Teaching a group of 12 year olds (English as a foreign lang)

[Marina]

What would you need to take into account when teaching a group of 12 year olds at intermediate level?

[ICAL_Pete]

I think you have to approach it as you would any other class. That is to say that you need to tailor your lessons to precisely the needs of the class. So this means making a detailed Needs Analysis of the class before going any further.

Once you have that you can sort out the syllabus and lessons to suit. Of course when you get down to the lesson level, you'll need to make sure the topics covered are suitable in both level and content to the class: many Western 12 year olds are interested in pop music, blockbuster films, television and so on with a burgeoning interest in fashion and sport. Does this apply to the children you will teach?

The basic principle here is to keep the lessons relevant to your class.

[chrisroland]

I do teach an intermediate class of 12 year olds and I'd recommend you bear in mind that kids of this age often need an explicit reason for doing stuff. Make a nice big table and put their names down the side. Give them regular ticks for completing activities correctly, show them, discuss their performance on tasks with them. Also, don't be afraid to talk about discipline - before you get angry. Get them together at the end and tell them what they've done well and what they can improve on. When they've behaved well tell them too. Don't ignore behaviour you don't like, just tell the person, in a friendly way - kids often need stuff explaining to them. Whatever you do though, don't tell the group off as a collective - and don't single kids out publicly (unless it's to praise). Infinite patience and sometimes they will do what you want.

Chris R