How the GSE can help teachers personalize activities

Leonor Corradi
A teacher stood at a students desk helping them

Reading time: 4.5 minutes

Teaching is an art form that thrives on adaptation and personalization. When dealing with language instruction, ensuring that each student is engaged and effectively learning is of paramount importance. In my experience as a teacher, I have learned that we should always teach our students rather than the coursebook or the syllabus. I think most teachers would agree with this.

However, it may be challenging to adapt activities to cater to our learners’ needs. What does personalizing an activity mean? How can we make it more accessible to our English learners? One would think that making the answers more obvious can be the way to go. Yet, this does not really help students learn and make progress. That's where the Global Scale of English (GSE) comes in as a valuable tool for personalizing teaching activities.

The essence of personalized learning

Personalizing an activity in language teaching does not simply mean making the responses more obvious. Instead, it's about tailoring the exercise to elevate the student's learning experience and potential for progress. This demands an insightful approach during the preparation phase of any given lesson.

Utilizing the GSE in language teaching

Let’s analyze this listening activity at A2 level for a group of adults:

Audio script example:

Emma: Are you working on the Media project?

Vic: Yes. I may start working on a new project in a couple of weeks, but for now I’m writing the objectives for Media. Why?

Emma: Well, Adam wants to see the photos for the project. He needs them for the ads.

Vic: Oh, they’ll be ready next week. OK?

Emma: Awesome! Thanks. Any plans for the weekend?

Vic: Well, I have to work on Saturday. We’re taking the Media pictures in the morning, but we’re just going to have fun at the beach in the afternoon.

Emma: Nice!

Vic: What about you? What are you doing this weekend?

Emma: I’m going to a concert on Sunday at 3 pm.

Vic: That sounds fun!

Listen and write T (true) or F (false)

1. Vic is working on a new project.

2. Vic is working on Saturday morning.

3. Emma is going to a concert on Sunday evening.

GSE Descriptors

Upon dissecting this example by the GSE descriptors, we can identify the learning objectives that align with an A2 level:

  • Can identify simple information in a short video, provided that the visual supports this information and the delivery is slow and clear. (GSE 30)

  • Can identify basic factual information in short, simple dialogues or narratives on familiar everyday topics, if spoken slowly and clearly. (GSE 32)

  • Can understand the main information in short, simple dialogues about familiar activities, if spoken slowly and clearly.(GSE 33)

  • Can identify key information (e.g., places, times) from short audio recordings if spoken slowly and clearly. (GSE 33)

We know that learners should be given a global task first for overall listening, which is also one of the communicative objectives in the Global Scale of English:

List of options sat under comprehension: Finding specific information, listening/reading for detail, listening/reading for gist, overall listening/reading comprehension, recognizing a speakers/writers opinion or purpose, understanding main points

We can easily personalize the activity to include overall listening by adding a question before students are asked to solve the exercise:

Are the speakers a couple? or, Are the speaker's family?

The first question gets a No for an answer, whereas the answer to the second one can lead to a discussion. This is a good thing for it can generate a debate in which students have to account for their answers, which they can do after they complete the exercise.

In a similar matter, the GSE indicates that at this level, students can extract key factual information such as prices, times and dates from a recorded phone message (at level 35). For learners who are ready to expand their abilities further, additional questions can be posed to extract specific factual information, as indicated by the GSE for a level slightly above A2:

  • Vic is going to be at the beach in the ____________.

  • Emma is going to a concert on Sunday at ___________.

Through such adaptations, we cater to different proficiency levels within the same group, offering a degree of challenge that is suitable yet stimulating. We can also consider these learning objectives for listening when analyzing the items in a listening activity. Let me describe some possible scenarios.

Addressing challenges and enhancing motivation

What happens when the tasks set before young learners at the same A2 level don't offer the necessary support? The GSE guidelines stipulate that learners should have access to materials and certain assisting elements, like visuals or supplementary information. It's our responsibility as educators to incorporate this support, thereby aligning the exercise with the learners' capabilities.

Occasionally, certain tasks may exceed the current level of the students. For instance, students may be asked to make basic inferences in simple conversations on familiar everyday topics (level 38). A stratagem I employ involves segregating items into 'A' (level-appropriate) and 'B' (slightly more advanced). This provides students with a clear understanding of their expectations and offers an optional challenge.

If they do not get them right, they do not feel frustrated since they know these items are somewhat beyond their level but if they do at least one correctly, this works wonders on their motivation, which has a positive impact on learning. The more motivated students are, the more motivated we teachers will be. The synergy between student motivation and teacher motivation cannot be overstated, amplifying the learning experience for both parties.

