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Chapter 2

TEACHING HETEROGENEOUS EFL SECONDARY SCHOOL

CLASSES IN VIETNAM: KEY CONCEPTS, ADVANTAGES,
CHALLENGES AND PRACTICAL PEDAGOGIES

By the end of this chapter, learners should be able to:

• understand the basic concepts of large classes, heterogeneous

classes, and mixed-ability classes.

• identify the potential advantages of these classes.

• analyse teacher complaints in large EFL classes in Vietnam to

understand their challenges.

• identify and categorise common challenges and discuss practical

pedagogies.

• use the recommended pedagogies for classroom practice.

This chapter introduces key concepts such as large classes,

heterogeneous classes, and mixed-level classes. It then discusses
possible advantages and challenges in teaching EFL classes at the
secondary school level in Vietnam and explores potential pedagogies
in a number of aspects such as motivating students, enhancing their
willingness to communicate, dealing with discipline issues, giving
instructions, providing feedback and praise, responding to higher- and
lower-achieving students and managing assessment in large,
mixed-level classes. At the same time, students have many
opportunities to put these pedagogical solutions into classroom use.
They can also review and reflect on the knowledge and skills covered
in the chapter in the Review and Reflection section.
2.1. Key Terms: Large Classes, Heterogeneous Classes, Mixed-ability
Classes

What is a large class? English teachers frequently describe their

classes as "ve large," but the term "large" varies from context to
context. The size of a class is ofe defined by the number of students,
yet perceptions of a large class can vary acros educational contexts.
For instance, in many Vietnamese secondary schools, English, a
Foreign Language (EFL) classes commonly include 45-50 students. In
contrast, i Western educational settings, a class of 30 students may be
perceived as excessivel large. As such, the concept of a class as "large"
is relative (Harmer, 2015; Ur, 2012) though generally, a class size of
40 students or more is often considered larg (Anderson, 2015). For
Scrivener (2012, p. 96), a class of more than 45 students ; viewed as
very large. He classified class sizes as follows:

o One-to-one teaching.

o A very small class (2 to 6 students). o A small class (7-13). o A

standard class (26-45).

O A large class (26-45)?

• A very large class (45+).

Even how large is large is subject to the teachers' evaluation, as Baker

and Westrup (2000) point out, "a large class can be any number of
students, if the teache feels there are too many students for them all to
make progress" (p. 2). Brady (2012, p. 291) further notes that a small
class could become large when

i) ambitious course goals surpass the time available. ii) student

diversity increases.
iii) societal expectations about good teaching, learning, and class size
are not met.

A heterogeneous class is one where students are different in many

aspects. They might differ in age, gender knowledge, prior learning
experiences, language proficienc levels, abilities, socioeconomic and
cultural backgrounds. They are also mixed in their personal
characteristics, such as learning styles, personality traits, attitudes,
motivation, and interests (Ur, 2012). They might "have different
expectations, which sometimes clash with each other, and, more
importantly, perhaps, with the way the teacher organises the learning"
(Harmer, 2015, p. 86). Indeed, no class is entirely homogeneous; even
a class of two students is heterogeneous in its own ways (Ur, 2016).
Note that heterogeneous classes are not the same as mixed-ability or
mixed-level classes. The: latter specifically refers to variations in
abilities or language proficiency levels. In this course, the terms
'mixed-ability', 'mixed-level' and 'multilevel' are used interchangeably
to denote differences in language proficiency levels.

2.2. Teaching EFL Secondary School Classes in Vietnam: Potential

Advantages and Challenges

Ur (2012) describes advantages of heterogeneous classes in four major

areas:

Human resources, educational value, cooperation, and teacher

development.

Human resources. When students are mixed in myriad ways in a

heterogeneous class, they present themselves as a rich source of
human resources where students' differing levels of life experiences,
opinions, cultural backgrounds, and interests will be pooled in
classroom activities. Students can learn from each other and have a
wealth of human resources to draw on.

Educational value. By this, Ur (2012) means that the actual

communication between different individuals in a heterogeneous class
provides opportunities for them to get to know, understand, and
become aware of "others as individuals" (p. 275). They have a chance
to get to know each other, and come to respect each other's differences
(eg, local cultures, accents, socio-economic backgrounds). Through
contact with each other, they learn and grow personally and
academically as individuals.

Cooperation. It is challenging for the teacher in a large, mixed-level

class to attend to every single student. However, there are obviously
more opportunities for students to cooperate in heterogeneous classes
than in homogeneous ones. That is, with student diversity, the teacher
can group students flexibly, with different language proficiency levels
and adjust group sizes, which otherwise could not be possible in
small-sized classes.

Teacher development. Despite the inevitable challenges, it is

interesting to teach heterogeneous classes, as teachers have the space
to be creative and innovative in their instructional approaches, learn
from them and develop professionally.

