Get started with language awareness by EUN Partnership aisbl

Silvia, Romania

munteanusilvia2000 — 2021-09-20 10:56:39 UTC

I play the COLOUR GAME. I ask them to choose a colour associated with different topics (yellow - Myself - e.g. What are your weaknesses and your qualities?, red - Feelings - What makes you worried?, orange - Summer - Name three best things about summer, purple - Favourites - What is your favourite type of music? etc.) My students love this game and it is a nice way to find more about each other.

2021-09-20 11:44:50 UTC

I would play something like "words travel around the world" to find out what a word in different languages would be called - either the students in class will know and name a translation of the country the word is in right now or they would look it up. You can combine that with questions about the countries - has somebody already been there, on holidays, was born there, knows the capital etc. you can make it shorter and start with europe or just focus on the countries the students are from/know the language of etc. after that the students have to find the similarities of cognates e.g. or the differences in the writing systems, in phonology, language families and so on.

2021-09-20 11:58:52 UTC

In the first lesson in multicultural classes I ask my students to go in groups and note some words about their life in the language they are learning. The other partners of the group have to ask questions in the language to learn about the word that is written down and the partner in question answers as much as he likes. Afterwards in a plenum the other persons of the group present the person, so that the whole class get to in touch to each other.

Ivana M., Croatia

2021-09-20 12:34:36 UTC

I ask my students to prepare a 3-5 minute talk about the classmate sitting next to him/her. They get 10 minutes to chat and tell each other about their hobbies, likes, disklikes and why they decided to join that class. Then they start the presentations of their new friends and students are always interested in such activities because they find them amusing.

Jesse, Spain

jessegarcal — 2021-09-20 12:50:24 UTC

One activity I use to start the course is to do 1-minute talks in pairs in which they have to tell their summer briefly to their partner. The pairs rotate every minute, thus encouraging the use of language and companionship.

Gülay Ergin, Mersin Turkey

gulayeba — 2021-09-20 13:55:19 UTC

I ask my students to think 5 or 6 words related to themselves to be able to ıntroduce themselves to us. And then one of the volunteer goes to the board and write her/his words on the board. Then the rest of the students try to guess the words written on the board by their friend. Her/ his hometown, favorite freetime activty, favorite lesson, future career, number of family memebers , her favorite food, team ..etc. Students ask their friend and make predictions aboout the words and try to guess what the words indicate. They get to know and learn information about each other in an enjoyable way and revise some grammer topics and warm up to the class and lesson.

VA, Portugal

2021-09-20 14:03:24 UTC

At the beginning of the school year I usually do the presentation in pairs. For 15 minutes, each student questions and records what he wants to know from his colleague. Afterwards, each student makes a presentation to the class, saying what the other told them is most relevant and some interesting facts.

Marina B., Croatia

2021-09-20 15:02:37 UTC

I like to use mediation activity ˝ All about you ˝ at the beginning of the school year. Since my first grade students don't know each other yet, I ask them to work in pairs and introduce themselves to the person sitting next to them. They should give as many information about themselves as they can think of. The other student makes short notes about his/her partner. When both partners have finished introducing themselves, I ask them to present their partner to the rest of the class. This activity is interesting as it breaks the ice and helps students to get to know one another. Students also practice using Present Simple in the 3rd person singular, which can sometimes be a real challenge for some of them.. I've noticed that after this activity students feel more comfortable and more relaxed, which makes the further communication much easier.

Monica Arotaritei

arotariteimonica — 2021-09-20 16:22:14 UTC

Playing games in which each student presents one of the classmates in a foreign language, letters exchange and international projects are some of the things that I really enjoy doing with my students.

Ivana, Croatia

2021-09-20 16:48:34 UTC

At the beginning of the school year I ask students to make a mini poster which includes some interesting information about them (e. g. family, hobbies, pets, favourite music/book/film, etc.). They present it to the class and their classmates can ask questions if they want to know more. Students find this activity interesting and it gives me the opportunity to get to know them better.

Daniela Russo, Italy

2021-09-20 16:49:31 UTC

In my opinion, peer games are very useful for overcoming any linguistic and cultural barrier.

Catherine Creusefond, France

catherinecreusefond2 — 2021-09-20 16:58:43 UTC

Every year, we have non English speakers arriving in the school : they could be the youngest or they could come from another school where no English was spoken. Anyway, I will encourage them to work and discuss with a pair, or in group of 3 so they can interact through games or collaborative activities and so, they will start English without the fear of speaking in front of a big group. Step by step, the non English speakers will be confident.

We always work in small groups so that the shy or weak students can manage to partecipate, and they help each other.

2021-09-20 17:22:42 UTC

Beatriz Sousa, Portugal

2021-09-20 18:49:29 UTC

At the beginning of the school year I always start with a presentation about myself and then I encourage the class to do the same. Usually students that are a bit more shy tend to appreciate the fact that I did the same task as them. Makes them feel a bit more confortable by knowing that I am willing to do the same thing they have to do.

Lana, Croatia

lana_matijakovic — 2021-09-20 19:39:29 UTC

There are different tasks that can be done. The task depends on how old my students are and what they already know. I usually let them brainstorm some words and then ask questions using the given words.

Susana Mendes, Portugal

2021-09-20 20:14:26 UTC

The activities I do with my students at the beginning of the year to get to know them, and after a non-formal interview with their parents, is a dialogue using images of the family and school environment. From them I understand the level of expression understanding. If the student is unable to express himself, I use images where I name them and ask him to point, thus simplifying and trying to assess comprehension. These strategies help to guide the next work, and my work at the primary level is very much based on digital resources, images and key words. I wish this process could be more effective as I feel that it often takes a lot of time and we don't always get results as fast as we would like.

