Quick answer: To teach mixed ability English classes without the headache, start everyone from the same core material pitched towards the lower end, then differentiate the tasks: harder questions for stronger learners, scaffolded prompts for weaker ones, differentiated homework and thoughtful pairings. A fun early speaking task relaxes the whole group and gets every level contributing.
How do you teach classes with mixed-ability learners?
Whether online or face-to-face, if you teach English to groups of students, it’s likely your class contains a range of English learners with different strengths in the language.
If you are teaching groups at any level, such as intermediate, elementary or advanced, your students will all have very different abilities. That means that we can really struggle to pitch classes at just the right level to meet our students' needs and demands. (Not sure what levels you actually have in front of you? Our guide to working out your learner’s level and the CEFR framework will help you map the range.)
This is why we run sessions on helping you with Teaching Mixed Ability Classes (TMAC). These 1-1 sessions help you learn and practice techniques to help make your group English classes a success.
From my own experience I know we can all benefit from a little help with class management in this area.
What's covered on the mixed-ability course?
On the TMAC course we look at how to find and use material to suit the mix of English students, ensure no-body gets left behind and how to stretch the more able learners. Here is a taster – five techniques you can use in your very next class:
1. Find basic starter material, but vary the tasks you set
If you pitch the core reading or listening material to the lower end to start, this can be good consolidation for the better ones and helpful for the lower-levels. This means you all start off at the same place, with a common theme and nobody should be left behind.
After, you differentiate the tasks and use break out rooms or pair/group work. The higher levels could have more difficult questions to answer, with more basic ones for lower levels. Alternatively, set the weaker students to answer questions 1-5 in pairs, and the higher level, 1-10. Multi-level resources make this easy – Breaking News English, for example, publishes the same story graded at several levels, and there is more guidance in our post on selecting EFL material at the right level.
2. Help to ‘scaffold’ the responses of the weaker students
In class discussions or when inviting freer feedback, naturally the better students may dominate. Allowing the higher levels space to have their say is healthy – and lower levels can learn a lot from their responses, but to ensure lower levels contribute, ask them by name and be specific in your question. E.g.:
“Sam, Alice says English people are very polite. Do you agree? Why/why not?”
You may also start with the higher levels when asking for responses and then ask the lower-level students to come ready to air their views next time, so giving them longer to prepare and think a response through. For more ways to keep whole-group speaking balanced, see our tips for TEFL discussion classes.
3. Get everyone speaking early with a simple, fun task
This is so important as many lower levels students can feel inhibited by their lack of English compared to the group. A simple warmer or ice-breaker, like a brainstorming game at the beginning of a lesson can really make a difference. It relaxes everyone and helps make it easier for all students to contribute in later tasks. (We’ve got some fabulous ideas for warmers – start with these 5 TEFL warmers – and can teach you how to structure them for both online and in-class in our live Zoom Spotlight course on Engagement Activities.)
4. Set homework that is differentiated
This is where you can really make a difference. You can set the same homework for all and give extra for higher-level learners. Or, you could set three tasks, starting with the simplest through to the more challenging and ask your students to do as much as they can.
This gives students ownership of their English learning. It also sends a powerful message: that you are not limiting them by perceived level and that all are capable of completing. The only restrictions are their own time and motivation. However, you’ll need to know your students here. Being given work you can’t do because you have never seen a particular language structure before can be demoralising, so use careful judgment.
5. Play with pair work
How you pair people to practice tasks together may well be random or else based on a variety of issues relating to personality or wanting to mix nationalities. When it comes to pair work in mixed ability classes, the British Council suggest pairing weak with strong students in more controlled activities and strong with strong during freer practice activities. I can see the sense in that generally, but we recognise that each class has its own dynamics and so it is OK to vary pairings so students get a range of English-speaking partners.
Which technique should you use when?
| Classroom problem | Technique to reach for |
|---|---|
| Stronger students finish tasks early | Extension questions on the same core material |
| Weaker students go quiet in discussion | Named, specific questions + preparation time |
| The group feels flat or nervous | A quick warmer or brainstorming game early on |
| Homework is too easy for some, too hard for others | Tiered tasks – students do as much as they can |
| The same pairs always work together | Vary pairings: weak-strong for controlled, strong-strong for freer practice |
If you want a bank of lessons already built with differentiation in mind, our 30 ready-to-print instant TEFL lessons are graded across levels and ideal for mixed groups.
Frequently asked questions
How can I adapt these techniques for beginners?
With beginner-heavy groups, keep core material very simple and visual, pre-teach key words, and use controlled pair tasks (question-answer drills) rather than open discussion. Stronger near-beginners can be given extra prompts or asked to help model tasks – peer support is powerful at low levels when it is structured.
Do these techniques work in online lessons?
Yes – arguably better. Breakout rooms make differentiated group tasks easy to run, you can privately message weaker students with extra scaffolding, and tiered homework can be shared as separate files. Early warmers work in the chat box or on a shared whiteboard to relax the whole group.
Should I split a mixed-ability class into separate level groups?
Usually no. Starting everyone on the same core material keeps the class feeling like one community and lets lower levels learn from stronger peers. Differentiate the tasks, questions and homework instead. Save separate groupings for short stretches of the lesson, such as levelled practice activities in pairs.
How do I stretch the strongest students without leaving others behind?
Give the strong ones depth, not just speed: harder follow-up questions, justification tasks (‘persuade your partner’), or a mini-teaching role explaining an answer to the group. Because everyone shares the same core material, weaker learners still participate fully while stronger ones stay genuinely challenged.
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If you’d like some support with teaching mixed abilities in your classes, sign up for our next TMAC session here. You’ll benefit from watching great video explainers, expert tutor advice and a 1-hour Zoom session, where you’ll get to present a differentiated task to the group. Have fun, be inspired.