FIRST MEETING WITH A CLASS
LEARNER DIFFERENCES

You open the door to your new classroom and, standing in front of you, you find your students.

What can you learn from this very first encounter? What can you discover about them – and what might they be thinking about you? What kind of relationship would you like to build with them?

At first glance, it is easy to notice simple things: their age, the number of students, the boy/girl ratio, the materials they have with them, the way the desks are arranged, whether they seem quiet or lively...

Then you may start interpreting their looks, body language and the occasional comment you overhear.

The class may initially look like a fairly homogeneous group, with roughly the same level and similar behaviour. After all, they are all there to learn English, right?

Not necessarily.

Sometimes, students simply happen to be in the same room, at the same age and at the same time of day because they are required to be at school.

It is when we stop looking at the class as a whole and start looking at the individual students that we realise just how different they can be.

Every learner is different, just as every class is different.

Differences are not limited to age, interests and needs. Students may also differ in their language skills, abilities, attitudes, motivation, previous experiences, ways of perceiving the world, learning habits, confidence, amount of time available for studying and willingness to learn.

Getting to know these differences can help us make more informed choices about what and how we teach.

1 AGE OR MATURITY

The age of our students is one of the factors that can influence our choices about what and how to teach: learners of different ages may have different needs, experiences and cognitive abilities.

Children, teenagers and adults can approach learning in different ways. Younger learners often benefit from rich exposure, repetition, meaningful interaction, imitation and engaging activities. Older learners may increasingly develop conscious learning strategies such as making lists, formulating hypotheses, using mnemonic techniques or consulting a dictionary.

Age can also influence concentration, independence, self-regulation and the ability to reflect on one's own learning.

Of course, these are general tendencies rather than fixed rules. There is no single way of learning that applies to every child, teenager or adult.This is why knowing our students as individuals is so important.
2 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
PERSONALITY
Students can differ enormously in terms of personality.

Some may be very shy and quiet in the classroom, while others are more outgoing and confident. Some may be reluctant to participate, while others naturally take the lead.

These differences can have a significant impact not only on learning but also on classroom dynamics and on the relationships students establish with one another and with the teacher.

ATTITUDE
Students may also have very different attitudes towards English and learning in general.

Some approach lessons with enthusiasm and curiosity. Others may be less interested or may have developed a negative attitude as a result of previous experiences.

Understanding where these attitudes come from can help us decide how to engage students and create more positive learning experiences.

MOTIVATION
Whether a student's motivation to learn English is extrinsic – passing an exam, getting into university, obtaining a promotion, pleasing their parents or being able to travel abroad – or intrinsic – enjoying learning, achieving a personal goal or simply being curious – motivation plays an important role in the learning process.

It can influence the attitude students have towards the language, the amount of time and effort they are willing to invest and the way they approach challenges.

It can also affect the quality of homework, revision habits and participation in class.

And, of course, motivation is rarely the same for everyone in a classroom.

3 BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE
Students may come from different countries, cultures and educational backgrounds. They may have different first languages (L1) and very different experiences of learning English.

Some may have travelled abroad, attended language courses, watched films and series in English, played video games in English or interacted with English-speaking people.

Others may have had very little exposure to the language outside school.

All these experiences contribute to the learner who walks into our classroom.

4 LANGUAGE LEVEL
Students can also differ considerably in their knowledge of English.

These differences may be the result of previous successful or unsuccessful learning experiences, different amounts of exposure to English or opportunities to use the language outside the classroom.

Even students who appear to be at the same level may have very different strengths and weaknesses.

One student may have a strong vocabulary but struggle with speaking. Another may communicate confidently but have difficulties with grammar. Someone else may understand spoken English very well but feel uncomfortable writing.

This is why simply assigning a single label such as “B1” or “B2” does not always tell us the whole story.

5 INDIVIDUAL VARIATIONS
NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING
Students may also have different preferences when it comes to learning.

Some enjoy working with images and diagrams; others may respond particularly well to music, discussion, movement, hands-on activities or written tasks.

Models such as VAK/VAKOG have traditionally been used to encourage teachers to think about the different ways learners engage with information. However, research does not support the idea that students necessarily learn better when teaching is matched to a fixed “learning style”.

The useful takeaway is not to label students as visual learners, auditory learners or kinaesthetic learners, but rather to vary the ways in which we present, practise and explore language.

After all, variety benefits everyone.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences has also encouraged educators to think beyond a single, narrow definition of intelligence.

The theory originally identified different forms of intelligence, including:

• verbal/linguistic

• visual/spatial

• musical/rhythmic

• logical/mathematical

• bodily/kinaesthetic

• interpersonal

• intrapersonal

Although the theory should not be interpreted as evidence that students have fixed “types” of intelligence or that teaching should be matched to them, it can still encourage us to reflect on the variety of strengths students bring to the classroom.

Not every task needs to look the same.

And not every student needs to demonstrate their learning in exactly the same way.