Problems in teaching mixed-competence speaking class

24 be applied to the problem of ineffective learning materials. All academic lessons and tasks must be matched to students’ readiness levels; otherwise, the impacts will be negative. Those negative impacts could be the decrease of students’ achievements and feelings of self-worth Tomlinson, et al., 2003. After all, the challenges given to student s “must be at the proper level of difficulty in order to be and remain motivating: tasks that are too easy become boring; tasks that are too difficult cause frustration” National Research Council, 1999, p.49, as cited in Tomlinson et al., 2003. The next problem found in a mixed-competence language class is related to learners’ minimum participation due to a number of causes, such as minimum confidence, knowledge, and language proficiency. To cope with this problem, teachers can provide students with open-ended tasks, which are based on communicative-based learning Xanthou Pavlou, 2008. They further explain that open-ended tasks can facilitate students to achieve the maximum involvement of learners at all levels since they “can work on the same task but at their own pace” Xanthou Pavlou, 2008, p.6. In line with this, Gurgenidze 2012 also recommends the use of open-ended tasks or questions to teach mixed-competence students to let students have a variety of possible correct answers. As a result, each student gets the opportunity to perform at hisher own level. Another way to stimulate students’ participation throughout the lesson is by keeping students’ interest rate. A number of studies have reported the use of games, qui zzes, competitions as an effective means of ensuring students’ interests in the lessons Xanthou Pavlou, 2008; Gurgenidze, 2012; Salwa, 2014. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 25 Regardless of differences in prior knowledge, all learners seem to share a great similarity, that is, they all value pleasure Xanthou Pavlou, 2008. Offering pleasure in EFL learning can create relaxing, non-stressful atmosphere, which could potentially help promote students’ speaking fluency. When dealing with students with minimum level of linguistic skills, Salwa 2014 suggested that teachers conceal the lessons of linguistic skills using topics that comprise real life language functions to keep the learning motivation of lower level students. Using students’ non-linguistic skills, such as their knowledge of other subjects or their ability to draw or mimic is advised to develop students’ confidence, and therefore learning motivation Gurgenidze, 2012. Problems related to classroom management that commonly occur due to students indiscipline can be avoided by preventing students from feeling bored, discomforted, as well as disempowered. Thus, some alternatives can be performed, for example, by assigning students to work in groups of both heterogeneous competence students Xanthou Pavlou, 2008; Salwa, 2014 and homogenous students Xanthou Pavlou, 2008. Flexible grouping is highly recommended in relation to this. As Tomlinson 2000, p.2 suggests: Sometimes students work with like-readiness peers, sometimes with mixed- readiness groups, sometimes with students who have similar interests, sometimes with students who have different interests, sometimes with peers who learn as they do, sometimes randomly, and often with the class as a whole. In addition, teachers can assign students to work groups, and sometimes students will select their own work groups. Flexible grouping allows students to see themselves in a variety of contexts and aids the teacher in “auditioning” students in different settings and with different kinds of work. Overall, teaching a non-homogeneous group of pupils can be viewed positively because it serves as a trigger for teachers’ professional growth and 26 development as it involves the usage of variety of approaches, teaching techniques, interaction patterns, and tasks.

3. Differentiated Instruction

The concept of differentiated instruction serves as the basis of formulating action to solve the problems in mixed-competence English speaking class. The definition and important points of differentiated instruction concept, therefore, are elaborated in this section.

a. Basic concept

Since 1999, the theory and practices of differentiation of teaching has been promoted by Carol Ann Tomlinson, the leading expert in the field, in order to meet the needs, interests, and abilities of individual students Tomlinson, 1999, 2001, 2014. Since then, some educational experts including Hall et al., Bremner, Gangi, and Koutselini started to foster the movement of differentiating instructions, particularly in teaching English. The idea of differentiating instructions is aimed to transform the traditional teaching routines that do not stand on the large span of students differences in mixed ability classrooms, such as student’s readiness, interests, and learning styles Valiande Koutselini, 2009. Citing Tomlinson 2001, Hall, Strangman, and Meyer 2011, p.2 defines differentiated instruction as “a teaching theory based on the premise that instructional approaches should vary and be adapted in relation to individual and diverse students in classrooms”. Further, they suggest that differentiating 27 instruction means rea cting responsively toward students’ varying background knowledge, readiness, language, preferences in learning and interests. Thus, when a teacher modifies the way he presents a lesson or changes an assignment for specific students, he is differentiating the instruction Gangi, 2011. The process of differentiating instruction is usually implemented in a class of students with differing abilities Hall, et al., 2011. All the efforts that teachers do in differentiating the instruction is aimed to achieve the goal of having all students with differences attain “a similar level of mastery over specific content” VanSciver, 2005, p.535, in Gangi, 2011. In line with this, Levy 2008, p.162 defines differentiated instruction as “a set of strategies that will help teachers meet each child where they are when entering the class and move them forward as far as possible on their educational path.” In order to differentiate the instruction, a teacher must consider three student characteristics as Tomlinson 2001 suggests. Those characteristics are readiness, which is related to students’ background knowledge on a topic; interest, which is what students are interested to learn; and learning profiles, which is how students learn. According to Tomlinson 2000, 2001, 2014, there are four elements of the instruction that teachers should differentiate, namely content, process, products, and learning environment. After all, in order to differentiate instructions, a teacher should begin the strategies by considering the teaching elements with students’ characteristic so that the implementation really meets learners’ needs.