It is essential that teachers should be aware of the above affordances

offered by large, heterogeneous classes and make use of them in their
instruction to benefit students.

2.2.2. Challenges
Since a large majority of EFL classes in the world and in Vietnam are
mixed in levels (Le Van Canh & Renandya, 2016), teaching these
mixed-level classes can be very challenging. It is not easy to balance
activities to meet different needs/levels where higher-level students
may finish early or become bored, and to provide lower. level students
the guidance and support they need. Tailoring materials and engaging
students in such contexts can also be demanding.

A number of studies conducted in Vietnam have identified a broad

range of challenges Vietnamese EFL upper secondary school teachers
in Vietnam encounter.

For example, Nguyễn Anh Thi et al. (2023) reported such issues as
students' limited language proficiency, low motivation and autonomy,
inadequate facilities, teachers' limited teaching approaches and skills.
Research by Lê Hoàng Minh and Nguyễn Thi Thùy Dương (2023)
revealed similar problems that hindered effective learning in English
speaking classes. Particularly, the teachers in these studies often cite
that a class size of more than 40 prevented them from engaging
students in speaking tasks effectively. Additional challenges included
students' shyness, lack of speaking confidence, and the dominance of
more capable students. Furthermore, the teachers reported
insufficient time for lesson preparation, designing activities for
mixed-level students, and managing time constraints as major
difficulties

Activity 2.2. Read the comments (a-g) below by Vietnamese EFL

teachers in some secondary school contexts in Vietnam and discuss
what type of challenge each teacher is faced with. Then categorise
them into different groups of problems (1-S). One comment may
belong to more than one problem category.

Problems

1. Active/Effective learning for all -a

2. Time constraint for lesson preparation and delivery - e, g

3. Low motivation - d

4. Unwillingness to communicate d, b, c, g

5. Independent learning -d

6. Language constraints -g

a. "I find it difficult to conduct my teaching with active learning (AL)

in a crowded class. I taught many crowded classes last semester, more
than 40 students in one class; and you know it was almost impossible
for me to manage the AL activities effectively." (Lê Hoàng Minh and
Nguyễn Thị Thùy Dương, p. 41)

b. "In my class, I often experienced that students with a higher level of

language proficiency tended to dominate or did not cooperate well
with the weaker ones.

Furthermore, some weak students seemed to be too shy and passive to

participate in classroom activities. To be honest, it is difficult for me to
implement AL in such a mixed-level class." (Lê Hoàng Minh and
Nguyễn Thị Thủy Dương, 2023, p. 42) c."I have assigned work for each
member but not all of them were willing to work.

Some had to work very hard and submitted their work on time but
some did not contribute anything:" (Bùi Lê Diễm Trang, Nguyễn Thị
Minh Hạnh, 2023, pp. 20-22)
d.A significant portion of my students struggle with independent
learning. They often lack motivation and show minimal participation
in class activities." (Nguyễn Anh Thi et al., 2023, p. 9)

e. "I don't have enough time to prepare well for my teaching. I have to
deal with a number of duties on a working day. Besides teaching, I
have to work as a teacher consultant, a tutor for weak students and so
on." (Lê Hoàng Minh & Nguyễn Thùy Dương, 2023, p. 42)

f. "In a teaching session, I had to give new knowledge, review old

knowledge, divide groups, organize activities, guide tasks, and
evaluate the activities after each activity.

Thus, I did not have enough time to complete all types of work." (Lê
Hoàng Minh & Nguyễn Thùy Dương, 2023, p. 42)

g. "My students often exhibit apprehension when it comes to verbal

communication in English due to restricted vocabulary and
insufficient grammatical skills." (Nguyễn Anh Thi et al., 2023a, p. 10)

Indeed, research has found numerous factors that pose challenges for
learning to communicate in EFL classrooms, especially large-sized
classes (Dương Thẩm Mỹ & Nguyễn Thi Thanh Huyền, 2021). Given
the English curriculum (MOET, 2018b) aims to foster communication
and develop students' competence in using the target language, big
class size, time constraint, and exam washback effects can prevent
teachers from adopting a communicative approach to teaching
(Barnard & Nguyễn Gia Việt, 2010; Nguyễn Anh Thi et al., 2023a).

Oral communication is reportedly lacking in Vietnamese classrooms

due to a greater focus on reading and grammar and vocabulary
instruction (Tieocharoen & Rimkeeratikul, 2019). Although the
English curriculum aims to develop students' competencies and
attributes (MOET, 2018b), staying away from a sole instructional
focus on language forms, teachers' lack of training, limited language
proficiency and contextual factors such as class size, time constraint
hinder competency-based practices in real life classrooms (Nguyễn
Anh Thi et al., 2023a). This suggests the teachers should be aware of
these challenges and start with something small. Even students may
initially struggle to use English, but over time and with teachers'
positive attitudes, they can become more engaged in using English to
communicate.

