How to welcome a new student in your group

‘Guys, this is Tim!’. ‘Hello, Tim!’ ‘Great, let’s check the homework’. If this is your plan for the first class with a new student, think again. Saying something like ‘Well, tell us something about yourself now’ can also be not the best way to make everyone comfortable. The new student will feel shy while the others will still be curious to know something about the newcomer. Instead, run a little activity which can help you to build rapport and the learners – to know each other. Here are some ideas to try:

• Two truths and a lie.
  This good old activity is likely to engage the students and make them curious about each other. Invite everyone to write three facts about themselves, two facts being true and one – false. Then, ask them to read their facts out loud. While one student is reading, the others are trying to guess which facts are true. In big groups students can work in pairs or groups of three.
• Change places if…
  This activity is good for lower-level groups or if your students are not that talkative yet. First, remove one chair to make sure that you have, for example, 6 students but 5 seats. Then, say a sentence like ‘Change places if you have a dog’. The student who is left without a chair stays in the middle and says the next phrase: ‘Change places if… you like pizza.’ and so it goes on.
• Speed interviews
  In this activity, students form two lines, standing and facing each other. Tell them that they need to ask their speaking partner three questions, e.g. ‘Do you like cats?’, ‘Have you ever been to Europe?’, ‘What’s your favourite film and why?’ or anything else depending on their level. Set a time limit. When time’s up, clap! Then, students in line A move one space across, therefore giving each student a new partner. This activity is perfect for an even number of students and works better in bigger classes. When it is finished, you can ask the learners to say what they remember about each other.

Of course, your choice will depend on the students’ age and level. However, all the activities mentioned above can help students learn more about each other and, probably, find common ground and feel more confident.