Mihaela Epure

2021-09-20 20:25:15 UTC

At the beginning of the school year, I ask my students to draw! They have to put into the center of the page a symbol which represents themselves, and in the four corners: their hobby, one thing/quality they like, one thing they don't like, what they did last weekend. I participate into the game, too, so they can see how untalented I am at drawing and feel better about themselves! :)They present their page in front of the group, and the others try to guess. Instruction is they should use English, as much as possible, but, as it happens in any mixed class, language levels differ a lot. Therefore, some students end up presenting their drawing in Romanian (their native language), while their colleagues mix English with Romanian, when guessing, according to their own level of language. I consider it a good method of studying their skills, without actually giving them the impression of being tested. Besides, they all bring their contribution, they have fun, and the bonus is that everybody gets a chance of being known better.

Ali ÇETİN, Turkey

2021-09-20 21:08:17 UTC

We play a silent narrative game at the beginning of the year. I think it is effective for children to understand that communication can be achieved not only through voice, but also in different ways. I think that just as much as I do, their peers at school should be aware of the diversity of the language.

Eman Bani Salman

2021-09-20 21:35:53 UTC

by video screens, fluctuating schedules, and health regulations, teachers are up against the odds this school year when it comes to getting to know their students.

Kimie, Portugal

2021-09-20 21:38:36 UTC

I introduce myself and elicit their participation by asking for help during the first lesson chores. After setting some rules, I allow students to form groups as I watch and then I speak to each group/lonely student, asking questions about themselves and surrounding groups.

Mohamed OMRI,Tunisia

omrimed20 — 2021-09-20 22:28:33 UTC

at the beginning of the year, they can introduce each other using flipgrid . they record their video presenting themselves or their families. card games can also be a good tool to present their classmates and their commonalities.

Aphrodite, Greece

2021-09-21 07:06:14 UTC

I usually present myself in English and ask them to do the same, using some fixed expressions that I write on the board. They include information about their country or place of origin, work, hobbies and family. Alternatively, they talk in pairs and find out about their partner. This way they discover common experiences or origins and the teacher gets an idea of their english level.

At the beginning of the school year we all introduce ourselves through an All about me poster, I do it first on the board and elicit any words they do not know and they do it later and then share, if language is a barrier, they can draw what they are being asked. this is a good way of introducing oursleves and getting to know a bit more about each other

rguezrociororg — 2021-09-21 08:05:35 UTC

Elin

ethsbolungarvik — 2021-09-21 11:21:03 UTC

Many good idears here

Alex.B. Romania

alexandrabercea — 2021-09-21 12:42:01 UTC

We make short dialogues in order to find out their names, age, hobbies, likes and dislikes. We also play ice-breaker games, such as Wireless Phone or Musical Chairs, to encourage teamwork.

Izaskun, Basque Country

2021-09-21 14:02:48 UTC

I think using Pictonary as a dictionary and visual thinking diagrams is very helpful for students, even for the ones using their toungue language.

Visnja, Croatia

2021-09-21 14:10:37 UTC

If I meet the students for the first time we basically speak about biology so far in their life. Also they are telling me more about their backgroung and i tell more about me.

Christos T., Greece

2021-09-21 16:02:07 UTC

At the beginning of the new school year, I prefer to use some time to get to know my students and their background. We usually present ourselves in Greek or in English and we create a mini-poster that includes some information about our origin, family, hobbies, etc. Most of the students find this activity interesting. In my opinion, it is an excellent opportunity for me to understand the challenges my students may face in the classroom.

Antonella Z.

antomakena — 2021-09-21 17:28:01 UTC

Before covid, I used to invite in the class the parents of children of foreign origins to tell a story in their own language. This activities was called the story corner where we sit and listen even without understanding to a new linguistic sound and music, then we ask a copy of the story so that they could realize different writings and only after a meeting with this "strange" language (children ask about names of the characters, numbers, name of objects in the story....) in another lesson we dive deep in Italian the content.

I try to make teams to integrate the students and make them collaborate!

voicucorinavalentina — 2021-09-21 17:39:23 UTC

Célia Branco

2021-09-21 17:45:54 UTC

Before the pandemic I used to encourage the “thanks for the compliment activity” as both icebreaker and getting-t- know-each-other activity.

Every student had a blank piece of paper taped to their back. After, all the classmates think of a compliment to write down on. When the all class ended the task, students removed their papers and read all the compliments they received in front of the class. After that they revealed two facts about them.

Currently, as we still have rules that forbid any type of proximity/physical contact, I ask them to briefly introduce themselves and find three words (adjectives, nouns…)that best define who they are.

dirigente240 — 2021-09-21 17:50:43 UTC

I usually ask students to introduce themselves in their first language.

Maria P. - GREECE

mpapado66 — 2021-09-21 18:40:45 UTC

In the first meetings with their students I encourage them to present themselves, their family, their place of origin either by narration or by padlet

Ksenija, Croatia

2021-09-21 22:02:07 UTC

Beginning of the school year I ask my students to talk about themselves, their habits, what they did the last summer or younger learners present their classmates. We also play guessing games and other stuff related to the curriculum.

Sandrine, France

2021-09-22 07:18:53 UTC

At the beginning of the year I ask my young students about their holidays. It is a good way to find out if they have links to other countries such as family abroad and take it from there.

María José, Spain

mariajosefa_garcia5 — 2021-09-22 08:35:27 UTC

If they are new students in my classroom, I always ask them to give a short oral presentation about themselves an how they have spent the summer (I start to break the ice). I give them a task in which they have to write various aspects about themselves anonymously: favourite food, best friends...; the, we exchange the cards and they have to guess to which partner the card belongs. I also like that they write a "time capsule" where they reflect therir feelings and perspectives for the course, which I deliver at the end of the school year so they can reflect on whether their expectations and thoughts were met. I think these activities are motivating and allow you to break the ice and get to know each other a little.

Andrijana, Croatia

Shipwreck1 — 2021-09-22 08:53:24 UTC

My pupils and I always talk about our summer holidays and describe them. Sometimes I ask tham if they met foreign people and used another language during summer. They often say they did so we talk about those situations as well. I think it makes them become aware about language importance.

Ida, Croatia

2021-09-22 09:32:28 UTC

- To introduce with my help, talking about him/herself with pictures, talking about lifestyle, culture, what was a journey, where they settled...

