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Strategies for a Combined-Level Language Class
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by Keiko Abrams
Lake Braddock Secondary School
Burke, Virginia
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and Michiko Sprester
Langley High School
McLean, Virginia
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and Yoko Thakur
Falls Church High School
Falls Church, Virginia
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| | On the Way Up
Today many Japanese teachers teach levels 3, 4, and/or 5 in a combined-level situation. Teachers often must do this for budgetary reasons or to accommodate students' needs. When schools offer the AP Japanese Language and Culture course, many teachers will encounter the difficulties of instructing a challenging AP course and another-level course (such as Japanese 4 or Japanese 3) in the same classroom. Regardless of the reasons and conditions, the teacher must teach, and the students are expected to achieve a performance level that they would normally reach in a regular classroom situation. The various challenges include not only academic matters but also classroom management issues.
To ease these challenges, we would like to suggest some strategies for teachers of combined-level language classes. We also include some suggestions for AP course instruction in combined-level classes. Many factors must be considered including academic content, classroom conditions, time, the number of students and their motiviation, curriculum, and so forth. While one strategy may work in one class, it may not work in another class. Thus we encourage teachers to try different tactics until they find the best way to meet the needs of their students.
First, we define three different cases:
- Students Work Individually All of the Time. The content of instruction is completely different, and students rarely work together with students from the other level.
- Students Work Together Most of the Time. There are some differences in requirements or expectations or content, but they mainly collaborate and work together.
- Students Work Together All of the Time. Students in different levels learn together all of the time. They follow a specially designed two-year curriculum, and the content is exactly the same. The expectations are almost the same.
Case 1: Students Work Individually All of the Time
This may be the most common case, when the teacher thinks that students cannot work together because of the contents of the curriculum or the nature of the sequential and cumulative study. If the class has only a few upper-level students, the teacher can treat them as independent learners, provided that they are mature and motivated students. However, in most instances, there are more students in each level, and students are neither particularly mature nor diligent without good supervision. Here are some practical solutions.
Logistical Strategies
- Try to get a larger classroom to accommodate different-level students. It may not be easy, but talk with your supervisor and stress the difficulties of combined-level classes. In the classroom, place each group separately so that their speaking will not bother the other group too much. Another important rule is to place them carefully so that the teacher can supervise both groups at the same time, even if the teacher is teaching one group at a time. Some teachers find that placing one group facing front and the other group facing the side works well. In this way, each group has its own presentation board (or wall), and the teacher can monitor the activities of both groups either from the front or from the side.
- Arrange each group so that they have their own blackboard (whiteboard) and/or screen for an overhead projector/computer monitor. If you cannot arrange a second set of those for the other group (most of us cannot), keep one wall as the designated presentation area and use large papers for presentation and instruction. Worksheets and explanation packets are fine, but students often find those boring. They may also lose motivation to come to class if they only work on packets by themselves. These students already have less time for interaction with a teacher than students in a regular class, so you must motivate your students to come to class to learn and interact with a teacher and peers.
This is especially true when you teach the AP Japanese course, because the AP Exam evaluates students' functional abilities to react and respond. Combining those blackboard/screen/paper presentations and worksheets helps students motivate and stay on task while experiencing different scenery.
- Enlist volunteers and parents from the community who can be your assistants-for example, college students who are studying to be teachers, exchange students, native-speaker parents. You may also request a teacher assistant. Although they may not be able to instruct, they can monitor students' activities.
Scheduling Strategies
The key to success in this kind of combined-level classroom instruction might be scheduling. Most teachers find the following way to be manageable and practical, especially in a long block class.
Of course, teachers may make variations and slight modifications to the schedule above, but it seems to work well. If you have a short class period (45 minutes or so), you may concentrate on only one level of instruction one day and switch the next.
Often teachers assign a quiet activity (e.g. reading, writing, completing a worksheet, or research) to one group while conducting a speaking activity with the other. Some teachers have the whole class do a speaking activity at the same time, whether they are doing the same one or a different speaking activity. To have productive students-only time, you can take the following measures.
