8 first lesson problems and solutions for young learner classes

Joanna Wiseman
Two young girls sat at a school desk reading a book

The first class with a new group of young learners can be a nerve-wracking experience for teachers, old and new. Many of us spend the night before thinking about how to make a positive start to the year, with a mixture of nerves, excitement, and a desire to get started. However, sometimes things Dz’t always go as expected, and it is important to set a few ground rules in those early lessons to ensure a positive classroom experience for all throughout the academic year.

Let’s look at a few common problems that can come up and how best to deal with them at the start of the school year.

First lesson problems and solutions for young learner classes
Play
Privacy and cookies

By watching, you agree app can share your viewership data for marketing and analytics for one year, revocable by deleting your cookies.

1. Students are not ready to start the class

How the first few minutes of the class are spent can greatly influence how the lesson goes. Students can be slow to get out their equipment and this can cause a lot of time wasting. To discourage this, start lessons with atimed challenge.

  • Tell students what you want them to do when they come into class, e.g., sit down, take out their books and pencil cases, and sit quietly, ready for the lesson to start.
  • Time how long it takes for everyone to do this and make a note. Each day, do the same.
  • Challenge students to do thisfasterevery day. You could provide a goal and offer a prize at the end of the trimester if they reach it, e.g., be ready in less than a minute every day.

2. Students speak first language (L1) in class

One of the most common classroom management issues primary teachers face is getting them to speak English. However, young learners may need to speak their mother tongue occasionally, and a complete ban on L1 is often not the best solution. But how can we encourage students touse English wherever possible?

  • Tell students they have toask permissionto speak in L1 if they really need to.
  • 3-word rule — Tell students that they can use a maximum ofthree wordsin L1 if they Dz’t know them in English.
  • WriteENGLISHon the board in large letters. Each time someone speaks in L1, erase a letter. Tell students that each letter represents time (e.g., 1 minute) to play a game or do another fun activity at the end of the lesson. If the whole word remains, they can choose a game.

3. Students Dz’t get on with each other

It is only natural that students will want to sit with their friends, but it is important that students learn to work with different people. Most students will react reasonably if asked to work with someone new, but occasionally conflicts can arise. To help avoid uncomfortable situations doteam building activities, such as those below, at the beginning of the school year, and do them again throughout the year whenever you feel that they would be beneficial.

  • Give students an icebreaker activity, such asFind a Friend bingoto help students find out more about each other.
  • Help students learn more about each other by finding out aboutwhat they have in common.
  • Balloon race. Have two or more teams with an equal number of students stand in lines. Give each team a balloon, which they have to pass to the next student without using their hands. The first team to pass the balloon to the end of the line wins.
  • Team letter/word building. Call out a letter of the alphabet and have pairs of students form it with their bodies, lying on the floor. When students can do this easily, call out short words, e.g.cat,and have the pairs join up (e.g. three pairs = group of six) and form the letters to make the word.

4. Students Dz’t know what to do

When the instructions are given in English, there will inevitably be a few students who Dz’t understand what they have to do. It is essential to giveclear, concise instructionsand tomodel the activitybefore you ask students to start. To check students know what to do and clarify any problems:

  • Have one or more studentsdemonstrateusing an example.
  • Have one studentexplainthe task in L1.
  • Monitorthe task closely in the first few minutes and check individual students are on the right track.

5. A student refuses to participate/do the task

This is a frequent problem that can have many different causes. In the first few lessons, this may be shyness, but it is important to identify the cause early on to devise an effective strategy. A few other causes might include:

  • Lack of language required to respond or do the task. Provide differentiation tasks or scaffolding to help students with a lower level complete the task or have them respond in a non-oral way.
  • Low self-confidence in their ability to speak English. Again, differentiation and scaffolding can help here. Have students work in small groups or pairs first, before being asked to speak in front of the whole class.
  • Lack of interest or engagement in the topic.If students aren’t interested, they won’t have anything to say. Adapt the topic or task, or move on.
  • External issues e.g., a bad day, a fight with a friend, physical problems (tiredness/hunger/thirst). Talk to the student privately to find out if they are experiencing any problems. Allow them to “pass” on a task if necessary, and give them something less challenging.

It is importantnot to forcestudents to do something they Dz’t want to do, as this will cause a negative atmosphere and can affect the whole class. At the end of the day, if a student skips one or two tasks, it won’t affect their achievement in the long run.

