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Alex42
Joined: 14 Jun 2004
Posts: 77
Location: Salta, Argentina
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 Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:12 pm Post subject: What to do with those reticent teenagers? |
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There�s about 12 of them. They�re too cool to speak English and obviously don�t want to be there. I don�t want them to be there either, but for one and a half hours a week I�m stuck with them as I�m not allowed to send them home and still claim my paycheque. 
They�re at an elementary level, pretty much in the present tense.
I don�t have to teach them exactly, but I do have to do games and activities that involve some form of English usage.
What can I do to get them interested? Please help! |
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Justin Trullinger
Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 3110
Location: Seoul, South Korea and Myanmar for a bit
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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| I don�t have to teach them exactly |
Oh. Private, money motivated school, eh?
In that case- I'd look into what kind of music they're interested in. There will be some English language artists on the list- so plan activities with songs they know. (Gap fills, key word listenings, word ordering, things like that)
Then expand on it- bring in some fanzines, get them to cut out photos of stars they like, then describe them on posters to decorate your classroom. If their level is too basic to describe anything, get them started listing adjectives, and teach them the basic stuctures to put their adjectives in simple sentences.
To practice past tenses, do biographies of the same stars. Make them research it on the internet.
Play games- Monopoly takes a long time. Insist that they use only English- but teach them the twelve or so set phrases that the game requires...
Play scrabble, or boggle.
Review vocabulary topics that they know, or that you introduce to them, by playing pictionary. (Or charades. Charades is brilliant for the present continuous.)
Play "I have never..." to practive the present perfect. (Teens love the chance to ask embarrassing questions.)
Play "Scruples" if you get far enough to want to do conditionals.
Use movies. Watch a few scenes with the sound turned off, then have them imagine what they were saying. Have them write their own dialogues for the scenes, in teams, and present them to the class.
Play a variation of blindman's bluff to teach prepositions. (Blindfold one student, and have another give directions to find an object in the classroom.)
There's a certain freedom in a class that nobody really expects you to teach. Use it. Maybe a suitable goal would be to get them past the "don't want to be here, don't want to learn English" mentality. As that starts to happen, as they start to see that English can be fun, maybe you will actually be able to teach them something.
Justin |
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khmerhit
Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 1874
Location: Reverse Culture Shock Unit
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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ya know the market game? Half of them act as merchants and the other half are shoppers. One side has to create a list of priced goods for sale and set up a stall. The other half make shopping lists and go shopping on a budget. Much merriment and haggling ensue, and they love it. You should find it in a book of games, if not it's easy to figure out.
Also, have you tried a treasure hunt? That entails even more preparation but they go WILD. English clues, natch, leading from one discovery to another until they reach the pot of gold. Kinda like consumer cultcha.
Hopethishelpsand goodluck---   |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 11:49 pm Post subject: |
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How about letting the kids decide what to do?
I recall an English writing class back in high school. The teacher assigned a writing/oral presentation assignment with the topic "Mock Your Teacher'. We had a blast. I did a piece on how to properly suck up for better grades. One of the best teachers I've ever had. |
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acwilliams
Joined: 17 Feb 2006
Posts: 68
Location: Now in China, soon moving on
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| Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 10:38 am Post subject: |
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Have you started teaching them recently? Or do you know them quite well? How much do you know about them as individuals? How well do they know each other? Do they like each other? Are they cliquey? Good rapport is something that can take a while to build.
I agree with Guy about 'letting the kids decide what to do'. Ask them to plan the syllabus for their course. Ask them what topics they want to include, what they need/want to be able to do in English, which skills they want to practise (listening, speaking, reading writing), what they would like to give a class presentation on... Treat them with respect and let them have some control. |
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Sweetsee
Joined: 11 Jun 2004
Posts: 2302
Location: ) is everything
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| Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 10:48 am Post subject: |
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| Do they drive? |
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Alex42
Joined: 14 Jun 2004
Posts: 77
Location: Salta, Argentina
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| Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Sweetsee wrote: |
| Do they drive? |
Um, they�re about 13.
Although I�m sure that by the standards of Argentina they�d probably be able to drive as well as anyone!
Thanks for all the advice.  I�ve decided to do something involving music that�s currently popular in the UK (but not in Argentina)... |
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