Two kids, different levels
 

I am not a trained teacher, but as a native speaker living in a rural village in Germany, I have been hired to expose two sisters, aged 9 and 11, to English. The 11-year-old is capable of doing almost anything in English. She understands what I say, and she can comfortably say anything she wants to in English. Her younger sister, although she has had English in school, and by reading her school book I can see she has a good foundation in English, cannot understand me when I speak in English (I think she does if I slow the sentence down and just say two words at a time, so she has time to translate into her native tongue). She also usually can't say much in English. Both are willing to be with me for an hour a week, and they love games. The younger is sometimes bored because she can't understand, but if she is interested she really participates. The older is sometimes bored because the 'class' is too simple. As sisters, they have a lot of competition and the older is not interested in helping the younger. Any ideas for how to teach to two children at very different levels (beginner and intermediate)? And how to have a balance between games and other activities. I can speak a little German.

Re: Two kids, different levels
 

I've taught multi-level classes before, with many more students than you have. I would try to find activities that you can run simultaneously, 20 to 30 minutes long each, one for each girl. You'll need activities at different levels. You can help each individually (alternating) during that time. I would emphasize bringing up the lower girl's skills. It seems that the younger girl can't think in English yet, and that is a big problem for her.
If it was up to me, I'd maybe try this:
First 20 minutes of class: each girl has a different activity
Next 20-25 minutes of class: each girl has a new and different activity
The last 15-20 minutes would be for a game that they play together.
I think the younger girl's education in English has given her a lot of reading but little listening or speaking. I would assume she has not learned any phonics. I would definitely teach her some phonics. I would even do some dictation with her. Ask if it's OK to give the girls a little homework each week. If you get that approved, I'd give the higher girl vocabulary to learn or practice, and I'd give the lower girl phonics and words to practice saying. I hope my suggestions will work for you.

Re: Two kids, different levels
 

Thank you for your very clear answer, and for taking the time to help me. Much appreciated!

Re: Two kids, different levels
 

You're very welcome. I think that once the younger sister learns some phonics, she will improve very quickly.
Here's a fabulous website full of free resources. Mark even includes phonics and games!

Free Printables for Teachers - flashcards, printable games, worksheet templates, phonics materials, ESL printables, conversational activities and more

Different questions Re: Two kids, different levels
 

I think two different activities going on at the same time might be hard, unless the room / table is big. Have you thought about differing your questions to meet the higher and lower levels needs? In a phonics game, you can have the younger decipher pictures, while the older has to read the words and spell them. Or the older could decipher pictures and spell.
I think differing questions within a game is the best. I have several students who are at the higher level and several students at the lower level in the same class. I just try to remember who is who and when asking questions keeping it simple or complex.

Re: Two kids, different levels
 

I have taught open ended unstructured classes to kids before and I know it can be tough. Try games like Pictionary and concentration for vocabulary words that you are teaching. Those work well for students at different levels. For grammar concepts form sentences that include the grammar you are teaching. Cut out each individual word, mix them up and have the girls, as a team, form the sentences. If the older one is taking over, have them work alone and let the big sister correct the mistakes of the younger one.

You could have the older sister read a passage in English and let the other girl listen and answer questions on the reading. One game I love for pronunciation skills is to have one student read a paragraph in English. This student deliberately pronounces one word wrong per sentence to see if the other can figure out what it was. Good luck!

Andrew