TEACHING PRACTICES IN MULTI-GRADE CLASSES – BENEFITS OF USING CLIL AND PEER TUTORING METHODS WITH DIFFERENT STUDENT GROUP FORMATIONS

Узданица XX 1 (2023), (стр. 95-112)

АУТОР(И): Tamara M. Bradonjić

Е-АДРЕСА: rockygirl81@gmail.com

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DOI: 10.46793/Uzdanica20.1.095B

САЖЕТАК:

Young learners in multi-grade classes are of different ages, grade levels and language learning aptitudes. The very term multi-grade implies teaching two or more grades simultaneously. The problem that this study tackles is how students are taught in multi-grade classrooms and what are the consequences of mixing different year groups. It deals with the curriculum characteristics in multi-grade classes with the particular emphasis on the use of CLIL method and peer tutoring in teaching young learners. According to the results of the study, two main strategies were identified: practices that (1) aim to reduce students’ heterogeneity or (2) benefit from students’ heterogeneity. The participants of the study were both English language teachers and teachers of other subjects working with young learners in multi-grade classes. This article describes the teaching strategies used in multi-grade classes in four small rural primary schools in central Serbia on the basis of the content analysis of the interpreted teachers’ inter- views. The results illustrate how differently multi-grade teaching can be achieved and how it can effectively support individual student’s learning. The findings are discussed with regard to teacher education intending to increase the awareness of the professional skills required in high- quality teaching practices in multi-grade teaching and indicate possible benefits of using CLIL by English language teachers with older students (third and fourth graders) and the positive effects of peer tutoring on younger learners. This study concludes by suggesting the effective teaching strategies based on the use of CLIL and peer tutoring for improving foreign language teaching in multi-grade classrooms.

КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ:

multi-grade classroom, mixed-age young learner classes, CLIL, peer tutoring, heterogeneity.

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