{"id":4480,"date":"2012-10-11T16:27:17","date_gmt":"2012-10-11T16:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltchat.org\/wordpress\/?p=4480"},"modified":"2012-10-11T16:27:17","modified_gmt":"2012-10-11T16:27:17","slug":"4480","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2012\/10\/11\/4480\/","title":{"rendered":"First Lesson Activities – An ELTchat summary"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summary was contributed by\u00a0Genevieve White\u00a0on her blog<\/a>\u00a0and is reproduced here with her kind permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

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First lessons are equally significant for teachers and learners, as it is here where the initial steps towards establishing a supportive group dynamic are made. So what can teachers do to ensure that their first lessons engage learners, and at the same time create a positive and productive learning environment? This was the topic up for discussion on Wednesday the 19th of September at 9.00pm GMT.<\/p>\n

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Icebreakers etc!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This chat was expertly moderated by Marisa_C, and the participants were: @vickihollett, @shaznosel, @SophiaMav, @klizbarker, @MarjorieRosenbe, @ShetlandEsol, @affreshair, @hmbaba, @eltknowledge, @cfozcavan, @SueAnnan, @chiasuan, @sandymillin, @steve4eld<\/p>\n

“We have to show enthusiasm and jump right in”<\/strong>\u00a0(@vickihollett)<\/p>\n

This\u00a0statement met with agreement from @Marisa_C and @shaznosel. But what of the old adage of not cracking a smile till Christmas? @Klizbarker and @vikihollet did not agree with this at all, maintaining that it was important for the teacher to let his\/her personality shine through, and that maintaining\u00a0\u00a0a stern grimace would be \u201cvery hard and very peculiar\u201d @vickihollett. \u201cStrong, but not mean\u201d is surely preferable, said @klizbarker<\/p>\n

Take time to learn names<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was agreed that any time spent learning names is a worthwhile investment. @Marisa_C suggested the activity \u201cGuess my name \u2013 and why?\u201d as a good and simple first few minutes activity. Meanwhile, @vickihollett has a great idea for classes with mixed Asian and European learners: Asian learners write their names on the board, and other Asian learners in the class work out characters: guaranteed to fascinate European learners.<\/p>\n

Getting to Know You Activities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Participants were happy to suggest their favourite activities, and agreed together that these activities perform several functions: to break the ice, diagnose, conduct an informal needs analysis, to establish rules and to motivate.<\/p>\n