Teaching teens by Monika Elizabeth https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p en-us 2023-09-17 15:11:35 UTC 2026-01-15 20:43:22 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f60e.png 5 tips for teaching English to teenagers puppydog3535 https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707460568 1. Build a relationship with your students.
  • earn their respect
  • learners likely to want to work harder (motivation)
  • students respond well to a teacher they feel is interested in their life
  • as a teacher, be interested in their hobbies, interests (for example: ask your students about their weekends)

2. Work to their interests.
  • choose topics that interest them
  • engage teenage learners
  • learning English through a fun pastime (for example: encourage students to watch their favourite TV show in English)

3. Use relevant topics.
  • learning for a reason
  • relevant issues to their lives (example: vocab for popular culture)
  • will make them pay attention
  • their work is worthwhile

4. Work choice into their learning.
  • give students a few options to choose from
  • gives teens ownership over their work
  • example: when setting a writing task, give 5 topics they can choose from

5. Have staggered difficulty in classes.
  • different difficulty levels (some will find a task tricky and give up, others find it easy and get bored)
  • differentiate so students can learn at their best ability

Source:
https://www.oxfordinternationaljuniors.com/5-tips-for-teaching-english-to-teenagers/

]]> 2023-09-17 15:19:44 UTC https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707460568 Stereotypes puppydog3535 https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707475714 mostly negative:
  • challenging age group to teach
  • moody
  • uncooperative
  • loud
  • judgemental
  • rebellious
  • "problematic"
  • complicated
  • mischief, drinking, smoking, taking drugs, relationships...
  • disrespectful
  • lazy
  • attention seekers
  • addicted to social media (+ other addictions)

]]> 2023-09-17 15:40:09 UTC https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707475714 Adolescence characteristics puppydog3535 https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707477914
  • going through a transformation phase: no longer children but not yet fully mature
  • they want to be able to make sense of the multitude of facts, opinions and ideas that surround them
  • importance of self-esteem and self-worth
  • developing
  • logical reasoning
  • mood swings
  • individuality
  • creative
  • emotional
  • language aware
  • cognitive skills
  • self-centered
  • opinionated
  • energy levels
  • hormonal
  • competitive
  • clumsy
  • attention span

    • There’s a lot going on in a teenager’s head as their brains are developing towards maturity. The frontal cortex, in particular, develops rapidly during adolescence. This is responsible for executive functions and cognitive flexibility including the ability to direct our attention, to plan future tasks, to inhibit inappropriate behaviour, and to keep more than one thing in mind at once (Blakemore & Frith, 2005).

    Whilst these changes can cause some of the undesirable characteristics already mentioned, there are some positives. An adolescent’s brain is adaptable, it can be ‘sculpted and shaped’ as neural connections are ‘eliminated and pruned’ (Geidd, 2002).  It is, in fact, an optimal time for learning.

    Source:
    https://eflrecipes.com/2015/01/23/teenagers/

    ]]>     2023-09-17 15:43:27 UTC https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707477914     Teaching beyond language puppydog3535 https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707483921 -English classes that go beyond language teaching
    -Language as an instrument by which we communicate and express ourselves in other ares of human knowledge and relationships

    Pay attention to and take advantage of their characteristics:

    • treat them as adults but not expect them to behave as such
    • help establish their own sets of values that will guide them in their adult lives
    • use activities that encourage and develop critical thinking
    • form + content, fact + opinion

    1. Be careful with compliments
    • praise positive behaviours (effort, creativity, cooperation) 
    • praise the effort rather than the performance
      --> most effective in improving learning and self-esteem

    2. See how you ask questions
    • When asking students something, ask the question first, then name a student to answer it. In other words, avoid saying “Rafael, what’s the answer to number 3?”, but say “What’s the answer to number 3, [pause] Rafael?” 
    • If you first say a student’s name, the others will no longer pay attention to what you are talking about, that’s for sure. And this is especially true for teens.

    3. Pay attention to wait time
    • gap between a question and response
    • Research shows that prolonging the wait time by one to two seconds results in more student reasoning and better responses.

    4. Encourage cooperation
    • Teenagers like to compete, but encourage much more cooperation than competition. 
    • In a competition, for every winner there are many losers. Teenagers who work together to do something gain a lot more than winning a competition – and certainly more than losing one. 
    • Of course you can hold some competitions, at least to vary the lessons a little – but not very often, and do it in teams, so that at least there is also cooperation!