2.3. Teaching EFL Secondary Classes in Vietnam: Practical Pedagogies

Teaching large, mixed-level EFL classes presents numerous challenges

including excessive off-task talk, high noise levels, discipline
problems, low student motivation, and unwillingness to communicate
as discussed in the previous section. While there could be various
potential ways forward, within the scope of the present coursebook,
relevant practical pedagogies that address such issues are discussed as
follows.

2.3.1. Making English learning more relevant to students' interests

and needs

The problems in-service and pre-service teachers reported in the

previous section underscore the importance of enhancing student
motivation to learn and making English learning more relevant to
their needs. Since Vietnamese EFL students place excessive emphasis
on grades (Vũ Thị Uyên Minh, 2020), which could lead to stress and
demotivation, learning English should be fun and enjoyable. Fun and
game-like activities add a fun challenge and spice up the class.
Hands-on learning through project-based learning (PBL) can be
another recommendation for teachers. Some in-service teachers in
Nguễn Anh Thi et al. (2023a, b) suggested:

-"Incorporating game-based learning can substantially fortify

autonomous learning." (Nguyễn Anh Thi et al., 2023a, p. 14).

-"I believe project-based learning and practical experiences can bridge

the gap between theory and practice. By incorporating real-world
projects and hands-on activities, students can apply their knowledge
in authentic contexts, develop critical thinking and problem-solving
skills, and collaborate effectively." (Nguyễn Anh Thi et al., 2023a, p.
16).

Furthermore, the teacher can build students' habits of learning via

outside-class activities and informing them of the importance of
learning English for their daily life and future jobs. Several teachers in
a survey by Nguyễn Anh Thi et al. (2023a) suggested:

"Rendering English learning pertinent to students' quotidian lives and

future

careers... can enhance motivation." (Nguyễn Anh Thi et al., 2023a, p.

15)

"Promoting a growth mindset, implementing holistic education

incorporating extracurricular activities, and pivoting focus towards
subject mastery can help to redirect students from an exclusively
grade-focused approach." (Nguyễn Anh Thi et al., 2023a, p. 15)

"I recommend organizing English clubs, competitions, and

language-based events to
boost English language practices." (Nguyễn Anh Thi et al., 2023a, p.
18)

2.3.2. Enhancing students' willingness to communicate in English

Students' unwillingness to speak English or communicate in English

has been reported by both pre-service and in-service teachers as one
major challenge in teaching large, heterogeneous EFL classes in
Vietnamese contexts. Teacher-related factors such as friendliness
could have an impact on students' willingness to communicate (Hoàng
Quốc Việt & Bùi Phú Hưng, 2023). Nguyễn Thị Bảo Trang et al. (2018)
in a study on TBLT in a Vietnamese secondary school found that the
teachers adapted textbook tasks, making them more open-ended to
engage students more socio-affectively, as open-ended tasks give
students space to act out and perform the task in their own ways.

The enjoyment of the activities experienced will enhance the quality of

learning, and willingness to participate depends on what learners
bring to the tasks (Kim, 2020). The more enjoyable students' learning
experiences are, the more they are motivated to lear (Nguyễn Tấn Lộc,
Bùi Phú Hưng, 2021) and the more they are willing to communicate
(Dewaele & Pavelescu, 2021; Li et al., 2022). These suggest the teacher
should:

-​ help students to be aware that making mistakes is part of the

learning process.
-​ reassure students, encourage them to share their ideas, even in
Vietnamese at times.
-​ put students into pairs/groups so that more able students could
help less capable ones.
 -​ assign tasks that give them a choice to do what they like, and
motivate them to talk.
-​ provide kind, specific, and helpful feedback to assist students in
improving their performance.

Draw students' attention to the fact that resourceful speakers

(Pennycook, 2014) can draw on any resource they have to
communicate, not just linguistic means. Use of non-verbal
communication is equally important. It is therefore pivotal that the
teacher give comments on non-linguistic performance as well. For
example, the ways students use eye contact, posture, gestures,
communication strategies (CSs) (asking for clarification, checking
confirmation, comprehension) are all important to sustain
communication. Research has shown that successful communicators
tend to be strategic language users, knowing how to use CSs to
enhance communication (Chou,

2018; Nakatani, 2010).

