Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood.

In this period, the teenager undergoes many changes such as his/she body, personality, intelligence, and their role inside or outside the neighborhood. Their body looks like an adults, but they cannot be considered as adults. Their experience about adult world is not enough. Therefore, we should know the characteristics of teenager. There are some characteristics, they are: (1) Physical development. Physical condition changes quickly, it is faster than childhood and adulthood. To balance the fast development, teenagers need good nutrition (they need much more to eat and sleep). In this case, sometimes parents do not want to understand and to get angr y if their children eat and sleep too much. Teenagers physical development can be seen obviously from legs and arms, muscles of the body growth, so that he/she looks tall, but his/she head still resembles a childs. Many teenagers have problems with their skin, especially on faces. Owing to rapid growth, teenagers start to pay close attention to their appearance. All drawbacks are often exaggerated but for some it can result in the low self esteem and becoming reserved, if their real appearance is far from their ideal picture of themselves (2) Sexual Organ Development. Sexual organs development sometimes causes trouble such as fights, suicide, and the others. The characteristics of sexual development on boys are; the production of sperm, the testes and scrotum begin to increase in size, pubic hair begins to appear. They get menarche or on set of menstruation almost always after the peak rate of growth in height has occurred, and related quite closely to body weight, initial appearance of Downy (non-pigmented pubic hair), the increase in size of uterus and vagina and pubichair begins to appear. If the sexual development occurs early or late, it can cause troubles for them. (3)Anxiety. Anxiety is not quite a condition that dominates teenagers. They have much curiosity which can not be always compiled with. In one hand, they want to look for experience, because it can increase and attract their knowledge in their social intercourse. Besides that, they feel that they are not able to do everything yet. They want to know all the events that happen in a wider neighborhood, but they do not dare to show some reactions or solutions to find experience and knowledge from the sources directly. Finally they are only dominated by anxiety that cause their desire unexpressed. (4)Conflict. Conflicts which occur in themselves also cause anxiety for themself or the others. Commonly conflict can become a dispute or conflict of opinions and views between teenagers and their parents. Then, this conflict may cause a desire to flee from their parents. But the desire to flee contrasted with the desire to get safe condition in their house. They do not dare to take the risks because they have left the safe condition around their family. In addition, the desire to flee is absolutely not followed by the ability to stand alone, without getting help anymore from their family especially in the matter of finance

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Characteristics of teenagers
Age as a factor. Much research has been carried out in order to determine the importance of age in the learning process.The factor was resolved in debates of individual differences in SLA.Scientists always tried to answer the question whether adults learn in the same way as children. Littlewood (1984: 65) says that for many people it is evident that children can learn better than grown-ups. He explicates that the most common explanation for these observation is that there is a 'critical period', during which the brain is flexible and language learning can occur naturally and easily. Penfield and Roberts (as cited in Ellis;1997,107) agree with such a theory and claim that optimum age for language acquisition comes within the first ten years of life. During this time the brain retains the plasticity which then begins to disappear. Initially the neurological capacity for understanding language and producing it involves both hemispheres of the brain and then it begins to change. For most people the capacity concentrates in the left hemisphere. Lenneberg (as cited in Ellis; 1996 ,107) found that it is easier to acquire language before puberty.There is only one exception - pronunciation. Younger learners are better in acquiring pronunciation skills. According to Komorowska (1993; 50) children have an aptitude for this which adults do not. They have more time and their speech organs are plastic.Their spontaneity, lack of inhibitions, quick adaptation to new situations, willingness to take risk, trustingness and activeness are their advantages in a case of early start in learning. At the same time she claims that age is not propitious to positive results in learning but the length of study. On the authority of Snow and Hoefnagel-Hhle (as cited in Ellis;1997; 105) addolescents are the learners who progress most rapidly. They found that teenagers (12 to 15 years) learn faster than the adults or the children from 6 to 10 years. As Ellis (1996; 108) said older learners can learn about the target language.They are able to study linguistic rules consciously. With the referance to Piaget (as cited in Wade,& Tavris; 1990;504) young people (about 12) hit the stage of formal operations and begin to use abstract reasoning. They are able to recognize differences as well as similarities. Arends (1991;264) corresponds to that opinion. He says that they depend on abstract symbols and mental imagery although they still use iconic mode. Fathman (as cited in Littlewood,1984;66) found that learners of English between 11 and 15 acquire grammar more rapidly than children aged between 6 and 10. On the other hand young children even do not know that they acquire language.They do that automatically and naturally. According to Ellis (1996;108) youngsters do not treat language as a form but as 'a tool for expressing meaning'. In a case of teenagers it is rather difficult to interact with others in the target language because as Damim et al.(2002) noticed it is a time of great changes for them, everything is new, they are afraid to take risk and use foreign language. One of the reason of that kind of unwillingness can be that teenagers do not want to lose their own style and idiom - their own language - in their mother tongue. It is a kind of tool through which they communicate and identify with their mates. On the other hand the authors agree that they are fast learners but very often change their mood and cannot concentrate. They are dynamic but aggressive towards teachers. Teenagers all the time test their tutors' knowledge and patience. School discipline problems are widely talked over by Gagne (1982;73) who indicates that if bad behaved pupils are continually reprimended their misbehaviors may reinforce.The teachers mentioned above noticed that teens like movement and enjoy this kind of activities. For instance leaving classroom to find some information, or run to the board to point to the proper answer or something like that can help to lead in a nice and natural atmosphere in which teenagers would be more relaxed and start to use a new language without any objections. Knowing teenagers' psychology it is easier to find the best methods to teach them properly. It is mentioned above that they like movement so games are certainly the ones which should be in use in a process of teaching. Motivation as a factor. Motivation plays a special and significant role in everything we do. Even to get up every morning we need to know why. All people in every age achieve their aims because of motivation. This factor is also important for teachers who should be aware of their learners reasons of action. However the role of parents is all the same and even more. Arends (1991;109) claims that students can be encouraged by their parents to take risk or become discouraged through punishment for mistakes. So, what is it motivation? According to Gardner and Lambert (as cited in Ellis 1996;117) it is the persevarance 'shown by the learner in striving for a goal'. Very similar definition is uttered by Child (1991;32) as 'internal process which spur us on to satisfy some need'. Another theorist Arends (1991;108) says that it is 'one of the important forces that guides ' learner's actions.They are very similar because the idea is only one - it is an inside power which allows people achieve their goals. Gardner and Lambert (as

