• Group A: lower-level Ss

• Group B: medium-level Ss

• Group C: higher-level Ss 

These groups don’t imply that the 27 students will be divided into these 3 categories since there are only a few of them who have a higher level of proficiency (5-6 Ss). This means that there will be more Ss in groups A and B. They won’t be told about this division as they may feel labelled as weak, medium or strong and therefore embarrassed and/or demotivated. Eventually, I will also guide students to try slightly more challenging tasks over time to build confidence so they may choose the level they feel most comfortable with.

In order to develop reading comprehension skills and practice vocabulary as well, I will ask all students to read the same  text divided into numbered paragraphs, but the different groups will do different tasks:

• Group A: read and answer comprehension questions with multiple-choice options for each paragraph;

• Group B: read, write T or F and underline info from each of the paragraphs text to support their answers;

• Group C: read and answer comprehension questions (WH-questions and/or Yes/No questions related to info from each paragraph)

Another possibility can be that the different groups work with different paragraphs after T reads the text aloud (they would carry out the same activities but they would only focus on one paragraph).

In order to develop reading comprehension skills and practice vocabulary as well, I will ask all students to read the same  text divided into numbered paragraphs, but the different groups will do different tasks:

• Group A: read and answer comprehension questions with multiple-choice options for each paragraph;

• Group B: read, write T or F and underline info from each of the paragraphs text to support their answers;

• Group C: read and answer comprehension questions (WH-questions and/or Yes/No questions related to info from each paragraph)

Another possibility can be that the different groups work with different paragraphs after I read the text aloud (they would carry out the same activities but they would only focus on one paragraph).

In order to develop listening comprehension skills and practice vocabulary as well, I will send my students the audio file and have them listen to it on their own (with their phones and headphones). Each group will work with the same audio but with different tasks:

• Group A: these students will receive a handout with pictures and words for them to match while listening to the audio.

• Group B: these students will receive a handout with sentences taken from the audioscript for them to put them in order while listening to the audio.

• Group C: these students will receive a handout with a gapped version of the audioscript for them to fill in the blanks (if necessary, a voc box can be included)

After listening to the audio and completing the tasks, I can give them the audioscript for them to check.

-I will create tiered activities with different levels of difficulty;

-I will offer students choice boards for them to pick one task according to their interests;

-I will provide lower-level students with different ways of scaffolding (examples, text models, word banks, sentence starters, etc.)

-I will include extension tasks for higher-level students to stay challenged

-I will keep collaborative work, and at the same time, I would try to give students some minutes to solve the task alone before a group discussion for example;

-I will change their seating arrangement from time to time;

-I will help students to develop strategies for independent learning;

-I will encourage students to set personal goals for independence (for ex: a goal can be related to trying to solving a task by themselves before asking for help).

-the students’ level of proficiency in the target language;

-the students’ background knowledge;

-the students’ levels of motivation

-the students’ learning styles, learning speeds, and aptitudes.

It’s possible to say that the subjects of my study have a mixture of these characteristics. So from what I have observed, I want to address my students’ differences when they approach tasks, both in groups and individually. 

As I’ve mentioned before, I intend to continue using collaborative work at first, as it is an established practice in my classroom, and then, following Tomlinson (1999), I will gradually place more emphasis on activities that build students’ confidence and ability to work independently. This author offers a framework for differentiation and flexible approaches to tackle varied tasks. 

Link to my NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/1ed3cdb5-6e5b-4c0b-9c7a-501f6d0bea34

Then, the peer observation guide will be analysed qualitatively, focusing on different categories. This will provide an objective and external perspective of the significance of the problem identified, which will complement my own observations, offering insights I might miss while teaching.

Last but not least, responses from the student questionnaire will be analised by calculating frequencies for the closed questions, while the open-ended responses will be grouped into categories such as “activities that build confidence” and “obstacles/difficulties when working alone”. I will carry out the analysis on my own, but by combining data from the three sources, I might be able to cross-check findings.

-considering differentiated instruction when designing meaningful activities that cater for all the students in a mixed-abililty class;

-providing these students with tools that help them to progress in their own terms;

-creating accessible and effective activities that develop and boost these students’ self-esteem;

-taking into account that even when collaborative learning will remain an important aspect of classroom interaction, opportunities for individual work can still be beneficial.

This observed problem may arise from the fact that this particular group of students are so accustomed to working in pairs or groups (even in other subjects as well) that when they have to work alone they don’t feel confident enough to engage in the activities. It’s true that, given their different levels of English, it seems easier and practical to pair them up with someone who can help them, but it was possible to notice that this way of working in class eventually affected their performance as well as their self-esteem.