2.3.3. Peer feedback and self-assessment to save teachers' time and

foster independen learning

Providing feedback on students' work in big-sized EFL classes has

been reporter to be challenging for teachers (see Section 2.2). In a
large class with more than 41 students, peer feedback could be a
pedagogical option for the teacher to consider il order to save time,
and more students can receive feedback and provide more feedbacl on
their work. In this way, students can learn from their friends, not just
from the teacher. Research (e.g., Tian & Li, 2018) has shown that
students enjoy giving an receiving peer feedback. However, as
students might not trust their peers' comments and tend to prefer
teachers' (Srichanyachon, 2012), it is good practice to introduc success
criteria from the outset to guide students to provide feedback on the
intende learning outcomes. Some teachers in Nguyễn Anh Thi et al.'s
(2023a) research als shared the benefits of peer feedback:

"Employing strategies like peer correction for larger classes can

mitigate issue. related to substantial class sizes." (Nguyễn Anh Thi et
al., 2023a, p. 17)

"In larger classes, peer correction fosters collaborative learning and

empower. students to take ownership of their language skills."
(Nguyễn Anh Thi et al., 2023a, p. 17)

Peer feedback has empirically been shown to enhance speaking

performance (A Jahromi, 2020; Au & Bardakç, 2020; Dai & Wu,
2022). Due to teachers' heav workload, peer feedback and
self-feedback could provide a timely response to students work.
According to Brady (2012), self-assessment helps students better
understand thi task they are required to do and foster their awareness
of processes involved, whil peer assessment is advantageous as
students could receive feedback from their friends: and their work can
be viewed from another perspective. To be effective, both self- anc
peer assessment should be guided by clear evaluation criteria. The
benefits of these assessment practices should be well communicated to
students who need to view each other as collaborators rather than
critics.

2.3.4. Dealing with discipline issues

Discipline problems are quite common in Vietnamese EFL large

classes, as experienced by pre-service and in-service teachers (see
Section 2.2.2) may arise from a wide range of factors. Irrelevant
activities to students' needs, boring, overlong activities as well as too
easy or too challenging tasks, all lead to boredom, fatigue, and
dissatisfaction. In a large EFL class, teachers might not give sufficient
individual attention to every student. A sense of being left out could
lead to disappointment or disinterest. It is therefore important to
avoid unclear instructions as they might lead to incomprehension.
When students do not know what they are supposed to do, they might
do other things. These are just several sources of indiscipline, and the
list might go on. They are likely to prompt different types of
misbehaviour, including students' excessive off-task talk, or poor
attention. As discipline issues arise from many sources, there is no
single solution, but the following tips might help.

[Link]. Knowing students' names

According to Ur (2016), it is important to know students for two main

reasons.

Firstly, it shows the teacher cares about them. Secondly, the teacher
can personally respond to students when problems arise. It can be
very challenging to learn names in an oversized class. While some
teachers might use name cards displayed on students' tables, Ur
(2016) warns that this technique might prevent the teachers from
making efforts to learn names. She recommends learning names in the
first lesson by asking "You are..." if the teacher knows, or asking
students to remind them if not. It is also useful to note students'
characteristics, hairstyle, and clothes on the class name list, and spend
time learning names. This could be done during students' work
(individual or soup work). The teacher walks around and tries to
remember who is who privately.

Organise some ice-breaking activities so that students introduce

themselves to the whole class, and in this way, the teacher can also
learn their names. Having a class map with student names and their
seating would be useful to remember their names.

Make it explicit that you are learning students' names. It is fine to

forget some of the names, and after a few lessons, you should be able
to know your students.

[Link]. Rules, roles, and routines

Discipline issues could be reduced through rules that both the teacher
and students agree on. Harmer (2015, p. 170) contends that classroom
rules should be:

v explicitly discussed. jointly negotiated.

V reviewed and revised.

Norms/Rules refer to acceptable classroom behaviours. These need to

be discussed explicitly with students, what the rules are, what they
mean, and why they are so, for students to understand what they are
supposed to do or not to do, so that they are more willing to follow.

The teacher and students together create a list of dos and don'ts in
their EFL class. Students can negotiate what to be included and why.
The negotiation could be in Vietnamese L1 for low-level students to
participate in the discussion. For mutual benefits, both the teacher
and the learners can write their expectations:

As a teacher, I ...
As a student, I … responsibility to comply with the agreed rules.

Once students reach an agreement on how they should behave, it is

their

When students behave inappropriately, and in discordance with what

they have agreed upon, we can ask them why and sometimes the set
rules need renegotiating and revising to be more appropriate.

In order to teach for success, Harmer (2015, p. 171) recommends the

following

principles:

- The principle of consistency is crucial here. We should follow the

rules consistently.

- Classroom routines should be established. Once students are familiar

with how things get done in their class, the likelihood of discipline
issues or chaos might be reduced. How students can help re-arrange
furniture for group work, take the roll or distribute handouts should
become daily practices that can save teachers' organization time.

- It is important to have a clear plan of what we are going to do so that

we can be confident in guiding students through the lesson.

