How do I motivate my teenager to study? Study in Melbourne with Academia!

study in Melbourne, motivate my teenager to study

While our focus may be on international students at Academia (for which we’ve won many awards), we also offer many courses for Australian and New Zealand students.

In particular, many students fresh out of secondary school choose to study in Melbourne or Brisbane with us.

Our goal is to provide them with a stellar education that prepares them for success in their chosen endeavours through courses across a number of departments.

And good, effective study is a vital part of reaching that goal!

Do you have a teenager at home who needs that extra push of motivation to study their chosen course? Or are you a potential Academia student yourself, recently out of high school and looking to start your tertiary education?

Homework v study: what’s the difference?

Think of “study” as an umbrella term that covers everything a student does in their own time to learn more about their subjects.

While that includes homework and assignments set by teachers, it also includes:

Independent learning
Out-of-class practice
Research
Watching YouTube videos
Talking about subjects with other students

Study takes many forms – at Academia, we offer a range of extra activities and clubs which don’t only help you connect with fellow students, but also help you study and revise.

For example, our English students can enrol in:

Movie clubs
Book clubs
Job workshops
Social activities and outings

In addition to giving you a well-deserved break from your classes, these also help students practice English skills, giving them more opportunities to study in Melbourne in a fun and unique way.

And that’s just one example of how broad the word “study” can be!

Motivating your teenager to study

If you ask us, study is just as powerful as homework. As such, you’ll want to promote it as much as possible.

So, how do you go about doing that?

Stubborn teen? Empathise with their difficulty

Establishing a good and healthy relationship with your teenager right from the start helps you to empathise what challenges they are going through.

Since you’ve been a student when you were younger, you can easily relate to what teenagers go through during this stage of their life.

When you understand what they feel and think of their situation, it will be easier for you to identify why they’re finding it difficult to study:

The requirement in a subject or course is difficult
They can’t understand what is being taught in class
They feel overwhelmed with the task and expectations of studying
A fear of failing is affecting concentration and motivation
Disinterest with course requirements or class subject

And once you know that, you can work together to remedy the issue and restore their willingness to study!

Set expectations (and don’t pressure them)

Sometimes, the motivation to study is purely an expectations thing.

Put yourself in the shoes of someone whose under intense pressure to perform.

Some might rise to the challenge – others might let the pressure get to them, and struggle to work at their best.

This isn’t to imply that the second outcome is bad, per se – sometimes, it’s simply just what happens!

Unmet expectations can bring an unwelcome feeling of failure. This can have a negative effect on how a teenager performs, and affect their willingness to study.

If you’ve put too many unrealistic expectations on your teenager, you may want to ease off, as there’s a chance this is contributing to their reluctance to study.

Each case is unique – you’ll want to sit down with your teenager and have an honest chat about what expectations you’re putting on them, and whether this is negatively impacting them.

Discover what type of learning works for your teen

Everybody is different – taste, interests, personality… and of course, studying technique!

There’s no one “best” way to study – rather, there’s the “best” technique for you. For example, some people might be:

Visual learners
Auditory learners
Kinesthetic learners
Reading/writing learners

Take yourself for example: do you respond best to writing out notes by hand, and reading over them again and again?

Or do you prefer watching videos?

Perhaps talking things through with somebody else works best for you?

Perhaps your teenager isn’t studying not because they aren’t interested, but simply because they haven’t found their preferred study technique!

If you want your teenager to succeed when they study in Melbourne, you’ll want to help them discover what type of studying method works best for them.

Sit down with them and run through the different styles, keeping a note of which ones they respond best to.

Get involved

While we’re on the topic of different studying techniques, you might have noticed that certain students study best when they’re paired up with another person.

The problem is that they won’t always be possible to organise something like this every single night!

That’s where you step in.

Before you start worrying, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to be an expert in the subject too – your teenager might simply need somebody to quiz them, use flash cards or talk through a topic with them.

Whatever it is, it’s important that you make yourself available whenever a third-party candidate is needed!

Help them discover an industry they’re passionate about

Everybody has a subject they simply don’t care for. Think back to your own time at secondary school or uni – we’re sure you’ve got at least one!

It might have been maths, literature studies, history… whatever it was, you (probably) didn’t go out of your way to study for it.

And since study is inherently self-motivated, something you’re interested in is definitely going to motivate you to study more than something you don’t care about!

By finding your teenager a path that they’re passionate and interested in, you won’t even need to encourage them to study – driven by passion and genuine interest, they’ll do it themselves!

At Academia, our course advisors are available to talk to prospective students about different career paths and training options.

We’ll explain the various courses on offer at Academia and the pathways they open.

If your teenager isn’t quite drawn to a specific path yet, give us a call – they might just find it with us!

Study in Melbourne or Brisbane today with Academia!

University isn’t the be-all, end-all – there are plenty of options and pathways that exist, which you can explore at Academia!

If your teenager hasn’t found a pathway to follow once they finish secondary school, you may want to book a meeting with one of our course advisors.

We’ll run you through our huge range of courses, all of which are recognised by the Australian Government and include:

So if you want to study in Melbourne or Brisbane (or are parent to a teen thinking about their next move after finishing high school), Academia is for you!

Do you have any questions about Academia or any of our courses? Please get in touch with us today:

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