Top+Tips

=**Tips to help learn students' names:**=

**Preparation**:
Read the student list several times before the first class, trying to memorize as many of first names as you can. Pay attention to the names that may be difficult to pronounce. If you have access to students’ photos, use them to familiarize yourself with names as part of your preparation and during the first weeks of class.

Roll call on the first day of class:

 * Take your time, pay close attention and repeat each student’s name.
 * Make sure that you have the proper pronunciation. If a student’s name is unfamiliar be sure to ask explicitly if you’ve got it right. Students who are shy, or from cultures where greater deference to authority is the norm, may hesitate to correct you unless prompted and yet will still find it grating to be referred to incorrectly the entire semester.
 * Ask the students what they prefer to be called and write down nicknames on the roll.
 * Often it is most difficult to remember foreign students’ names, which may be unfamiliar to Western ears. Write a phonetic version of the name if needed. For example, the name of a Chinese student was transliterated as Xiou but pronounced something like “Shaw.”

Memory Tricks:

 * An effective memory trick is to link a name with something or someone else. Think up a vivid story or phrase to go with it. For example, student Xiou became famous author George Bernard “Shaw” in one teacher’s mind.
 * Think of another person you know who has the same first name as the student, and then make a link using a visual image. For example, a student Susan may remind you of a cousin called Susan.
 * Find a rhyme to create mental associations: Is Jim slim? Alliteration can also help, using an adjective that tips you off about the name’s first letter: Tall Thomas? Ernest Ed? Using humor can help cement associations. For example, a teacher kept getting confused about whether a student was Egla or Elga until she imagined her with a hard-boiled Egg of a head.

Seating plans:
Make a map of the seating arrangement labelled with student’s names and digital photographs if available. Students often tend to sit in the same seats, or at least the same part of the room. Some teachers ask students to sit in the same seats for a few classes or even a whole term, which communicates their explicit effort to learn their names. Others will ask students to sit in alphabetical order so that it matches the order in the roll. Some teachers print out the seating chart with digital photos, and attach it to the front cover of a folder in which student work is kept: this way, when you are returning students' assignments and are not sure who a student is, you can look at the name of the student on their paper, find their picture on the cover of the folder, and thus return the paper to the student quickly and easily.

Tent name cards (United Nations style):
Have students bring a tent card that sits on their desk or table and displays their names to others in class. Ask students to write their first names in very large letters so you can read them from the front of the classroom.If you retain the tent cards and students collect from you before each class, you also have a means to track attendance.

Use names as often as possible in the first few classes:

 * Ask students to say their names before asking or answering a question. This gives you and other classmates a chance to work on learning names.
 * Use names as often as possible. Use names when you call on students, when you praise them or when you ask questions. If you make a mistake with a student’s name, make sure you use the right name the next time and do it quickly.
 * Use your students’ names frequently both to call on them to participate and to refer to previous points made in the discussion. For example, ask students their name when they make a comment and later refer to it as “Jeff’s point” or “Audrey’s contribution.”
 * Give lots of short assignments/homework tasks and personally return to your students. While this can be time consuming at first, it allows you to associate written names with faces. It also allows you to associate the work, style, penmanship, etc. with the student.

Review and recall:

 * Review the names right after class, picturing faces with names and noting any distinguishing characteristics. In between classes, look at the at the registrar’s list and see how many faces you can recall.
 * In the second or third class, review students' names with them; e.g., "You're Bill, right? Susan. Your name is Mark." This feels risky, but students love it. When you cannot remember someone's name (or when you pretend you cannot), ask other students for help. You will find that you know many more names than your students.
 * If you have a few minutes to yourself, just before class or during group activities, spend some time testing your knowledge of students' names: Which ones can you name? What are the names of those you cannot identify? What identifiable characteristic will help you remember certain students?