cited in Ellis;1984,57) distinguished two kinds of motivation: 'integrative' and 'instrumental'. The first refers to people who live abroad and want to identify with foreigners and their culture. They need the new language to communicate simply to exist in a new environment. Instrumantal motivation refers to achieving goals like passing exams, getting a better job, gaining a necessary qualification and other things like that. Very often learners are motivated by a mixture of them both. According to Komorowska (1993;61) on the one hand it is an unselfish interest in a foreign language and culture and on the other hand learners can see measurable advantages from the fact of studying the language. She claims that it is very strong motivatin as it is intrinsic one. Another author Ellis (1997;76) agrees with such a theory and adds that 'motivation is dynamic in nature'. So it means that motivation is a modifiable learner's factor. As Madeline Hunter (as cited in Arends;1991:109-113) concluded, teachers can modify and control factors associated with motivation. The factors are connected with a level of concerns, success, feeling tones, knowledge of results, classroom goals, reward structure or students' achievement. Teachers who develop their way of teaching can influence on modification of learners' motivation. It is important in a case of intermediate level learners. According to Allen (1983;67) 'a beginning student is usually somewhat interested' but later 'the experience is no longer new'. To keep the interest they need to be rawarded for making an effort. Komorowska (1993;55) confirms that opinion and adds that it is very important for students to like a person who teaches the subject. The liking is not connected mostly with a pleasure personality of the teacher but with his or her knowledge and authority. What is more honesty and justice are crucial for teenagers, who are really receptive on this point. Apart from this to refresh their motivation the themes or the book should be chosen more carefully. The ideal situation is when students can discuss in English subjects which are interesting for them(Haycraft;1978;7). To make the lessons attractive it is very useful to introduce exercises which have a playing nature. It is connected with the necessity of communication which is a very important goal as a way of motivation. According to Edge (1993;106) there are two main reasons why students listen or read. It happens because of enjoyment and information. In Chapter 2 the subject is handled more. Brown (2000;160) calls motivation as 'a key to learning' and shows situations in which learners can be unmotivated. The lack of motivation can appear when the reward is unsatisfactory, for instance when there is no possibility to use language skills in practice during common social context. Moreover as the authors of the article 'Teaching teenagers' (2002) mention another unmotivated situation is when a teacher put too much pressure on a particular student and the rest of group can have a negative attitude and classroom atmosphere can be spoiled. So they advice not to overestimate students abilities and misjudge their potential. They also suggest to inform all the class about the responsibility they have for the atmosphere during learning process. It is not only one person's job to create it. The authors mention another keyword 'limits'. Teenagers always try to break limits but it does not mean that they are for anarchy in school life. They only want to check how far they can go. If the teacher gives them a permission to break the rules they feel neglected. They would prefer to feel that the teacher cares. It is important to show enjoyment of teaching the subject even in difficult situations. Teens should never see teachers' negative feelings as it spoils the class. Students appreciate their tutors if they like them because they have positive attitude towards the subject. Damim et al. (2002) claim that adolescence is a time of great changes but teaching them can be not only stressful but also rewarding when you put your heart into your work. By putting our hearts into what we do, we get not only the best from our students but from ourselves as well. (Demim et al.,2002:11) Treating teenagers very serious, showing them that they are important and when they notice that the teacher cares, it is very probable that whichever strategy he/she chooses the young people approve it without any resistance and they become more confident, responsible and involved in classroom activities. However sometimes the success in motivating teenagers does not appear. It can be caused by individual students' problems which cannot be solved by the teacher. On the whole it is unlikely that using the methods mentioned above to motivate teenagers style be benefitial to learners in learning foreign language. The challenge for teachers is to develop new ways to motivate learners, addressing both their needs and interests. Nowadays learners are more demanding and expect new ways of teaching, for instance playing games to study or revise some vocabulary. It is much more interesting than traditional strategies

