Teaching Teenagers: How to Motivate and Interest Them

Apr 24, 2010 Louanne Piccolo

Methods for Teaching Teenagers - Personas and Lifestyle Methods for Teaching Teenagers - Personas and Lifestyle

Teaching teenagers is a daunting challenge for most teachers. Find out about teenagers' learning potential and how to motivate them to participate.

Teenagers have a greater learning potential than that of young children but they are considerably more difficult to motivate and manage. It also takes longer to build up a trusting relationship with a teenager but once a teacher finds the correct balance of respect and authority, teaching teenagers can be a rewarding and funfilled experience. Characteristics of the Teenage Learner

Teenagers go through a developmental stage which can be difficult between the ages of 13 and 19 and, even though they would not admit it, authority and stability in the classroom is often re-assuring for them. They have a highly developed sense of what is right and what is not and the general expectation amongst teenagers is that they are treated with respect and fairness by their teacher even though they are unsure of their own personal value with regards to their capacity and intelligence.

Most teenagers prefer their teachers to value and respect them rather than to be their friends. The general opinion is that academic closeness is acceptable between teachers and teenagers but not friendship closeness which is regarded with suspicion and derision. Between the ages of 13 and 19, teenagers try out different identities and like their teachers to identify them as individuals with their own ideas. Ads by Google

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They also appreciate participating in decisions on what happens in the classroom so that they feel some ownership of and commitment to the learning programme but may regard a teacher as unprofessional if he doesn't take responsibility for decisions about learning and assessment but simply hands it over to the class. Striking a balance between teen participation in decision-making and total teen control is important. Effective Teaching Methods for Teenagers

Teenagers look for meaning and significance in relation to their own lives in what they are taught. A clever teacher will capitalize on this and personalise their lessons with regards to what is going on in the lives of their students at the moment. They want to know about now and not what happened a hundred years ago in some remote part of the world. Unfortunately, it may take a lot of effort on the part of the teacher but keeping up to date with technology and the events that may interest teenagers is vital to getting and holding their attention.

As a rule, most teenagers are quite self-centred. They love to talk about themselves, what they think, what they don't like and are quite emotional. A creative teacher may organise activities like sharing journal entries or writing newspaper articles for a newspaper students have created themselves. This allows students to express themselves freely and talk endlessly about a topic they are interested in: their own ideas. Read on

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Prior to learning teenagers need to know why they are doing something, how it can help them and how it relates to their lives. Everyone prefers interesting lessons but it is impossible to make all lessons fun as some subject matter is just boring by nature. Teenagers are aware of this and even though they are generally in favour of fun they realise that good learning takes an effort. All lessons can be made relevant even if the subject itself is not the most inspiring in the curriculum.

Teenagers crave authenticity and "real" people. A teacher pretending to be someone else who he feels may impress teenagers will be spotted in a second and lose the respect of his class even quicker. Six Resources a Teacher Should Use When Teaching Teenagers

Resources are the teacher's magic wand. They help put teaching methods into use through appropriate and adapted activities. Here are some particularly useful resources when teaching teenagers:

Music: teenagers love and relate to music. It is a way for them to express themselves and learn at the same time. Group work: teenagers are social animals and even though they may be quite self-conscious, they crave relationships and peer interaction. Role-playing and acting: this is a great way for teenagers to let themselves go and express themselves freely. Role-playing allows them to vent their feelings in a safe way as it can be perceived as just a "role" that a student is playing and not their true selves. Class knowledge: teenagers know a lot about various topics and a teacher should tap into their interests and passions for class content. A quick pace: teenagers don't have a long attention span for a single topic unless various short activities are used with a quick pace. Games: teenagers are competitive in that they like to show off and win in groups

Not quite-yet-adults and not-still-children is a difficult thing to be. Interests vary, emotions run high and frustrations deep however the average teenager is an inquisitive, charming contrast of innocence and worldliness and has a thirst for knowledge that is endless. A teacher who understands the characteristics of a

teenage learner, effective teaching methods and the resources to put those methods into practise is a teacher who will motivate and challenge a teenage class to learn with interest.

References

Puchta, Herbert. Teaching Teenagers: Model Activity Sequences for Humanistic Language Learning, United Kingdom, Longman, 1993. http://www.suite101.com/content/teaching-teenagers--how-to-motivate-andinterest-them-a229340Why Teach ESL Vocabulary?

