Great Introductory Activity for ESL Young Learners

So how do we get very young ESL learners into the zone for learning English? We’ve already talked about the importance of establishing a classroom routine that students will learn and be excited to repeat. If we incorporate our greeting into each class, it will form part of the classroom routine and will encourage students to start speaking English from the first minute of class!

One of our tried-and-true activities for starting off classes with very young learners is a simple song with puppets that allow students to imitate what they are hearing. This works for students 1-3 years old, and you can adapt it with more difficult songs for older students.

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We recommend getting lots of varieties of puppets so that this activity is interesting each time, yet still predictable enough that students will be comfortable with it. Some of our favorite puppets are: animal hand puppets (like these from Amazon.com), plastic finger puppets that stand up well to teething little ones who will always put whatever you hand them into their mouths (like these, also from Amazon.com or Oriental Trading Company), felt finger puppets (like these from Ikea), and puppets that relate to something they already know (like these, if you have read or sang “Five Little Monkeys” with your young learners).

ESL young learners can get excited by puppets! Copyright http://www.abingdonmusic.co.uk

Here’s how to do the activity, which takes 3-7 minutes, depending on our students:

1. Show students a box which contains the puppets, asking “What’s in the box?” We can shake the box, put it to our ears, knock on it, and do other things to draw the students’ attention to the box.
2. Ask students if there is a banana (or other cognate) in the box. How about a car? (making vroom vroom noises)
3. Open the box and show students the puppets. We’ll hold the box close to us or away from the students so that they don’t immediately grab the puppets.
4. We will take out two puppets, put them on our fingers, and put the lid on the box.
5. Play this simple Hello Song offered on YouTube by Turn On Your English. We always play from 0:19-0:55 so that it’s a quick and fun song. (Remember to face your screen away from the students if they get distracted by the video, or simply use a recording.) Use each puppet to mimic what the puppet on the screen (or in the song) is doing, so that it seems like the puppets are truly greeting each other.
6. Now, we’ll invite the students to take part in the fun! Allow each student to pick out a puppet (build their English by first asking “Would you like a puppet? Yes, please?” and getting them to respond “Please.” Work up to “Yes, please,” and finally, “May I have a puppet, please?”). Repeat the song with the students, encouraging them to sing.

It will take a few classes before the students open up, come to expect the puppets’ presence, and want to start singing. But every (let’s face it, repetitive) second that you invest in this activity will help set a positive and motivating tone for the rest of your class. Eventually, your students will scream “puppets!” when they see the box, want to be the first to pick out a puppet (thus improving their behavior) and will start singing their greetings.

What other introductory activities work well in your ESL young learners classroom?