This is a book packed full of lesson ideas, activities and advice for teaching English to teenage students. This book goes much further than simply telling you what to do and how to do it. It looks at the why? It explains the deeper rationale for decisions we might make as well as exploring the underlying principles and factors that can make or break a lesson. It provides reflection that will be of value when you are sitting at home thinking over why one of your classes is not going the way that you want or when you have seen a really good teaching idea at a conference but are wondering how to make it work in your own class. Each chapter follows the same pattern: - The first part begins with a Discussion of a certain facet of teaching teens. It identifies key issues and outlines situations the author has experienced in his own teaching, and also draws upon writers and trainers who have played a role in his own development. - In the second part of each chapter, Practical applications, the discussion takes a more hands on turn and outlines some classroom applications and techniques. - Each chapter will then end with three summary sections. The Questions for reflection box may serve to summarise the chapter. The Things to try box can be the basis for small scale projects, action research or professional development. Finally, the Things to share box contains prompts for exchanging ideas where the chapter is being used in a training setting.
Chris is a teacher, trainer and `ideas man' well-known for his lively but practical sessions on the international conference circuit. He has taught in both the private academy sector and mainstream education system in Spain as well as holding posts with the British Council in Damascus and Barcelona. He works with teachers across a wide range of contexts. These include in-house training for ELI, the language school where he is based in Seville, intensive courses on methodology, tutoring on Trinity Certificate and Diploma courses for Active Language, Cadiz and Oxford TEFL, Barcelona and as a trainer of state school teachers in both Catalonia and previously in Aleppo. He is a regular speaker at events organised by TESOL Spain, has a close working relationship with APPI, the association for teachers of English in Portugal and has contributed many articles to English Teaching professional magazine.
About the author Introduction 1. A closer look at classes, teachers and students 2. Planning lessons with teenagers 3. Classroom micromechanics 4. Task design and instructions 5. Group dynamics and order 6. Affect: speaking positively to our students with care 7. Logistical questions: homework, L1 and seating 8. Tidy learning, messy learning and simple clutter 9. Autonomy and student-fronted classes 10. Teenagers and technology 11. Differentiation 12. Repetition, assimilation, memorisation 13. Remembering irregular verbs 14. Movement and space 15. Getting them talking 16. Listening and reading 17. Grammar and writing 18. Using video clips in the classroom 19. Personalisation 20. Testing, exams and report writing 21. Techniques for teaching low-level teens 22. Awareness and reasoning with teenagers 23. Control of the class 24. Classroom management strategies Why teach teens?