6. Students ask for repeated restroom/water breaks

It only takes one student to ask to go to the restroom before the whole class suddenly needs to go. This can cause disruption and stop the flow of the lesson. To avoid this, make sure you have rules in place concerning restroom breaks.

  • Make sure students know to go to the restroombefore the lesson.
  • Have students bring in their ownwater bottles. You can provide a space for them to keep their bottles (label them with student names) in the classroom and have students fill them daily at the drinking fountain or faucet.
  • Find out if anyone has anyspecial requirementsthat may require going to the restroom.
  • Provide “brain breaks” at strategic points in the lesson when students become restless.

7. Students Dz’t have the required materials

  • Provide parents witha list of materialsstudents need on the first day.
  • Ifspecial materialsare required in a lesson, give students a note to take home or post a message on the school platformseveral days before.
  • Don’t blame the student—whether they have a good reason or not for turning up to class empty-handed, making a child feel guilty will not help. Write a note for parents explaining why bringing materials to class is important.

8. Students are not listening/talking

If you have a boisterous class, it can be challenging to get their attention. Set up asignalthat you will use when you want them to pay attention to you. When they hear or see the signal, students should stop what they are doing and look at you. Some common signals are:

  • Raising your hand. When students see you raise your hand, they should raise their hands and stop talking. Wait until everyone is sitting in silence with their hands raised. This works well with older children and teenagers.
  • Call and responseattention-getters. These are short phrases that prompt students to respond in a certain way, e.g.

Teacher: 1 2 3, eyes on me.

Students: 1 2 3, eyes on you.

Introduce a new attention-getter every few weeks to keep it fun. You can even have your students think up their own phrases to use.

  • Countdowns. Tell students what you want them to do and count backwards from ten to zero, e.g.

When I get to zero, I need you all to be quiet and look at me. 10, 9, 8 …

Keep your voice low and speak calmly. This will encourage students to stop talking and bring down excitement levels.

  • A short song or clapping rhythm. With younger children, it is effective to use music or songs for transitions between lesson stages so they know what to do at each stage. For primary-aged children, clap out a rhythm and have them repeat it. Start with a simple rhythm, then gradually make it longer, faster, or more complex.

Explore our courses

More blogs from app

  • A young girl sat at a desk smiling at the front of the class, with other students in the background.

    Four motivating activities to teach core values through reading

    By Nicola Schofield
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    Teaching ourchildren corevalues is so important in helping them to becomehappy,well-balancedcitizens who will make a positive contributiontoour future society.

    Values are present and visible everywhere and they arethefoundation or starting point from where we make our decisions, which ultimately determine our futures. It is,therefore,important that our children learn a strong, moral set of values that will help guide them as they grow older,inform their decisions,help them toknow right from wrong, solve problems, assert themselves and build self-esteem and confidence.

    Values can bebuilton apersonal level or evenshared ata group level such as a family and friendship group.However, we often see them on a larger scale within communities, countries or even the whole world.

    Having a shared set of values connects peopleon a deeper leveland helps us to all work towards the same goals and standards – they caneven encourage people to see the similarities between each other, rather than thedifferences.

    Learning values through reading

    Children learn about values through their families, friends, and teachers, through what they watch or listen to and through their life experiences. They also learn about valuesthrough the books they read.These lessonscan be subtle but are oftenextremely powerful andcanhave a significant impact and influence.

    As an example, let’s have a look at how shared valuesareexplored in thenew graded readers series for young learners,Disney Kids Readers, where special emphasis has been put on exploring values within a story.At the end, you will find severalvalue-based activitiesthat you can download for use in the classroom orasan activity at home.

    Howdo Disney Kids Readers teach core values?

    1. Learning through stories that are already familiar can help children to trust in and take on board the key messages much more easily. Familiarity can break down many barriers to communication and help us understand that values are often universal.
    2. Many children are also familiar with the Disney characters and can find inspiration from reading how they react to situations in life, make decisions and behave. Children often look up to characters and can see them as role models within their own lives. As a result, the readers can be a reference point on how to respond to key life moments and how to incorporate values into real life.
    3. Also, depending on the child's age, some values may be new and children may not yet have experience with them in the real world. Therefore, the Disney stories allow them to explore these key messages through their favorite Disney character’s point of view.

