Not only can the first day of class be stressful for the teachers but also for the students, as it sets the tone for the rest of the course. Good first impressions are crucial to establish a rapport making everyone feel somewhat comfortable. The first class should be simple, easy to follow and, most importantly, entertaining.
My 1-2-3 Method is an easy way to make your students speak, evaluate their level, assess their strengths and weaknesses and meet the first class objectives. It can be adapted to all groups and ages, although it works best with B1 levels upwards.
What is more, it does not need much preparation beforehand! So let's go!
#1 THE NAMES: Breaking The Ice - The Repetition Game
It is a good idea to start using the students' names as soon as possible. For those who have to teach different groups, learning and associating the students' names with the faces might be a challenge. However, the sooner we start doing it, the more comfortable they will feel around us. The activity I want to share with you here has fast become my favourite. It basically requires no preparation time, makes everyone stay focused and concentrate on the speaker and can be adapted to all ages, levels and group sizes (although it works best with middle-sized groups)
Procedure:
Arrange students in a circle, or make them sit in a way so that they can face everyone in the classroom.
Say your name and add an interesting fact about yourself. It can be your age, your hobby (for lower levels), or anything that might describe you as a person.
Turn to a person on your left/right and make them repeat what you have said.
Now the student should introduce themselves and add an interesting fact about themselves.
Then the turn moves to the next person, who has to repeat what you said, the student after you, and obviously, they have to introduce themselves as well.
The last person in the circle has to repeat all the names and the facts about the participants they remember.
In the end, the names are repeated so many times that you are forced to remember them. What's more, the students have to pay attention and practice pronouns, different tenses and the conjugation of the verbs. I make the students who are first help those who can't remember some details. You can also use this activity to practice other grammatical structures, like reported speech.
TIP: Convince students not to repeat the same model answer as the previous speaker(s). For instance, if someone says they love listening to classical music, the next person should say something different, such as "I've two brothers and three dogs".
#2 THE TEACHER: Breaking The Ice - The Cloud Game
So you know the names, now what? Throughout the years as a teacher, I noticed a pattern in students' behaviour during the first class:
Students, especially teenagers, dislike being in the spotlight on the first day. They are still checking out their classmates, feel uncomfortable using the language or do not want to be compared with the rest.
They are really interested in your private life and who their teacher is.
So the best thing is to combine the two and turn it into a YES/NO QUESTION GAME.
I came across this activity a few years ago on the blog of another fellow teacher, which I very often turn back to. I thought it was a great and fast way to help students get to know you by arousing their curiosity about your person. It requires a 1-minute preparation time. If you don't have a digital board or projector, go for the old-fashioned blackboard.
Procedure:
Draw a spider graph on the blackboard or use this PDF.
Write your name in the middle and 5/6 intriguing facts about you.
Tell students to ask Yes/No Questions to discover the story behind each fact. You can only answer YES or NO. For instance, "Are you from China?" --> No; "Have you lived in China?" --> Yes.
Don't just explain what each word means. Make students work on it. If it takes them too long, move to another cloud.
EXTRA: Once they have finished, you can make them draw or fill in their graphs. Then tell them to work in pairs asking questions about each other's clouds.
What's great about this activity is that it focuses on you, not the student. Yet, it is they who practice speaking and question formation.
TIP: To make it more exciting, I give a sticker to the first person who guesses what the word(s) stand for.
#3 THE CLASSMATES: Breaking The Ice - The Random Wheel Game
There wouldn't be a language class without students interacting and supporting one another. We need to make them feel at ease to communicate in English (or any other language), not only with us but also with their classmates. If we want them to express their thoughts and ideas freely and build stronger relationships, activities which include sharing personal information are most suitable. At this stage, students should discover that they have things in common and that they are in it together. There are many worksheets and games on the Internet which you can implement here, one of which is obviously the previously discussed Cloud Game.
What works the best in my classes is THE RANDOM WHEEL PICKER. It is a wheel picker created by me with different activities and personal questions. You can obviously create yours, or go for the one below. If you use mine, then it requires no preparation time. However, you do need access to the Internet.
It works best with students who have mobile phones in the classroom. With smaller groups, you just need a computer.
Procedure:
First, get students into pairs or groups of three. Here you have some great ideas of how to do it randomly.
Then go to the RANDOM WHEEL PICKER, project it to students and spin the wheel. Wait to see which item comes up next. You will see that in my version, you have a few activities requiring access to the Internet. So if you do not have it, you might need to tailor it to your needs.
2 TRUTHS AND 1 FALSE: It is a very popular icebreaker. What you need is some imagination, a pen, and a piece of paper. Tell students to write 3 sentences about themselves. Two of them should be true, and one should be a lie. Don't make it too obvious. You as a teacher can go first, for example, these would be mine:
I've lived in 5 different countries.
I have won an archery championship.
I have a huge collection of snowballs.
Students can ask some questions to check which one is a lie (in my case it is the 1st), such as "What countries have you lived?", etc.
MY BEST QUALITY AND MY WORST: Students have to tell their partners what is their best and worst quality and why they think so.
ME: NOW AND THEN: This activity requires a personal mobile phone/photos. Tell your students to find a photo of themselves as a baby or from a few years ago. Let them explain where the photo was taken and what has changed in their lives since that moment.
SHOW AND TELL: 5 things I wouldn't be able to live without: It is basically what it says. Students should explain what their most treasured possessions are. If 5 things seem too many to you, change it to 3.
GOOGLE MAPS: Where do I live?: This activity requires access to the Internet and, if possible, mobile phones. Students show on Google Maps the approximate location of their homes. They should explain what they like and dislike about their neighbourhood.
30 SECONDS CHALLENGE: Who am I?: One of the students sets up a timer for 30 seconds, and their partner has to give him as much information as possible during this time. Then they switch roles.
INTERESTING ME: Secret? Or just something I don't tell people?: Students share with their partners a piece of information that they don't usually tell people about themselves.
GOOGLE EARTH: My favourite place on Earth: This activity requires access to the Internet and, if possible, mobile phones/computers. Students should open Google Earth and show one another their favourite places on Earth. They should explain why they like it so much.
After having gone through all the questions and activities, I ask students to share with the rest fun facts about their partners.
TIP: Encourage your students to ask follow-up questions and get as much information as they can. It is also a great activity for 1-on-1 classes.
An engaging and fun first lesson will help create a great first impression and a fantastic learning experience. I hope you will find the activities practical and easy to implement. Let me know what you think. Maybe you have some great activities that work well? I'd love to know!
And if you want access to Google Slides for the Cloud Game and 2 Kinds Of People activities, don't hesitate to contact me.
Cheers!
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