Differentiation

Effective differentiation is essential for inclusive, equitable practice and raising attainment for all. The following section explores differentiation in relation to language learning and how pedagogy can support high-quality learning for all.

This section explores Differentiation in relation to the following three How are we doing? statements:

  • We differentiate our learning through a range of approaches which promote inclusion, enquiry, creativity, partnership working, problem solving and challenge for all learners.
  • We develop personalised approaches by working in partnership with our learners, supporting understanding of progress and identifying next steps.
  • We offer options in our outcomes, empowering learners to make choices and challenge themselves in their learning.

Click on the links below to read more about the key themes of Differentiation and then use the How are we doing statements to reflect on your current practice and explore your next steps.  Further reading and resources are also provided at the bottom of this page.

Differentiation of language learning Differentiation by content Approaches to differentiation Differentiation by outcome

Differentiation of language learning

The Education Scotland overview of Personalised Learning outlines key factors which underpin differentiation:

    • Recognition that all learning matters
    • Building on prior learning
    • Learning that actively involves learners
    • Engaging and enterprising learning
    • Ensuring a variety of contexts for learning
    • Involving learners in planning and being responsive to their needs and interests
    • Experiences where learners benefit from assessment that is integral to and informs learning

(Education Scotland, 2012, p.2)

Education Scotland also provide a helpful summary of differentiation:

Differentiated learning is not a single approach but includes a number of elements. Broadly speaking, differentiated learning involves adapting learning, teaching and assessment to meet individual children’s needs. Differentiated learning involves monitoring children’s progress in learning through the use of assessment information to make decisions about a learner’s next steps, building on their prior learning. Information gathered through assessment supports teachers to make informed decisions about next steps and teaching strategies to meet the learning needs of all children whilst maintaining high expectations and recognising individual need.

(Education Scotland, 2015, p.2)

The potential of differentiated learning to meet the learning needs of all children led Heacox (2002) to describe differentiated learning as “one dimension of equitable teaching.”

By differentiating learning, teachers develop multiple starting points and pathways which are tailored to children’s individual learning needs. This can be achieved through modifying the following aspects of learning:

    • Content e.g. use of learning materials at different levels
    • Process e.g. varying the length of time children have to complete a task
    • Product e.g. giving children choice in how to express ideas or required learning
    • Learning environment e.g. having areas in the classroom for some children to work quietly without distraction. (Tomlinson, 2000)

(Education Scotland, 2015, P2)

Some key strategies which support differentiation in the learning and teaching of languages include:

  • A range of approaches developed across all skills (reading, listening, writing and talking)
  • Differentiation embedded within activities through choice, learner led learning and inquiry
  • Learning and teaching approaches which promote peer support and challenge e.g. cooperative learning
  • Differentiated outcomes e.g. choices of outcome
  • Learners leading learning e.g. developing language learning for their peers or other groups of learners
  • Inclusive questioning e.g a range of questioning techniques, providing wait time, peer support (e.g. think-pair-share) etc.
  • Developing learners’ sense of self-efficacy i.e. confidence in self to complete a task

Differentiation by content

Differentiation by content can relate to all aspects of languages input including curriculum, instructions, and language sources (e.g. reading and listening texts).

Differentiation of content is possible through offering a range of materials e.g. a range of reading texts which are appropriate to the cognitive level, age, and stage of learners and building in learner choice about which texts they engage with.  Selecting texts which challenge learners helps to create a motivating learning context which supports progression.

Structuring learning to support engagement and understanding (for example, through peer support) can enable more learners to engage with more challenging materials.  This offers a range of benefits and opportunities including:

  • Extending the amount and complexity of language learners are encountering
  • Developing wider skills e.g. communication, creativity, teamwork, problem solving etc.
  • Deepening language learning
  • Developing strategies for learning
  • Building confidence and familiarity with more complex and challenging source materials
  • Increasing sense of self-efficacy

Approaches such as cooperative learning can provide a support framework for extending challenge in language learning in such a way that it is scaffolded and supportive.

Approaches to differentiation

The approach to learning, the structure of activities and how they are scaffolded with support are all instrumental in differentiation of learning. Learning processes which require thinking deeply, critically, and creatively, help learners to develop the skills and confidence to tackle challenges in their learning more effectively.