    Each Disney Kids Reader is linked to a key valueand contains a ‘Values’ page with ashortcomicstripthat brings to life a specific value.

    The list below detailsa selection ofkey values taught across the readers.You could askthe childrenin your classto talk about which values are most important to them and why. Ask them to give an exampleofa time when they have demonstrated this value in their own lives.

    Friendship, positivity, curiosity, confidence, open-mindedness, courage, determination, self-belief, responsibility, resilience, respect, honesty.

    Examples of key values inDisney stories

    InThe Jungle Book,friendshipis a keyvalue,and we learn that it is important to help our friends. Baloo helps Mowgli when he is alone in the jungle and scared. An angry tiger wants Mowgli to leave the jungle, but when Mowgli meets Baloo, he finds a friend in him. Baloo sees that Mowgli is scared and looks after him.We learn that it is important to help our friends when they are in need.

    Do:Ask the children when they have helped their friends.

    InInside Out, we learn aboutsincerityandhowimportantit is to talk about how we are feeling. Riley is a teenager struggling with a whole range of emotions and we learn that life isn’t about being happy all the time and that it is okay to be sad sometimes. The children learn that this is a normal part of life and that talking it through with a friend, a parent or a teacher can help.

    Do:Ask the children if they share their feelings with others.

    Here are some activities for you to use with your class to help put into practice the core values from the readers. You can use these activities with any book, in and outside the classroom.

    1. My Values Road Sign (L3-4)

    This activityisa great way of talkingtochildrenabout their values. By creating a road sign poster,it will help them to decide which values are most important to them and it is something that they canreferto again and again in challenging times. They can stick it on their bedroom wall, display it on the fridge or you could even make a classroom display of shared valueswhen children have finishedtheirbooks!

    Download the worksheet

    2. Kindness Calendar (L4-6)

    This activity can be done as a family, with friends or as a class. The children fill in the calendar with kind actions they are going to do for 7 days. They can cut them out and placetheminto a jar and ask a different family member/friend/classmate to choose one a day. Do this for a week and discuss how carrying out kind actions makes them feel.Chances areit will make them feel good!

    Download the worksheet

    3. Core Values Quiz (L5-6)

    Try this quiz with your class and test their values. The questions focus on the following values: sincerity, honesty, positivity, resilience and friendship. If they answer mostly As, then they already demonstrate most of the values in their lives. If they answer mostly Bs, talk to them about why it is important to be honest, positive, strong and kind. The quiz will start a meaningful conversation about their own values and how they react to common situations in life.

    Download the worksheet

    4. My future self (L1-2)

    The childrenfill in the crystal ball with pictures of who they would like to be in the future. Do they want to be smart, funny, have a good job, live abroad, have a family, be rich, be a good friend or help the planet? Which of the plans make one person(themselves)happyand which plans make the world better? Do they need to change any of them?

    Download the worksheet

    Read our blog posts 'Fostering self-care and wellbeing through the world of reading'and 'The importance of teaching values to young learners'.

  • two business people sat together in a meeting both looking at a laptop

    Enhancing workplace communication: The new role of language assessments in business success

    By Andrew Khan
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    The integration of AI tools into workplaces around the world is starting to change the way people communicate professionally. that the use of AI to help draft documents and emails is driven not only by convenience and efficiency but also by a desire to be clear and precise in language.

    While potentially useful, tools to translate, generate, or ‘correct’ written text won’t help with the effectiveness of the verbal communication that powers business relationships.

  • A teacher holding a tablet to a young student in a classroom sat at a table

    Talking technology: Teaching 21st century communication strategies

    By
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    When my son created a web consulting business as a summer job, I offered to have business cards made for him. “Oh Dad,” he said, “Business cards are so 20th century!”

    It was an embarrassing reminder that communication norms are constantly changing, as are the technologies we use. Younger generations share contact information on their phones’ social media apps, not with business cards. A similar shift has been the move away from business cards featuring fax numbers. “What’s a fax?” my son might ask.

    Fax machines have had a surprisingly long life–the first fax machine was invented in 1843–but they have been largely retired because it’s easier to send images of documents via email attachments.

    More recent technologies, such as the 1992 invention of text messages, seem here to stay, but continue to evolve with innovations like emojis, a 1998 innovation whose name combines the Japanese words e (picture) and moji (character).

