First week of class

Wanted to update everyone on how the class is going... I've been busy planning the lessons, which is why I haven't had time to write... The first week of a class is critical, I think, for setting the tone of the year. So the most important idea I wanted to convey was that the class will be participatory and based on their interests and goals. In both the Sunday class and the daily class, we did an activity I got out of Games for Actors and Non-Actors by Augusto Boal, the founder of the Theater of the Oppressed methodology (word to Gina and Cory if you're reading this!!). It's called the Hypnotist and got the students running around and thinking about communication and leadership. They also wrote out their goals for learning English. Most of the students are truly interested in learning English and have significant reasons for this. One is the opportunity to find better jobs, as unemployment is a HUGE issue for youth here, leaving them bored, with little hope for the future and no money. Other reasons they want to learn are to help them with their regular school courses, talk with family in the states, read product labels-medicine instructions, talk with visitors, understand music and movies shown in English, and understand things they see on the internet. All in all, I think they have been having fun so far, and so have I! The more prepared I am for the class, the more fun I feel I can have, so I've been preparing a lot. Any creative lesson plan ideas anyone has, let me know!!