DIFFERENTIATION WHAT MIGHT IT LOOK LIKE IN THE LANGUAGES CLASSROOM? Merryl Wahlin

What is it? Carol Tomlinson It is:  Student centred  For all students  Multiple approaches  A mix of whole class, group and independent learning  Proactively planning for students not chaotic and done on the hop  More about quality than quantity  Flexible and varied not static  Responsive teaching and not one size fits all Differentiated instruction is the way the teacher responds to and caters for a variety of student needs in the classroom. Deborah Blaz, a French teacher in the US who is the author of: Differentiated instruction: A guide for foreign language teachers

The main ideas We can differentiate by:  Content: What the teacher wants the students to learn (language, skills, understandings)  Process: Activities and teaching strategies designed to enable students to achieve language learning outcomes  Product: The task/vehicle through which the students demonstrate and extend what they have learned  Environment: The classroom and other areas where learning experiences occur Conte nt What the teacher wants the students to learn (skills, knowledge, understanding, values and attitudes) Proce ss Describes activities and strategies designed to facilitate the achievement of intended outcomes at an appropriate standard for each student Produ ct The vehicle through which students demonstrate and extend what they have learned Learni ng Enviro nmen t The classroom and other areas where learning experiences occur The Maker Model

Key messages Know your students Enable all students to access core content Give students room to manoeuvre Variation Choice Clear aims/goals

Know our students Pre-testing Socrative Socrative: Chinese Exit cards Monitoring progress What questions to ask?

How do you know where your students are at? How do you know how they are progressing? Brainstorm strategies and possible questions at tables. Discussion ?

Possible questions and prompts Below are some sample questions and prompts that could be used to monitor students' progress and provide feedback to the teacher. In order to exit the class, students need to complete the following: The most important thing I learned today was.... The thing that I am finding most difficult is... I think I still need practise in... I know....quite well. I thought I was quite good at... I'm proud that I was able to... My strength today was... I want to be able to say... What is the one question you would ask me if there was more class time?

3 Ideas to provide choice and differentiate the content and product  Tiered task  Activity choice Board  RAFT task

Let’s create and share In language groups: Choose a topic: 1. About me2. School life 3. Eating out4. Daily routine 5. Holidays/travel6. Family 7. On the weekend8. My favourite things Create a Tiered task, RAFT task or Activity choice board Write on butchers paper, take photo and share

Example of practice Example of practice - Senior Chinese

Language teachers’ differentiation toolkit  Clear aims  Teacher modelling  Provide scaffolding  Entry/Exit cards  Pre-testing (Socrative,Kahoots,Quizlet)  Variety (resources,texts, activities)  Flexible grouping  Allocate roles in group activities Choice Boards Tiered tasks RAFT tasks Ongoing projects (PBL) Develop dictionary skills Anchor new concepts to previous learning Open-ended tasks Create authentic and supportive learning environment And……

Resources  Language Learning Space  Deborah Blaz: Differentiated instruction A guide for Foreign Language teachers  Katy Arnett: Languages for All  Carol Tomlinson Differentiation Central  AISNSW languages website

Questioning in a Languages classroom What is the meaning of..? Why/When would they say this? Can you see the pattern? When did we use this structure before? What is another way of saying this? How could we use this structure in a different context? How can we link this structure to others to make our language more sophisticated?

Different support Dictionaries, vocab lists, script assistance Additional structure to the task/instruction cards Additional time More individualised attention Make use of NSA’s Wall charts

For reflection:  What do I need to differentiate in this UOW?  Why do I need to differentiate?  Readiness  Interests  Learning profiles  Prior learning/background