The elements of a foreign language are like a tree. The trunk and branches signify grammar and the leaves signify vocabulary. Leaves cannot exist without the trunk and branches and the trunk and branches serve no purpose if there are no leaves. That is why it is impossible to understand an oral discussion or written text without having acquired some basic elements of all parts of the foreign language. How to Teach ESL Vocabulary

There are many different ways to teach vocabulary to ESL students. The most popular methods involve letting students look for definitions in a dictionary, giving a detailed description of the appearance and qualities of the word or using synonyms to make students understand the new word.

There are also other methods requiring more awareness on the part of the student and more detailed presentation on the part of the ESL teacher, such as:

using examples using illustrations in the form of pictures or objects demonstrating the word through acting or miming putting the word in a meaningful context in a story or appropriate sentence using opposites

translating the word into the students' native language using associated ideas

Ideas for Vocabulary Activities

While there are unlimited opportunities for learning new vocabulary in real-life situations, a classroom setting can be a difficult place to set up meaningful situations in which a student will find himself naturally confronted by new vocabulary and the need to learn or use it. The following ideas for vocabulary work in class may not be equal to authentic, real-life situations but they are useful and effective ways to teach vocabulary to ESL students.

Brainstorming: This is useful for revision and for the introduction of new words. This technique can be used as a warm-up exercise or as a way to teach new vocabulary. Teachers write a single word in the middle of the board and ask students to brainstorm any words they can think of that are connected to that word in some way. Teachers write down all suggestions with a line connecting them to the original word. At the end of the exercise, there will be a star-like diagram of associated vocabulary linked to the original word. Students will have had the opportunity to learn new words, suggested by others, that they didn't know at the beginning of the lesson. A discussion of new words can take place at the end of the brainstorming exercise.

Identifying Known Words: This is a morale-boosting exercise in that it stresses what students know rather than what they don't know. It also encourages student cooperation and peer teaching in class. Students are given a text and asked to underline all the words they know. They are then split into groups to share their knowledge. They must explain what they know to others who don't, in English. At the end of the exercise, each group presents their remaining unknown words, which are thrown open to the floor for discussion and explanation by the whole class. This method is built entirely around the students as the teacher only intervenes at the end, as a last resort, if students are unable to explain a word accurately.

Fill-in the Blanks: Students are split into groups and given a text in which words have been removed. Their task is to fill in the blanks with the correct words. Teachers can provide a list of possible words for weaker groups and let stronger

groups guess without a backup list. This exercise is not only effective for learning and revising vocabulary but for learning correct grammar tense usage. Teachers can use worksheets that have already been designed for this type of exercise or they can create their own fill-in-the-blank worksheets online.

There are endless ways to teach vocabulary to ESL students. In addition to the methods listed in this article, teachers can also use flashcards or put students into real-life situations where they are forced to understand the meaning of the words through the context in which they find themselves. References

Piccolo, Louanne (2009) TEFL Teacher Training Manual. Modane, France: TEFL France Savoie.

Content from author's own experience

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/73147.aspx#ixzz1MCUFgSK G http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/73147.aspx Young children may not be able to tell the time in their own language, yet, but ESL teachers can still prepare them to tell the time in English. There are some wonderful ways to teach this skill through games and the following ESL telling time vocabulary English lesson for ages 5-7 is one of them. Teaching Children Numbers in ESL

For children to be able to tell the time in English they must be able to count from one to twelve. There are hundreds of language games enabling teachers to teach English vocabulary to children and so many of them include original and fun ways to teach children how to count.

Using flashcards activities is always an effective way to teach children but the disadvantage of using them to teach children how to count is that numbers tend to

be learned as a whole with this method. Although children are able to recite numbers in the correct order they are unable to pick out one number and say what it is in their native language. This may also be true for the rocket game where children count from one to ten before letting go of and launching their blown-up balloon as a rocket going off into space. However, these two methods are ideal for teaching children number vocabulary, which can later be used in other games to differentiate numbers and use them to tell the time later on.

A way to make sure that children do not learn their numbers as a whole when using flashcard activities is to mix them up and show them to the class in a jumbled order. Children may need time to count the pictures on the flashcards but this is not an important setback as long as they are capable of understanding what the number is and use the correct English word to name the number.

What's the time, Mr Wolf?

"What's the Time, Mr Wolf?" is a favourite of children learning English as a second language. Once children can count from one to twelve, they can play this game to revise and understand number vocabulary as well as to begin the process of telling the time in English.