- Everyone in the class should be treated equally, regardless of their

background, language proficiency, or intellectual abilities. By being
included in the learning process, students can feel encouraged to learn
and succeed. Equally important, being left out could lead to
disengagement and demotivation.

Activity 2.7. Work in groups of 4-5. Suppose you teach English to

students at an upper/lower secondary school in Vietnam.
1. Write classroom rules for your EFL classes. You may want to design
them in the form of a poster or a PowerPoint slide. After that, show
your product to the whole class.

2. Revise your classroom rules, and add more or modify them as you
wish. Explain why.

Establishing routines about who will distribute handouts, or using

gestures to signal students to talk or sit down will help the class move
smoothly. Once routines are established, it is easy for the teacher to
manage the class.

In a large class, it could be very challenging to handle teaching and

learning materials. Scrivener (2012) advises us to create effective
systems to manage materials.

Some techniques below might help.

• arrange designated areas for collecting test papers, class

assignments.

•appoint student secretaries or class monitors to help with the

distribution of handouts or collection of class papers.

•train students to do things in regular patterns.

It is important to avoid the expectations that the class should always

"look uniform" (Scrivener, 2012, p. 97). Take initiatives to create new
learning environments in the class, by moving desks and chairs, and
by grouping students flexibly. Creating

"small classes" within the crowded class could somehow reduce the
class size. Make sure all students could hear the teacher well,
regardless of where they sit in the class. It is recommended that the
teacher move around the classroom as they teach to avoid getting
"stuck at the front" (Scrivener, 2012, p. 97), so that they can get to
know the class better and respond to students in a timely manner.

[Link]. Dealing with discipline problems

When problems arise, the teacher should act immediately (Harmer,

2015). In whatever situations, do not lose control. Instead, stay calm
and respond appropriately For serious cases or sensitive issues, talk
privately to the misbehaving students and do not humiliate them in
front of the class. Ur (2016, p. 15) further recommends the following:

Keep moving on. One way to deal with discipline problems is to

prevent then from arising. If students are engaged in relevant
activities they are more likely i cooperate and learn well. Three
relevant tips are recommended:

Prepare the lesson well so that as a teacher you know what to do next,
becaus

gaps of uncertainty between activities might cause students to

misbehave.

Stop long activities before they get too long and students have lost
interest.

Have reserved activities available if there is some remaining time.

Don't ignore problems when they first arise even though they are
minor. I you find some students talking to each other at the back or at
the sideways, some ar doing something else, you need to remind them,
draw them back to the current task b using a bell, clapping hands,
using gestures, among other techniques. This will prever other
students from following misbehaviour. This should be done in a subtle
manne Do not show anger by throwing a piece of chalk or a pen at
students. This is nc appropriate and students could get angry and
frown upon this kind of teacher reaction.

Make the lesson interesting by using a variety of activities that involv

visual/auditory/kinesthetic (VAK) techniques or personalization. As a
general rule, i students are interested in what they are required to do,
or they find relevance in wha they are doing, they are less likely to
misbehave (e.g., inattention, off-task talk fighting). It is therefore
crucial to plan the lesson for student engagement. If classroom
activities are too easy for students, they might get bored and lose
interest; equally, i they are too difficult, students might be discouraged
and demotivated. So, target a appropriate level of challenge so that
students can participate in and learn.

Do not confront students. Ur (2016) recommends teachers to avoid

confrontation because it will waste class time and might lead to a loss
of control on both side:

Teenagers, like secondary school students, might go very aggressive

when they fer upset or when there are things they don't like. If the
discipline issue involves on particular student, it is perhaps better to
address it privately with that student. If involves the whole class, Ur
(2016, p.18) suggests:

/ Insist. Decide what you think will work and move on quickly.

/ Give in. If you think students are right, give in, with reasons. Do it
quickly and

move on.
Postpone. Tell the class that you will address the issue next time, as
you have to continue with the lesson. By next week, both you and the
students will have calmed down, and then discuss and negotiate
possible solutions.

It is important not to downplay students when they do not perform

well by giving hurtful comments. This might lead to ignorance on the
part of students.

2.3.5 Giving and checking instructions

Pre-questions. Work in pairs. Recall one section that you taught, in

previous Methodology courses or in your private classes. Discuss the
following questions:

• Are your students sometimes not sure about what they are supposed
to do when you give instructions? Why so?

• What can you do to make your instructions clearer?

As discussed in Section 2.2.2, many teachers have difficulty making

sure students understand their instructions in Vietnamese EFL classes
and students' indifferent attitudes could possibly indicate a lack of
understanding. To ensure students' understanding and reduce
teachers' checking time, teachers' instructions should be:

v clear. r simple. brief. v well-paced.

In these ways, the teacher can maximise comprehension, a

pre-condition for task participation and engagement. According to
Thaine (2018, p.11), it is good practice to avoid instructions that:

X are too hypothetical or polite.

