September. Most students are back in school, and it’s a safe guess that foreign language teachers are starting off the year with some basics: alphabet, names, greetings and introductions. I like to have my older students choose names from the target culture as their new identity for the year. I personally don’t require it, and I don’t even offer the possibility to students younger than 12. But it’s fun and helps to keep the language “flowing” during the lessons.
Today I’d like to share one of my first-week-of-school activities that’s a hit year after year–Name Bingo. Once my students choose a French name, they practice spelling it out loud using the French alphabet. They receive a bingo grid and write their own name in one of the squares. Now the activity becomes interactive as the students walk around the classroom to ask their classmates, “What’s your name?” and “How do you spell that?” so that they can add it to their bingo grid. (Spelling names is a practical life skill, by the way. Just today, I had to spell my last name two times.)
Once the students have filled in their bingo card, the teacher spells names of various people in the class to be X’ed off. 4 X’s in a row is a Bingo. Don’t forget the prizes!
To purchase an inexpensive French Name Bingo printable with directions, click here. And click here for the Spanish version. Play this game completely in the target language. Your newbies will feel successful and proud!
Photo Credit: by Cecile Graat at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1132275
