3 techniques for increasing teenage student motivation in the language classroom

Official URL: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/yearinthelifeof/3-techniques-increasing-teenage-student-motivation-language-classroom

‘Teenage dreams, so hard to beat.’ If any sentence were to sum up what it means to be a teenager, it would probably be this line from the classic song ‘Teenage Kicks’ by The Undertones. This is an age at which everything changes. If we were to put all those learners that we teach on a continuum, we would have young learners at one end and adults at the other. While we would all agree that teenagers lie somewhere in the middle of such a scale, it would nonetheless be difficult to place them exactly, regardless of the criterion. While young learners are so full of zest that most activities are met with bundles of enthusiasm, adult learners are much more focused on meeting their language goals, while also bringing a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience to the language classroom. Teenagers are clearly different, and this is never clearer than when it comes to trying to motivate them. Although teens can be as knowledgeable and perceptive as their adult counterparts, they are not usually the most talkative of age groups. Naturally, this can leave us as teachers feeling frustrated and discouraged by their perceived lack of interest. Nevertheless, teens aren’t that different and by no means unreachable in terms of motivation. As with any other age group, it’s simply a case of finding ways to pique interest. With this in mind, here are three strategies that anyone can use to increase teenage student motivation in the language classroom.