This game can be played indoors or outdoors and with a small or large group of children.

Children line up on a line or at the back of the classroom and hold hands One child who is the wolf stands with his back to the rest of the class against the opposite wall or at least 20 metres away from the others The first child in the line asks the wolf, "What's the time, Mr Wolf?" The wolf answers randomly by using a sentence like, "It's five o' clock." The entire line of children must advance five steps Each child in the line has a chance to ask the time and each time the line must advance the number of corresponding steps

At any time the wolf can turn and shout "It's time to eat!" and try and catch a child who will then become the next wolf

This is a simple ESL telling time vocabulary English lesson for ages 5-7 that makes learning and understanding numbers and the time fun for children. Older children also enjoy playing this game, which can be used as revision for them.

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/82551.aspx#ixzz1MCWCHu Um http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/82551.aspx Methods of teaching English have changed and developed over the thousands of years that people have been learning languages. More recently, there have been four main approaches to teaching English as a second language, some very popular and effective, while others are no longer widely used. The Grammar-Translation Method

This method was the most common way of learning languages for centuries and is still used in many situations and countries. The Grammar-Translation method of teaching English as a second language focuses mostly on teaching students about the language but not how to use it practically. Students may have a vast knowledge of grammatical rules but are never provided with opportunities to put their knowledge into practice through discussion, conversation, activities or role-playing.

The fact that the Grammar-Translation method of teaching is based on grammatical analysis to understand the construction of English as a foreign language means that it is not a "natural" method of learning a language. Children do not need to learn the rules of their native language, they assimilate the rules through using and hearing the language. The Audio-Lingual Method

This method to teaching English as a second language relies heavily on the assumption that learning is a result of habit formation through conditioning. Conditioning usually takes the form of long, repetitive drilling and is considered

boring by most students. Drilling is not real, nor is it realistic language that speakers use in everyday life. However, it is an effective tool, used sparingly, for beginners to learn vocabulary.

This method went rapidly out of fashion in the language learning circles because learning to speak a foreign language is far more subtle and complex than forming habits. The Task-based Method

BMS classrooms

The emphasis of this method is on language-based tasks rather than on the language itself. Teachers who use this method focus on giving tasks to be completed to students. During the task, problems and errors often become evident and once the task is finished teachers then discuss the error and explain why it was wrong, teach the necessary rules and set another task for their students.

An example of a lesson using the task-based method of language learning:

The task is for students to ask for and give information about train and bus timetables Students are given the timetables, put into pairs and perform their task The teacher walks around and listens to students while jotting down any language problems Once the task is completed, the teacher goes through the errors with students and explains how to correct them

The Communicative Language Teaching Method

The CLT method differs radically from the other, older approaches to teaching English as a second language that have tended to dominate language teaching over the years. It has two main strands to it:

All language used involves language functions such as inviting, agreeing, disagreeing etc. and must be used appropriately Students are given enough exposure to language and opportunities to use the language for language learning to take place

The idea behind this method is that people learn languages in order to communicate and not to simply know the rules of grammar without being able to use them practically. Adults and children learning English are given the chance to use real language in a classroom setting through role-playing, language games, discussions, technology-based ESL activities and other activities.

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/86390.aspx#ixzz1MCWtTh wEhttp://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/86390.aspx From 'Games for Language Learning' by Andrew Wright, David Betteridge and Michael Buckby Cambridge University Press, 1984.

'Language learning is hard work ... Effort is required at every moment and must be maintained over a long period of time. Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work.'

'Games also help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful. The learners want to take part and in order to do so must understand what others are saying or have written, and they must speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give information.'

'The need for meaningfulness in language learning has been accepted for some years. A useful interpretation of 'meaningfulness' is that the learners respond to the content in a definite way. If they are amused, angered, intrigued or surprised the content is clearly meaningful to them. Thus the meaning of the language they listen to, read, speak and write will be more vividly experienced and, therefore, better remembered.

If it is accepted that games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language, then they must be regarded as central to a teacher's repertoire. They are thus not for use solely on wet days and at the end of term!' (from Introduction, p. 1)

From 'Six Games for the EFL/ESL Classroom' by Aydan Ersoz The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VI, No. 6, June 2000.

