Not On My Level
While we all understand that it’s essential to practice English as often as possible, nonetheless, it may not be easy to find a partner at the”ideal” level. Everyone has to start somewhere, and you might be surprised at what you can learn from someone who is just starting out on their English language journey.
A “Marriage” of Convience
In my experience in working in English Language Institutes, management would often put students of the same age but very different levels in the same classroom. Moreover they would continually add new students throughout the course, so keeping students “on the same page” was a challenge. However, I devised the method of pairing up students into teams of different levels so that in order to win the activity team members must not only understand the task themselves, they must ensure that their other teammates also understood. This resulted in the bonding of students regardless of level and it also gave the higher level students a chance to think about the reasons for their answer and explain this to their teammates. In addition, it gave students at the beginner levels a chance to ask their questions in small groups.
Make Learning Fun
As often as possible I tried to make learning fun. This does not only apply to young learners. I worked with Japanese engineers who spent long hours working at the company, only to attend an evening lesson held at the company and then return to work. In order to keep these students motivated, I designed creative activities for them to learn useful phrases, grammar and sentence structures in a short time while enjoying themselves. The results were that students not only memorized the answers to the game, they took control of their own learning. In one instance, when I interrupted with a detailed explanation a student said, “teacher we got this”. I can’t help but laugh when I think back to my shocked expression and at how intently these men were “playing” and learning without the need of additional instruction.
Each One Teach One
All levels can learn from each other in a structured and supportive environment. It is the beginner level learners that ask the detailed questions that are at the core of learning and these questions can help advanced level learners to not only understand but verbalize the reasoning behind their answers This gives advanced learners the ability score higher on complex exams with unfamiliar vocabulary because they understand the logic involved. Moreover, in my courses I always implement a strict English only rule in my courses so that all questions and answers were formed in English. Never forget that there is always more to learn if you are willing to challenge yourself.