Racing to English

First steps

This document gives a few ideas of what to do when starting with beginners. For many learners the suggestions will be unnecessary and it will be possible to move on to another activity.

EAL	EFL
Make sure that any new pupil/student can find their way around the school/college and knows important words such as toilet. It is also very helpful to link beginners with a buddy, who can help them to find their way around the school/college.	After introducing the language and activities to the whole class, split the learners into groups of three or four to practise the language items. It is helpful if the learners are grouped with different students each lesson.
ESOL	SEN
Some of the advice for EAL and EFL learners above is appropriate for ESOL. Ensure learners know their way around the college etc. and know the word toilet, etc. Buddying systems can also be helpful in some circumstances. I also recommend the use of randomised grouping when the learners are more confident and settled in class.	The activities suggested in this document will only be suitable for children with the most severe language delays, although many younger children may also benefit from the Multigame using real objects. For most children with specific learning needs you can quickly move on to other activities and other levels.

What's your name/school/class?

One of the first things beginners need to learn is to respond to questions about themselves. This activity focuses on `What's your name?' (which is important for all learners) and `What school do you go to?' and `What class are you in?' (which may be important for some learners but not others.)

ACTIVITY 1 - CHAIN DRILLS

1. Have the group sit in a circle - or around a table.

2. Speak to the learner on your left.

3. Say, `I'm XXX, what's your name?'

4. S/he replies, `I'm XXX', then turns to the learner on his/her left and asks `What's your name?'

5. The second learner responds and asks the third and so on, till the question gets back to you.

This is a useful activity for two or three minutes at the beginning of every lesson. When the group can respond with ease to one question - `What's your name?' - add the second question `What school do you go to?', then later “What class are you in?”

It is very helpful (and fun) to make this a multilingual activity; so as well as expecting the group to learn these questions in English, the group also learns to ask the questions in the languages represented by the group.

ACTIVITY 2 - MINI DRAMA - PARTY

If you are working with an amenable group, simulate the beginning of a party. Learners move freely around the room, shaking hands and saying, `Hello, I'm XXX. What's your name?' etc.

Again this is a useful activity for two or three minutes, but can be done many times, adding a new question at appropriate junctures.

NOTE: For some people it is not appropriate to include the hand shaking if this means shaking the hands of members of the opposite sex. It may also not be appropriate for younger learners.

ACTIVITY 3 - MINI DRAMA - POLICE OFFICER

One learner takes the role of a police officer and asks the others for their names/class. Using a plastic police helmet (if you have one) sets the scene.

ACTIVITY 4 - FORM FILLING

Older learners need to be able to fill in forms with their personal details. Completing the form on the following pages is helpful.

Either

Cut the page into the four forms and ask learners to fill them in individually

Or

Give each learner a page with four forms and let them ask four other learners to give them their name/school/class. (If you use this activity, remember child and data protection issues - it is appropriate to collect these forms in after the exercise.)

It may be helpful for learners (especially younger learners) to take these forms with them, just in case they ever get lost.

Name

School

Class

Name

School

Class

Name

School

Class

Name

School

Class

The multigame From an idea by Pat Platteuw

MATERIALS REQUIRED

• A track (see below: there are two versions - one black and white version which can be photocopied and enlarged to A3 size, and a coloured version)

• A dice and counters

• Either:

• A set of real objects (e.g. common classroom objects such as pencil, pen, rubber, book, etc.)

• Sets of cards - these could be word cards, picture cards, question cards, etc. - see below

USING REAL OBJECTS

• Show the first learner one of the objects. If they can name it in English, they can throw the dice and move their counter round the track.

• Continue to show the objects to the other learners in the same way. The first player to get their counter around the track is the winner.

This can be varied, for example you could put objects in bags and the learners could identify them by touch.

Learners could work in pairs.

	The Multigame Track

	The Multigame Track

Racing to English

© Gordon Ward 2010. Photocopiable only for use in the purchasing institution. Step 1: First steps/Who are you? - Name

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