Student Suggestions

by AJ

A student recently made several excellent suggestions (see the previous post's comments).

Most of the suggestions seemed to have a central theme: the student wanted more social opportunities in class. S/He suggested rearranging desks into a U shape (great idea), playing social games (great idea), and having students do some of the reading instead of only me (great idea).

I plan to follow all of these suggestions. The student did make one suggestion that I probably won't follow, concerning free reading,... but I tried to explain why in my response comment.

So here are my questions: How can I create more social opportunities for students? How can I help you make friends with classmates? How can I help you connect with each other in class? How can I help you connect with each other outside of class?

Here are a few ideas:

1. A class email list.
I could pass around a paper and have everyone write their email address. I could then add all of you to the Effortless English email group... so you could easily communicate with each other via email.

2. Form a social club in each class.
I could ask for student volunteers to organize a club for the class. The volunteers could schedule social events (go see a movie, go out to eat) and social/study sessions (ie. study for the midterm).

3. Warmup Games
At the beginning of each class (promptly :), I could do a short social game... to help you learn each other's names and learn more about each other.

4. Student Teacher
What if I had a STUDENT lead a game at the beginning of every class? The student would need to plan a short (10-15 minute) social activity... to encourage students to talk and get to know each other. A different student could lead the activity each class.

5. Your Ideas
What do you think of these ideas? If you have other ideas for social activities... please comment and make a suggestion!

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