Physical Characteristics

Emotional Characteristics

Although some areas of the brain continue to develop all through the teenage years, a high school student's body may appear to be fully mature. Girls in particular are likely to reach full sexual maturity by age 17, while some boys don't finish puberty until after high school. Depending on the students' stages of puberty, the physical characteristics of high school students often include acne, growth spurts, adult hair growth, voice register changes for boys and the beginnings of menstruation for girls.

Social Characteristics

All the changes happening in the teenage body and brain can be an emotional strain on high school students. They feel awkward in their bodies, self-conscious about their appearance and misunderstood. It is emotionally characteristic for high school students to be highly preoccupied with what other people think of them, because their brains are developing the ability for metacognition, or thinking about thinking. This ability allows them to understand on a new level that other people may be judging them.

Effects
The common effects of these physical, social and emotional characteristics on high school students have become stereotypical -- the clique of judgmental girls, the rebellious teenager looking to assert his autonomy, the awkward courtships between people who are just discovering their sexual identities. The familiar image of the depressed, selfmutilating high schoolers or the teenage girls with eating disorders are also based in these characteristics, and, indeed, these are real problems that teenagers often face. Their newly found self-awareness can make high school students' lives much more complicated than they were in middle school.

High school students tend to prefer the company of their friends to that of their families. Teens are in the process of figuring out who they are as individuals, and this is a step in that process. One social characteristic of high school students is that they often take their behavioral cues from their peers; they may judge anyone who doesn't follow their peer set's rules as socially incompetent. This is the social phenomenon that leads to cliques and the teenager's desperate need to fit in. Along with their maturing bodies, high school students also have maturing sexual identities, and they may begin to experiment with sexual activity.

Typical Characteristics of Teenagers Compiled by Bob Stahn Emotionally Near sighted Invincible, risk taker Self conscious Doesnt know self Defensive often Curious Moody, chaotic internally Awkward In transition from child to adult Confused/confusing New and wonderful experiences Sensitive about self Insensitive about others ***** Volatile Know-it-all Disconnected with others Experimenting Enmeshed with peers Unstable Dependent Independent (second toddlerhood) Narrow minded Does not know self Inadequate

Insecure******* Physically Awkward Experimenting Energetic Hormone driven Out of control Mobile/free Rarely like own appearance- In transition from child to adult Gawky (as is anything in its adolescence)- Often hungry or eating Growing (out of clothes)- Maybe adult body (but not maturity) Socially Peer oriented/pressure Be seen/recognized (on stage) Self conscious Mobility In transition Freedom Unskilled/Awkward Experimental Manipulative Insensitive about others Without a niche Sensitive about self Liberated from kid status Clothes/status Pairing up interests Manipulative Acceptance-focused behavior Alone/misfit Individual identity Intellectually Black and white thinking Abstract thinking Idealistic thinking Here-and-now thinking only (no future) Pseudo-stupidity (due to little experience) Want distance from parents

Experimentation with boundaries Experimentation with values Question Who am I? Question Am I normal?