ESL Teacher

I know it sounds immodest, but students tend to like me. I don’t really know why, but I’m fairly sure that one of the reasons is I always learn their names really quickly. It makes a huge difference if I can call on them in class by name, I think, because they tend to pay more attention, and feel that I’m taking a personal interest in their learning.

Some people are “good with names”, and some aren’t. I guess I fall into the former category, but there are still plenty of ways that any teacher can remember names faster:

• Make it a focus. If you accept that learning names is important and focus on activities that help you do that, you’re making a big step.
• Nametags and name cards. It’s so easy to get students to write their name on a folded piece of paper and leave it in front of them – especially in the first lesson or two.
• Ask students to stay in the same seats. It’s bad enough that they wear different clothes each lesson, but if you know where you can find a student the task is a lot easier. Once you’ve learned their names, you can let them sit wherever they want.
• Write their names on the board. I almost always write the names of all the students down one side of the whiteboard – and when it’s a new class, I write them in order of where they’re sitting. That way I can take a sneaky look at the board before I call upon the next student. It also helps them to know each other’s names, especially in a multi-nationality classroom where they might have trouble remembering names which are unusual to them.
• Word association. I have had more trouble remembering Korean and Chinese names than any others, mostly because they are two syllable, and tend to repeat themselves – that is, “Min” or “Mi” or “Su” might end up as the first or second syllable and in a male or female name – it’s confusing. I try to associate the syllables with English words that help me remember them.

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