ESL class middle school?

Question

I am teaching ESL middle school level. My problem is they are not willing to join in the games, they think that it's for elementary level only. They feel that they are too old for the activities I am providing them. I have tried the same sort of activities for the senior and junior high school and THEY ARE HAVING FUN! What is wrong with the middle school class?!.

Can you suggest some activities which I can use for this class?

Thank you very much!

Answer 1

Yes, I had the same problem when I taught English in Taiwan. The 5th graders would sing, dance, play games...The 6th graders...nothing.

Part of it is the age. Part of it is their discomfort with you and each other. If they make a mistake, if they act silly, is someone going a) notice, b) mention it, c) not mention it, or d) make fun of them?

What you can try to do is build a learning community. I've linked to information about one approach.

Answer 2

Gotta love those middle school kids!!  It is really just their developmental level right now.  They have this fear of "looking dumb" in front of their peers.  

Have you tried bribing them?  Seriously, my middle school students will do anything for treats.  I get Skittles and Hershey Kisses and when they participate, they get a little treat.  This worked like a charm my first year teaching middle school.  At first, I would reward them for just participation.  Once they realized that they would get something just for trying, I would make it a little harder to get a candy.  They had to get an answer correct, not just give me any old answer.  Then I went into giving tickets for the most correct answers and that one person got to pick what they wanted at the end of the class.  Make sure to check on food allergies (nuts, red dye, etc...) before you do this!

Since we have such a technological society, can you try to bring some music into the class and they can listen and write the lyrics of some songs?  (just be careful b/c some are not appropriate for school!)  Maybe this will help them get excited about what you are teaching.

Hope I have helped some!  Good Luck!