Teacher Perspectives on Ability Grouping in Israeli ESL Classrooms: Ethical Dilemmas and Alternative Strategies

Ability grouping in English as a second language (ESL) education remains contested, situated between instructional efficiency and educational equity. While existing research has largely focused on student outcomes and system-level effects, less attention has been paid to how teachers interpret and enact grouping arrangements in everyday ESL classrooms. This interpretivist comparative case study draws on semi-structured interviews with junior high school ESL teachers ( N  = 10) in two Israeli schools operating under contrasting organizational models: between-class ability grouping and mixed-ability instruction. A focused analysis of instructional artifacts complemented interview data. Findings suggest that ability grouping affords curricular alignment and clarity in pacing, but intensifies concerns about labeling and restricted mobility. Mixed-ability instruction promotes inclusion and peer interaction yet redistributes substantial cognitive and emotional labor onto teachers. Across contexts, teachers described recurring strategic practices (flexible regrouping, adaptive task design, and differentiated enactment of materials) that they used to navigate structural constraints. We conceptualize grouping as enacted professional mediation and show how teachers’ strategy repertoires illuminate the ways organizational arrangements are taken up and negotiated in equity-relevant classroom practice.