First English Session
Age: about 7–12
Level: absolute beginner to A1
Length: 45–60 minutes
1. Hello! — 5 minutes
The teacher stands at the front and smiles.
Teacher says:
“Hello!”
Children:
“Hello!”
Teacher:
“My name is Anna. What is your name?”
Point to one child and help:
“My name is …”
Do this with 4–5 children.
Then everybody says:
“Hello, my name is …”
Important: Don’t explain grammar. Just demonstrate.
2. Hello Song / Actions — 5 minutes
Use very easy actions:
Hello! 👋 — wave
Good morning! 🙋 — hands up
How are you? — point to the children
I am fine! 👍 — thumbs up
Repeat several times.
The teacher can say:
“Hello!”
“Good morning!”
“How are you?”
“I am fine!”
Children copy the actions and words.
3. My Name Is… — 10 minutes
Teach only these three sentences:
My name is Siti.
I am Siti.
What is your name?
Teacher demonstrates with a child.
Teacher: “What is your name?”
Child: “My name is Budi.”
Then children work in pairs.
A: “What is your name?”
B: “My name is …”
Change partners.
This gives the children real communication, not just repetition.
4. Numbers 1–10 — 10 minutes
Teach:
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
Use fingers.
Teacher:
“One!”
Children:
“One!”
Then make it a game.
Teacher says:
“Three!”
Children show three fingers.
Then:
“Seven!”
Children show seven fingers.
Then reverse it: teacher shows fingers and children say the number.
No writing is necessary yet.
5. Classroom English — 5 minutes
Teach only four expressions:
Stand up.
Sit down.
Listen.
Look.
Teacher demonstrates each one.
Then play a Simon Says-type game:
“Stand up!”
Children stand.
“Sit down!”
Children sit.
“Look!”
Children look at the teacher.
This is particularly good for teachers with limited English because their actions explain the meaning.
6. A very small speaking game — 10 minutes
Put children in a circle.
Teacher points to a child:
“What is your name?”
Child:
“My name is …”
The whole class:
“Hello, …!”
Next child.
Make it fun by adding a ball if available. The teacher rolls or passes the ball to a child and asks:
“What is your name?”
The child answers and passes it on.
Final 5 minutes: Review
The teacher asks:
“What is my name?”
Children:
“Anna!”
Teacher:
“What is your name?”
Children answer.
Then:
“One, two, three…”
Children count.
Finish with:
“Goodbye!”
Children:
“Goodbye!”
And everybody waves.
The most important rule for the teachers
Do not try to explain English in English.
If the teacher is only A1–A2, they should use:
English + gesture + demonstration + repetition
rather than long explanations.
For example, don’t say:
“Today we are going to learn how to introduce ourselves and ask somebody for their name.”
That is far too difficult.
Simply say:
“Hello!” 👋
“My name is Lina.”
“What is your name?”
Then demonstrate.
What I would NOT teach in the first lesson
Avoid:
- grammar explanations
- alphabet
- long vocabulary lists
- worksheets with lots of writing
- complicated instructions
- translation of every word
- “What do you understand?”
- grammar terminology such as subject, verb, pronoun
The children should leave the first lesson able to say three or four things confidently.
The success target for Lesson 1:
“Hello.”
“My name is …”
“What is your name?”
“I am fine.”
“One–ten.”
“Goodbye.”
That is already a very successful first English lesson.
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A ready-to-use set of very short dialogues and exercises =>
1. Dialogue: Hello
Teacher: Hello!
Child: Hello!
Teacher: Good morning!
Child: Good morning!
Teacher: How are you?
Child: I am fine.
Teacher: Good!
Child: Thank you.
Exercise 1 — Complete the dialogue
Choose: Hello / Good morning / fine
Teacher: __________!
Child: Hello!
Teacher: How are you?
Child: I am __________.
Teacher: __________!
Child: Good morning!
2. Dialogue: What Is Your Name?
Teacher: Hello!
Child: Hello!
Teacher: What is your name?
Child: My name is Rina.
Teacher: Hello, Rina!
Child: Hello!
Exercise 2 — Put the dialogue in the correct order
Write 1–5.
___ My name is Budi.
___ Hello!
___ Hello, Budi!
___ What is your name?
___ Hello!
Answer: 1 Hello! → 2 Hello! → 3 What is your name? → 4 My name is Budi. → 5 Hello, Budi!
3. Dialogue: Two Children
Sari: Hello!
Dina: Hello!
Sari: What is your name?
Dina: My name is Dina.
Sari: My name is Sari.
Dina: Hello, Sari!
Sari: Hello, Dina!
Exercise 3 — True or False
- Sari says hello.
- Dina’s name is Sari.
- Sari asks, “What is your name?”
- Dina says, “My name is Dina.”
- Sari and Dina say hello.
Answers:
- True
- False
- True
- True
- True
4. Dialogue: Three Children
Teacher: Hello! What is your name?
Ali: My name is Ali.
Teacher: Hello, Ali!
Ali: Hello!
Teacher: What is your name?
Maya: My name is Maya.
Teacher: Hello, Maya!
Maya: Hello!
Teacher: What is your name?
Budi: My name is Budi.
Teacher: Hello, Budi!
Budi: Hello!
Exercise 4 — Who?