I combine it with:

- use of picture cards

- use of word cards

- letters on a magnet (arranging simple words to more complex ones)

- global reading (reading with pictures) so that the student first says the sentence in his native language, and then I translate it and than he repeats it

- I use google translator
- kinesthetic games

I do not force writing, reading.

Özge, Istanbul-Turkey

ozgekoc824 — 2021-09-22 11:10:55 UTC

The first activity is: Guess who I am!
The students are required to choose 5 or 6 key words that explains themselves such as age, place of birth, number of siblings in 5 minutes. Then, one of the volunteer students comes to the board and writes his/her words on the board without giving any clues and the other students try to guess asking some questions relate to words. I use this ice-beraker to intorude myself because the students are really so excited to know about me.
The second activity is: Two truths and one lie!
The students need to write 3 sentences about themselves in 5 minutes and one should be a lie. Then, the volunteer student comes to the board and read the sentences aloud. After that, the other students try to guess which sentence can be a lie. I use this activity integrating Padlet or Linoit, because after the activity, all of them can meet with their friends.

What I apply in class at the beginning is a speaking activity, in which they present themselves, saying their name, nacionality, the place in which they live, their hobbies and they can comment as well why they study English. I think it is enriching and they can observe different views. It is a way of breaking the ice

2021-09-22 13:10:54 UTC

Manuel García, Spain

2021-09-22 14:33:12 UTC

At the beginning of the year the tutor (me) spends 2 full days getting to know his students. We usually have some activities previously prepared, but it is relatively quite common that when students break the ice the start their own topics and share some details that helps me better comprehend their unique enviroments.

Konstntina, Greece

2021-09-22 15:02:55 UTC

The first day of the class, I usually ask my students about their origin, how they spent their holidays and what things like to do. If they are new in the country, I ask them how long they live here and how good they know the language.

2021-09-22 15:39:16 UTC

Nice ideas you've all suggested!
In my situation, it depends if i have or haven't known my students before we meet at the beginning of the school year. Anyway, to warm them up I divide them into groups randomly and they get the task to prepare something or answer some questions, draw a picture, explain the title of the unknown books/texts, etc. They have to work during the first lesson in the team. Next lesson i change members of teams. It helps them to know each other better and it helps me to know them better. I "visit" each team, ask them some questions, joke or praise for good job.
As the third lesson, I love giving them excerpts from different texts or turn rarely known songs on: they have to work in pairs to guess when (century, year, period) the text was created and if the author is male or female, what forms/genres it belongs to. They have to prove their points of view and their answers have to appear in collaboration with the partner.
After such funs, they usually feel how i organise the lesson and i know who needs more attention or some support.

I ask them to introduce themselves talking about likes, hobbies, topics that interest them... sometimes in pairs or as a whole group...sometimes with a short questionnaire I give them...

2021-09-22 17:37:58 UTC

Gabriela C, Romania

gabrriellaa2x — 2021-09-23 04:03:53 UTC

I always start a friendly conversation about their holidays. As far as the new-comers are concerned, I encourage them to introduce themselves, tell the class about their family ( not too many personal details), about their hobbies. I also use a padlet for their introductions, when having online classes.

Hana Haimour/ Jordan

2021-09-23 05:28:26 UTC

On the first day with my students, I did an icebreaker activity by making each student get to know each other, and then after the time elapsed, I asked each student to introduce his colleague.

Alice - Italy

2021-09-23 08:48:03 UTC

The first days of the school year I always do welcome activities.
- When I see my students for the first time, I propose them some activities to know each others. For example, I ask them to draw an animal / flower / object on a piece of paper that represents themselves and to write why they have chosen that one. (If they don't know the language of schooling they can just draw) Then they stick the drawing on the blackboard and introduce themselves to the class.
Otherwise I propose them to do mutual interviews in pairs and then I ask a student to introduce athe partner. 
- In geography, one of the first activities I propose is "The place of the heart": the children have to choose a place (a city or a region o r a State) that is really important to them, they bring an image and then locate the place on a map... Usually students who come from another country choose that Country: so it's an opportunity to know more about that.
I think they work.

Magdalena

2021-09-23 11:12:41 UTC

What I do in my class at the beginning of the school year is a speaking activity, in which students present themselves, saying their name, nationality, reason of choosing my subject, what do they expect from these classes, where they see themselves after graduation.

Aurora, Spain

2021-09-23 12:58:24 UTC

Like most of you, I often start the school year using oral interaction.
Basically, my personal introduction, then, the students briefly introduce themselves while I check the group list.
Sometimes, I use a kind of game where you write on the blackboard three statements about you or your abilities/skills, and ask the students to guess which one is false. It is usually fun. Students can be asked to play it as well, so we can learn about our students hobbies/ abilities.

Konstantina Eirini Koufou, Greece

2021-09-23 15:09:58 UTC

An icebreaking activity with a think-pair-share task [name, fav school subject, languages they speak, desires from this year] really works since they try to say more details about their linguistic backgroud in most cases.

Welcome activities

lauracannizzaro74 — 2021-09-23 15:24:08 UTC

the first day I meet my students I usually ask them to intruduce themselves and talk about their hobbies and their favourite books/tv series/films. At the end each student is asked to repeat what the previous one said. It's fun and it usually works

Danijela, Croatia

dmolnarprof — 2021-09-23 16:06:53 UTC

At the beginning of the introduction, I carry out activities in which the students first get to know each other, work in pairs and try to find out as many things as possible about the person sitting next to them in a certain time frame. They then introduce themselves to the rest of the class and me in a way that they introduce themselves as a couple. No one talks about himself but about the person next to him. He recounts everything he remembered and learned about that person. In this way, they are not embarrassed to talk about themselves, and at the same time we learn all sorts of interesting things about each other.

Veronica, Spain

2021-09-23 16:14:49 UTC

Bingo class!
You need to find as more things in common as possible with the rest of your classmates.

Beginning of Year activities. Inés, Spain.

2021-09-24 10:56:30 UTC

At the beginning of the year I first introduce myself with three or four photos that represent me. For example a flower. the title of a song or film, a name ...whatever you can think of. Then I get my students to figure out why I have chosen those names/items, and they make their guesses. They can be very funny because they imagine all kind of different things that of couse are nothing to do with the real reason! After that I explain why I have chosen them so that they can get to know me better. I then give them time to do the same activity about themselves and we all make guesses. It can be fun!

