
The first day is the hardest one, no doubt. Not because it’s any more difficult, boring or stressful than any other teaching day, but because it sets the class's whole idea about you. Getting off on the wrong foot with a class can be a bitch – they usually complain after the first day, or the first week, if they don’t like you.
Often students don’t even have books on the first day. So what to do? Well, a bunch of stupid fucking games, of course. The “name game” with a ball where you have to memorize a bunch of people’s names. Recommended by goofy CELTA course-leaders everywhere.
That game sucks. Avoid it. Would you enjoy playing it? Of course not. Plus, every other teacher does it, so students learn to hate it. Shy students will be mortified, students with bad memories will be stressed, and students who already know the other students will be bored.
I see no particular reason to make students memorize each other’s names on the first day. You might try something simple like all the students have to go around to each other and say “Hello, I’m x, what’s your name?” and “Nice to meet you” in English, though. It’s straightforward and professional, and not stressful. Let them remember whoever’s names they wish. Don’t be a Nazi.
Now of course, you should try to remember the students’ names, but most professionals usually do this by making small notes in pencil on their attendance register such as “shaggable blonde” and “lanky streak of piss” or “bad goatee”. Careful to erase these so the management and students can’t see them, however. Or develop your own code. “Shgble blnd” for example.
Now of course students will want to know something about you. But if you just say “Hi, I’m Bob, your teacher. Any question?” you very likely will get a polite question or two about where you’re from and what you like doing in your free time, and then a lot of silence.
One fairly common trick is to write the answers to a bunch of common questions about yourself on the board and then ask the students what the questions are. Not bad, although it’s overdone. It lets the students know only what you want them to know, and that may or may not be to your liking. But it’s not exactly a good model of communication, now is it?
Remember this – you certainly don’t have to tell them the truth about yourself, if you don’t want to. It’s probably a lot more interesting for you and them both if you lie.
The grid game that I mentioned in my article “AN ACTIVITY TO DO WHEN YOU HAVE NOTHING PREPARED”, posted on April 2, is an excellent thing to do on the first day. It ensures students will ask you a wide range of questions about yourself, and puts them in groups so that they’ll have to get to know each other. A fucking love-in all around.
There are a lot of other ways to get the basic questions asked. You could write the question words (WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, HOW LONG, etc.) on pieces of paper and have the students choose one at random – then they have to ask you a question with that question word. You could put them in groups or pairs working together to make each question, too – make it a social occasion.
You might do the same with topics – FAMILY, WORK, FREE TIME, etc. Probably best in that case to make them ask a few questions about each topic – at least three, for example. Some good topics for intermediate level classes – FAMILY, WORK, FREE TIME, SPORTS, CINEMA, LANGUAGES, BOOKS, HOLIDAYS, UNIVERSITY, MUSIC, MONGOLIA (or whichever country you happen to be teaching in), HOME/FLAT, IMPORTANT DATES, PETS, TRAVEL
And the nice thing about these ideas is that after they ask you questions, you can put them in pairs or groups and have them ask each other questions in the same vein. When they run out of questions, have them change topics. Everybody’ll get to know everybody with a minimum of fuss, and you don’t have to do much. Round off the lesson with an easily comprehensible pop song, for example, and they’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand.
It’ll be beautiful, man. It’s all about love.