First lessons

Introduction

First lessons are of vital importance:

• your students are embarking on a journey

• they have expectations, which may or may not be realistic

• they may have fears or doubts

• you are their guide and so must inspire trust and confidence

• the feelings at the end of the first day of the journey set the tone for the future – excitement, boredom, enthusiasm, depression – many emotions are possible!

To plan a first lesson, start by evaluating the long term objectives of the course and the materials which have been chosen (by the Director of Studies) as suitable for reaching these objectives.

Then consider the short term situation – the actual content of the lesson, and the students’ probable emotional reaction to it.

Have some backup ideas – you don’t know your students and they may not be what you expect. Their level may be higher or lower than you thought. There may be mixed levels.

What should your first lesson include?

• Students must always have the opportunity to SPEAK and LISTEN, even if only in the “social time” at the start and end of each lesson, or during other activities with a different focus.

• Brief “getting to know you” activity or activities

• Discussion on the language policy of the group – speak English wherever possible..

• Introduction to the school (i.e. video library, library, magazines, guided readers, use of multimedia room)

• Introduction to the course book, work book, and associated materials (i.e. pronunciation reference, list of irregular verbs, grammar reference – all the things you find in the back of the book..)

• Study skills – improving your reading/listening, learning new vocabulary, use of dictionaries

• Teach something!

• Games or activities to review what has been taught.

"Getting to know you” activities

Appropriate activities for first lessons vary according to the level and nature of the course – generally speaking, the lower the level, the more structured the activity should be. Here are some examples:

1. Basic information questions - Beginners or near beginners. Teach and practise basic information questions (What’s your name? How old are you? Where do you live? Are you married? Have you got any children? etc.). Don’t worry about the grammar – teach them as phrases, and focus on pronunciation and on remembering them. Use them as a way of getting to know the class, and letting them get to know you. Show some family photos (my wife, my children, my house, my mother who lives in England). Make an effort to communicate at a personal level.

2. True or false game - any level from A2 up. Tell students things about yourself (i.e. your place of birth, favourite food, famous people you’re related to) which may be true or false. Tell them they have to decide which are true. Ask their opinions and let them know if they were correct. Then get them to do the same thing in pairs or small groups to “See who’s the best liar!” With groups who are able to form questions, you can vary this activity by getting them to ask you (then each other) any question they please, and giving true/false answers.. You could also keep score on the board to see “Who’s the best at detecting lies?”

3. Interview activity for any level - draw up a list of questions that you want your students to ask you, or each other, or both. Dictate the questions (if you want to make it more complex, you can dictate the words in a random order, or the questions with a word missing, or with a mistake, or whatever). Students work in pairs to complete/rearrange the questions, then interview you/each other.

4. Showpiece lesson – do you have a lesson that you always do, and that always works well? If it’s not too long, could you incorporate it in your first class?

5. Exam classes – do a quiz about the exam: “How much do you know about TOEFL IBT?” etc. Make some true false questions and have students discuss them in pairs. Then give an informative text and have them find the answers.

6. Self introduction – Elicit from the class what information they would like to know about someone they have just met (job, single/married, origins, likes & dislikes, etc.). Then introduce yourself to the class giving some or all of this information. Then ask your students to do the same, giving them a few moments to prepare. Don’t force people to speak if they don’t want to – this can be quite scary!

7. Partner introduction – as before, but get them to work in pairs or small groups to find out about other students, then introduce them to the class in a second stage.

End-of-first-lesson checklist

Good teachers evaluate their performance and try to learn from situations in which the lessons they planned, for whatever reason, did not work as well as they could have done.

You may have to teach quite a lot of first lessons, so it’s worth working through in your own mind what should be achieved and how.

Here’s a check-list to use when you self-evaluate your first lessons:

• Have you learnt your students names?
• Have you found out what your students’ objectives are?
• Have you learnt about your students’ preferred learning styles?
• Have you found out something about your students’ background?
• Have you made some notes, to help you remember what you’ve found out?
• Have your students had the chance to find out about you?
• Have your students learnt something from the lesson?
• Have you introduced the course, the materials, etc?
• Have you given your students advice on how to learn effectively during their course?
• Have you made a POSITIVE FIRST IMPRESSION?
• Have you left your students feeling that they have made the right choice?
• Have you got a good idea of what is needed in the next lesson, and in the longer term?
• Have you identified areas (grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, etc.) which may need extra work?
• Have your students had the opportunity to speak in English?
• Have you set homework? If not, why not?
• Did you praise and encourage your students?
• Did you give your students constructive feedback on mistakes they made?
• Were the activities you planned for the class appropriate? If not, why not?