Introduction activities. Rosario. Spain.

2021-09-24 16:07:48 UTC

The first thing I propose on the first English lesson is to introduce ourselves to the rest of the class. Many of the children already know each other, as they have studied together before, and they are usually very interested in the new classmates. Another activity consists of a series of questions about things they've done, people they've been with, places they've visited... in the summer.
Example: Did you play any sports? If so, which ones? Who with? Where? All students are happy to participate. When they don't remember a word, there is always somebody ready to help.

María Teresa, Spain

2021-09-24 17:55:22 UTC

I use different activities. For example: snowball fighting where they write 3 interesting facts they want the other students to know. All about me, where students bring 2 or 3 objects that are important to them and explain why. I also tell them to create a talkative avatar who tell the things students want really their classmates know about them.
All of them are quite effective, but the last one is especially useful for shy or low level students.

Brigitta Heidelbacher, Romania

2021-09-24 18:25:17 UTC

At the first days of school I use Getting to know you board games, The students play it with dice and printed board Game. They answer the questions and find out information about their classmates too. It is a funny and interactive game.

Christina, Greece

2021-09-25 06:20:57 UTC

I present myself and ask them to do the same about their hobbies, the languages that they speak, their origins. I have a small talk with everyone or/and speak in pairs.

At the beginning of the year we speak about the holidays. What did they do.... for this, the children bring a holidayroll with some souvenirs and memorys (like stones, tickets....). For this I use a Pringlesroll and during the holiday the eat the chips and fill the roll with memorys. During the first week we speak about adventures and they show the things they collect. I do it too...

antjestrobel01 — 2021-09-25 08:27:07 UTC

Enrique Labajos, Salamanca, Spain How to ice break the first day at school?

2021-09-25 12:03:09 UTC

Every year the first day at school is a memorable day for most students, especially when they start a new stage or a new school. They are eager to know who the different teachers are going to be as well as their new classmates.
The suitable activities to build connections with and among your new students are icebreakers and community-building activities.
After introducing myself, the first day of the year I organise my students in small groups so that they can interact among each other by introducing themselves, talking about their background, interests and expectations. If there are new students from abroad, I can check if they can speak the target language and the Spanish language or maybe they only speak their mother tongue. This is the precise time of language awareness.
Next they write their answers in a kind of poster( they can use pictures and any other non-verbal language) and later display it for the rest of the class to know.

Finally, I elicit their personal information by asking them to give a short speech about themselves.

Ayşen, Turkey

AysenCalisir — 2021-09-25 13:32:04 UTC

Balloons with Music event
I prepare music, balloons as much as the number of participants, felt-tip pens, A4 paper, needles. A small piece of paper for each student.
I want them to write their names on these little pieces of paper and put them on their collars. I then give the students an uninflated balloon. Each student writes their name on the balloon they inflated. As soon as the music plays, everyone tosses their balloons into the air. He tries to catch the balloon when the music stops. He finds his friend whose name is written on the balloon he is holding and starts chatting with him. Thus, they have the opportunity to get to know each other better.De har det gøy og lærer.

Caterina Fantini - Italy

caterina_fantini1 — 2021-09-25 13:45:10 UTC

Introduce yourself, present the cities of origin (in the case of foreign children or newcomers), play to get to know each other, pronounce the same words in different languages, work and collaborate in groups.

Gabriela Maria Borza, ROMANIA

2021-09-25 14:31:46 UTC

The first day of school is a festive day. When students arrive in the classroom, they greet them with small suggestive gifts. For example, this year I made them small paintings with a strong motivational message. They have the role of remaining in the memory, but especially to create bridges of emotional connection between all members of the class. There are different games to find out what they did on vacation. We talk freely, those who want. Knowledge games to introduce new students.

Margit. NL. Greetings, songs, words

2021-09-25 15:39:46 UTC

Greeting students in their home language in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Children sometimes want to play a guessing game when they name object in their home langugae and the teacher and other students try to guess the meaning. Birthday songs in different languages are also popular.

Roxana, Castilla y León (Spain)

letrarevuelta — 2021-09-25 15:58:51 UTC

Self-introduction is a classic and works well..,.

Emilia Frinculeasa, Romania

2021-09-25 16:59:25 UTC

At the beginning of the school year I use ice-breakers to break the icy atmosphere, I invite each student to introduce himself/herself so that their common interests and hobbies can be identified, we play Find someone who..., I ask them to raise their hands if... This year, I allowed the entire class to ask me one secret question and they were very surprised when I answered them all. It was very interesting for me to discover what aspects of a teacher's life they were curious about.

Tania - Spain

2021-09-25 19:53:43 UTC

First, I introduce myself through different dynamics, in that way we bond, I can assess their linguistic competence and model their own introduction in the next tasks. We usually do games, music and art because it makes students feel comfortable and it is an universal language.

Diana, Italy

2021-09-26 08:05:55 UTC

Introducing myself and encouraging them to introduce. Finding common interests and similarities between me and them to create a friendly environment.

Ana, Portugal

2021-09-26 09:03:32 UTC

At the beginning of the year in order to get to know students I usually start with an ice-breaking activity which involves saying their name and something they like (the word has to begin with the first letter of their name). I usually say "I'm Ana and I like all of you!"

Merve Berrak, Turkey

2021-09-26 09:56:23 UTC

I draw empty circles on the white board and fill each circle with a word about my life. Then I ask my students to try to guess their meanings for me. We do this activity in target language. They also draw their circles and try to introduce themselves. They are really eager to know about me and identify themselves.

Welcome dance (Simona Italy)

2021-09-26 10:27:41 UTC

Usually at the beginning of the year we welcome the students with the "welcome dance". It is a funny song that with sing and we use to learn different language words to say WELCOME!

Angeliki, Greece

agg_aggelopoulou — 2021-09-26 20:46:33 UTC

On day 1 of the schoolyear, I introduce myself and explain what I expect them to do throughout the year. Then I have them talk about themselves for a couple of minutes each.

