I started working in my current position in the Faculty of English Language and Culture at my university last fall. Every semester, I have between 100 and 200 hundred new students. Over just three semesters, that’s already a lot of new students, and learning all of their names is pretty overwhelming! But I care about my students, and I want to learn all of their names. I tell them this, and I warn them that it will take me some time to learn all of their names, and my students have been very patient as I try to learn their names.
This semester I am teaching public speaking again, so I don’t have to do quite as much lesson planning. I have a little bit of time to breathe! As I was thinking about my schedule for the semester, I realized that I want to use some of my extra time to get to know my students better. Since I live on campus, I realized it wouldn’t be that hard to invite a few students over to my house.
My main hesitation with that was trying to decide who to invite over. My living room is about three sizes too small to invite over an entire class. That’s when I had one of my best ideas for the summer! So thankful for this idea! I invited all of my students—at least all the ones in my required classes. But I told them that not everyone would be able to come every week. I said they could choose one person to reserve the evening, and then that person could bring 1-7 of their friends. In this way, I didn’t have to do much planning except to communicate with that one person.
When the students come over, I offer them tea or water (I have a large collection of herbal teas) and we play games. I have a few card games that the students have enjoyed, and I also have Bubble talk which gives students the chance to practice English a bit and laugh together.
I’ve really enjoyed these game nights because I can get to know more students more deeply. I realized that seeing the students in a different context is really fun, and I can see a side of their personalities that I often don’t get to see in class.
One group of girls was so excited that they kept screaming while we played games. I loved their energy, but I also tried to remind them to be quieter so my neighbors won’t hate me! That same group of girls also loves music. One girl played the guitar, so I let her tune my guitar and then she played songs while the other girls sang. It was lovely.
Another group of girls brought so many snacks that I had to give a lot of them away after they left because we couldn’t finish all of them, and I couldn’t finish them all by myself.
Each group has brought their own personality, and I love interacting with them and getting to know them more. I’m looking forward to the time when students can start coming over again. Most of them express a desire to come back, but I’ve had to say that I need to let other students have the chance first.
I’m so thankful to teach students who are so eager to interact and eager to share their lives and their interests. I’m looking forward to more game nights this semester, and I hope that I can use these game nights to remember not just my students’ names but also what is important to them so that I can help them in class and give them guidance and feedback that is important to them.