'Language learning is a hard task which can sometimes be frustrating. Constant effort is required to understand, produce and manipulate the target language. Wellchosen games are invaluable as they give students a break and at the same time allow students to practise language skills. Games are highly motivating since they are amusing and at the same time challenging. Furthermore, they employ meaningful and useful language in real contexts. They also encourage and increase cooperation.'

'Games are highly motivating because they are amusing and interesting. They can be used to give practice in all language skills and be used to practice many types of communication.'

From 'Creative Games for the Language Class' by Lee Su Kim 'Forum' Vol. 33 No 1, January - March 1995, Page 35.

'There is a common perception that all learning should be serious and solemn in nature, and that if one is having fun and there is hilarity and laughter, then it is not

really learning. This is a misconception. It is possible to learn a language as well as enjoy oneself at the same time. One of the best ways of doing this is through games.'

'There are many advantages of using games in the classroom:

1. Games are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class. 2. They are motivating and challenging. 3. Learning a language requires a great deal of effort. Games help students to make and sustain the effort of learning. 4. Games provide language practice in the various skills- speaking, writing, listening and reading. 5. They encourage students to interact and communicate. 6. They create a meaningful context for language use.' . From 'The Use of Games For Vocabulary Presentation and Revision' by Agnieszka Uberman 'Forum' Vol. 36 No 1, January - March 1998 Page 20.

Using Games

'Many experienced textbook and methodology manuals writers have argued that games are not just time-filling activities but have a great educational value. W. R. Lee holds that most language games make learners use the language instead of thinking about learning the correct forms (1979:2). He also says that games should be treated as central not peripheral to the foreign language teaching programme. A similar opinion is expressed by Richard-Amato, who believes games to be fun but warns against overlooking their pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching. There are many advantages of using games. "Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely" (Richard-Amato 1988:147). They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings (Hansen 1994:118). They also

enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson. Furthermore, to quote Richard-Amato, they, "add diversion to the regular classroom activities," break the ice, "[but also] they are used to introduce new ideas" (1988:147). In the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better (Wierus and Wierus 1994:218). S. M. Silvers says many teachers are enthusiastic about using games as "a teaching device," yet they often perceive games as mere time-fillers, "a break from the monotony of drilling" or frivolous activities. He also claims that many teachers often overlook the fact that in a relaxed atmosphere, real learning takes place, and students use the language they have been exposed to and have practised earlier (1982:29). Further support comes from Zdybiewska, who believes games to be a good way of practising language, for they provide a model of what learners will use the language for in real life in the future (1994:6).'

'Games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency. If not for any of these reasons, they should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and not just problems that at times seem overwhelming.'

When to Use Games

'Games are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a lesson. Yet, as Lee observes, a game "should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do" (1979:3). Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages. Rixon suggests that games be used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen.'

'Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material in a pleasant, entertaining way. All authors referred to in this article agree that even if games resulted only in noise and entertained students, they are still worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom since they motivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generate fluency.'

From 'Learning Vocabulary Through Games' by Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Khuat Thi Thu Nga 'Asian EFL Journal' - December 2003.

'Games have been shown to have advantages and effectiveness in learning vocabulary in various ways. First, games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words more easily. Second, games usually involve friendly competition and they keep learners interested. These create the motivation for learners of English to get involved and participate actively in the learning activities. Third, vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance students' use of English in a flexible, communicative way.'

'Therefore, the role of games in teaching and learning vocabulary cannot be denied. However, in order to achieve the most from vocabulary games, it is essential that suitable games are chosen. Whenever a game is to be conducted, the number of students, proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings are factors that should be taken into account.'

'In conclusion, learning vocabulary through games is one effective and interesting way that can be applied in any classrooms. The results of this research suggest that games are used not only for mere fun, but more importantly, for the useful practice and review of language lessons, thus leading toward the goal of improving learners' communicative competence.'

From 'Using Games in an EFL Class for Children' by Yin Yong Mei and Jang Yu-jing Daejin University ELT Research Paper. Fall, 2000.

Why Use Games in Class Time?

* Games are fun and children like to play them. Through games children experiment, discover, and interact with their environment. (Lewis, 1999) * Games add variation to a lesson and increase motivation by providing a plausible incentive to use the target language. For many children between four and twelve years old, especially the youngest, language learning will not be the key motivational factor. Games can provide this stimulus. (Lewis, 1999)

* The game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to the children. It brings the target language to life. (Lewis, 1999) * The game makes the reasons for speaking plausible even to reluctant children. (Lewis, 1999) * Through playing games, students can learn English the way children learn their mother tongue without being aware they are studying; thus without stress, they can learn a lot. * Even shy students can participate positively.

