During discussions held Juliette discussed the issue of working with learners at various levels of language competence in the same classroom. Issues of motivation and readiness for learning emerged as salient and characterised the teaching and learning scenario she described throughout the study. Juliette taught small groups of learners from different classrooms in a Secondary boys’ school of around 800 learners. Similarly to Ben, she taught learners from the former Junior Lyceum system as well as learners entering the College system from primary schools within the new system. The higher Forms in both years of the study comprised classes who entered school through the former Junior Lyceum system while the Form 1 groups did not have to sit for entry examinations. Juliette is in her late twenties and has been teaching in the same school for around six years and was the only teacher of German as a foreign language in the school. As in previous years, during the study she taught one class of learners per year group. Learners in the Form 2 class in the first and second year of the study were all equally motivated to learn. She has always taught mixed-ability classes due to the fact that there is only one class of learners taking German per Form in the school, and competences of learners who passed Junior Lyceum exams varied. Juliette commented on the wider range in ability and motivation within the same class since the introduction of the non-selective College system.
Formerly one used to say that German was chosen by the better learners but things are not like that anymore. This year I can say that I have all kinds of learners in front of me, those who are good, average
92
and the much weaker ones, and those who are so very weak, a whole mixture. Try as hard as one may to make things interesting, a number of learners simply do not take an interest in things (Juliette, Interview, March 2013).
Juliette furthermore commented on the number of learners with limited writing competences in Maltese and English, from the learners who had entered school through the non-selective College system, delineating the number of learners with learning and writing difficulties. Commenting on lack of motivation and slow progress in learning, the teacher stated that these learners required constant support and stood in sharp contrast to others in the same class who were able to work independently. At one end of the spectrum learners worked so well that at times they obtained full marks, motivating themselves to work on and competing with each other to get the better grades in class. At the other end stood the disengaged learners, from their first year at school, who remained indifferent to low marks and teacher’s comments. She maintained that they had no interest in learning the foreign language and displayed disinterest in learning academic subjects in general.
Juliette required all to work and to seek her support even beyond classroom time whenever required. She maintained that a number of learners constantly availed themselves of this support. She stated that while some groups were highly motivated, other groups she worked with required continuous support which she eagerly provided, working with different learners at different levels. The foreign language classroom accommodated up to 10 learners working in pairs or in groups with the same seating arrangement kept throughout the year. The small classroom was pleasantly decorated with wall charts, highlighting language for reference while providing learners with easy access to language learning material. The following tables depict classes taught in both years of the study.
93
First year of the study5
Class Form 1 Form 2 Form 3 Form 5
Number of learners 8* 5JL 4JL 4JL
Second year of the study
Class Form 1 Form 2 Form 3 Form 4
Number of learners 6* 8* 5JL 4JL
All learners depicted in this table are boys except for the Form 1 class in the first year of the study and the Form 1 & 2 classes in the second year of the study.
Figure 4.2 - Classes taught by Juliette
First year of the study
The Form 1 class consisted of learners at various language competence levels. One learner in Form 1 was severely dyslexic. Juliette stated that three very keen learners from this class often remained after class to discuss matters with the teacher while others ran off as soon as the bell rang. Another learner from the same class often absented himself from school, unmotivated to work and sit still, constantly disturbing others. A different seating arrangement was required to address this situation allowing the learner to work on tasks set in previous lessons while seeking to minimise disruptions.
The Form 2 class consisted of a homogeneous group of learners who were all very motivated to learn. One of these learners was visually impaired. The Form 3 learners collaborated well in class, apart from one weaker learner who missed out on a large number of lessons and was offered extra support by the teacher to help him with tasks others worked on independently.
5The teacher furthermore taught on the Foreign Language Awareness Programme in primary schools during
94
Another learner, who displayed lack of motivation for school in general, outshone the rest of the class in listening and speaking competences, obtaining a good grade in examinations, owing to frequent exposure to the foreign language through television programmes. The Form 5 class were described as a small group of learners who lacked motivation for learning and for school in general.
Second year of the study
The small group of Form 1 learners were described as a hard-working and motivated group, constantly competing and criticising each other. The Form 2, 3 and Form 4 classes were the Form1, 2 and 3 groups taught in the first year of the study.