Activities which develop problem solving, creativity, critical and thinking skills allow learners to explore ideas and solutions. Some examples in practice include:

Activity Description How might this work in a language learning context?
Think-Pair-Share
  • Give a question to learners
  • Provide individual reflection time
  • Share their ideas/thinking with a partner
  • Combine their responses
  • Mind-mapping aspects of language and learning
  • Sharing opinions
  • Problem solving
Critical skills activity
  • Give learners key information which they then have to organise, meeting the key criteria of the task
  • Timetable creation
  • Plan a school trip
  • Design a school garden
Task-based learning
  • Provide a scenario in which learners would work together
  • Escape room activities
  • Team building activities
  • Set a context e.g. trapped on a desert island, ask learners to work in groups to identify what they need to survive
Building skills
  • Give pairs or groups of learners the same materials (e.g. blocks, boxes etc.) and ask them to build something e.g. a tower
  •  Learners have to work together and develop ideas and solutions
  • Ask learners to construct a landmark e.g. Eiffel Tower, German castle, leaning tower of Pisa. Ask learners to use target language throughout e.g. pass me the blocks, please, thank you, where, here etc. A pre-task activity could be to collaboratively discuss key phrases
  • Learners can describe the process afterwards e.g. We built a tower, it was 1.5 metres tall etc.
  • They can also vote on their favourite e.g. I choose number 2
  • This could be adapted for outdoor learning with instructions in the target language e.g. Use sticks and stones to build a tower.  It must be 50 cm tall etc.
Scavenger Hunt
  • Provide a list of activities/tasks which learners have to complete in pairs/teams
  • This can take place outdoors or in the classroom
  • Challenges written in the target language e.g. find something blue in the classroom, draw a numbers ladder from 0 to 20, collect 4 different leaves
  • Language challenges e.g. count to 100 as a whole team, write a short story in the target language, list as many verbs as you can

Problem solving can also be developed through activities where learners:

  • Write comprehension questions for a text or a piece of listening
  • Read and/or listen to a scenario and work out the circumstances around it, for example: re-ordering jumbled text into order or working out the pronunciation of new language by applying previous learning and knowledge about pronunciation and phonics

Co-operative learning approaches offer a range of linguistic and social benefits in language learning, identified by McGroarty (2013, p.1) as:

    1. increased frequency and variety of second language practice through different types of interaction;
    2. possibility for development or use of the first language in ways that support cognitive development and increased second language skills;
    3. opportunities to integrate language with content instruction;
    4. inclusion of a greater variety of curricular materials to stimulate language use as well as concept learning;
    5. freedom for language teachers to master new professional skills, particularly those emphasizing communication; and
    6. opportunities for students to act as resources for each other and, thus, assuming a more active role in learning.

Point 6 refers to the interdependent nature of cooperative learning whereby learners rely on each others’ contribution to complete a task.  Again, this provides a context which facilitates differentiation and where everyone’s role is of value in the learning process.  Approaches to cooperative learning in a language learning context include:

  • Cooperative listening tasks: Eight ears are better than two! Ask learners to create a placemat (i.e. shared piece of paper with a corner for each person to take notes in). Listen to a text and then write down any information they hear. Discuss and share answers (ask learners to talk about the target language they heard) and then listen again. Ask them to formulate answers to questions as a group and based on what they heard.
  • Cooperative reading tasks e.g. groups work cooperatively to reorder texts, create questions for a text, match pictures to stories, create pictures for stories etc. Learners can work together to identify key elements in a text e.g. 1 person is responsible for colours, another for numbers, another for hobbies etc.
  • Gallery walk-round: organise learners into cooperative groups. All members of the group play a role in producing a piece of work e.g. person number 1 is responsible for one aspect of the work, person 2 is responsible for another part etc. Once complete, groups display their work and then move into number groups (i.e. all number 1s together etc.). They then move in their number groups around the displays, where they each present their group’s work. This can be used for presentation of information e.g. each group is responsible for sharing information about a different country/culture.
  • Stand and deliver: standing in cooperative groups to explore answers or learn together. Once all learners are confident in the answer they can all then sit down.  This can be also used competitively between groups. E.g. work in a group to make up gestures and a rhyme to match sounds of language (e.g. vowel sounds), a rhyme, the alphabet, numbers 1 to 30 etc.

