A couple of weeks ago, I posted this on Facebook:

I got some great advice from my friends, so I thought I’d share some of my favourites with you here.

Thom Jones Keep them on their toes, don’t worry if they think you’re a bit of a nutter.

Graeme Hodgson Expect to deviate from your lesson plan and just enjoy those “teachable moments” of emergent language!

Fiona Mauchline Listen like you’ve never listened before. To anyone. Listen, learn, and show them you have.

Maria P. Vlachopoulou Try to keep up with the latest trends, gadgets, bands, songs etc and prepare to face change of moods in seconds!

Higor Cavalcante Listen to them and take them seriously. They are not children any longer. You’ll have a great time!

Thiago Veigga Only show interest when you are genuinely interested, because they’ll do the same. The thing I miss most about teaching teens are the date stories!

Shelly Sanchez Terrell They love making videos and love music. They’ll test you and pretend they’re bored but eventually they open up and have many opinions. Find ways to get them to express them and refine them.

Bruno Andrade Get into their world. Learn the songs they’re listening to, the games they are playing, the app they are using and incorporate them into your lessons (and conversations) as much as possible! That really helps in terms of rapport.

JoAnn Salvisberg-Smith Make the lesson all about them.

Roseli Serra Just relax , be friendly, but firm, let them think they have you in their hands and you’ll have them easily! And enjoy! They are challenging , but marvellous! They love music and videos, so using songs they love might be a good start.

Steven Herder 1. Don’t let the curriculum or the syllabus dictate your first month of classes. Take as much time as you need to get to know the students, challenging them to get to know each other better.
2. Build a learning community by having them find their roles – as leaders, mood makers, listeners, supporters, organized ones, gritty ones, challengers, enthusiasts, etc.
3. Observe everything and listen to everyone.

Cindy Moss Respect them by getting to know them and value their opinions.

Sue Annan Be firm at first until you get their measure. Then you can relax when you know them better.

Laura Phelps Authenticity and surreal humour. Enjoy!

Edmilson M Chagas Laugh with them when they get a fit of the giggles for no reason. They often do. Be as playful as you can, but be prepared to draw the line when necessary and make sure they don’t cross it. If they ever do, or whenever you feel they have a problem, try to talk with them in private. Be friendly and understanding. If they don’t want to open up to you, tell them it’s all right and that you’ll be there for them if they change their minds.

Dina Dobrou Become a teen yourself! Try to remember what it was like and be the teacher you’ve always wanted to have yourself!

Michael Harrison Never generalise or treat them as if they are all the same. No two teenagers are the same (no one is). Some will like using gadgets; some will prefer to spend lesson time away from the iPads. Some will love music, sport, video games; others won’t. As long as you treat them as responsible individuals, it should be a blast!

Carlos Gontow Read this book. I wish I had read it when I started teaching!

Victoria Boobyer Be interested in them. Have time for them. My favourite age group by far.

Vassiliki Mandalou Look at them in the eyes, be silent and let them unfold whatever they have inside from statements , questions, doubts, even withdrawal or negativity. I’ve experienced that every time I let them take the first step to talk, they let it come out as we say and freed from the above they are in position to listen to you. Tone of voice is rather important too. Try a low polite but firm speech. Also try keep notes of each one personally, this will really help them find self-esteem.

Shaun Dowling Don’t follow the material.

Cindy Moss Establish a culture where they respect each other. I taught my students a South African phrase “Umtu ngumtu nagabantu” which means “a person is a person because of other people”. It was our golden rule and if a student said something mean to another student, we would look at them and say “Umtu ngumtu nagabantu” to remind them to treat others with respect. Teenagers like secret phrases and enjoyed using this one.

Rob Howard Be yourself. Open yourself up to them. Make a private Facebook group for the class. Make a video of your life and show it. Be honest and true and respect them. Tell them you are there to help them find their own voice. A facilitator. Then, tell them you expect the same and after a few weeks, have them make videos on whatever they choose. Group and regroup them out of their clicks and in a month you’ll have a real learning community. Now watch them grow together.

Guido Europeaantje Prepare half an extra class and be prepared to dump activities that don’t work.

Marcos Raul Mendelson Do not make friends with them. Facilitate their learning. Be enthusiastic and smile from time to time. It is contagious. Tell less, show more. Be happy.

David Dodgson Two things my teen groups respond well to:
1. Metacognition – they have reached an age where they can think about more abstract stuff like learning theories. The quiet ones like the self-reflection/assessment stuff as well.
2. Stories I tell ’em ’bout when I were a lad. They love the fallibility of it all!

Jeffrey Doonan Learn their names quickly and use them often, connect with them as individuals as much as possible. Be yourself, teens sense phonies easily. You, most likely, know better than they what they should learn and what they need to learn. Help them to see and understand these things in a way that they think it is their decision. Have fun with the experience.

Wiktor Kostrzewski Here’s a thing my tango teacher tells me these days, and I find it works for classroom management: everything you do is information. The way you walk, stand, praise, demand – the teens I teach pick it all up much quicker than grown-ups..

Patty Salguero Get back to your memories when you were a teen and try to understand their perspective. They are very creative if you establish the right “rapport” for your group. Never forget they have a need to express themselves as they are very critical and tend to think nobody cares about their opinions. Show you are interested in them since the first moment. They will appreciate your efforts if you plan thinking of them.

Teresa Gomes de Carvalho Sometimes they behave in ways that are hard for us to understand. We usually think it’s about us or our class, but actually, it might have nothing to do with us: it might be about issues they’re facing at school or at home, sometimes a bad hair day, problems with a boyfriend/girlfriend, bad grades, low self esteem. They are too self-conscious and peer pressure is a problem. Another reason is that in monolingual classes they don’t see the point of communicating with each other in another language: it just doesn’t feel natural. Also, don’t expect them to understand English is important for their future, for their careers. They live in the here-and-now. The future is usually too abstract for them, so help them them see that English is important for them now, to understand the world. They are also afraid of being judged by their English. Some will try to impress their friends while others will try to ‘sabotage’ the class so that they don’t have to expose themselves. So many things going on in their lives and still, we think we’re ‘the center of their universes.’

 

Thanks to everyone who commented, it’s much appreciated. If you have some advice of your own you’d like to add, leave a comment below.