Conclusion

The Global Scale of English is an instrumental guide in shaping teaching activities to fit the varied needs of students. By leveraging its comprehensive descriptors and specialized insights, we can personalize our approaches to teaching English, providing a richer and more rewarding educational landscape. As we refine our activities using the GSE, we contribute to a dynamic classroom environment where each student is given the opportunity to flourish in their language learning journey.

About the author

Leonor Corradi is an English teacher based in Argentina. She is a former member of the Foreign Languages Team at the National Ministry of Education in Argentina, in charge of English and coordinator of state plurilingual schools in the City of Buenos Aires. She has extensive experience as a materials designer and coursebook writer and is an academic consultant for different educational institutions such as the British Council and Ministries of Education in Latin America.

She has run professional development courses for teachers and has presented extensively at national and international conferences. She is the author of the Curriculum for Foreign Languages for the City of Buenos Aires (2001, English) and has been an ELTons Judge since 2014. Leonor has been a member of the Global Scale of English (GSE) Advisory Board since 2014 and is a GSE Ambassador.

Learn more about the GSE

More blogs from app

  • A Parent reading to his two children from a book with all three of them laying on the floor

    How can teachers encourage parents to get kids reading at home?

    By Donatella Fitzgerald MBE

    “Sharing a story with your child is one of the most incredible things you can do for them.” – .

    Research shows that getting kids reading at home can increase their reading ability at school – and improve their overall well-being. Parents and guardians can make a big difference. But how can teachers encourage parents to get their children to read more at home? We explore some strategies you can use.

    Tell parents about the benefits

    Reading can give children a break from technology-centered activities. It can help them to relax and unwind; reading a book can make children laugh and feel happier! Through hearing stories, children are also exposed to a rich and broad vocabulary.

    “It is important for teachers to establish contact with parents as much as possible and give very clear guidelines on the benefits of reading, and how they can create a reading routine and help their children read at home,” says Kasia Janitz-De La Rue, Product Development Director at app.

    So, encourage parents to find time for a reading routine. Just before bedtime is a great time, as .

    Give parents practical ideas for reading strategies

    Encourage parents to read with and not to their child. It doesn’t matter how long they set aside to read – just 10 minutes of quality reading time can make a big difference.

    Here are a few tips concrete reading tips for teachers to share with parents:

    • Ask children lots of questions while reading.
    • Use encouragement and praise to keep children engaged. Saying things like “what fantastic ideas” or “you thought so carefully about that, what might happen now?"will keep their minds working.
    • Use their past experiences to talk about what’s being read. Things like “have you learnt about…at school?” or “do you remember when we watched…and found out about…?” are good conversation starters.
    • Tune in and listen to children, and be curious about their interests. “I didn’t know you knew so much about…” or “I love reading stories about…with you,” are good phrases to keep in mind.

    It’s also a great idea to share online resources with parents. You can also suggest that parents look up read-aloud YouTube videos featuring authors, teachers or librarians reading their favorite stories. This way, children can watch and listen as often as they like.

    Recommend graded readers

    Graded readers are books that use language in line with a child‘s learning level. They can help children build confidence, and help slowly expose them to authentic reading levels.

    Encourage parents to identify what genre their child is interested in and show them the readers available. Each time parents see their children move up a level, they’re sure to see their children’s love for reading grow.

    Suggest before, during, and after reading activities

    Before reading

    Parents can take turns with their children to predict what the story is about – or what will happen next. Here is an activity teachers may suggest they try:

    “Start with the cover of the book and the blurb on the back cover. Reveal the cover slowly to ask the child what they can see. Ask them to guess what is on the cover. Once they have seen the cover, ask them questions about the images on the cover – who, what, why, where and how?”

    While reading

    Remind parents to focus on their children’s reading comprehension by using strategies like prediction, questioning, clarifying, and summarising. Teachers can ask parents to:

    • check ideas and understanding as the child reads: ‘So, you think that….’ ‘Did you expect…to happen?’ ‘Why do you think that happened?’
    • use the pictures in the book to help with comprehension
    • describe what is happening and talk about the characters.

    After reading

    Don’t forget: parents can continue to explore the book’s topic once reading time is done! A few ideas to share with parents include:

    • organising a puppet show for family members and siblings after making puppets of the characters in the book
    • having children draw a picture of their favorite character or their favorite page in the story
    • encouraging children to express their opinion on the book.