    The 55/38/7 rule and the three Cs

    Changing technologies challenge language teachers who struggle to prepare students with the formats and the strategies they need to be effective in academic, business, and social settings. These challenges start with questions about why we have particular norms around communication. These norms form a culture of communication.

    The artist/musician Brian Eno defines culture as what we Dz’t have to do. We may have to walk, but we Dz’t have to dance. Dancing, therefore, is culture. Communication is full of cultural practices that we Dz’t strictly need to do, but which make communication more successful. These include practices based on the 55/38/7 Rule and The Three Cs.

    The 55/38/7 rule is often misinterpreted as being about what someone hears when we speak. It actually refers to the insights of University of California professor, , who looked at how our attitudes, feelings, and beliefs influence our trust in what someone says.

    Mehrabian suggests words only account for seven percent of a message’s impact; tone of voice makes up 38 percent, and body language–including facial expressions–account for the other 55 percent. The consequence of this for our students is that it’s sometimes not so important what they are saying as how they are saying it.

    Another way of looking at this nonverbal communication is in terms of The Three Cs: context, clusters, and congruence.

    Context is about the environment in which communication takes place, any existing relationship between the speakers, and the roles they have. Imagine how each of these factors change if, for example, you met a surgeon at a party compared to meeting the same surgeon in an operating theater where you are about to have your head sawn open.

    Clusters are the sets of body language expressions that together make up a message; smiling while walking toward someone is far different than smiling while carefully backing away.

    Congruence refers to how body language matches–or doesn’t match–a speaker’s words. People saying, “Of course! It’s possible!” while unconsciously shaking their heads from side to side are perhaps being less than truthful.

    How does a culture of communication practices translate to new technologies? Mobile phone texts, just like 19th-century telegraph messages before them, need to be precise in conveying their meaning.

    In virtual meetings (on Teams and Google Hangouts, for example), students need to understand that tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language may be more important than the words they share.

    Politeness as one constant

    An additional key concern in virtual meetings is politeness. Once, in preparation for a new textbook, I was involved in soliciting topics of interest to university teachers. I was surprised that several teachers identified the need to teach politeness. The teachers pointed out that the brevity of social media meant that students were often unwittingly rude in their requests (typical email: “Where’s my grade!”). Moreover, such abruptness was crossing over to their in-person interactions.

    Politeness includes civility, getting along with others, as well as deference, showing respect to those who may have earned it through age, education, and achievement. But politeness is also related to strategies around persuasion and how to listen actively, engage with other speakers by clarifying and elaborating points and ask a range of question types. Online or in person, if students cannot interrupt politely or know when it is better to listen, whatever they have to say will be lost in the court of bad opinion.

    This is particularly important in preparation for academic and business contexts where students need to interact in groups, such as seminar settings and business meetings. Within these, it’s necessary for students to be able to take on a variety of roles, including leadership, taking notes, and playing devil’s advocate to challenge what a group thinks.

    Engaging students with project work

    Role-play can help raise awareness of these strategies among students, but it’s not enough to just take on a variety of roles found in common academic and business exchanges; students need to be able to reflect after each role-play session and infer what strategies are successful.

    Technology-based projects can also help students engage in a range of communication strategies. For example, a app series, StartUp, embraces technology in each unit by sprinkling various text messages and web-based research tasks. There are also multimedia projects where students use their phones to collect images or video and share the results in presentations that develop their critical thinking.

    For example:

    Make your own video

    Step 1 Choose a favorite restaurant or meal.

    Step 2 Make a 30-second video. Talk about the meal. Describe what you eat and drink. Explain why you like it.

    Step 3 Share your video. Answer questions and get feedback.

    This simple project subconsciously reinforces the unit’s vocabulary and grammar. It also allows students to personalize the project based on things that they need to talk about in daily life–their local foods in this case. This means that each student’s presentation is unique. Unlike with essay assignments, students tend to work hard to craft several versions until they are satisfied because they know their work will be seen by other students and that they will be asked questions that only they can answer.

    All this forces students to consider speaking strategies, as well as strategies for appropriate facial expressions and body language. Similarly, they have to use active listening strategies when listening to others’ presentations while asking questions. As technology continues to evolve, teachers need to integrate new applications into their teaching so students learn how to communicate with the tools they have at their disposal.