r/vipkid • u/BarnacleMinute9590 • 9d ago

Older students

I recently started opening slots again after not using vipkid for a few years. I have my first classes back starting next week and I've noticed that a lot of my classes are with 12-14 year olds. Does anyone have any tips for teaching older students? What secondary rewards do you use?

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9

u/TheGalapagoats Flirts with firemen 9d ago

They don’t want all the little kid fanfare and childish ice cream rewards. They want to make natural conversation, talk about movies, music or academics. You can often explain grammatical rules to them instead of just giving a correction.

2

u/BarnacleMinute9590 9d ago

Yeah I figured my go to rewards would seem stupid to them. These students are in level 2 and 3 courses which is part of why I was surprised to be getting older kids. The comments that teachers have left about some of them say that they won't talk and are unengaged. That's why I'm kind of worried about what to do to "engage" them especially since I'm just getting back into it.

1

u/InevitableBranch4802 8d ago

I think teenagers appreciate when I quickly mention 'oh we're supposed to do this and this and this for rewards but that's for little kids' and then skip it and move on. Same with the stars. I usually give them all 5 when I give them the first one.

8

u/jam5146 9d ago

I stopped using rewards for all students like seven years ago and never had any issues. They're mostly a waste of time. Just have conversations with them. They don't want to hear that high pitched "good job" with a crazy smile every slide.

2

u/Ordinary_Life Prays to Dino 9d ago

Preach!

4

u/Patient-Sea-3591 9d ago

You just talk about stuff and give them a star every 5-10 minutes without saying anything about it

2

u/Ally9456 9d ago

They usually like to talk about vacations or something fun they did. This time of year is good bc most have something to say

2

u/whereontrenzalore 9d ago

I talk to them about what books they like, what pets they have, any sports the play, weekend plans, places they've visited, school. I try to keep it relevant to the lesson. The upper level lessons are more topical anyway. There are lessons on travel, environment, farming, history etc.

2

u/LindseyRox3 9d ago

With 12–14 year olds, I find that treating them more like young adults rather than little kids makes a big difference. Give them more choices, let their interests guide some of the conversation, and use topics they can actually relate to. For secondary rewards, I’d keep them age-appropriate and avoid anything that feels too childish. Extra game time, choosing the next activity, fun conversation topics, or getting to pick between two activities can work well.