{"id":27033,"date":"2024-07-18T10:20:53","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T00:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.educationperfect.com\/?post_type=article&p=27033"},"modified":"2024-09-20T13:29:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T03:29:28","slug":"mastering-differentiation-in-language-classrooms","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.educationperfect.com\/article\/mastering-differentiation-in-language-classrooms\/","title":{"rendered":"Mastering Differentiation in Language classrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"
by <\/span><\/i>Marnie Foster, Head of Languages, Teacher of Chinese<\/span><\/i><\/h5>\n

In my 25 years\u2019 teaching Chinese in secondary schools around Australia, differentiating learning still consumes most of my preparation time. As a writer of the first Australian Curriculum: Chinese, trying to design a curriculum to distinguish between different learner groups was equally challenging and rewarding.<\/p>\n

This process taught me that differentiation in the Language classroom is about so much more than just responding to a variety of academic learning needs and experiences.<\/p>\n

The quote below from Orton & Scrimgeour (2019) captures this perfectly:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that teachers are faced with what is best described as a \u2018multi-level\u2019 classroom, where \u2018level\u2019 relates not just to proficiency but also to identity, motivation and aspiration. (p128).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Every student brings to their language learning a unique identity, motivation and aspiration. And to make our jobs harder, many students don\u2019t even understand what that is. One of our key jobs as Language teachers is to help every student develop their linguistic and cultural identity. To achieve that, we need to differentiate learning for every single student.<\/p>\n

Practical tips for differentiation<\/h3>\n

Learner diversity has kept me on my feet and led me on a path of continuous improvement. I\u2019ve come to understand that differentiation in the language classroom is a challenge, but also an opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we focus on every learner\u2019s distinct learning needs, we\u2019re able to make differentiation a natural part of our teaching practices. But how do we do this?<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Provide students with choice in how they learn and how they demonstrate their learning<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Focus on progress, not just achievement. Regardless of where each learner is in their language learning journey, they all have improvement areas<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Prioritise feedback with exit tickets, peer feedback opportunities, and well-planned and deliberate formative assessments<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Integrating EdTech into your classroom processes makes differentiation much easier. With personalised pathway features, real-time feedback and accessible data dashboards, EdTech platforms \u2013 like Education Perfect<\/a> (EP) \u2013 helps us to differentiate teaching and learning. Some of my favourite ways to use EP for differentiation are:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n