The changing world has extensively changed the modern classroom, which consists of learners from with different language proficiencies, learning styles, preferences, and different cultural backgrounds. The diversity demonstrated in the modern classroom presents teachers with the challenge of ensuring that they meet all the learners’ unique needs, which indicates that teachers need to deliver more than just a lecture. In this context, teachers need to apply differentiation in the mixed-ability classes to ensure that they remain conscious about the learners’ diversity and carefully select the types of materials and activities that would involve or engage most of the learners. The ideal approach to implement within a classroom consisting of diverse learners is differentiation instruction. The approach refers to a teaching theory that is founded on the principle that instructional methods should vary and they should be adapted according to the diverse and individual learners in the classroom. The differentiation instruction method is important for all subjects; however, this paper focuses on the implementation of the approach in English classes as a foreign language.
The differentiation instruction approach focuses on helping learners to succeed despite their differences since it is learner-centered and it largely focuses on the unique needs of the learners. The implementation of the instruction approach requires teachers to first have the learners’ diversity in mind throughout the entire learning process, which comprises of the planning stage, designing the activities to apply in the classroom, the teaching process, and the assessment ( Bajrami, 2015) . The approach requires teachers to proactively plan different methods regarding what learners need to learn, how they can express the learned content, and how they will learn. In the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes, differentiation is highly applicable since learners not only demonstrate different needs but also variances in their English proficiencies.
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Implementing differentiation in the EFL classes is crucial since there is no single or ultimate solution to the diversity of learners; hence, implementing different methods that suit the unique learner needs is the most effective approach for addressing the diverse needs. Failing to recognize the unique needs of the learners leads their failure; therefore, it is vital for teachers to support and guide the learners to overcome the challenges that they encounter as EFL learners. Moreover, the approach is crucial since it is directly related to the students’ leaning. According to Bajrami (2015), the brain can only think in a way that supports learning if the tasks assigned to the students are moderately challenging. From this perspective, the effective implementation of the differentiation instruction approach requires teachers to adapt the use of teaching materials that match the learners’ level of understanding and thinking.
Further, teachers should consider incorporating the four key elements of the instruction approach, including content, process, product, and affect. Content refers to what the teacher expects the students to learn or the methods through which they will access what they are needed to learn. On the other hand, process refers to the activities that teachers design to help learners to come to own or make sense of the content presented in the classroom, also known as essential content ( Bajrami, 2015) . Product refers to the manner in which learners demonstrate what they can do, understand, and know after an extended learning period. Finally, affect refers to the attention granted towards the learners’ emotional needs and feelings. Achieving efficiency in the differentiation of the four elements within the classroom context requires teachers to ensure that the elements resonate with the learners’ learning profile, interest, and readiness to maximize their level of achievement and success ( Bajrami, 2015) . In this view, teachers should ensure that the difficulty level of the skills taught is slightly higher than the present level of the learners’ mastery. Conclusively, differentiation during the implementation process should be based on such aspects as peer discussion, tactile and visual experiences, flexible grouping, cultural backgrounds, and student interests that naturally fit into lessons.
Reference
Bajrami, I. (2015). Meeting students'diverse needs for reading through differentiated instruction strategies. Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics , 1 (4).