How to Choose Games (Tyson, 2000)

* A game must be more than just fun. * A game should involve "friendly" competition. * A game should keep all of the students involved and interested. * A game should encourage students to focus on the use of language rather than on the language itself. * A game should give students a chance to learn, practice, or review specific language material.

From 'Index Cards: A Natural Resource for Teachers' by M. Martha Lengeling and Casey Malarcher 'Forum' Vol. 35 No 4, October - December 1997 Page 42.

'In an effort to supplement lesson plans in the ESL classroom, teachers often turn to games. The justification for using games in the classroom has been well demonstrated as benefiting students in a variety of ways. These benefits range from cognitive aspects of language learning to more co-operative group dynamics.'

General Benefits of Games

Affective: - lowers affective filter - encourages creative and spontaneous use of language - promotes communicative competence - motivates - fun

Cognitive: - reinforces - reviews and extends - focuses on grammar communicatively

Class Dynamics: - student centered - teacher acts only as facilitator - builds class cohesion - fosters whole class participation - promotes healthy competition

Adaptability: - easily adjusted for age, level, and interests - utilizes all four skills - requires minimum preparation after development http://www.teflgames.com/why.html How to Teach English As A Foreign Language To Children By braniac, eHow User

Do you have a love of the English language and of teaching children? Then Teaching English as a Foreign Language may be the ideal career for you

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

It is important to have a general understanding of children and of child development so you can plan your lessons accordingly. 2

It is a good idea to have at least a basic knowledge of the language in the country in which you're teaching, since the children may be quite young and have a low level of English. 3

It is important to try and only use English the entire time in the classroom with the children. If they don't understand something you say, show them. Demonstrate as much as possible and remember to use many games, songs, and activities to get them moving. 4

Never force the children to speak. They should enjoy the lessons and not feel stressed about going to English class. The best way to get them to speak is to show them a picture and to say something like 'Is this a bird, or a cat?' and try to use a word that they already know. They usually want to speak it then.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2326695_english-as-foreign-language-children.html

The weekly column

Article 49, February 2001 Jokes in Teaching English as a Foreign Language By Gordana Pecnik

It is of extreme importance that a joke a teacher uses in teaching English as a foreign language is in some connection with the new material the teacher is about to introduce. The above statement can be supported with two arguments. The first argument can be presented in the form of the following joke:

Teacher: John. Give me a sentence beginning with 'I'. John: I is the... Teacher: No, John. You must say "I am" not "I is." John: All right. I am the ninth letter of the alphabet. (Hutchinson 1985, 86)

This joke is presented in the coursebook Project English 1 which has been used in Slovenian primary schools for some years. That particular page introduces ordinal numerals. The joke is completely relevant to the given situation and therefore appropriate to this context. It shows a practical usage of the ordinal numeral 'ninth'. The students can use it as a guiding activity to the game which follows and at the same time they can relax and laugh for a while. In this way their attention becomes stronger. However, some jokes do not seem to be relevant in any way to the situation in which they are introduced. Here is an example which supports my argument:

Customer: This restaurant must have a very clean kitchen.

Waitress: Thank you, sir. How do you know? Customer: Everything tastes like soap. (Hutchinson 1987, 52)

This joke is on the page which deals with family relationships. There is also an introduction to non-defining relative clauses, and adjectives expressing feelings. But none of these seem to be connected in any way to the joke. When students read this joke they cannot find any relevant connection with the context. Their attention is then shifted to a completely different situation and their thoughts can easily wander elsewhere. As a consequence the students can lose their concentration and therefore a teacher has her work cut out for her for the remaining part of the lesson.

As I see it, a foreign language teacher can take two possible approaches to introducing a joke in language teaching:

The first approach concentrates on a more profound purpose and that is to teach students how the English sense of humour works. The second approach deals with a rather straightforward use of jokes in the teaching of vocabulary and grammar.

a) Teaching how the English sense of humour works

The basis for every nation's humour lies in its historical, socio-cultural and linguistic background. In order to get to know a nation's sense of humour one is forced to search much deeper.

It is a world-wide belief that the English people have a strange sense of humour. I strongly oppose this statement. Further on, I would like to add that such a statement is used only by the people who know very little about the English language.

