This is one of my all time favorite ways to break the ice with new students, especially at lower levels. I picked this up from an old ESL songbook years ago, but can’t recall the name. The song is to the very familiar tune “La Cucaracha”! Even if singing isn’t your forte, just starting the first line, everyone will immediately join in. If you have a lot of Mexican students, have them sing the real lyrics, which may surprise you!
The words follow a conversation between two travelers who meet on the street. The lyrics lend themselves to some pronunciation work: contractions, linking sounds from one word to the next: ‘where’re you from?’ – (like ToysRUs) and ‘I’m glad to meet you (‘meechu’ ). A natural follow up activity is to have students do a walk around and introduce themselves to other students, expanding on the dialogue from the song.
After doing the song once, I make it a competition between the men and the women in the class. Their homework is to sing it in the shower until they have it memorized so they will be ready to see who can sing louder and more confidently the following class, the men or the women. Students usually love this! Bring in some maracas to jazz it up! Feel free to add other dramatic touches to this activity, such as a special hat or scarf (a boa maybe?) The students will remember it fondly. Seeing the teacher being a bit silly makes the students laugh and relax, and gives them the freedom to take a chance and participate more in class, even if they are a bit shy to speak up at first. This is definitely one of the best ways to break down the affective filters. For that reason, I’ve been using this song for decades!
Here is the handout. You provide the maracas! » “I’m Glad to Meet You”«
I started teaching EFL in Mexico in the 1970s and stayed for 11 years! My BA is in Latin American Studies, which I did at La Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico. After moving back to the U.S., I got my Master’s at SFSU in TESOL and American Literature. I’ve taught ESL in to refugees and in community colleges in CA since 1987. I’m currently teaching at ARC, WCC and Davis Adult School.