My lessons are all starting up for the new semester on Monday, and usually I have a clear plan for the first lesson. This year I'm taking a slightly different approach.
The first lesson is very important for two big reasons: because first impressions count, and because people get into routines. There are usually a multitude of agendas going on in any classroom and the art of teaching is basically juggling these, or making compromises between them.
There are also things I want students to do every week, and there should be a list of things to do in each subsequent lesson. Anything I want them to do every week I should almost certainly get them to do in the first lesson. I'm almost certain about this, but I'm not completely sure. Extensive Reading is something that I want to do every week in class, and want them to do every week outside class, and it may take a whole lesson to set up. I'm not sure whether I can put that in the first lesson without compromising the other things I want to set up, especially speaking.
Getting a speaking class to be quiet for a few minutes to read is much easier than trying to get a class with it's heads buried in books to talk.
Anyway, here's the list, such as it is, filled with obligatory contradictions!
Get them to speak English
Get them to talk to each other
Get them to talk to each other in English
Get them to read something
Get them to write something
Make them laugh
Talk to some of them individually
Give them some clear details of what I expect from them
Give them some vague ideas of what to expect from me
Create imbalance
Get them to move around the classroom
Tell them a little about myself, but not enough
Get them to think about why they are studying
Let them find out something they didn't know
Say something in English that they will understand
Make them physically respond to instructions in English
Be strict
Be fair
Tell them their homework
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