In contrast to the Slovenian language which is an inflectional language, English is an analytical language. In other words inflections are scarce, grammatical meanings must be expressed by alternative means like periphrastic constructions, word order etc. As a result of this the English language is abundant in idioms, phrases, homonyms and homophones. Most of the English jokes are based on such play on words.

So what can a teacher do to improve the students' understanding of the English sense of humour? As a starting point a teacher can try to introduce jokes which are closely related to the Slovene cultural and historical background, giving emphasis on the words her students are already familiar with. Once this stage is reached she can gradually proceed to improving their understanding by various activities. The most appropriate ones would, in my opinion, be multiple choice exercises and exercises involving mixed lines of a joke. The former can be based on the principle that a joke would lack a punch line and the students' task would be to choose among three possibilities: the right punch line, a straightforward ending and a completely unsuitable ending. The latter could, on the other hand, be based on the concept that a three-lined joke would have the mixed order of its lines so the students would need to put them in the right order. These activities can make the students more aware of the role of the humour in ambiguous words and in this way they can enrich their vocabularies and simultaneously participate in an active language practice.

b) Teaching of vocabulary and grammar

A joke is a suitable educational device. In this concrete situation it can be used in various ways. Here I present just a few suggestions:

to introduce a new topic or theme, tense, vocabulary or any other grammatical structure to unburden the students of tension which appears during such lessons that involve a great amount of concentration to prepare the students for more serious work involving various mental processes to conclude a lesson in a pleasant way and at the same time remind them of the newly gained knowledge etc.

Most of the teaching aids can be used to realise the above possibilities such as blackboard, cassette player, overhead projector, posters, photocopies etc.

After a great deal of thinking I am of the opinion that jokes can be used in various ways. They can be modified into compositions, essays, translations, poems, pictures, dramas, role-plays, games, questions and answers etc. A teacher can suggest students to find possible equivalents in the Slovene language, challenge them with such tasks as organising a joke competition, or even facing them with a more demanding preposition and that is to collect all the jokes they know and publish them in the school paper. If these suggestions do not offer enough possibilities for teachers then they could organise a didactic activity for getting more ideas from their own students called 6x6 (six people give six ideas in six minutes). I am sure that students would be more than willing to co-operate.

However, the best effect of introducing a joke in teaching of vocabulary or grammar is, in my opinion, reached when it is simply told. Every explanation or expansion spoils it. A joke should stay a joke otherwise its purpose may be questionable. And one last warning. A teacher should be extremely careful about telling jokes. Not every teacher is a good joke-teller so it is of high importance to extensively prepare oneself for such an activity. Even the most amusing and entertaining joke loses its significance if it is told at an inconvenient time and place. A good teacher, however, always distinguishes between an appropriate and inappropriate moment.

Conclusion

Humour is said to be the best physical exercise - laughter relaxes all facial muscles, unwrinkles the forehead, the body receives more oxygen, and the breathing deepens automatically.

The next few paragraphs are based on the translation of the introduction to Seliskar's Bits and Bobs (1992):

One of the aims of foreign language learning is to get to know the nation's culture and to learn to respect it. Humour reveals the most hidden parts of a nation's culture. Only few teachers include humour systematically into the educational

process. Most of them are certain that students can learn less if they are laughing. The truth is quite the opposite. Laughter brings people closer together and therefore effects in the same way teachers and students.

These humorous activities introduced in this seminar paper which last just a few minutes can easily change the educational process. They can be used as an introduction to a lesson; a starting point for a discussion, creative activity or project work; a means of help to relax the students and prepare them for more serious work; a device which enables students to concentrate their attention to one topic and a pleasant conclusion of a lesson.

And what is more rewarding for a teacher than to see the students leaving the classroom with a smile on their faces and at the same time knowing they learned new vocabulary, structure and function?

(Translated from Seliskar 1992, 7-9)

Bibliography

Hutchinson, T. 1985. Project English 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hutchinson, T. 1987. Project English 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Seliskar, N. 1992. Bits and Bobs. Ljubljana: Zavod Republike Slovenije za solstvo in sport.

About the Author

My name is Gordana Pecnik and I am a teacher of English at a Secondary School for Mechanical Engineering in Celje, Slovenia. Currently I am finishing the M.A. degree in English Teaching Methodology. My main interest is ESP.

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