Olivier, France

olivierdelaporte12 — 2021-09-26 21:14:08 UTC

On day one, I present myself, trying not to be restrictive. Then pupils present themselves orally in a short or long version.
One week after, they have to complete a survey (first in class, then with the help of their parents) about them : the origin of the name, surname, their qualities and defects, what they except from the new school year... The purpose is to create links between pupils, parents and shool. The school is interseted in who you are.
They also have to do researches about their school, district and town. All this work participate in the goal to know better themselves and their environment.
I also tell us that a new school year is new for everyone. It's time to get some objectives ans to try to change what is not working !
By the past, I was asking them to tell about their holidays but this kind of writing exercise seemed unfair to me for the poorest children in the classroom. Then I decided to change the topic : "What holidays would you have liked to have ?" The real one for some of them ; and imaginary for others...

Sara Carvalho, Portugal

saracarvalho1 — 2021-09-26 22:08:26 UTC

To get to know the students better, I put myself in a circle with them. I pick up a ball of yarn and I say my name. Then I say something I like a lot and another I hate. After that, randomly, I pass the ball of yarn to another student who will do the same, until everyone has introduced themselves, forming a web of affections, where we are all connected!

Sharon, Australia

2021-09-27 02:48:11 UTC

Multilingual learners are experts in their home language and come with a wealth of knowledge and experiences so it is important to provide them with the time and space to use their HL practices in class. During tasks, invite multilingual learners to express their thoughts and opinions in HL and pair them with a peer that speaks both HL and target language to facilitate comprehension - this will demonstrate to multilingual learners that you value their HL and experiences

Spain

2021-09-27 04:51:51 UTC

Icebreaking activities are a good way to get to know people

Thomas, France

2021-09-27 08:17:24 UTC

I usually do no activity to get to know my students, this is something that happen subsenquently during the school year as language training brings a lot of personnal material.

The fact is that my students usually have known their schoolmates very well for years, because they have followed the very same class of a rare language since the beginning of middle school until the end of highschool.

I've never thought that knowing them beyond their past learning experience, their classroom behavior and performance would help in anyway.

The only idea I can come up with right now would be an activity of mutual interview beteween the students at the beginning of the year.

Yue, China.

2021-09-27 08:28:48 UTC

I usually directly ask students about their background.

I could ask them to fill a form and than present themselves to the class. If the language level allows it, this activity could also be done in target language.

Caterina, Italy

2021-09-27 10:03:30 UTC

“Language teaching and learning is always about acquiring new identities in a context where learners’ previous identities are respected and leveraged in the service of acquiring new ones” (Hawkins) This quotation is really useful to understand the importance of identity, so in the first period of a new course it is crucial to work on identity with posters with pics and short texts or personal Vlogs of the students.

Olivia, Austria

2021-09-27 12:09:32 UTC

For lower grades (age 11) I use the first two weeks to get to know the students. In 4th grade (13/14 yo.) the students aren't usually into playing lots of ice breakers anymore. With the first graders I do a lot of ice breakers and let them ask as many questions about me as they can think of. They are always very eager to find out as much as they can about me. Since I teach English, I often use English to get to know the students' cultural background. This week I'm doing lessons on countries and nationalities during which every student will have the time to speak about their home country and the languages they speak/understand. They can then draw the flag/s of the home country/ies on some paper and add simple English phrases, e.g.: "I am Olivia and I live in Austria. I am from England. I am English and Austrian. I speak English, German, and French".

Esperanza

2021-09-27 14:14:06 UTC

Introductory activities like "Find someone who...": students are given a number of sentences with the subject missing. By asking their classmates questions they must complete their worksheet, and in the process find out something about their classmates

Niki,Greece

2021-09-27 14:48:31 UTC

On the first day of school I organize fun introduction games (couple, group and classroom level).

Daniela Eugenia Dinu/Romania

danielastoian80 — 2021-09-27 15:15:33 UTC

I use google forms, google docs, kahoot quiz or quizziz...

Luisa, Italy

lui_gio — 2021-09-27 15:24:41 UTC

I did this activity: "Stand up if you agree". I uttered many sentences like "I can cook" or "I love sushi" and asked SS to stand if they agreed. One could say "I speak/understand more than one language" and then discuss about their answers.

Francesca Italy

furnarifrancesca1967 — 2021-09-27 16:11:32 UTC

At the beginning of the school year I introduce myself and then I ask my students to do the same with their classmate. That's a great opportunity to get to know each others and find out similarities and differences. As students tend to be embarrassed when they are obliged to speak in public in a foreign language, I tell them jokes to break the ice.

Evren Uygun,Turkey

2021-09-27 16:43:48 UTC

The best way is using web 2.0 tools

Teresa, Spain

2021-09-27 16:48:43 UTC

At the very beginning of the school year, I really enjoy knowing about my students. I normally ask them their name, age, and hobbies they like to do. Afterwards, I am interested about their families and where they are from. Then, I let them to ask me any question of their interest about me. I think they really like to get closer to the teachers, and know something if their lives.

Constantine, Canada

constantineioannou — 2021-09-27 16:59:08 UTC

I used to teach German and Spanish (and some French, a bit of Greek and supplied in Swedish) over the years before becoming a central lead. I always liked to do a discussion on language awareness and also to get students to demonstrate their own commitment to language learning - to avoid them thinking there was some magical solution and that they would just only absorb without their own efforts outside of the class. I would often give them some assumptions for us to discuss with them. For example, if students had felt limited success with French (that all students take automatically) before taking my German or Spanish class I would hear : I am just not great at learning languages. Many adult learners too would say such things - that they cannot learn well. I would explain that everyone has the ability unless there is some developmental issue at play. We would analyze assumptions and think about how they learn best and how they could commit to a few things that they could do with the language outside of instruction - many of them are located in the ILEA website as I was part of the writing team for the documents there. So for EDL day we get ALL of our learners registered in the language program that is available on weekends here to take a sample lesson in ANOTHER language than the one they are enrolled in and then discuss the experience, fill out an exit card etc. This has allowed us to get the right mindset for our journey in language teaching and learning.

