Teacher Discussion Forums

I don't have much experience of teaching, especially teaching a teenager.
So the thing is that i can't get this girl interested in the language. She's 16 year old and she doesn't like to study and she doesn't do her homework. That's why it's double hard.
I also think that i should teach her how to eat and not to feed her myself, but i don't know how to do that because i have no experience....
Need help. Maybe you know any books/ web pages or share ur experience.

P'S I'm 21 a student myself.

Thats a toughie.
What does she like to do? Does she like shopping, eating, music, movies? If you don't know find out.
Once you know what she likes you can make your class focus on that subject. If she likes shopping, teach her shopping vocabulary and bring in interesting things that she can "buy".
If you can bring a laptop in as well and play some short videos. Try to have the video's focus on things that she wants to do. If she enjoys playing football, have a football video, teach her the vocabulary and then ask some simple questions about the video.
That's about the only thing you can really do, find out her interests and play to them.
Good luck.

Twilight.

You may have to re-write sections using simpler terms, but all my 16-year-old girls have loved it.

By the time you've finished the vampire-vs.-werewolf debate (which is stronger or which is hotter, depending on her inclination), you'll probably have broken through that "I hate English" barrier.

Thanks fot your replies! But the thing is that the girl is not motivated!! Her parents want her to study english not she. BUT she wants to get IELTS certificate and study in England. Makes sense that she needs to study very hard, but......noo REAL motivation.... i think that she needs a show....like I need to show her that english is great!!! Any suggestions how i can do that?

My teens love music. At the end of each lesson we listen to one song and then review and discuss the lyrics. Good luck!

You could also get someone very sympathetic to come to your class and get her to talk in her own language. Find out what she really wants to do. It doesn't sound like a very realistic goal for her to pass her IELTS if she is not willing to study.

Or you could give her a practice IELTS test and mark it and see if she is close enough to really pass it and if it is a realistic goal.

I recommend using the textbook 'Side by Side' it is very easy to use, is self explantory and easy to understand as well as being very good for reinforcing new grammar and vocabulary. Also you can check out my website www.keh-english.com for great flashcards and phonics materials that you may find helpful too!

Enjoy your teaching! Enjoy your learning!

In terms of getting your student motivated, the first thing you need to do is find our her interests, then see if you can create a fun lesson around something that interests her. A small project that you could do might be successful if done the right way. For example if your student likes comics you could create a template that she could use to create her own comic.

She can be responsible for deciding what kind of characters, the names, what special talents, gifts, powers they have etc....if she can't draw it's ok, you can add the animations in later using clipart of a drawing program or something like that. This is quite a high-end project if you like, but it serves as an example of what could be done. Feel free to check out my materials at www.keh-english.com

Good luck!