Strategies for Students' Time
- Prepare written daily and weekly schedules (including assignments) for each group and make them available to the students. Often teachers are too busy going from one group to another and don't have time to remind students. In this way, the students are responsible for their learning. Also, prepare the answer key for homework and/or worksheets. Students can check the answers by themselves.
- Provide an opportunity for students to lead the group and encourage the students to work as a group. You may assign a leader or ask for a volunteer, but that leader is responsible for leading the group to complete the assigned class work. A leader can go over the answer and keep peers on task. Most students like to be a "teacher of the day" and behave well. AP Japanese students can form a strong learning team because they are motivated and mature. Encourage them to unite in working on the same goal.
- Hold students accountable for completing the daily work and staying on task. The teacher should collect the work to evaluate and check the speaking performances. When students have speaking activities without the teacher's direct supervision, some students may not take it seriously. Having the student roster on a clipboard makes it easier to document any points earned quickly during the class.
- To encourage students to be responsible, the teacher may consider giving students some privileges or participation points for completion of the work or for good study habits. The privileges can be using a computer, reading Japanese books, receiving some passes, and so on. The teacher can also reward the student leader for good leadership.
- Conduct listening activities with some modification. Just as with the regular teacher's speaking, listening activities with tapes, CD, and other media are important. Especially for AP instruction, many listening activities are important. In the combined-level class, the teacher can have the students listen to materials targeted to either group. When the lower-level students listen to the upper-level material, encourage them to catch words or phrases and to guess the contents. Giving an extra point may help to challenge the listeners. Also, when upper-level students hear the lower-level material, they have a good review and may feel confident about their ability.
- Have students involved in creating a yearly study plan at the beginning of the year. This is another way to motivate students and give them autonomy. This works better for a small-size, upper-level student group. Students can create a portfolio similar to the IB program style. By being involved in setting their own goals and the evaluation process, students are more likely to work well.
- For mature students, learning contracts may work as well. This is a written agreement between a learner and an instructor about the student's learning content, ways, process, and evaluation. College students are good candidates for this strategy, but high school seniors in a very small group may want to try this as independent learners. With a student's strong involvement, a teacher and a student can create individual learning contracts that reflect individual needs, interests, and learning styles. Keiko K. Schneider (1999) says it "encourages learner autonomy," and students "look at their learning consciously and critically." For AP Japanese students, a teacher may make a contract indicating a student's responsibilities and expectations. Also, a big sign on the wall and/or a special binder or a notebook to keep students motivated and remind them of their responsibilities may work well.
These strategies may be successful for mostly separate-level classes, but we cannot miss the good points and bad points of this system. The good points are that the curriculum cannot be disturbed, and any textbook can be used for this sequential curriculum. Kanji, vocabulary, and grammar points can be introduced in a natural and sequential order, and review can be done easily.
On the other hand, the shortcoming is a preparation nightmare. The teacher has to plan much of the course ahead and plan very carefully. The teacher has to make many worksheets, assignments students can do by themselves, answer keys, and so forth. Also, good classroom management is key, so this works well with a support person. Another important factor is student work habits, motivation, and maturity. This method is suitable when a teacher does not want to disrupt the current curriculum or create a new one and has good class-management skills. When a teacher conducts the AP course in this situation, we encourage requesting a support person.
Case 2: Students Work Together Most of the Time
Some teachers use this method because the two levels can work together, and it is easy to manage. The most common way to do this is to have the two groups study the same unit with slightly different contents and expectations. For example, both level A and level B are studying a cooking lesson. Level A is lower level and learning some vocabulary, grammar points, and kanji. Level B quickly reviews those they already learned in a previous year and then learn new vocabulary, grammar, and kanji. Thus expectations and some assessment are different, but the content—cooking—is the same. Students can do many activities together, such as general speaking, reading realia, cultural activity, skit making, video viewing, and listening. The good point of this case is that the upper-level students have a chance to review the materials. Also, it is rather easy to manage the two groups. Because a teacher supervises the entire class most of the time, there is less concern for student behavior.
