ESL Teaching Activities for Beginners – Friendly Greetings
- Posted by Daisy Stocker
- Date June 1, 2011
- Comments 3 comments
Simple Greetings Activity with Handouts
The informal language we use when we meet our friends or family is often idiomatic. ESL beginners can find it very confusing unless they are introduced to the short greetings that we all use. Students need to participate in many activities that provide opportunities for them to practice with their classmates. This article will suggest an introduction to the most commonly used expressions and provide some fun activities.
We suggest that role-plays are the easiest way to introduce greetings to your students. One way to do this is for the teacher to ask the initial question and the students to answer in unison. Write the possible commonly used answers on the board.
Let’s begin with the positive responses.
EXAMPLE:
Teacher: How are you?
Students: We are fine. Or We are fine, thanks.
Student: I’m fine thanks.
Continue by introducing these questions and responses:
Teacher:
How are you doing, _________?
Student: I’m doing fine. Or I’m just great!
Teacher: How are things going?
Student: Things are going well. Or Everything is fine.
Now try the negative responses. Tell them they are feeling sick, tired, depressed or whatever.
Teacher: How are you?
Student: I’m so-so. (means: not good – not bad) Or I’m not so good.
Or I’m not very well. Or I’m sick.
Teacher: How are you doing, ______?
Student: I’m okay. (The meaning changes with the tone of voice.)
Teacher: How are things going?
Student: Not badly Or Not so good.
Students need to be able to use these expressions automatically. Consequently, the oral parts of the activities outlined in this article are the most important. It is our experience that students tend to skip the oral and complete the written parts. Watch closely and get them talking!
Teaching Tips
- Teaching Reading Comprehension to Beginners - Teaching reading comprehension to beginner English as a Second Language (ESL) students can be challenging, but with the right approach, it can be fun and very effective. Here are some …
- ESL Student Teachers Ready to Start their First Job - You have arrived at the location of your new English second language teaching position. Your first class of teens and adults begins tomorrow morning. You’re feeling nervous, excited and a …
- How to Improve your Teaching - Many languages of the world are regular in the way that they are structured. This makes English grammar very difficult for thousands of students whose first language follows a consistent …
- Maintaining Students Interest in the EFL ESL Classroom - When we at Successful ESL first started teaching ESL classes, one of the very first things that we learned was the alarming student drop out rate, even when you have a good curriculum. There …
- ESL Practice Questions – Past Tense – Arctic Balloon Expedition – 1 - Teaching Grammar to English as a Second Language students can be a deadly bore. We’ve seen student sigh and shut their eyes at the thought of it. We know that …
- Suggestions for Maintaining Interest and Control in English Second Language Classrooms - Experienced teachers know that control is key to success with many different types of classes. It seems that each group develops a personality of its own. Some groups have their …
- Starting an ESL Beginners Class - When beginning students enroll in an ESL class, they are likely to come in with quite a bit of anxiety. They want to learn English, but many of them will …
- ESL Teaching Activities – Using Prepositions with Printable Handouts - ESL EFL Students from many different cultures find prepositions difficult because their meaning is expressed in a very different way in their own language. The preposition word doesn’t always express its meaning …
- Keeping your ESL Class Alive – tips for ESL Teachers - When you are teaching an ESL class, have you ever stopped and looked at the students’ faces? What do you see? Are the students sitting up, eager to see what …
- ESL Teaching Activities for Beginners – Friendly Greetings - Simple Greetings Activity with Handouts The informal language we use when we meet our friends or family is often idiomatic. ESL beginners can find it very confusing unless they are …
Date Published: 2011-06-01
Date Modified: 2024-03-11
Daisy Stocker taught ESL in Eastern Europe for 10 years and was a primary school teacher in Canada for 30 years. Daisy has a B.A. and M Ed. in Education.
You may also like
Teaching Reading Comprehension to Beginners
Teaching reading comprehension to beginner English as a Second Language (ESL) students can be challenging, but with the right approach, it can be fun and very effective. Here are some …
ESL Student Teachers Ready to Start their First Job
You have arrived at the location of your new English second language teaching position. Your first class of teens and adults begins tomorrow morning. You’re feeling nervous, excited and a …
3 Comments
Nice points. I feel the more activities that you use the better.
Learning to speak English is a practical subject and so the more activities and role playing that can be done the better.
There are some very good points here that I can use right away.