Hi to all TE readers,

I have always been amazed by the feeling of fear that pervades my students when they enter the classroom on Monday morning. Monday shouldn't present the embodiment of evil, since it's only the first day of the week, right?

Or maybe I am not right, because just like the color red which most of the time makes students not want to touch their essay paper (or exam) for fear of something evil coming to haunt them, they seem under the weather (even though it might be the sunniest day of the year outside) whenever Monday arrives in the English classroom. For some time I have been asking myself how I can wipe away those ugly thoughts they possess, and it suddenly came to me that in my university days I had a professor (in my second year of studies) who every single Monday of the academic year dedicated the first 10 minutes of the class to something she called "News of the Week". These 10 minutes consisted of us, students, previously having read some interesting piece of news, sharing the news with the rest of the class in English! And the most important part ... we were not allowed to read, just to retell a short news story (which should not include politics!).

Now I realize what the benefits are of doing this every Monday (or whatever day of the week you start English classes) are: expanding students' vocabulary first and foremost, concentrating on how to make a grammatically correct English sentence while not reading it from a notebook, telling a short news story in English that students' choose on their own, etc.

What other benefits do you think this actvity might have in your English classroom?

Best, Aneta

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