What would you like to know?

Ask students to make a short list of words (5 max) that they would like to know or that they would feel would be immediately useful to them (e.g. “thank you” or “can you repeat that please?” or “I don’t understand” or even just random words out of interest). Then, have them hand these lists to the front. Try to go over at least one word or question from each list, choosing ones that are relevant to the entire group. Also come prepared with your own list of common phrases that students can bring back every week. That way, you can require that they say certain things only in the target language, and if they forget them, they can refer to the list. While you’re at it, you can ask students to list a few cultural questions that you can answer for them, or you can ask them to tell you about their personal goals for the course. Depending on how much you ask for, you may choose to tell the group ahead of time that you won’t be able to answer everything now, but that you will address the remaining topics and vocabulary (especially ones that may not be immediately relevant to the entire group) over email. By emailing each student individually to address their questions, you show them how much you value being in their course, which may further encourage them to come back. It also opens lines of communication so they feel comfortable emailing you in the future. Finally, activities like these can help you gauge what your students are interested in learning, which may help you lesson plan in the future, as well!