Heterogēnas svešvalodu klases – universāla problēma Latvijas vidusskolās: izaicinājumi un risinājumi. (Latvian)

According to data from the National Educational Content Centre, in the school year 2019/2020, only about 30 % of the students completing the centralised exam in English reached level B2, which is set as a goal in the educational standard. When analysing the results of the examinations in different schools and applying statistical deviance calculations, the authors concluded that there is a significant difference in the level of knowledge within the same class in all Latvian secondary schools, apart from state gymnasiums. The difference between the levels of knowledge is so vast, that effective learning is rendered virtually useless. In the second part of the article, the authors study how to ensure meaningful learning in heterogeneous classes, and when analysing the benefits of internal and external differentiation, as well as the different aspects of motivation, it is concluded that external differentiation, as well as setting an attainable goal that is personalized to each individual students existing level of knowledge, are optimal methods for effective learning in highly heterogeneous classes. In conclusion, the authors offer recommendations to foreign-language teachers and highlight topics for further discussion. 1. Evaluation of students’ knowledge level has to become the first step in the planning of foreign-language teaching. 2. Once the students’ level of knowledge has been evaluated, the teacher can effectively produce realistic goals for the students. 3. The teacher chooses the appropriate mode of differentiation (inner or outer) based on the students outlined goal. 4. The teacher assesses the students; both in regard to summative and formative assessments, purely based on the students’ outlined goals, regardless of their compliance with the educational standard. Two important topics can be brought to contention and further discussion, the first one being a more practical one, linked to the wider use of external differentiation in classrooms with students representing significant variances in their knowledge level, and the other a more philosophical point, linked to our students’ potential vision of themselves as language users and the compatibility of this vision with the language learning objectives expressed in the educational standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saskaņā ar Valsts izglītības satura centra datiem 2019./2020. mācību gadā tikai aptuveni 30 % no centralizētā angļu valodas eksāmena kārtotājiem sasniedza izglītības standartā noteikto B2 līmeni. Analizējot eksāmenu rezultātus dažādās skolās un izmantojot statistiskās novirzes aprēķinus, jāsecina, ka visās Latvijas vidusskolās, izņemot valsts ģimnāzijas, starp vienas klases skolēniem pastāv būtiska zināšanu līmeņa atšķirība – tik būtiska, ka efektīvu mācību procesu padara praktiski neiespējamu. Otrajā raksta daļā pētīts, kā nodrošināt jēgpilnu mācīšanos heterogēnās klasēs un, analizējot iekšējās un ārējās diferenciācijas priekšrocības, kā arī dažādus motivācijas aspektus, secināts – ārējā diferenciācija, kā arī skolēnu esošajam zināšanu līmenim pieskaņots sasniedzamais rezultāts un vērtēšana ir optimāla metode izteikti heterogēnās klasēs. Nobeigumā piedāvātas rekomendācijas svešvalodu skolotājiem un iezīmētas tēmas tālākai diskusijai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: Problems & Perspective: Conference Proceedings is the property of Liepaja University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)