The Exploration of Teacher’s Use of Differentiated Instruction in English Classroom

ABSTRACT

This research was conducted to find out how the teachers applied differentiated instruction and their perspectives in teaching English by applying differentiated instruction. The research location was at SDIT Quantum Banda Aceh. The research participants were students and two English teachers from the school. Researcher used observation and interview instruments to get the data and analyzed by using steps: transcription, organizing data, familiarization, coding, and themes, then it presented in qualitative descriptive. From this study, it can be concluded that teachers created activities while the process teaching and learning English in the classroom based on students’ readiness, interest, and learning profile. The teachers believed that applying the differentiated instruction influence individual differences: their readiness, interest, and learning preference, criteria of grouping based on the students’ mixed- readiness and interest, factors that the teachers used differentiated instruction according to students’ curiosity and readiness, assessing students in the beginning of school help the teacher to create the best activities in classroom, using homework as assignment based on students’ readiness, using multiple instructional materials in classroom, and teachers’ availability to help the students understand the lesson. Their perspective included strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat in applying differentiated instruction in English classroom.

Keywords: Differentiated instruction, readiness, interest, learning profile, process of teaching and learning