONNECTIVES from the LANGUAGE PYRAMID

ADDITIONAL IDEAS TO TRAIN WRITING

• COMMUNICATIVE WRITING: PERFORMANCE

- E-PALS: www.epals.com with other teens around the world: (project work on specific topics)

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- LOGBOOK “I –Y – MAG”: the learners write short texts on a specifically given (give them a choice) or a
chosen topic and give each other feedback. PERFORMANCE & TRAINING

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 ADDITIONAL IDEAS & COMMENTS

VOCABULARY
• Creating an individual vocabulary of new words on a current topic in the teaching material
(e.g. see Open World LANGUAGE COMPANION: « My words» TRAINING

GRAMMAR
• Use of more complex grammatical structures to a given topic / unit in the teaching material:
e.g. Past tense (average learners past tense - > native speaker & gifted learner: reported speech applied in
matching sentences) TRAINING

• Finding and formulating the rule in English and comparing with the German / French grammar » TRAINING

2.F STANDARDISED EXAMS

Cambridge Exams : PET / FCE https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/
Assesssing the level: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/test-your-english/
SWITZERLAND: https://cambridgetesting.ch/

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LITERATUR:
Spiess, Ch. (2018): Tipps für den Unterricht mit Native Speaker. https://www.zg.ch/behoerden/direktion-fur-
bildung-und-kultur/phzg/ph-zug/medien-publikationen/weitere-publikationen/argumentarium-
fremdsprachen/englisch-1/native-speakers#suitable-books-for-fluent-and-native-speakers

Williams, L. (2021) Integrating native speakers in the classroom- Ideas for teachers of Sekundarstufe I – Open
World 1 – 3. Baar: Klett &Balmer Verlag: https://docplayer.net/215112458-Open-world-1-3-integrating-
native-speakers-in-the-classroom-ideas-for-teachers-of-sekundarstufe-i-klett-und-balmer-verlag.html

Kanton St.Gallen (2015) Broschüre Fremdsprachen,

https://www.optimisme.ch/files/documents/bdfs_2_brosch_SG_FS_2015.pdf

Kanton St.Gallen (2020) Handreichung Schullaufbahn

https://www.optimisme.ch/files/documents/bdfs_2_brosch_SG_FS_2015.pdf

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