English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI)
Video 2.3: Differentiating Instruction
Keywords:
Differentiating: To develop differential or distinguishing characteristics (from Merriam-Webster)
Instruction: The action, practice, or profession of teaching (from Merriam-Webster)
Diverse: Differing from one another (from Merriam-Webster)
Interest: A feeling that causes special attention to something (from Merriam-Webster)
Scaffolding: A system or framework of support provided by an instructor to help a student reach the
next level of learning (from Merriam-Webster)
Authentic: Not false or imitation (from Merriam-Webster)
Flipped learning: A pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning
space to the individual learning space (from [Link])
Welcome to our video on Differentiating Instruction in EMI Courses. I’m Dawn Bikowski at Ohio
University. instructional scaffolding là sự hỗ trợ cho sinh viên bởi một giảng viên
trong suốt quá trình học tập
Differentiating instruction means when we identify the different needs that students have and seek to
address those different needs. We understand that students have diverse needs, interests, and abilities,
and we try to give them the support they need in order to succeed in our classes. The topic of
differentiating instruction is similar to scaffolding, which also refers to supporting students as they learn
in our courses. In your class, you can vary the content, process, or products that you expect from
students (Borja, Soto, & Sanchez, 2015).
Let’s look at two ways to do this. First of all, we can use differentiated instruction to help all students
succeed and score well on the same assessments; this can also be called same assessment expectations.
How can we help students who have lower English proficiency, but still need to learn the content? First
of all, remember that you are focusing on the English that students have for your course in your field.
They don’t need perfect English in all areas—the focus is on a particular assignment in your particular
area. Also, during class, you can help students with lower spoken English proficiency by asking them
questions with grammar and vocabulary that is easier for them to understand. And it’s important to not
let stronger students dominate discussions.
Whenever possible, it is best to build assignments and assessments that are authentic to your field—
that means that you are choosing specific assignments that will ask students to do tasks that are similar
to what they would do when they graduate and get a job. If your students are doing group projects,
students who are stronger in English and tend to dominate discussions can be given jobs such as
“scribe,” asking them to record notes from meetings instead of dominating in their speaking. Whenever
possible, you can ask students to work together as well, such as with stronger students working with
peers who have less English and helping them develop the vocabulary they need.
© 2022 by Ohio University. English as a Medium of Instruction MOOC Video 2.3 Differentiating
Instruction for the Online Professional English Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department
of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360. This work is 1
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, except where noted. To view a copy
of this license, visit [Link]
Another way to differentiate instruction is through flipped learning (Aronson, 2013). This is where
students have access to lectures and content before class time, and during class time they work on
exploring the ideas or projects together. With this model of class time, there are no or few lectures
during class time. All lectures are recorded and students watch them for homework. How does this help
with differentiated learning? It helps because students can watch the videos of the lectures as many
times as they want. Also, during class, students are working on projects that apply that knowledge.
Of course, it will take time for you to record your lectures and use a flipped classroom model, but you
can try this step by step. For the first semester, choose to record and assign as homework, just some of
your lectures. And continue to record lectures and require them as homework every time you teach the
course. This will help you build your collection of lectures and take less time than doing it all at once.
That wraps up this video on how to differentiate instruction. This area is important as you work with
students who are learning content in a language that is not their original, native language.
References1
Aronson, N. (2013). Flipped learning in higher education. Pearson. Retrieved from
[Link]
Borja, L. A., Soto, S. T., & Sanchez, T. X. (2015). Differentiating instruction for EFL learners. International
Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 5(8) 30-36.
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(This content is copyrighted and cannot be adapted in any way or distributed after the end of this course. It is not Public Domain or Creative
Commons-licensed, and therefore not for public use.)