X contain too much information.

X contain complex/difficult idioms/ colloquial language/ jargons/
grammar structures.

X are "overtly simplified and unnatural language."

cases where students find it challenging to understand instructions,

the teacher might need to use Vietnamese to provide timely support so
that students can move on with the activity (See more on L1 use in
Chapter 3).

2.3.6. Nominating and grouping students

In a mixed-level class, Harmer (2015, pp. 146-148) suggests four

important things that the teacher should do: i) respond to students, ii)
be inclusive, iii) use flexible groupings, and iv) manage groupwork.

Nominate students appropriately

• Do not ask a general question, for example, "What is the answer to

Question 5?" Rather, pose "What is your answer to Question 5, Mai?"
(further see IRE/RE in Section 2.4).

• Ask questions to everyone before nominating a particular student to

respond, and allow sufficient wait time for students to respond

• Avoid nominating the same students) repeatedly.

• Think about whom we will be posing the questions to and make sure
we do not focus on certain groups and ignore others.

Be inclusive

It is very likely that some students might lag behind or be left out of a
given class discussion because of their slow working pace or their
limited ability. If the teacher pays attention to more able students,
weaker students might feel discouraged. Harmer
(2015) suggests starting at a level that students of all levels can engage
in. It is advisable to "include and engage everyone - because students
who feel they are excluded will soon start to behave as if they are
excluded!" (Harmer, 2015, p. 147)

Students could assign random numbers to their group members

without the teacher knowing. The teacher randomly calls any number,
and the person with the named number will have to report the
information from their group. Students do not usually know who will
be picked to do the report to the whole class, they will need to get
themselves prepared and more capable learners will be responsible for
assisting their less strong counterparts.

Use flexible student groupings

Managing group work

As narrated by many pre-service students in an earlier section, there is

quite often a lot of off-task talk in large EFL secondary school classes
during group work. This urges the need to motivate students so that
they get engaged in what they are supposed to do in the class. One way
of achieving this goal is how to manage group work to create a
conducive learning environment.

2.3.7. Managing high-achieving and low-achieving students

In a large class with diverse students, there is always a wide mixture of

hig achieving and low-achieving students. How to keep more capable
ones interested ar how not to bore them are important questions to
ask. Equally important is how, encourage less able students not to lose
motivation and achieve success. Ur (2012, p. 28: recommends several
tips as follows to respond to low achievers in a heterogeneous class.
• Find time to relate to students individually.

The teacher should check and provide feedback and comments on

students' wor on a regular basis. Students should know that their
teacher is paying attention to ther as individuals, which would
motivate them to try and achieve greater success.

• Make sure the tasks are success-oriented.

When assigning tasks to students in a mixed-ability class, try to make

sure ever student can be successful in completing a certain required
basic part and more abi students will do the extra optional activities
(see more in Chapter 4). This will gir lower-achieving students a sense
of achievement when they can complete the minimum requirement.

• Make demands.

The teacher should send a message to less able students that they can
succeed, ; they might tend to assume that they are failures in a given
multi-level class with advanced students who quite often volunteer to
contribute. Ur (2012) recommends avoiding commenting "Oh, it
doesn't matter, don't worry about it." when they cannot do an activity.
Rather, set a success bar appropriate to their level, and they should
succeed (see more strategies in Chapter 4).

• Give praise where it is deserved.

Praise could act as a catalyst for students to strive to become better.

When they deserve compliments, the teacher should not hesitate to
give them (See more in Section 2.4).

• Use a coursebook.
Do not send out signals of discrimination for weaker students. Use the
same coursebook but add supplementary materials as needed or
choose not to use certain activities. In other words, the teacher can
choose to use the coursebook selectively in their teaching situation. Do
not try to cover everything in the coursebook.

It is particularly challenging to respond to students as individuals in a

large class, especially when many teachers in Vietnam have to teach so
many such classes per week. How far teachers can provide
differentiated instruction may well depend on their agency. Be
realistic and sensitive in responding to students in a mixed class;
developing a lesson agenda, for example, for five different classes is
time-consuming and labour-intensive. Think about providing access
to computers, digital devices, the school's library with a wide range of
materials for different students, as well as Internet-based
assignments. These activities can empower students to discover and
take charge of their learning, thus fostering their autonomy.

2.3.8. Giving feedback

As we might recall, silence, reticence and low motivation are pervasive

challenges for many in-service and pre-service teachers when they
conduct English activities in secondary school contexts in Vietnam.
While the issues of reticence and low motivation could be due to many
factors, the ways the teacher gives feedback on students' responses in
the classroom could be inhibiting or conducive to learning. It is
therefore important that the teacher be aware of different ways of
giving feedback to motivate students to respond or guide them in
making progress.

