“Bridging the Gap” within a Class: Managing a Range of Proficiency Levels in a Third‐Year German Course

Abstract

While much attention has been paid to the gap between beginning language instruction and literature courses, there is another gap which presents significant challenges to college instructors, namely the gap in proficiency levels between students in the same third‐year course. This article argues that bridging this particular gap can productively challenge students as well as increase retention rates by fostering individualized learning goals. In addition, it makes practical suggestions for creating and selecting exercises from a commonly‐used advanced college textbook in order to accommodate students of various ability levels in the same class.