Cristina, Spain

2021-09-27 17:53:20 UTC

I always introduce myself with a game. I normally write 5 things about me and they have to ask me questions, and then, they do the same.

Gülbahar,Turkey

2021-09-27 18:56:15 UTC

ice breakers to bring the student community together is the best way :)

Jelena , Serbia

uciteljicajelenababic — 2021-09-27 19:45:03 UTC

I use some interesting and fun activities...

Fernanda, Portugal

ferfreitasrbe — 2021-09-27 20:47:02 UTC

I usually, at the beginning of the year, explore in class the essential vocabulary, use the online dictionary; for students to present themselves to make an acrostic with the letters of their name

Emiliana, Italy

emiliana_rufo — 2021-09-28 08:13:43 UTC

I use collaborative and cooperative activities so students can help each other...

Z.Elif Eser-Turkey

elifsozeri — 2021-09-28 10:17:53 UTC

I introduce myself with a 'Guessing game'. ı write some important numbers about my life on the board and I want the students guess what are they about. Then we play 'That's Me' game. I write some sentences on a flashcards. If the sentence is true for a student s/he has to shout 'That's Me'. For the next lesson we play 'Find someone who' game to let students learn more about their classmates.

Graça Casimiro, Portugal

2021-09-28 14:25:23 UTC

I normally use quotes by Lewis Carrol giving students the perspective of Alice in the wonderland.
Then I share some information about me which I consider relevant as I was born in Mozambique and finally I throw a ball and each student has to talk a little bit about himself/herself, which is not as simple as that. However, I only use this strategy if I know that students are comfortable with that. If they don't want to talk, they sometimes write and then they read.
I also ask them to give me five or six words that would describe them as far as their personality and competences are concerned and this works quite well.

Monica, Romania

monicaiordache — 2021-09-28 20:14:35 UTC

I use real life situations in order to determine speaking activities, I involve their empathy and the sense of humor.

Maria Rita, Italy

mariarita_pepe — 2021-09-29 06:11:53 UTC

This year I have decided to celebrate the European Day of Languages with my first-year students of the linguistic course reading fun facts about various languages and learning a bit about the languages they have studied at school or speak at home.

Ebru, Turkey

ebruozcam — 2021-09-29 07:57:15 UTC

We use the common languages arts and sports to make these students feel better in the school environment. In our sports, dance, painting and music activities, we give special place to students whose mother tongue is different from the language of instruction.

Mihaela Reiter, Romania

2021-09-29 14:40:39 UTC

I introduce myself and after that I let my students to present themselves orraly.I also teach them how to present themselves in a few sentences in French and then I let them two by two ask themselves their names and answer.

Dóra, Hungary

2021-09-29 16:09:33 UTC

My students work in paris, or in teams to get to know each other better and then they present in front of the others their projects so me and the other members of the group can get to know each other and they can ask questions from each other.
Sometimes I ask them to make a short video with the help of an online site.

Bojan, Croatia

labojan — 2021-09-29 20:32:20 UTC

Since I work as a school librarian, I am not in the mode of getting students to know each other, but nevertheless, when I do my educational work with students, especially with the first graders which I am not familiar with at the beginning of their schooling, I always try to get to know them by the things they like the most: food, their pets, their favorite songs etc.

Natália, Portugal

2021-09-29 23:23:10 UTC

My students usually know each other when they get to my school, because most of them have known each other ever since pre-school. Anyway there are plenty of things they can find out about themelves. I usually try to do funny activities that they can enjoy and make them feel comfortable and confident. I use some activities to get them in pairs or in groups of three or more people. For example, proverbs cut in a half are great to organise students in pairs. Groups can have people with the same features. For example, I can ask them to get together with other students whose favourite colour is blue or students who have cats or dogs as pets, for instance. Next step is put them to talk to each other. I like cootie catchers. It's fun and you can prepare questions in advance or let them ask their own questions.

Teresa, Spain

2021-09-30 18:41:42 UTC

From the beginning of the school year we propose regular activities (dynamics) to increase the social cohesion inside the group. These activities include the presentation of their background, interests, hopes and dreams, etc. and through them, we observe that their confidence is reinforced, they back their mates in relation to their insecurities, and we get much information to lead our activities to draw their attention and make profit of all their language background.

Raluca ,Romania

raluska — 2021-10-01 15:31:52 UTC

Introducing myself and encouraging my students to introduce.
Finding common interests and similarities between me and them to create a friendly environment.

Ifigenia, Thessaloniki

2021-10-01 21:19:48 UTC

I ask my students to draw their self portrait and provide a couple of information about themselves underneath

Regina, Italy

regina_marrazzo — 2021-10-01 21:20:48 UTC

Every year the first school day is a special day. We always organise ice breaking activities to create a familiar atmosphere.
This year, in order to start building an affective environment, we started by asking them to write on a cardboard their own talent they could offer to their classmates all year long. Then each student has tied his card to another classmate card through a red wool thread, and so creating a very long talents chain hanging on the wall.
It was very nice and very inclusive too!

Patrizia, Italy

2021-10-02 15:22:33 UTC

Most children are experts in their native language practices and come with an important amount of knowledge that should be respected. As an English teacher I try to provide space and time for multilingual children to use all of their languages to think and express themselves.

In the beginning I try to get an impression concerning the language skills. For most of my lessons are based on cooperative and collaborative activities, I try to find partners to support those in my classes, who need support.

Erz — 2021-10-02 20:39:12 UTC

Stavriana Soubassi, Athens

ssoubassi — 2021-10-03 07:55:59 UTC

This is a Google Doc I invite my 10th year students to fill in during the first week at school. The questions refer to school subjects, their opinion of what school is for, the role of foreign languages, their FL learning history, the FL skills they want to develop, their preferred learning strategies across subjects, what they want me as their FL teacher to do in class with them and finally how they envisage the ideal school.
Besides, we use video making apps (Flipgid or Tiki Toki) for self-presentation and an experiential activity which involves them to create imaginary new identities for themselves aiming at overcoming trauma and boosting interlanguage.

