A particularly good activity I have implemented in my classroom is to issue every student a passport on the first day of class.  For beginning students, fill in name, address, and telephone number, and add to the passport (age, hair color, nationality, etc.) as that material is covered in class.  For second-year students this is a good review. Make sure that their passport includes several items not covered in the first year, such as their class schedule, hobbies, or favorite food.  Upper-level students will fill it in quickly as a review.  Use a form that you have created or allow students to create their own.

On the second day of class, I pose as a customs inspector, and students must enter "France" (my classroom) and get an entry stamp. After that, I tell them that we are in France and must speak French and do as the French do. This clearly demonstrates my expectation that they will speak in the target language, as well as setting a classroom atmosphere of "another world."

Deborah Blaz has taught French and English to grades 7 -12 for the past 28 years. She also serves as foreign language department chair at her school. Ms. Blaz is the author of six books for Eye on Education. She frequently presents on successful teaching strategies at conferences, universities, and high schools.