The negative aspects are the repeating of curriculum and the difficulty of finding an appropriate textbook. The freshness of learning new materials and topics will be absent, and there will be fewer topics to explore. Because finding an appropriate textbook is difficult for this method, teachers may have to create their own.
One teacher using this method mentions that he uses only about a half of each chapter in the first year. In the second year, the students use the same textbook but review quickly and learn more in-depth and thoroughly.
This strategy may also be practical for the AP course in a combined-level situation. In a third or fourth year class, the teacher introduces the grammar, topics, and some functions. In the AP course, students review previously learned materials with added vocabulary, kanji, and more functional expressions. Because the AP Exam is function and performance based, teachers can organize curriculum with topics and functions. Although repeating the topics may not be appealing to students, adding functions is easy for both teachers and students. At the same time, students will have enough time to develop the necessary proficiency.
Case 3: Students Work Together All of the Time
Some French language teachers have been doing this two-year curriculum for a while, with both praise and skepticism. First, you must carefully plan this two-year curriculum for the two sequential groups (e.g. level 3 and level 4). Each curriculum plan (year A and year B) includes different topics, grammar, vocabulary, and cultural products, practices and perspectives. The teacher instructs the year-A plan the first year for the level 3 and level 4 students. The following year, year-B instruction is presented to new level 3 students and level 4 (former level 3) students. Thus students finish both the A and B curriculum in two years (in an order of A-B or B-A).
On the positive side, the students learn various topics and regular amounts of grammar and vocabulary in two years, provided they remain in the program for those two years. It is easier for the teacher to instruct and manage the classroom because the students are one group. Speaking and interactive activities are easier to conduct as well as various other activities.
On the negative side, the teacher has to create a special two-year curriculum, and it may be hard to find an appropriate textbook. Although students in the second year of this combined class may have a good opportunity to review previous material as it is being introduced to students in the first year of the class, they may be less interested in the material because it is not new. In a sequential teaching plan, all previously learned materials are included in the new material, but this system makes it hard to review in a natural way. The teacher has to make an extra effort for the second-year students to review the material. In a Japanese class, students have to study kanji in addition to topics, grammar, and vocabulary.
When a teacher uses this method for designing the AP course, different expectations for assessment of AP students are necessary to keep the standards higher than for the lower-level class. In the previous two cases, the main group is the lower-level one because there are more students. In those cases, the upper-level students occasionally receive their level-appropriate materials. In this case, a teacher can target the AP students as the main focus by giving their level-appropriate realia, reading materials, and speaking and listening activities to the whole class for review. Then a teacher may give extra points to lower-level students for guessing or picking up the materials they have not learned. Thus this method may be practical if a teacher wants to focus on the upper-level or AP course.
Conclusion
We have suggested various ways to provide productive instruction in a combined-level class. By trying various strategies, teachers can deliver successful AP Japanese instruction in a combined-level class. However, we encourage teachers to appeal to the school administrators to create an independent AP Japanese course. Also, good advocacy activities are important to keep a Japanese program strong and expanding so that a teacher does not have to teach a combined-level class.
Reference
Schneider, Keiko K. 1999. "Learning Contracts: An Alternative to a Multi-level Class?" presented at ATJ (Association of Teachers of Japanese) seminar (March 1999).
Keiko Abrams grew up in Hakodate, Japan and received a BA from Notre Dame Women's College, Kyoto, Japan and an M.Ed. from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. She has been teaching Japanese in US since 1991, and is currently teaching in Fairfax County Public Schools in VA. She is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Teachers of Japanese.
Michiko Kimura Sprester was raised in Sapporo, Japan and received her undergraduate education at University of Texas at El Paso and her master's degree from University of Michigan. She has been teaching Japanese language since 1996. Michiko currently teaches Japanese language to grades 7-12 in Fairfax County Public Schools. She is also a member of the Japan Association for Language Teaching and the Mid-Atlantic Association of Teachers of Japanese.
Yoko H. Thakur was raised in Japan and educated at the University of Minnesota and the University of Maryland, where she earned a Ph. D. in 1990. Initially, she taught Japanese language at Georgetown University. Since 1996 she has been teaching Japanese at Fairfax County Public Schools.
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