Adolescence is a special stage that changes many aspects of a person’s life as they transition from childhood to adulthood which has a considerable effect on the learning language process.
There are several characteristics of adolescent learners but identity formation and cognitive development are unique characteristics of them. First of all, identity formation with the main feature is self-esteem. Adolescents have high self-esteem which makes them feel valuable and seek affirmation from peers and others about their competence and worthiness. This is shown in their role in a group, they want to function as advisors or people who provide support to others. However, they have strong responses if their ideas are not accepted or get negative feedback. Another special characteristic of learners in adolescence is cognitive development. In this stage, teenagers begin to understand abstract concepts deeply and reason logically so they like to engage in complex problem-solving where they can form ideas or questions, think about possibilities, compare or debate opinions, and choose the solution for the problem. In addition, adolescent learners pay more attention time than in the previous stage which allows them to receive information efficiently. Besides that, students develop diverse learning styles by the influence of all changes in this stage.
These characteristics affect directly and indirectly on language learning process of adolescent learners. Teachers should encourage learners to engage in learning activities to have an effective lesson because they want affirmation from others. Teachers provide the opportunity to perform cooperation activities, group work, debate, project-based learning, task-based learning, and so on. Besides that, the learning activities should be practical and reasonable. Because of abstract thinking, they tend to do useful activities that are needed for themselves, set the scene is an example that provides the reason why students read or listen. Another important thing when teaching learners in this stage is constructive feedback that helps students improve but does not hurt their self-esteem because of sensitization when facing negative feedback.