Job Discussion Forums

[sophie021]

Dear fellow teachers,

I have applied for a summer post in Ireland with IH. This would be my first summer school position ( if I get in).
Teens are often referred to as the most undesirable group to teach. Especially when one thinks of a summer school teen's profile ( money, puberty, hormones...).

I'd appreciate if you could share your experiences with me, either with teens or with IH schools. Should I be worried?

[nickpellatt]

Hello Sophie

Although I havent worked a residential summer school, which is what I assume you are doing, I do teach teenagers during the summer months. I have actually just finished a mini-group with some Austrians kids today.

I really havent had too many problems with teenagers in honesty. My classes today were aged around 13, but I have had kids from as young as 12 up to 19 years of age.

Of course, each school and summer course will work to different guidelines, class sizes, materials etcetcetc ... but dont worry too much about it on the basis of their age. I have had students from Italy (fluent and confident) Germany and Austria (fluent with limited vocabulary and well behaved and polite) and Chinese (easily distracted and lacking discipline), but rarely do I feel they have been difficult on account of their age.

They may sometimes lose interest, so if you are able to, make sure you include lots of activities and variety in the lessons that you deliver to them. Most of my european students say they have little chance to speak in their home countries, so oral tasks and challenges are always popular, and preferable to long grammar based writing tasks. Reading classes are also quite good, but are better when you also allow them to discuss the text / answers / tasks at length too.

If you are allowed to do such things (you may have material that needs to be followed) I would recommend a number of group activities that I have had success with at my summer schools.

Write and perform a play. I give them the topic of 'a foreign student in England', and then they pick a genre (comedy/action/romance/horror) from a hat. I also feed them 4 lines (random ones) that they must include in the script. This is one of the more active classes that keeps their attention.

I also have a collection of odds and ends in a carrier bag. (golf ball, mobile phone charger, egg box, pair of gloves, perfume bottle, razor, chopsticks). I put the kids in groups and ask them to form a company and invent a new, fun product using one of the above items as inspiration. They must make a presentation of both their company and their product to the class. I use this as a grammar based lesson where they must use a structure to make future predictions.

I also have a lesson that I use toward the end of my courses where the students must prepare and present a TV show covering their experiences as students in England. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgtEE3GcdeI

these are the types of activities that my teenage students have enjoyed doing ... and I would recommend these types of activities or similar (if permitted) at your school.

Im sure your students will be the same as mine, that is ... their parents have sent them on the course, sometimes against their will. This does mean they will be looking at their trip as a holiday, and they will be more interested in the sightseeing trips and parties ... so lessons that engage them and keep them active tend to be the more successful ones. I normally rotate my classes with a dry and arguably 'boring' class, followed by a more active activity based lesson. This pacing also works quite well ... Too many games and too many active classes to begin, and you will never then get them to do a reading skills lesson later on.

Honesty though, teenagers IMO are not a problem at all!

edited to add - None of these observations are based on a residential course with IH. Although Im sure they will have the same type of students, I cant give any insight into the company or how they run summer schools

[sophie021]

Hello Nick!

Thank you so much for your detailed answer. I appreciate it.
I used to teach some teens myself but never in a summer school. I like your activities and I'm sure I'll include them in my classes; if I don't go to Ireland, then in my country for sure.

[nickpellatt]

Welcome - the more I think about it ... I would almost argue that teenagers are probably the best ages to teach

Adults can be demanding. Kindergarten or primary schools kids are hard to communicate with as their language skills are normally lower!

[sophie021]

Yes, I agree. I'd be anxious to teach veeeery young children using English only.
My favourite age groups are young adults and teens, what bothers me is the age difference between us, sometimes I don't think I have what it takes to maintain the discipline or discourage one's sulkiness though I haven't had discipline problems with my groups...