Emma, Spain

enavascarbonero — 2021-10-03 18:26:31 UTC

I normally make them create a presentation to introduce themselves and we also play bingo with prompts that are meaningful to them.

Getting Started on the First Day of Class

2021-10-04 06:22:52 UTC

If I were to have my own classroom, I would have a roundtable meeting on the first day of class and introduce myself to my students before allowing them to take turns introducing themselves. If students wish, the roundtable meeting can be done on a carpeted floor that is similar to circle time in an early childhood classroom, where letting students feel comfortable is essential when getting to know them. The beginning of the school year would involve asking questions to students as a way of knowing them while providing an opportunity to share fun facts, in which their fun facts can be used to spark conversations between the educator and their peers while knowing how to engage with students in lessons based on their favorites and interests. Since I am an aspiring educator, I am not sure how well it will work out, especially if students with linguistical differences will be involved.

—Austin Nicholas Dragoș [United States of America]

Maria João Marques

mjvmarques — 2021-10-04 11:47:59 UTC

This year I started by having collaborative working stations:
Station 1 - they had to choose a value word they thought they could stick to throughout the school year (Trust, respect, integrity...)
Station 2 - They had to play detective and find out things about me (I had some specific clothes and brought objects to school)
Station 3 - They had to talk about a student in class, describing him/ her in as much detail as they could

This worked out as a great way to have them working together, using English as a communication language and letting them know about me. I also got to know really important details about them - language awareness as well.

VA, Portugal

2021-10-04 13:27:08 UTC

At the begining of the school year, most of my students already know each other, from the primary school. Usualy, I start with the pair presentation. Each student have to tell the group the name of the student beside and some curiosities about him/her.

Katerina, Greece

2021-10-04 14:39:09 UTC

Ice-breaking activities, pair and group work activities work well on this level, I think.

Silvia, Italy

2021-10-04 16:20:46 UTC

Having often foreign students, some of the activities I do to make the class multicultural is to sing "happy birthday" in all the languages spoken by the children, as well as the good wishes for the other various holidays.

Najoua Slatnia. Tunisia

NajouaSlatnia — 2021-10-04 17:57:46 UTC

Generally at the beginning of the year I always like to create an atmosphere of sympathy and trust with my students. I start with fun activities to introduce them to each other and to express their preferences. Through class dynamics, games and play activities I always manage to make a success of my first sessions with the students.

Prado, Spain

pradodtoro — 2021-10-04 18:27:57 UTC

The first day of class I do and activity called “SHARE YOUR RAINBOW NAME”. Each student has to cut as many strips of colored paper as letters contained in his/her name. Starting with each letter of his/her name they have to write and adjective that describes his/her personality or how he/she is, the name of their favourite film, something that the fear, something that makes them feel embarrassed, etc. With the help of the safety pins they have to hang each written strip from his chest, making his/her name visible.

After that, one by one, they have to introduce themselves in a different way: the first person gives his or her name with a descriptor with the first letter ( example: sweet Sara). The second person gives the first person’s name and then his own name: Sweet Sara, Cranky Carla. The third person starts at the beginning, reciting each person before her and adding her own: Sweet Sara, Cranky Carla, nice Niko, … If someone fails remembering everything this student has to start over, until he/she says it. You can continue playing doing the same but starting now reading or telling the second letter of the student´s name.

Mirela, Croatia

klaricmi — 2021-10-04 20:38:54 UTC

Usually, at the beginning of the school year we have ice-break activities (adjectives that describe them and start with letters of their name, throwing balls to one another with shouting the name and one characteristic of the person who threw the ball to them...), we play games like TV interview when one students asks one or more questions about ther lives, they write short texts about themselves or draw themselves, their likes and dislikes.

quallities

Ana Maria Cruz, Portugal

anacruz2 — 2021-10-04 21:25:26 UTC

At the beginning of school year I try to motivate learners for learning and using the language. Sts introduce themselves, express likes and habits. I usually talk a little bit of myself, my family, kids, pets, hobbies so that they may follow the example and get to feel comfortable and motivated to do it themselves in class.

Glyka,Greece.

glyka350 — 2021-10-05 05:00:44 UTC

I usually give them space and time to familiarise with the school and then I try to learn along with the rest of their students some things about their background.

Alina Bogdan, Romania

2021-10-05 13:53:48 UTC

Usually, at the beginning of a school year, I try to create a friendly, pleasant environment so that all students feel comfortable. First I let them know me, ask me various questions, curiosities, we play a fun game "Mirror" in which we say various things about ourselves, as we see them.

Miliana Marcu , Craiova, Romania

2021-10-06 07:45:06 UTC

Mutual knowledge activities - icebreakers

Let's jump straight into the first circle activity. (Place all the children in a circle with you and instruct them to present themselves in this way, n.n.) -

My name is ………………, and if I were an animal I would be ………………. for…………….

Roswitha, Germany

2021-10-06 16:23:35 UTC

Warm-up-activity:

Students get up and move around to some music. When the music stops, gather in groups of three or four and lead a conversation to find out something all of you have in common. The teacher tells the subject of the conversation, for example: „a song you like“, „a country you would like to visit“, „what you hate to do in the morning“, … Each group presents the results.

This activity con be adapted to the linguistic level of the class.

Carmen, Zamora (Spain)

2021-10-06 20:32:31 UTC

I use some ice-breaking activities such as making pairs and do interviews so that they can discover things in common or things that take him/her by surprise. Then, each pair describe to the class the similarities (such as likes and dislikes, hobbies, favourite colour...) and the most interesting fact of his/her classmate. Finally we can create a class grid with the information provided

oksana shtykh, Ukraine

oksanastykh — 2021-10-07 22:05:43 UTC

It is very important to motivate students for studying.There are a lot of diffrent activities but my favourites are Find someone who,
Aeroplanes -This activity will be a good laugh and a good start for new students and old ones.

Prepare a lot of sheets of paper.
Give two sheets for each person in the group.
Ask your students to write one question on each sheet.
Ask the class if anyone knows how to make a paper plane. If somebody says “yes”, ask them to the front to show how to make one.

