Primary English: Classroom Starters, Exchanges & Stories
First Day: Essential English Phrases
Hi everybody! My name is Paula, and I’m going to be your English teacher during this school year. In my lessons, we will try to speak only in English! Now, I want you to answer some questions. But, when you know the answers, please raise your hand! OK, let’s go!
- How are you today?
- What’s the date today?
- What’s the weather like?
- What are you wearing today?
- How do you get to school?
- What did you do yesterday?
Okay, very good job! We will continue the lesson by establishing some rules and useful expressions. Could you suggest some of them?
Useful Classroom Expressions
- Can I go to the toilet?
- Can you say/explain it again?
- Can you help me?
- Can you come here for a second?
- May I come in? Sorry, I am late.
- Can I sharpen my pencil?
- Can you lend me your pencil?
- Can I borrow your pencil?
- How do you say _____ in English?
- What’s the meaning of _______?
The Value of Online Language Exchanges
To begin with, I want to say that an online exchange is a motivating, enriching, and rewarding experience for acquiring a foreign language. I have learned many things from the exchange with partners in Missouri, from the cultural differences compared to my own, to reflecting on the errors we can make when learning a second language.
There are many reasons why I would use this type of activity in primary school:
- Firstly, in a language exchange, you practice more than you would in a class by talking with native speakers of the language you’re learning in a relaxed and supportive environment.
- Secondly, a language exchange is also a wonderful way to learn the real spoken language of the culture, with all its “incorrect” grammar, informal expressions, and slang.
Therefore, a language exchange is the best training to bridge the gap between classroom learning and communicating in the real world!
Implementing an Exchange Program
I plan to conduct an exchange in such a way that children primarily foster communication. For this to happen, I will look for a teacher who wants to make an exchange with similar characteristics. I believe the best method is to practice English with native speakers of the language you’re learning, in small mixed groups of speakers of the two languages – ideally, between 2 and 4 people. Half the time, my pupils will be speaking in the language they are practicing, and half the time in our own language, to give our exchange partners a chance to practice too.
The teacher will provide the guidance and activities needed for the language exchange. The tasks the students will do, and the way they will do them, will help their listening comprehension, pronunciation, and vocabulary. Moreover, grammar will improve on its own with practice. I think this is the best tool ever designed for practicing a language for people who are studying a second language!
Using Storybooks for Language Learning
Stories play an important, natural role in children’s lives in most cultures. They have a universal appeal and provide a rich source of language and imaginative input, which makes them ideal teaching tools in primary classrooms. A good and motivating activity to do in class with children is the representation of a story. It’s fun, and it also encourages their creativity and imagination. Pupils improve reading and writing skills in a real context. Moreover, it contains vocabulary and structures, and children can develop socio-cultural competence.
The use of tales in the classroom is unquestionable, as are the advantages they offer and the fact that they are a great resource. Therefore, it is important to use them even when we teach foreign languages such as English.
Learning Objectives with Storybooks
The objectives to be achieved with their use are:
- Encourage imagination and creativity.
- Learn new vocabulary.
- Learn and understand cultural aspects.
- Identify information in a text.
- Improve English pronunciation.
- Improve English speaking skills.
- Become familiar with traditional English tales.
- Improve English writing.
Engaging Storybook Activities
Activity 1: “Changing My Voice”
To begin, once a combined reading of the tale is complete, we can assign each student a character. If there are few students, they may be organized into groups. Each student will then read the dialogue of their assigned character, using an appropriate voice – whether the character is a girl or a boy, old, young, or a child, evil or good, etc.
Activity 2: “My Character and I”
In pairs or small groups, students will read the tale again. This time, one classmate must make gestures that dramatize the tale. For example, if there is a dog, they should imitate a dog. Initially, they may only make gestures with their face, then with their body. Finally, they will not only make the gestures of the characters but also interpret the actions occurring in the tale. So, if the character in the story falls dead, they should act as if they are falling dead too, or if the character rides a horse, the student should act as if they are riding a horse.
Activity 3: “Same Tale, Different Story”
When they have read the tale several times and have identified the characters, they can invent a different ending for the tale, continue the story, invent another conflict or problem with the same solution, or change the characters of the tale without changing the tale itself. In other words, they can make any changes to the tale they want, as long as they don’t alter its overall structure and it still makes sense.
Activity 4: “Guessing Game”
Following the previous activity, once students have created their continuations of the tale, the teacher will choose some of them. Then, all the children will begin the next game in class: one student will stand next to the blackboard in front of their peers. The teacher will signal an action from the tale to this student, and the child must interpret it using only gestures and body language while the rest of their classmates try to guess the action they are interpreting. The student who guesses correctly will be the next to go to the blackboard.