Differentiation by product

Differentiation by outcome can be organised through setting everyone the same task and asking learners to choose aspects of the outcome. For example:

  • How they will demonstrate their learning
  • The level they will work to

Some examples are provided below:

  Outcome 1 Outcome 2 Outcome 3
 

School presentation

 Create a presentation about your school and include information about its name, where it is + any three other bits of information.

 

 Create a presentation about your school and include information about its name, where it is + any five other bits of information.

 

 Create a presentation about your school and include information about its name, where it is + any seven other bits of information.

 
Reading for information Read the text and find all the numbers. Read the text and find all the nouns. Read the text and write a short summary of the key points.
School map Create a map of the school grounds and add the names of 5 places in the target language.

 

 Create a map of the school grounds and add the names of 10 places in the target language.

 

 Create a map of the school grounds and write sentences describing the different areas in the target language.

Each of these would have more meaning when developed in partnership with learners and alongside wider success criteria.

The differentiation by outcome approach can be effective in offering learners a range of ways in which they can extend their learning and challenge themselves. Choices in outcomes could be, for example, writing a blog or recording a podcast. Offering choice in outcomes can empower learners, developing their autonomy and ownership of their learning. Outcome differentiation approaches which blend choice in how learners demonstrate their learning and offer a range of levels, can be effective in raising attainment and motivating learners.

How are we doing?

  • We differentiate our learning through a range of approaches which promote inclusion, enquiry, creativity, partnership working, problem solving and challenge for all learners.
  • We develop personalised approaches by working in partnership with our learners, supporting understanding of progress and identifying next steps.
  • We offer options in our outcomes, empowering learners to make choices and challenge themselves in their learning.

Record your practice

Now you have researched the methodology and best practice in Differentiation it's time to record how you are doing. Download the interactive/printable PDF file which you can fill in digitally (or manually if you prefer) for your records and CPD.

Download the Differentiation self-evaluation PDF (101 KB)

Education Scotland (2012) CfE Briefing 5: Personalised Learning

Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/cfe-briefing-5.pdf

Education Scotland (2016) Knowledge into Action, briefing 2: Early reading

Available at: https://www.thelearningzoo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/KIABriefing2_tcm4-873016.pdf

McGroarty, M (1989) The benefits of cooperative learning arrangements in second language instruction, NABE Journal

Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/08855072.1989.10668555

Riddell, S & Weedon, E (2016), Additional support needs policy in Scotland: Challenging or reinforcing social inequality?, Discourse

Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2015.1073012

Seith, E. (2016) Setting puts Scotland's poor at a disadvantage, Times Education Supplement

Available at: https://www.tes.com/magazine/article/setting-puts-scotlands-poor-disadvantage

Wiliams, D. (2006) Assessment for Learning: why, what and how?

Available at: https://www.dylanwiliam.org/Dylan_Wiliams_website/Papers.html

Differentiation and personalised learning

Briefing providing guidance and advice for practitioners, parents, and partners.

Education Scotland: CfE Briefing5: Personalised Learning

Video resource with exemplification and advice from practitioners

Education Scotland: Differentiation and planning for multiples levels within a class

Comprehensive training package supporting planning and development differentiation in languages learning and teaching. This package was produced in 2021 by the University of Nottingham in partnership with a range of UK language agencies including SCILT. Package includes short videos, handbooks and activities to support professional learning.

Language Teaching: Learning from the Past. Differentiation and Diversity

Blog with practical guidance and advice on differentiating language learning

FluentU: How MFL Teachers Can Practice Differentiation in Their Classrooms

Cooperative Learning

Website with a comprehensive range of resources and advice on developing language learning cooperatively.

Languages without limits: Collaborative approaches

Website with a comprehensive range of resources and advice on developing language learning cooperatively.

Languages without limits: Collaborative approaches

Paper exploring the benefits of cooperative approaches in language learning and teaching.

Cooperative Language Learning and Foreign Language Learning and Teaching (Yang, Z. 2010)

Supporting Documents

This document contains information about the background to the 1+2 approach and the approach itself.

Language Learning in Scotland A 1+2 Approach

This document explores the progress the 1+2 approach has made and sets out the strategic plan for implementation of the approach from 2017 – 2021.

Language Learning in Schools – Strategic Plan for Implementation 2017-2021

This paper offers a series of reflective questions to assist schools in their implementation of their 1+2 strategy.

Languages: A 1+2 Approach Building your strategy

This site contains a set of FAQ about the 1+2 approach.

SCILT A 1+2 Approach FAQ

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