Answer with Ali, Maya, or Budi.
- Who is the first child? __________
- Who is the second child? __________
- Who is the third child? __________
- Who says “My name is Maya”? __________
- Who says “My name is Budi”? __________
5. Dialogue: How Are You?
Rani: Hello, Tono!
Tono: Hello, Rani!
Rani: How are you?
Tono: I am fine.
Rani: Good!
Tono: How are you?
Rani: I am fine.
Exercise 5 — Complete
Use:
Hello / fine / Good / are
Rani: __________, Tono!
Tono: Hello, Rani!
Rani: How __________ you?
Tono: I am __________.
Rani: __________!
6. Dialogue: Numbers
Teacher: Look!
Children: One!
Teacher: Good! Look!
Children: Two!
Teacher: Three!
Children: Three!
Teacher: Four!
Children: Four!
Teacher: Five!
Children: Five!
Exercise 6 — Match
Match the number with the word.
- 1 → ___
- 2 → ___
- 3 → ___
- 4 → ___
- 5 → ___
a. five
b. two
c. four
d. one
e. three
Answers:
1-d, 2-b, 3-e, 4-c, 5-a
7. Dialogue: Count Together
Teacher: One!
Children: One!
Teacher: Two!
Children: Two!
Teacher: Three!
Children: Three!
Teacher: Four!
Children: Four!
Teacher: Five!
Children: Five!
Then:
Teacher: One, two, three, four, five!
Children: One, two, three, four, five!
Exercise 7 — What Comes Next?
- One, two, __________
- Two, three, __________
- Three, four, __________
- Four, five, __________
- Five, six, __________
- Seven, eight, __________
- Eight, nine, __________
- Nine, ten, __________
8. Classroom Dialogue: Stand Up
Teacher: Stand up!
Children: Stand up!
Teacher: Sit down!
Children: Sit down!
Teacher: Stand up!
Children: Stand up!
Teacher: Sit down!
Children: Sit down!
Exercise 8 — Do the Action
The teacher says the words. The children do the action.
- Stand up.
- Sit down.
- Stand up.
- Sit down.
Then make it faster.
9. Classroom Dialogue: Look and Listen
Teacher: Look!
Children: Look!
Teacher: Listen!
Children: Listen!
Teacher: Look!
Children: Look!
Teacher: Listen!
Children: Listen!
Exercise 9 — Teacher Says
The teacher says one sentence.
Children must do the correct action.
Look! → 👀 Look at the teacher.
Listen! → 👂 Listen to the teacher.
Stand up! → Stand.
Sit down! → Sit.
10. Mixed Dialogue
This combines almost everything from Lesson 1.
Teacher: Good morning!
Children: Good morning!
Teacher: Hello!
Children: Hello!
Teacher: What is your name?
Child: My name is Siti.
Teacher: How are you?
Child: I am fine.
Teacher: Good! Stand up!
Children: Stand up!
Teacher: One, two, three!
Children: One, two, three!
Teacher: Sit down!
Children: Sit down!
Teacher: Goodbye!
Children: Goodbye!
11. Pair Work
Put the children into pairs.
Student A
Ask:
“Hello!”
“What is your name?”
“How are you?”
Student B
Answer:
“Hello!”
“My name is ______.”
“I am fine.”
Then change roles.
Exercise 11 — Speaking Practice
A: Hello!
B: Hello!
A: What is your name?
B: My name is __________.
A: How are you?
B: I am __________.
A: Goodbye!
B: Goodbye!
12. Fill in the Missing Words
Use:
name / Hello / fine / Goodbye / morning
- __________!
- Good __________!
- What is your __________?
- I am __________.
- __________!
13. Choose the Correct Answer
1. Someone says: “Hello!”
You say:
a. Goodbye!
b. Hello!
c. Sit down!
2. Someone asks: “What is your name?”
You say:
a. My name is Lina.
b. I am fine.
c. Good morning.
3. Someone asks: “How are you?”
You say:
a. My name is Budi.
b. I am fine.
c. Goodbye.
4. The teacher says “Stand up!”
You:
a. sit down
b. stand up
c. say your name
5. The teacher says “Sit down!”
You:
a. sit down
b. stand up
c. run
14. Teacher–Class Game
The teacher says one of the four commands:
Stand up!
Sit down!
Look!
Listen!
The children must do the correct action.
Then the teacher can make a mistake.
For example, the teacher says:
“Stand up!”
but sits down.
The children should say the correct action:
“Stand up!”
This makes the lesson fun without needing difficult English.
15. Final Speaking Challenge
At the end of the lesson, each child speaks to another child:
Hello!
What is your name?
My name is ______.
How are you?
I am fine.
Goodbye!
If a child can do this without help, the teacher can say:
“Very good!”
For the first lesson, I would concentrate on speaking and listening rather than writing. The teachers can use these dialogues repeatedly, changing only the children’s names. This gives teachers with weak English a safe script they can follow while the children get lots of real speaking practice.
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Remember how babies
learn a language:
Babies learn a language by listening.
They use their ears to hear sounds.
Their brain remembers these sounds.
Babies connect sounds with people and things.
They listen to their parents.
Then they copy the sounds they hear. They imitate words.
Slowly, babies learn to speak.
So,
LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN……………
SMFrockZ@gmx.at
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