Starting lessons in a new way

the right beginning of the lesson always sets the right mood for the rest of it, doesn’t it?

So recently I got a little tired of just informal chit-chat during the first minutes of my one-to-one lessons, and it got me thinking, what else can I do?

Here is what I’ve come up with: several versions of more or less the same thing, so here goes.

Version one:

this week,

• the tastiest….
• the most interesting…
• the most unexpected…
• the hardest…
• the most boring…
• the most pleasant…

______________________

Version two:

Just before the lesson,…

• The last thing I was listening to/heard was…
• The last thing I read was…
• The last thing I saw/ was looking at was…
• The last person I talked to was…
• The last thing I had smth to eat/ drink, it was..

As in my case it was always a 1-to-1 activity, I usually started off with my own example, and then it was quite clear to my students what they were supposed to do.

I had a chance to try it out with different levels, from pre-int to upper-int, and the results obviously sounded differently, but I can say it worked well with all of them.

Plus, you get to hear a lot of interesting things and experiences your students have done. I wonder if it should work the same way in groups, but have no chance of checking at the moment. What do you think? )))