    5. Making notes to remember
    • Find ways to get teens to write down and remember vocab
    • Take advantage of their contact with English (music, YouTube, Instagram...): ask them to bring words and phrases they hear.
    • Giving teenagers room to bring content to the classroom themselves will help them see English language learning as a positive experience – and in the end I think that’s our main task as teachers.
    • Instead of just scrolling through Instagram reels or TikTok --> learning, motivation through social media


    ]]>     2023-09-17 15:51:58 UTC https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707483921     Teaching English to teenagers puppydog3535 https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707499457 What's important to know about teaching English to teenagers?
    • be aware of their level of proficiency
    • teenage psyche: 
    • less control over behaviour as emotions take over
    • focus on the now more than the consequences
    • find it harder to concentrate when distracted

    Strategies:
    • get to know your students
    • make use of classroom routines --> predictable, comfortable learning environment
    • example: warming up, reviewing homework, presenting new material, practicing concepts
    • using visual or verbal cues to transition between segments
    • result: students are much more likely to come prepared to class, understand what is happening throughout a lesson, and maintain their focus during instruction
    • However, also build opportunities to break away from the routine and implement an exciting new activity, instead!
    • allow time for group work


    ]]>     2023-09-17 16:13:16 UTC https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707499457     ESL games for teenagers puppydog3535 https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707512382 1. English Only:
    In this challenging game, students compete to speak only English for the entire lesson; teams that speak their native language are marked with a point. The team with the fewest marks wins a prize.

    2. Hot Potato:
    This no-materials-needed classic is another game that teen ESL students enjoy. The students quickly pass a ball (or ball of paper) around the room while music plays. Use a popular song the students know and like to keep them engaged. The student holding the “hot potato” when the music stops has to answer a question correctly to earn a point.

    3. Roll the Dice, Make a Question:
    In this game, the numbers one through six are written on the board corresponding to “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.” A student rolls the dice and then poses a question to a classmate based on the number the dice landed on.

    4. ESL songs:
    Beyond games, using music in the classroom is also a great way to help students learn while having fun.

    5. Tell Me 5:
    The teacher picks a topic, e.g., animals, colors, verbs, etc., and the student whose turn it is must name five items in the category in less than a minute. This is a great way to review vocabulary!

    6. Activity (/Pictionary):
    A great way to practice vocabulary items. Divide the students into two teams. A student picks a card with a word on it and has to either draw, mime, or describe/define the word in speech. If his/her team guesses the word they get a point. After 1-2 minutes the other team can also try and guess. The teams take turns and each turn it is a different student, this way they can all participate.




    ]]>     2023-09-17 16:30:43 UTC https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707512382     Appropriate reward ideas for teenagers puppydog3535 https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707516436 Some reward ideas for individual students are:
    • Extra computer time
    • Permission to eat a snack in class
    • Permission to listen to music (with headphones) while working
    • Chance to switch roles with the teacher for five minutes (teacher is a student and student is the teacher — great for English practice!)

    If the whole class is being rewarded:
    • 3-5 minutes at the end of class to watch the students’ favourite English-speaking show or movie
    • Playing a favourite game as a class
    • Allowing free time for students to chat amongst one another — in English!
    • Teacher-provided snacks or drinks for the class

    We can’t always rely on rewards, for many reasons. As such, develop strong, personable relationships with your students. Trust goes a long way when it comes to student motivation and engagement!


    ]]>     2023-09-17 16:36:12 UTC https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707516436     Refleciton 1 puppydog3535 https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707523755 Whenever people ask what age group I would like to teach and my reply is "teenagers", I always get some interesting reactions, such as an ironic "good luck with that!", "aren't you scared they won't listen to you?", "how will you keep discipline?", "the most problematic and difficult age group?", "are you sure?"...
    After many such situations I find it quite sad, that so many people have such negative stereotypes about teenagers, while on the other hand, this age group has many positive characteristics as well. 
    As a teacher trainee and a young adult I think it is important to stay connected with this age group and to not develop such a judgemental attitude towards them. It is important to be aware of the difficult aspects of this age group, but I believe there is so much potential in teens and we should take advantage of that. ]]>     2023-09-17 16:46:35 UTC https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707523755     Reflection 2 puppydog3535 https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707528228 As a language learner, I remember we always used to love fun activities and games. Especially when we had our lesson at the end of the day, when we were all so tired and we knew the teacher was as well... sometimes our teacher said if we work well during the lesson then we can play our favourite game in the last 5-10 minutes. This motivated us to pay attention and finish the tasks as quick as possible, so then we could play, relax and have fun (while learning!). I think these games are great methods for motivation, engaging our students, increasing student talking time, creating time for group work and competition, getting to know each other better...
    We can also prepare these games beforehand (for example by preparing vocab cards for specific topics, and these can of course be used in different groups).]]>     2023-09-17 16:53:00 UTC https://padlet.com/puppydog3535/z3e6ggigdqfaz64p/wish/2707528228