Practicing tiered and heterogeneous grouping tasks in differentiated EFL classrooms at a military institution in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This study implemented differentiated instruction (DI) featuring tiered tasks and heterogeneous grouping tasks in three mixed-level English classes at a military institution in Taiwan, a setting that is small, admits students with varying English proficiency levels, and is culturally cohesive. The end-of-semester student survey and interview show that the students appreciated the opportunity to choose among various kinds of activities in accordance with their levels and benefitted from cooperative learning. The qualitative data also show evidence that their classroom behaviours were aligned with the militarized culture’s values of group solidarity, hierarchical teamwork, and competitive striving. The results support further study into how cultural orientation can be used in planning DI activities for a military or other similar settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Differentiated instruction
• tiered task
• heterogeneous grouping
• mixed-level
• military culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan [109-2410-H-013-001].

Notes on contributors

Yu-Ju Hung

Yu-Ju Hung serves as an associate professor at R.O.C. Air Force Academy, Taiwan. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Language Education, Indiana University-Bloomington. Her research interests include classroom-based assessment, online teaching, and curriculum design.

Shu-Mei Chao

Shu-Mei Chao serves as an associate professor at R.O.C. Air Force Academy, Taiwan. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Adult Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University. Her research interests include stress management, psychology, aviation psychology, and gender studies.