Learning to Ask for Help - A Vignette

The end of the year 2019 was approaching in a school located in the city of José C. Paz in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was a classroom full of third year students. More precisely, there were 36 teenagers between 13 and 16 years, some of them were taking the course for a second or third time. A very young teacher was trying to deliver her first lesson about routines making emphasis on the structure and uses of the present simple tense. Despite her attempts to explain the topic and capture the students attention, a high percentage of the participants of the class did not take notice of her or the explanation at all. A major element of distraction were the cellphones which the adolescents used to play a blockbusting game called Freefire. After pointlessly trying to dialogue with the pupils to make them reflect on their behaviour, the teacher in charge decided to ask for help from the janitor who willingly assisted her in convincing the students to behave properly. Silva, A. Farfán, G.