How Influence helps you create an inclusive learning environment

We know each learner has different strengths and weaknesses, and learns best in different ways. In order to build on individual capabilities, helping students to learn and teachers to create an inclusive learning environment, each of our courses provides a range of components and methodology that helps you to meet the needs of everyone in your classroom.

Methodology

Every-ability features support different learner types and encourage all students to succeed. A variety of approaches in the Student’s Book and Workbook support differentiated learning:

• Brain Teaser puzzles based on target grammar include visual clues, mental arithmetic and logic and are designed to allow students to show their natural talents in the classroom.

• Peer review sections can be used to pair stronger and weaker students to encourage individual and collaborative development.

• Projects in each unit provide an opportunity for collaborative work in which each student can show their individual strengths.
• Graphic organiser summaries of the projects encourage students to work in different ways, helping them to identify their individual learning style.

• The videos have optional subtitles for extra support for lower-level students whilst viewing.

• Influence also offers differentiated materials to ensure that students of all abilities receive the necessary level of challenge and support. These include
• The Grammar Bootcamp pages in the Student’s Book are designed to reinforce or extend learning, providing additional grammar practice at two different levels of difficulty.

• A star-rating system in the Workbook indicating the level of difficulty enables teachers to set suitable tasks according to the language level of each individual student and students to monitor their progress.

Components

DIFFERENTIATED MATERIALS

Differentiated materials and additional or alternative activities are available in the Teacher’s Resource Centre to allow teachers to adjust the level of challenge and support. These include:

• Vocabulary and Grammar practice worksheets provide grammar revision at three levels of difficulty.
• Unit, end-of-term and end-of-year progress tests offer grammar, vocabulary and skills revision at two levels.
• Basics Reading and Writing worksheets help students with a lower level to consolidate reading and writing skills.

• Accessible Reading Worksheets (creates specifically for Special Educational Needs) display each unit’s main reading text from the Student’s Book in a more accessible format.

• The Longer Read reading texts and exercises expand on the Student’s Book reading topics and offer practice of reading longer texts, further exposure to the reading subskills, more vocabulary in context and an extra level of challenge.

• Translated Wordlists, a Translated Grammar Reference and Critical thinking activities are structured from Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) (remembering, understanding, applying) to Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (creating, evaluating, analysing).

• Student’s App with on-the-go practice allows students to work autonomously to reinforce the content covered in class at their own pace.

WHOLE CLASS ENGAGEMENT

Influence includes a range of content for ensuring all students are involved and engaged in a group work and whole class activities:

The timed, competitive aspect of Kahoot quizzes motivate students, while allowing them to work out the answer autonomously and at their own pace.

• Brain Teaser puzzles allow students to show their natural talents in the language classroom by incorporating tasks that require different ways of thinking.
• Projects offer the opportunity for students to work at their own pace within mixed-level language groups.

Peer review, pair and group work tasks appear throughout the Student’s Book so students can work together in mixed- or same-level pairs and groups.

TEACHER SUPPORT

The Teacher’s Book includes a range of tips and activities for incorporating all students and manage the class with confidence and the Teacher’s App provides a range of differentiated and adaptable materials.

• Communication games in the Activities bank in the Teacher’s Book provide teachers with fun resources to get their students practising grammar.

• Mixed-ability specific tips are offered in the Teacher’s Book by way of reinforcement and challenge features and extra activities.
• Fast finisher activities in the Teacher’s Book provide extra activities teachers can use to occupy higher-level fast-finishing students.
• The Test Generator allows teachers to custom-build their own tests according to their students’ needs, or choose a pre-made test at two levels.

• The Teacher’s App allows teachers to assign homework tasks to the whole class or to individual students according to their needs with push notifications.
• Teachers can monitor each student’s progress through the Teacher’s App.

Want some additional practical tips and ideas on how to create an inclusive learning environment? Visit our Únicos page, where a range of experts share their experience and offer practical advice.