Feedback patterns
There are two common patterns of classroom feedback that the
teacher might use in a language classroom:
Initiate-Response-Evaluation (IRE) and Initiate-Response-Feedback
(IRF) as illustrated in Excerpts 1 and 2.

Except 1. (IRE)

Teacher: Sentence number 5. Is it raining outside? Juan?

(INITIATION)

Student: Yes, it is. (RESPONSE)

Teacher: Right! Next, number 6. Are you tired? Ali? (EVALUATION/

EINITIATION)

Excerpt 2. (IRF)

Teacher: How many brothers and sisters do you have? Juan?

(INITIATION)

Student: Seven. (RESPONSE)

Teacher: Vow, that's a big family! (FEEDBACK)

Who else has a big family? (RE-INITIATION)

As the names indicate, IRE and IRF differ in the last letter of the
three-mon sequence - evaluation and feedback. The former, "a
teacher-led discourse sequence (Celce-Murcia et al., 2014, p. 345)
focuses on evaluating the accuracy of the respons, (e.g., Right!,
Correct!) while IRF allows more space for the teacher to ask follow-u
questions, to engage students more, giving them more opportunities
to share and us-the target language, thus eliciting more talk. In a
mixed-level class, it is important to ulitise both forms of
evaluation/feedback that suit the purpose of the activity.
Praise and supportive feedback

Low student motivation has been consistently found in large

mixed-level classe: (see Section 2.2.2). Praising students and
providing supportive feedback appropriately can help engage them in
classroom activities. It is important to praise students, anc vary
expressions of compliments. It is not uncommon to see many
pre-service student. in their teaching practicum to use the same words
of praise repeatedly throughout their teaching session. It is also
sensible to find good aspects of students' performance ta provide
feedback on, to motivate them to do the task. Harsh comments could
be devastating for some students, which might prevent them from
participation. As secondary school students are teens with a lot of
other interests, positive comments could be a great source of
motivation for them, given that many might not be interested in
learning English, as discussed earlier.

Also praise with emotions, and with an appropriate tone of voice and
volume.

Many students in their micro-teaching in ELT Methodology courses at

HUFLIS praise their peers, but do not show interest or excitement or
even with an unhappy voice, or else they appear emotionless. This lack
of emotion might demotivate students.

While praise is emotionally encouraging, using only praise might not

be conducive to learning. It is crucial that the teacher be aware of the
differences between praise and supportive feedback to use them
appropriately to encourage learning (Scrivener, 2012).
Praise is easier than supportive feedback because it is much shorter.
However, it is not always conducive to learning and the teacher might
slide into a habit of providing general comments that show their
appreciation of students' work. However, after the praise, though
students feel happy, they do not know what they need to work on.

Supportive feedback is needed, with specific examples that identify

what is particularly good and not good about students' performance.
This might motivate them to learn, since their effort and engagement
are recognized (Scrivener, 2012).

Praise

• You're fantastic!

• Brilliant!

• Your answer is great!

• Well-done!

Supportive feedback

• I really enjoyed reading your paragraph. Your personal experiences

are interesting.

• You have 5 out of 5 correct answers! How do you feel about that?

2.3.9. Managing assessment in large EFL classes

In Vietnam, large EFL classes are common due to a plethora of factors

associate with different educational settings. These could be because
of insufficient teachir staff or resources. As discussed earlier, many
in-service and pre-service teachers far the challenge of providing
feedback on students' work. They also find it difficult o attend to all
students and to assess whether they have learnt the teaching content c
whether they have any problems, since many teacher complaints are
centered aroun the excessive amount of grading, and how to know
whether students understand th learning content or make progress
(e.g., Barnard & Nguyễn Gia Việt, 2010; Nguyễ Anh Thi et al.,
2023a,b). While we need to accept the difficult-to-change situation of
crowded classes, what we can do as teachers is to develop skills in
managing assessment in these big-sized classes. Brady (2012)
contends that the teacher be willing to take "risks". Firstly, they should
use assessment tools to evaluate students' learning and identify areas
for re-teaching. Second, they should engage students in the
assessment process. Thirdly, they develop faith in classroom practices
that stay away from formal assessment to compare students. With
these in mind, Brady (2012) suggests the "groups are good" principle
(p. 292) with a number of approaches below.

Pay as You Go: This means using formative assessment to get to

understand students' learning and assess them for progress. As Brady
describes, formative assessment refers to informal, ongoing
evaluations of student progress which can accompany summative
assessment typically conducted at the end of a unit or a course.
Formative assessment aims to quickly identify the extent of knowledge
or skills students are able to grasp.

Informal dialogues with students could also help to obtain

information about their learning problems. Equally, students can also
ask the teacher about their progress.