Nazmiye Türkyılmaz/Turkey

2021-10-08 06:45:45 UTC

I give importance to warm-up activities.
In the first meeting I introduce myself with a puppet and take a small ball. I throw it to a student and this student introduce herself/himself. Then s/he throws it the others one by one.

Maria, Portugal

2021-10-08 20:25:03 UTC

I use some interesting activities.

Federica Carminati, Italy

2021-10-09 13:10:59 UTC

Icebreaker activities are so important for many reasons: to build the group of learners, to learn from each other, to find out similarities and differences, to understand that even the teacher is a real human being, with his/her personal life.
I usually start a new school year introducing myself, with some details that pupils can find interesting (my favourite colour, some photos of my family and some photos of me at their age). Then I throw a ball, previously written with a lot of questions (what do you fear most, have you any brother or sister, what would you do if you get lost in a wood...) and they play. When the ball gets to you, you answer the question under your right thumb. It is funny!

AIKATERINI SIDERI, GREECE

kate_sideri — 2021-10-11 15:33:55 UTC

Icebreaker activities like games to get to know with each other, greetings in mother tongues, making posters with food/flags/maps/famous people from all the countries of the pupils, etc., are some of the ideas used.

Mystery Info!

2021-10-11 21:05:14 UTC

Maybe there is another name for this activity in different sources but I like to call it like this. I believe that at school the most wondered thing at school is the mystery of the teachers' life. Students want to know more about their teachers. Where the teacher lives, what the teacher likes, what kind of music the teacher listens to and so on. After the first lesson of each course I check the searches with my name-surname on academia and I see nearly 10 searches. This shows that students want to learn about their teachers and they ask very clever questions during the activity. And it becomes a genuine conversation.
Guidelines:
- Write some info about yourself on the board such as your birthday, your shoesize, age, the license plate of your hometown, the initials of your highschool etc.
- Ask students to ask you Yes/No questions to guess what the info on the board stands for.
- Answer their questions.
- Help them build up the questions when necessary.
That's all. It's so much fun. Once you introduce yourself, they share mor info about themselves with you and with their friends. You get closer to your students.

Beatriz I., Spain

2021-10-12 10:04:03 UTC

One activity I like to do in order to get to know them is the following:
Each student writes three facts about their lives, but one has to be false. They move around the classroom and share this information with their classmates. The aim is to guess which fact is not true about themselves.

Clara, Portugal

2021-10-12 20:06:18 UTC

One of the activities we are doing at school is to ask all the students that are not from Portugal to write on their own language this phrase "I am welcome in my new school". We have students from 23 countries.

Elena A.

2021-10-13 18:31:49 UTC

The activities depend on the students' level, if they are in primary or secondary level. If I work with primary students I use balls or characters to introduce myself and then pass it to them. If they are in secondary maybe I use the Snowball Game or the self-portrait.

deniz eryılmaz

dnzkay9 — 2021-10-17 14:25:19 UTC

I form a circle with my students and every morning we say something to each other in different languages. Each student prepares in a language of their choice.

Viorica, Romania

vigyorika477 — 2021-10-18 08:31:07 UTC

At the beginning of a school year, I try to create a friendly, pleasant environment so that all students feel comfortable. First I let them know me, I ask myself various questions, curiosities, we play games with a character of self-knowledge and mutual knowledge.

Şermin,Turkey

ayansermin — 2021-10-18 15:00:15 UTC

I form a circle with my students and every morning we say something to each other in different languages. Each student prepares in a language of their choice.

Alina, Romania

2021-10-18 17:32:23 UTC

First of all i am introducing myself and i encourage my students to introduce theirselves , telling about their interests, hbbies or they have to say something about them using the first letter of their name.

Danijela, Croatia

2021-10-19 18:55:41 UTC

At the beginning of the year, when I get a new class, we first introduce ourselves to each other, for example: I am Daniela, I am a history teacher. I love hiking and walking in nature, traveling and meeting new places and people. It is the task of each student to present himself in a similar way, stating what he likes to do or what he would like to do in life, what makes him happy. Since these are students who live in a homogeneous environment, a specific dialect, I try not to correct them, but to allow them to express themselves freely, even though they know that we speak the standard Croatian language at school.

Violeta, RO

2021-10-22 16:33:59 UTC

I use to propose to my students, generally, ice-breaking activities, activitie in small or large groups to "meet" each other. I they have a good knowledge of the foreign language, they can "teach" other students, how to use language to express themselves.

Claudya, Romania

claudia_neacsa — 2021-10-23 21:15:22 UTC

,,Bingo`` to know each other, or ,,Cross the river``. These are 2 activities to find out information about each of us.

Cristina, Spain

2021-10-24 11:07:37 UTC

I start with a read aloud of "The Name Jar"; this book is a great way to introduce everyone and their languages in the class

Zlata Hrženjak, Croatia

zhrzenjak1 — 2021-10-24 17:31:25 UTC

At the beginning of each school year I have some icebreaking activities with newcommers to get to know each other.
Another occasion for exploring language diversities is celebrating International Day of Languages when I start preparing activities for organizing event in my school, We explore how many different languages we can speak or write a message in the classroom and the students come up with different languages they speak either because some of their ancestors are from different nationality or because they succeeded to learn some phrases and expresions by watching different TV programmes.

rasha

rashaalomari448 — 2021-10-26 18:21:24 UTC

At the beginning of the year, when I get a new class, we first introduce ourselves to each other, for example

Elena A, Romania

2021-11-08 17:37:58 UTC

At the beginning of the school year, I like to do all sorts of ice breaking activities, even if they were my students in the past years as well. What I like to do is to use the picture of a jar and ask them to tell me a positive thought/idea starting with the first letter of their name. Or, I like to use the Two truths and a lie game in which they write down three sentences with information about themselves and one, however, must be a lie. Other students then ask them follow-up questions to discover which statement was a lie.

Derya

akelderya — 2021-12-19 14:02:39 UTC

I use a ball for each of my students to introduce themselves. We form a circle. I give the ball to one of my students, who first says their name and throws it to someone else. After everyone does this, the second presentation is with a different introduction. This way, they get to know each other.