TEACHING TEENAGERS – a challenge worth taking





After having been working as an English teacher for 16 years, I can still remember the first time I stood in front of a group of teenage students. Being a novice teacher it took me some time to understand that teenagers have their own learning styles which differ from those of children and adults. Little learners are so full of energy and they are ready to complete assignments just for your praise and smilies in their notebooks. On the other hand, there are adults who are focused on meeting their language goals. Teens are somewhere in the middle of a scale. I realized long time ago that teachers have to put in a bit more effort in order to increase teenage student motivation. Teenagers can be moody and loud from time to time, but also curious, creative and independent. With this in mind, here are some excellent steps (already tried at our school) that can help capture the attention of our teen students:

  • Build rapport – get to know your students and their interests. Don`t forget to tell them about yours! Small talk is an inevitable part of each and every lesson at our school.  
  • Use competitive games – students work in teams and win points. My favourite competitive games to use with teenagers are taboo games (http://busyteacher.org/13079-taboo-card-game.html ), word association games, riddles, brain teasers (https://en.islcollective.com/resources/search_result?Vocabulary_Focus=Brainteasers)
  • Use multimedia - videos ( http://film-english.com  has hundreds of really great lessons), commercials, visuals, films, songs
  • Be yourself. - show that you are interested in teen culture but DON`T try to be one of them (you are the teacher). Open up. Share. Let them into your life….. a little.  I tell them that I have two kids and that I am a nature, coffee and travel addict. Be what you are and they will appreciate that.
I have taught fantastic and unforgettable groups of teenagers and I can say that it can be great fun to teach them and if you give them a chance teenage groups can be the most rewarding ones. When you see how much progress they have made and how they have grown up, you`ll realize that it was a challenge worth taking.


Teenagers` comments on what makes a good teacher


prepared by: Ljiljana Mitrović ,  English teacher, member of our team

Коментари

Постави коментар

Популарни постови са овог блога

E Allora? - Šta ustvari znači "allora" na italijanskom i u kojim momentima komunikacije ga možemo koristiti...

Слика
Postoje reči u govornom italijanskom jeziku koje se vrlo često upotrebljavaju a možda su malo zanemarene u postojećim programima za učenje. Poznavanje konteksta njihove upotrebe znatno obogaćuje naše komunikaijske sposobnosti i uspostavljanje kvalitetne interakcije sa našim sagovornicima. Takođe, pravilna upotreba ovih reči ili izraza čini našu komunikaciju na stranom jeziku prirodnijom i adekvatnijom. Predvodnik ove skupine je svakako reč: ALLORA. Reč toliko odomaćena i često upotrebljavana da je skoro pa nemoguće započeti rečenicu bez nje. Sestra bliznakinja bi mogla da bude reč: DUNQUE o kojoj takođe može posebno da se priča... Suštinski allora ima mnogo značenja od kojih su glavna: dakle, stoga, naime, u tom slučaju. Može takođe značiti: tada ili u to vreme. U nastavku je nekoliko primera za to kako i zašto se čuveno allora upotrebljava u govornom jeziku uz paralelu sa neizostavnim engleskim. Nadamo se da će vam ovi primeri biti od pomoći prilikom usvajanja govornih kar
Прикажи све

IDIOMS WITH 'PULL'

Слика
There are a surprising number of commonly used idioms that contain the verb ‘pull’. 1.  If you accuse someone of  pulling your leg , you mean that you believe they are teasing you by saying something that isn’t true. If we think that someone is teasing us in that way, we might say  ‘ Pull the other leg/one!’ , or even the longer version  ‘ Pull the other one – it’s got bells on! ’ . This shows that we don’t believe them. She’s just pulling your leg – she doesn’t really expect you to do all the cooking. You have a pet lion? Pull the other one! 2. We use ‘pull’ in several idioms connected with people making an effort and doing what they should do. If someone  pulls their weight , they do their share of the work and if you  pull out all the stops , you make as much effort as possible to ensure that something is successful or impressive. Anyone who doesn’t pull their weight will have to leave the project. They pulled out all the stops to make sure the president enjoyed h
Прикажи све

HOW TO UNDERSTAND NATIVE SPEAKERS: top tips

Слика
How to understand native speakers Understanding native speakers is something many language learners struggle with. Whenever I learn a new language, I get a bit of a shock. I learn a lot of vocabulary and a lot of grammar. And then, when I’m ready to go out there and speak, I realise how little I actually understand. How is that possible, I think. I’ve been working so hard, I know so many words, I can even read newspapers in the language. But I can’t actually understand what people are saying to me! I’m sure you’ve been faced with a similar situation in the past. And don’t worry – you’re not the only one. Being able to understand native speakers is something that comes with practice. There are specific things you can do to make it happen, and I’m about to share them with you. Understand how letter combinations sound together Speech is, of course, made up of words but, ultimately, it’s just a string of letters and sounds combined together. Those letters and the sounds
Прикажи све