Formative assessment should also be used alongside summative

assessment as described in the English curriculum 2018 (MOET,
2018b). According to Brady (2012),
"the Pay as You Go" could be carried out via two techniques:

Breaks to consolidate: The teacher occasionally pauses to give

students time to write and reorganize their notes, or stops the class at
intervals to ask students to provide oral summaries of what they have
learnt.

Dipsticking: This refers to activities that help teachers to quickly

assess overall student progress without conducting formal
assessments. For example, the teacher can have students signal their
answers using thumbs, 'thumbs up for true,' 'thumbs down for 'false'
and 'thumbs sideways for not sure.' Other variations that can work
quite well include "Wow" or "clap your hands" for true and "Huhu" or
"stomp your feet" for false. Alternatively, students can also use cards
labeled as A, B, C, and D to respond to multiple-choice questions.

For more complex questions, personal whiteboards allow students to

show their individual responses to the teacher's questions. Kinesthetic
activities that involve students running to the respective corners of the
room to show their levels of understanding, or opinions also work. A
combination of visual, auditory and kinesthetic (VAK) techniques
could enhance students' engagement, especially in large, mixed classes
in Vietnam where student motivation is quite low as discussed earlier.

Divide and Conquer: As the name of this approach suggests, for a

large EFL class, it is a good idea to 'divide' the assessment. For
example, it is effective to sample a few students instead of assessing
every student at once by using different methods to check progress. In
this regard, it is important to provide students with assessment
criteria in advance or modelling. This not only helps students to
succeed but also allows teachers to be aware of the product to be
assessed Writing assessment techniques: In a large EFL class, given
the teachers' workload and other responsibilities, it is sensible to
consider whether to provide feedback selectively on some features of
student writing to save time and avoid overwhelming students, or to
provide comprehensive feedback on the first two paragraphs of
students essays, for example, and students review and revise the
remaining parts of the

same essays.

Group projects: According to Brady (2012), group projects allow the

teacher to conduct formative assessment for the initial evaluation of
the project to inform students to revise. The issues of fairness in
contributions by group members and whether to award a single score
for differing levels of engagement are real challenges. Perhaps the
teacher should let the group decide whether they want a single grade
for everyone in the group or different grades for different individual
contributions. If the latter is the case, they should provide information
about who is in charge of what.

Sampling techniques: In Brady's (2012) definition, this means the

teacher considers sampling a certain number of items or students to
assess. For example, in a quiz with 20 items, the teacher can divide the
class into four groups, each group with s items, instead of asking all to
do 20 items. Another technique is to grade a randon proportion of
students' writings, and allow those who do not get scored to pass for
thei assignment completion. Rounds continue next time; other
students are picked for grading and the remaining get a pass for their
mere completion. This continues until all the students have their
performance graded. This could save teachers' scoring time while still
providing teachers with information about students' performance.

Know Thyself: According to Brady (2012), the 'Know Thyself approac

essentialises the role of self-awareness, allowing learners to reflect on
their learning s that they can become more aware of what they are
good, or not good at, and what they want to learn more. In this way,
more responsibilities are handed over to the learners which can
slightly ease the teacher's workload. Brady (2012) suggests the
following techniques.

KWL activities: The teacher can survey:

• What students already KNOW.

• What they WANT to know.

before a given learning content. After that, they explore:

• What they already LEARNED.

This helps students set their goals and assess whether they have
achieved their set goals or not. By engaging students in their own
process of learning, they will become more empowered to take
responsibility, thus being more likely to engage in learning For
example, before starting a writing lesson on how to write a paragraph.
The teacher might want to ask students to share the answers to AWL
questions:

• What do you already know about English paragraph writing?

• What do you want to know more?

After the lesson, the teacher can ask the following questions to assess
what
students have learnt.

• What have you learnt today?

Surveys and inventories that aim to understand the strategies students

employ in doing given tasks could also be useful 'Know Thyself
activities. Brady (2012, p. 298) suggests the following questions to ask,
for example:

READING

I think about what I already know about the reading.

/ I make a prediction, then read ahead to see if I'm right.

• I stop to summarise.

WRITING

V I plan before I write.

My writing has a beginning, a middle and an end.

I ask other people to look at my writing.

VOCABULARY

If I don't know a word,

/ I read before and after it to try to understand.

/ I try to find its parts of speech.

V I look to roots and affixes for clues to meaning.

green lifestyle
The reading text is taken directly from the Travel And Tour World website and is
related to the topic of Ecotourism in Unit 10 of the Tiếng Anh 10 Global Success
textbook. The text length is appropriate for Grade 10 students (246 words), providing
enough information for students to practice reading skills.

This tiered task is designed for a mixed ability [Link] three versions (A, B and C)
based on the same text, questions and outcomes, but with different levels of support to
meet students’ varying abilities.