On the first day of any new class you need to get to know your students and they need to get to know each other. Every teacher seems to have a few tricks up their sleeves whether it’s ball games, name tags or the classic find someone who. I like to keep it simple with a few get to know you questions. They allow you get straight into some essential and meaty language while keeping the class communicative and engaging.
Questions are tricky in English. Auxiliary verbs, subject verb agreement and word order are all challenging areas for aspiring language learners.
At B1 level, it’s our job to ensure that questions become second nature to learners. This comes from consistent, careful and constant practice. So when better to start than day one?
By B2 level, simple questions shouldn’t cause too many problems for learners. however, indirect questions can pose a whole new challenge. Give your students a few question stems like Could you tell me…, and I was wondering if… and illustrate how the word order in indirect questions is different from normal ones.
Finally, always finish up your first day class with some solid post-activity error correction. Don’t reveal which student made the mistakes and put them up on the board for everyone to see. Some teachers might think this would scare away students, but in my experience it does the opposite. It shows that you have been listening, that you are knowledgeable of the language and it leaves them feeling that they have been given personal attention while learning something at the same time.
The Materials
These get to know you questions can be used at either a B1 or B2 level. At B1, focus on question order, auxiliary verbs and error correction. At B2 you can use these materials to teach and practise indirect questions.
Always go through a model with your students and get an example up on the board. If your group is strong, let them speak without much preparation. If they seem to be struggling, let them write down their questions before getting them to speak.
EXAM SKILLS: Asking and answering questions
TIME: 25-45 minutes
PREPARATION: One copy of the worksheet per pair of students, cut in half
