Nowadays, differentiated instruction (DI) has become a widely discussed topic in many schools and educational institutes. However, whilst the notion of DI is not new, studies on the effectiveness of DI with respect to student outcomes remain relatively unclear. This may be due partly to the operationalization of DI as well as the narrow focus of many studies on academic performance, thus neglecting other pertinent student outcomes. To address this, the current study aims to examine the impact of a specific DI strategy, namely differentiating according to readiness level and student interest, on intrinsic motivation and perceived competence. Two classes of Primary Six (Year 6 equivalent) students participated in the study, of which one class was pre-classified as high readiness, whilst the other class was pre-classified as low readiness. The research design followed a quasi-experimental single group pre–post-test design and took place in English language classes over a period of five lessons. Results indicated that there was an increase in the level of students’ intrinsic motivation and perceived competence in both classes. However, there were no differences in the impact between students with high and low readiness levels. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a specific DI strategy on intrinsic motivation and perceived competence.

如今，差异化教学（DI）已成为许多学校和教育机构广泛讨论的话题。然而，虽然 DI 的概念并不新鲜，但关于 DI 对学生成绩的有效性的研究仍然相对不清楚。这可能部分是由于 DI 的实施以及许多研究对学习成绩的狭隘关注，从而忽略了其他相关的学生成果。为了解决这个问题，目前的研究旨在检查特定 DI 策略的影响，即根据准备程度和学生兴趣进行区分，对内在动机和感知能力的影响。两班小六（相当于六年级）的学生参加了这项研究，其中一班被预先归类为高度准备，而另一班则被预先归类为低准备。该研究设计遵循准实验单组的前后测设计，并在英语语言课程中进行，为期五节课。结果表明，两个班级的学生内在动机和感知能力水平都有所提高。但是，准备程度高和低的学生之间的影响没有差异。本研究证明了特定 DI 策略对内在动机和感知能力的有效性。准备程度高和低的学生之间的影响没有差异。本研究证明了特定 DI 策略对内在动机和感知能力的有效性。准备程度高和低的学生之间的影响没有差异。本研究证明了特定 DI 策略对内在动机和感知能力的有效性。