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Rooster_2006 · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 984

I already ask lots of open-ended questions to get them talking. I'm met with silence or one-word answers.

They think my class is boring.

My boss is starting to threaten.

Got any ideas which activities junior high schoolers like?

So far, we've just been doing articles with discussion questions that I prepare before class (open-ended). They almost never answer with more than two or three words for the discussion questions.

We just did a debate the day before yesterday and I have yet to hear whether they liked it or not. The topic was "Which is better, a real Christmas tree or a plastic Christmas tree?"

The kids are actually fairly advanced and capable of a decent level of communication, but just don't talk.

I need more "activities" that junior high kids are going to like.

My BOSS' daughters are in there, which makes this a high-pressure situation.

BigWally · Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:47 pm Post subject:

My pre-teen class liked things like HBO, music, movies, NBA, MLB (american baseball), video games, art.

I realize a lot of these things are pretty generic, but in their journals I made them write about a movie they watched, or a particular artist they enjoyed listening to. They always had a minimum amount of words, and they seemed to enjoy writing about something they liked rather than some forced topic that they could care less about.

Isn't that the point. Teaching them to love to use the language? The great part about the HBO channel was it was English with subs, so they would always have questions about that.

That being said, it was my most challenging and most rewarding class in 2 years, but I was the only teacher who actually had their pre-teen/jr. high class INCREASE in size each time there was new enrollment to the point where my class was totally full and students had their parents argue admin to get into my class instead of the other "boring" class one of the female teachers were teaching.

Ferfichkin · Joined: 07 Jul 2005 Posts: 140

I would play some games with them. For students of that age I think some games are necessary. I don't think you have to play a lot, but throwing in a couple could make a big difference.

Here's a vocab game for you. Take about 30 words that you have been teaching them, and they haven't completely forgotten (you could have them review them beforehand), and get them to write them randomly on the whiteboard. Then make two teams and have them form two lines from the back of the classroom to the front. At the back of the classroom place one marker for each team; a different color for each team. Then you give a definition for a word on the board and say "GO!' and they pass their marker from person to person and then the person at the front circles the word that you called. The team that circles it first gets one point for their team. Then have that person move to the back of the line. The key is to encourage them to work as a team and to help the person at the front by shouting the word and its location on the board. I've played this game a thousand times with different classes and they always get right into it. Give it a shot!

But there are millions of games you could play with them. Just check the net.

fich

Rooster_2006 · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 984

Thanks guys, I'll try that game, and I'll also focus more on topics that interest them. Come to think of it, their English magazine is just as tough as the newspaper, so there's no reason I couldn't, for instance, print off an article about the NBA and hand it out to them.

surrealia · Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 241 Location: Taiwan

I would suggest mixing things up with a variety of different activities: kinesthetic activities, role play, dictations, translation work, games, creative projects, watching Youtube videos. Get a few resource books for teachers that can give you some fresh ideas. One of my favorites is Humanising Your Coursebook by Mario Rinvolucri. Below are a few activities you might want to try out. The first few are written by Rinvolucri.

Percussion Punctuation
http://www.hltmag.co.uk/mar02/teach6.htm

Keyword Dialogues
http://www.hltmag.co.uk/jan02/teach7.htm

Cloze Dictation
http://www.hltmag.co.uk/mar01/teach2.htm

The Weakest Link
http://www.hltmag.co.uk/may02/less4.htm

Emotions
http://www.hltmag.co.uk/sep07/ex.htm

Sounds Intriguing
http://www.hltmag.co.uk/oct99/ex.htm

Off-The-Wall Dictation
http://www.hltmag.co.uk/nov02/ex2.htm

I've also written a book of language learning games and activities which was published recently, titled Provoking Thought. You can see a preview with 6 sample activities here.

Also, as Ferfichkin noted, you can find many more teaching ideas for FREE on the Internet. I have found a lot of good stuff on One Stop English and TEFL.NET.

Taylor · Joined: 24 Oct 2003 Posts: 384 Location: Texas/Taiwan

Junior High English classes in Taiwan are tough.

If you can survive these classes, you can handle ANYTHING!

Rooster_2006 · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 984

Taylor · Joined: 24 Oct 2003 Posts: 384 Location: Texas/Taiwan

Hi Rooster,

As far as I can tell, junior high students only talk about their classes and teachers anyway. Well, maybe cell phones and TV shows.

I recommend that you find out more about their life at school...teachers, annoying classmates, big exams, activities, etc...

Use that information for discussion as much as possible.

I'm presuming that this class only has about 8 students. Please let me know if I'm wrong.

You might bring in a Jenga game. Find some creative way to incorporate the game of Jenga into taking turns speaking English....

Let us know more about the curriculum, if possible.

Hope to hear back from you.

Taylor