how to motivate pupils?

[arij98]

most of my pupils who are teenagers have difficulties with foreign languages and are unwilling to work and better themselves.They always say to me "we don't understand English and we will not so don't bother ur self with us".they are unmotivated and i end up working with 3 or 4 pupils in a class of 30 pupils.i'm new in this job and will appreciate any help or suggestion from you.thank u

[Hi_there_Carl]

I have found, with teens especially, that references to pop culture help.

Most of them are fascinated with American and English popular music and a pop music stars and movies and movie stars.

Use song lyrics, movie trailers, current event items like Britney Spears. Weave these things into your lessons and let them know that once they learn English they will be able to understand the songs and movies that they like so well...

I hope this helps,

[Blue Bird]

what if the school system doesn't allow to watch these things? Are there other ways to motivate teenages learn English?? and what if a teacher use PPT when introducing a lesson? wouldn't that be helpful?

[Hi_there_Carl]

Power Point is only a different way to present material.....

To motivate you need to identify a reason that will resonate with them. It is unfortunate that the school will not let you use "props" and examples.... Perhaps for the girls you could use fashion and for the boys something to do with sports or automobiles.

Keep trying,

[arij98]

thanks for ur ideas.using songs is agood idea but the problem is that i have to follow the official program and many of my students find difficulties in listening.unfortunately, i cannot use ICTtools in class because i don't have a labtop and the school always has financial problems to provide teachers with what they need.but i hope i will overcome these difficulties.

[goragaia]

Hi,
I know exactly how you feel, however, I found that by turning the class into a bit of a competition can help. Devide the class in teams! mix good and disruptive students and give them a task to carry out together as a team. The teams can win points for different reasons, ie. good behaviour, good answers, interaction, cooperation, creative answers, funny answers, the winning team could get a special team certificate that you can make yourself or the team name could be put on a 'Winning Teams' poster. You don't have to keep the same teams all the time. New teams can be created and new names given to them (in English of course!) Good Luck and enjoy!

[Airone]

what if the school system doesn't allow to watch these things? Are there other ways to motivate teenages learn English?? and what if a teacher use PPT when introducing a lesson? wouldn't that be helpful?

You don't have to necessarily have them watch or listen to examples of pop culture. They no doubt watch them at home on their own. Perhaps you yourself could watch/listen to some popular videos on youtube or popular songs from the US or the UK at home as well so that you can reference them in class by simply talking about them or being able to drop in a pop culture reference here or there. Are you allowed to talk about the internet? Most teens that I've taught (admittedly, not that many) are very familiar with the internet and I can usually get them to talk just by asking them what sites they like or what instant messenger they use, whether they're on facebook etc.

Most teenage girls, and many boys, enjoy shopping and I find no problem getting them to speak about where they like to shop and why, which mall is better than the others, where they like to eat and so on. I suppose I could expand this to ask what brand sneakers (trainers) they prefer, what kind of jeans and so on.

The guys I've taught talked readily about their video game consoles and which games they like. Sometimes if I see a new game or a new electronic gadget I ask students if they have it or if they've tried it. Many of my students come from wealthy families and have more money than I do so often they have in fact tried or have the console/device and so they can tell me about something I'm interested in, in a genuine exchange.

I'm not in a typical 30-student classroom scenario so I don't have to worry as much about rigid structure and discipline, but perhaps some of the above ideas could be helpful to you. Best of luck.

[arij98]

Thank you Airone and Goragaia for the tips.