PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
I. RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
First and foremost, learning English can help people pursue and obtain
more career opportunities. These days, the job market is global—many
companies need employees who can communicate with partners and clients all
over the world. Very often, that means finding employees who speak English.
The global job market has even created new positions for bilingual
people. By learning English, people could become a translator, a language
teacher or an English marketing professional for a global company.
English is the most-used language online, with nearly 1 billion users typing and
chatting in the language. If individuals can understand and read English, they
will be able to access and enjoy many more resources online.
Obviously this is helpful if they are just using the internet to browse and
have fun. But many people and businesses also need to conduct research, market
themselves or communicate and develop connections online—English will be
crucial for success.
Email is also now a very common way to talk with people all over the
world. Email is the primary way for many companies to communicate with
customers or other businesses. Being able to write emails or other
correspondences in English is another important asset for employers.
Whether it’s for fun or for work, if people can understand English, they
will be able to communicate with more people online or use many more
materials.
Communication skills are essential for a successful career, satisfying
relationships and a personal sense of accomplishment. Communication is seen
every day through TV commercials, interaction with the person opening a door
for people and listening to the CEO of their company speak. Effective
communication empowers people, provides clear direction and increases
productivity. Without it, people lose motivation and the inability to make a
decision, and they become angry because their messages are not understood
In fact, many Vietnamese students who have good professional

IV. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study does not aim to teach any skill in a systematic way, because it is
experience not for teaching but for practice. The study investigates giving guides
to help the mixed ability students improve their communication skills at Nhu
Thanh High School.
V. METHODS OF THE STUDY
In this study, I use some research tools to collect and analyze the needed data
Recording is used to record the process of giving some guides
The second tool used in this study is interviews with students at the end of the
research to study whether giving guides is really suitable for them or not.
Surveying through the answer sheets is used to know the practical situation of
teaching and learning English in the mixed ability classes.

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
2


What are mixed ability classes?
Mixed ability or ‘heterogeneous’ classes are terms used to describe classes made
up of students of different levels of proficiency. These terms are misleading as
no two learners are really alike and ‘homogeneous’ classes do not actually exist
(Ur, 1991). All classes are to some degree made up of learners who differ in
many ways. They may have different strengths, weaknesses and approaches to
learning. They may respond differently to various teaching methods and
classroom situations.
In this article, I cover mixed ability factors, the problems with and advantages of
teaching mixed ability classes as well as strategies for teachers who teach mixed
ability classes.
Mixed ability factors

3


environments that meet the needs of all learners in a single class. Bremner
(2008) states that the ‘biggest stumbling block to effective mixed ability
teaching would seem to be teacher’s attitude. Teachers lack the knowledge of
strategies to use in the classroom for a wide range of ability.’ Teachers who are
familiar with the different abilities and needs of their learners and use mixed
ability teaching strategies effectively are much better equipped to meet the
diverse
learning
needs
of
their
learners
(Šimanová,
2010).

CHAPTER 2: PRACTICAL SITUATIONS
I. METHODS OF THE STUDY
4


The research is done qualitatively in the context of English class A1. In this
survey, I use the survey questionnaire for students. This survey is designed to
collect information for the study on “some guides to help the mixed ability
students improve their communication skills at Nhu Thanh High School”
II. THE REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH
COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN MIXED ABILITY CLASSES
Possible


differences, teachers are not able to devote time and attention equally to all
learners (Šimanová, 2010).
Participation – In mixed ability classes, more advanced learners tend to
participate more actively than weaker learners. Lack of participation or attention
from the teacher, may further affect weaker learners proficiency in the subject.
Correction – Teachers may feel overwhelmed by the marking load and may also
not feel equipped to deal with the errors made by a student. For example a
subject teacher may not feel comfortable correcting a learner’s language errors.

CHAPTER 3:
RECOMMENDATION TO IMPROVE
6


THE MIXED ABILITY STUDENTS’ ENGISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS
I. RECOMMENDATIONS
According to the data analysis from the survey, it can be personally concluded
that the most important feature that makes my students to engage more in the
lesson is the kind of assessment which forces them to learn although the
meaningfulness of tasks also more or less affect the level of engagement
the most meaningful tasks to my students are tasks that can help them to pass the
tests at the end of the semester not tasks that give them reasons to communicate
as I expected.
Therefore, I present some guides to help the mixed ability students improve their
communication skills at Nhu Thanh High School”
II. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS

1. Adapting materials for mixed ability classes
In these cases it’s important to remember that all students will get something out

class.

Extension activities for stronger
Support for weaker students
students

Pre-teach difficult vocabulary and
leave it written on the board for
Ask early finishers to write new students to refer to. Use visuals if
vocabulary up on the board with possible.
definitions.

