All language students start at the beginning--learning simple conversational greetings. Use these introductory lessons to engage kids and introduce them to a new world of communication and culture.
Saying Hello
Puppets are an effective tool for teaching language to children, especially to children who are particularly young or shy. Folkmanis Puppets offers many unique, high-quality puppets. Choose one that can hide in a shell, such as a turtle, snail, or dinosaur baby. Encourage the children to coax the puppet out of its hiding spot with a friendly Hola or Bonjour. When the puppet friend emerges, it greets each child using the traditional custom of the target culture. For example, a French snail puppet kisses both cheeks; a Japanese puppet bows.
For older students, assemble photo flashcards of famous people such as actors, singers, cartoon characters, or well-known politicians. The kids greet each famous person with varying degrees of formality. This is also an effective way to introduce Sir, Ma'am, or Miss in the target language.
To engage kinesthetic learners, kids can toss balls, beanbags, or balloons to one another as they practice saying Hello.
How Are You?
Make the answers to this common question as concrete as possible for young language learners. Draw expressive faces onto paper plates to make masks. Clap or chant the question, "How are you?" chorally, then ask individuals to wear a mask that expresses how they feel. At the very beginning, it is not necessary for the children to speak if they do not yet feel secure. Luckily, even shy children feel more confident while behind the mask.
Playing charades is another fun and interactive way to encourage beginners to speak in the new language. Children act out how they are feeling as the class tries to guess in the target language.
Names and Introductions
To teach the expressions "What's your name?" and "My name is . . . " try a little cheer. Either the teacher, a puppet, another child, or the whole class can ask the question. When an answer is given, the entire class performs a "Name Cheer," chanting the child's name in enthusiastic rhythm. Kids are motivated by the spirited recognition of their name.
The Memory Name Game helps kids to know their classmates. See who can say everyone's name in the class using the target language expressions for "His name is . . . " and "Her name is . . . "
Finger Play
Use "Thumbkin" thumbs to model a simple conversation for the children to repeat. It goes something like this:
- Hello/Hi
- What's your name?/My name is . . . And you?
- My name is . . . / How are you?
- I'm fine. And you? / So-so.
- Goodbye. / Goodbye.
Pass out puppets to the children so that they can create their very own mini-dialogues.
Duck, Duck, Goose
Practice greetings and leave takings with this active game. Instead of saying "Duck Duck" say "Hello, Hello;" instead of "Goose", say "Goodbye" . . . and get ready to run.
The first day of your foreign language class can be active, fun, and memorable. Set the tone for future learning with age-appropriate activities to teach greetings.
Diane Farrug - Diane is a foreign language teacher and writer from the U.S. She has shared her love of the French language with students as young as 2 ...
