Keeping Your Teenage Students Interested

Teenage students can be the most challenging class to teach English as a foreign language. Unlike adults they’re not motivated by the thought of getting a better job and they don’t have as much enthusiasm as young learners. Some of them, especially in European countries, will only be in class because they have been obliged to attend by their parents.

So, just how do you get a teenage student to stay interested and get the most of their classes?

Tips on teaching teenage students

Don’t Stay on One Task Too Long

Don’t bog teenage students down with a task that takes them a long time. Try different methods of focusing on the learning topic to break up the time. Include audio or video during the lesson. Try and include a game if you can. Make sure they have time to take in what you’re teaching without them becoming bored with the same thing. When you’re teaching English as a foreign language your lesson plan will help you to break up the learning segments into various tasks.

Involve Teenage Students

Get your teenage students involved in the class by asking them to do tasks on the board, or by speaking or presenting a piece of work. A good idea is to put teenager students into groups or pairs and ask them to come up with a piece of text or a presentation which involves the topic being taught. You could ask them to make up a sales pitch to sell their favourite food or video game. This kind of interaction makes teaching English as a foreign language engaging for your students.

Make it Relevant

Depending on where your teaching, you might not have access to up to date materials. This can make it difficult for teenagers to relate to what they are reading. If you can use the internet to source topics that they are interested in, it will interest them, and they will have enthusiasm for the work. For some children this will mean talking about mobile phones, video games and You Tube. While for others it could be television and radio programmes, singing and art projects, if they don’t have access to the internet.

Next time you teach teenage students, think of these useful tips.