Books, movies and albums you will carry with you in the event of going to a desert island.

It is a good dynamic that my English teacher usually uses with new students, specially those who come for conversational classes. It provides with a topic that can be used for an hour or even longer, both in one-to-one classes and small groups. It has all the advantages of other first week/first contacts techniques as it provides the teacher with a valuable information on his or her students interests. In addition, it is very easy to adapt it to different ages and levels.

How does it work:
Ask each student to think of the three films, books and records that they will be carrying with them in the event of going to a desert island. For advanced students it will offer you a framework for conversation (either one-to-one with the teacher or working in pairs). If you have a beginners class it is a good chance to practice real communication in pairs. Just adapt the amount of information they have to transfer to their level and provide them with a little scaffolding for the beginning.