Teaching Multilevel

Teaching in the Multilevel Classroom
Great Teachers Inspire • Motivate • Change the World
What makes an ESL
classroom “multilevel”?
The student’s educational background in his/her
first language. Students arrive in an ESL classroom with
varied educational backgrounds. Some students have
had little or no education. Others have completed the
equivalent of junior high or high school, whilestill others
have attended trade school, college or university, and
even doctorate programs. As literacy is tied to educational
background, students in the same ESL classroom can
range from illiterate/low-literate to high academic
proficiency.
The student’s comfort with the Roman alphabet.
Literacy proficiency not only applies to reading and
writing in one’s first language, but also to an ESLstudent’s familiarity with the Roman alphabet. While
Chinese, Korean, Egyptian, or Persian students may be
highly literate in their native languages, they must learn
new alphabet characters when learning English. The
challenge of learning a new set of alphabet characters can
affect a student’s ability to participate optimally in the
ESL classroom.
The cultural expectations each student hasregarding
the role of the teacher. Students from outside the United
States may have different expectations for the classroom.
Many countries, for example, still conduct classes that
are 100 percent teacher directed, (i.e., the students sit
and listen while the teacher instructs). Students with this
kind of educational background may not feel comfortable
participating in a communicative ESLclassroom. The
students may even think the teacher is “bad” for requiring
them to ask questions, participate in classroom games
and activities, work with partners or in small groups, or
self- or peer-correct their assignments.
The student’s personality. A student’s individual
personality is another factor that affects instruction.
Personality plays a huge role in a student’s willingness
toparticipate in activities, take risks using English, and
become part of the larger classroom community.

The student’s goals. Research on student persistence is
clear that the more specific a student’s goal(s), the more
motivated that student is to attend class. Students, for
example, who are coming to learn English so they can
help their children with their homework, or so they can
get abetter job, will be more motivated to come to class
than those who are coming simply “to learn English.”
The student’s age. Most ESL classes are made up of
adults ranging in age from 18 to 80 or more. Generally
speaking, the older the student, the more challenging it
will be for the student to retain information. Personality
and motivation, however, tend to have a greater impact
onacquisition than age.
The student’s learning style. A teacher must be
cognizant of the three learning styles — audio, visual,
and tactile — and ensure that classroom instruction and
activities accommodate these different styles of learning.
Of course, a good student book and teacher’s edition does
this automatically.
The student’s status in United States culture. A
student’s personal situation canalso contribute to a
multilevel classroom environment. Has the student come
to the United States as a refugee? Is he or she here alone
or with a larger group of friends or family? Is the student
poor? Middle class? Quite wealthy? Does the student have
legal status, or is he or she undocumented?
The student’s access to English outside the ESL
classroom. Finally, the number of opportunitiesstudents
have to use English outside the classroom can impact
instruction. While some students may live in a closed
community where everyone everywhere speaks their
first language, others do not and must use English to
communicate in everyday situations and at work. Of
course, the more language learners use English in their
everyday lives, the more quickly their acquisition and
proficiency...