Reading

If there are gaps, give students the
Rewrite a part of the text in a answers in a jumbled order, with a
different tense / person.
few extras.
Draw attention to the title,
Write their personal opinion / a short pictures etc and set the scene
summary of the text. Write questions beforehand so their mind is on
about the text.
track for the topic.
Break the text into chunks and
give the option of only reading
some of the text.

Listening

Give out the tape script and

Writing

Reduce
the
word
limit.
Indicate mistakes using correction
code to give students a chance to
Encourage use of dictionaries /
self-correct. (Sp = spelling, Gr =
vocab
books.
grammar
etc.)
Increase

the

word

limit.

Give and example piece of writing
as a model before they begin
writing.

Indicate where they could use more
interesting
ways
of

beforehand.
9


Give weaker students more
listening and thinking time before
calling on them to answer
questions.

2. Tips for good classroom management with mixed ability groups
Strategies
for
teaching
mixed
ability
classes
Some useful strategies for managing mixed ability classes (Šimanová, 2010,
Bremner, 2008) are listed below:
Supportive learning environment – It is important to create a supportive learning
environment in the classroom, where learners feel confident and able to perform
to the best of their ability.
Classroom management – By managing classes effectively, teachers can ensure
that learners will be involved as much as possible in the lesson. Classroom
management techniques include organising the classroom layout for maximum
learning potential, involving all students, learning and using learners’ names,
teachers cultivating a positive attitude through their own attitude to the class,
praise and encouragement, grading and using relevant teacher talk, using the
board effectively and managing learning activities by giving good instructions,
asking concept checking questions, using pair and group work, setting time
limits, monitoring the activity and including feedback on the activity.

opportunities for students to work at their own pace, in their own style and of
topics of their choosing’. Individualization can be promoted in the classroom
through portfolios, self-access centres, individualized writing or personalised
dictionaries.
Personalisation – Ur (2001:306) suggests including activities which allow
learners to respond personally. Such tasks increase learners’ motivation and
interest as they are based on something the learners have experienced and can
relate.
Blooms taxonomy – Make use of higher order thinking skills by providing
learners with problem-solving, analysis, evaluation and synthesis activities,
rather than only comprehension tasks.
Open-endedness – Open-ended activities allow learners to respond to tasks and
questions which have a variety of possible answers rather than one correct
answer. Open-ended tasks allow learners to perform at their level of ability.
Such tasks include sentence completion activities, story completion activities,
brainstorming, writing own definitions for words, answering questions in a
range of ways.
Compulsory plus optional tasks – Ur (2001) suggests learners are assigned
compulsory tasks with additional materials should they finish the core tasks. By
setting compulsory plus core tasks, all learners are engaged and can feel a sense
of achievement when completing a task.
Homework – Homework is an excellent tool to provide learners of all levels and
abilities with an opportunity to review and consolidate the material covered in
class.
In reality, every class can be described as a mixed ability class as it is made up
of learners who are different in terms of their knowledge and ability. This article
aimed to outline mixed ability factors and the advantages and problems
associated with teaching mixed ability classes. Studies have shown that teachers
who view their learners’ differences in a positive way and embrace strategies for
teaching mixed ability classes are better equipped to teach in mixed ability

Giving presentation

The tenth graders (10 A1, school year: 20142015) were roleplaying “ Tam and Cam
nowadays”

The tenth graders (10 A1, school year: 20142015) were roleplaying “The health”

The tenth graders (10 A6, school year: 20142015) were roleplaying “ Superstitions”

12


( Tran Thu Thao, 10 A6, was giving a
presentation about travelling”

( Students, 10 A6, were giving a presentation
about “fashion collection of household
chores””

The tenth graders (10 A6, school year: 20142015) were roleplaying “ Miss cute””

The tenth graders (10 A1, school year: 20142015) were roleplaying “ The Voice”

( Thuy Trang and Thao Van, 10 A1, were
giving a presentation about “ sharing
household chores”

( Tran Thu Thao, 10 A6, was giving a
presentation about “Pollution”


(%)
11,9

After giving guides
Poor
(%)

Excellent
(%)

good
(%)

Fair
(%)

poor
(%)

11,3

29,7

33,8

25,2

14,3

34,2

Be as enthusiastic in your praise of the stronger students as of the weaker ones
(perhaps an obvious point, but I’m always surprised at how much a teacher’s
enthusiasm can infect a class).
These are some of the techniques that have worked for me. Mixed ability
teaching is difficult, and you may find that some things work better than others

The Headmaster’s identification

Thanh Hoa, the second of May, 2018
I ensure that this study has been written by
me
The writer

Bui Thi Tu

15


REFERENCES
Bremner, S. (2008) Teaching a Mixed Ability Class.
[Accessed 20
May 2011]
Hess, N. (2001) Teaching Large Multilevel Classes. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Šimanová, A. (2010) Dealing with Mixed Ability Classes.
[Accessed 20 May
2011]
Richmond Publishing, Teaching a mixed ability class.
/>m [Accessed 20 May 2011]
Tomlinson, C. (1999) The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the needs of