Maybe it's the first time you've taught ESL, maybe you've been doing it for a while - but every new class is a new challenge. How do you get it started on the right track?

· Find out the basics about your students - level, names, ages, occupations - if you can. But remember, all of this can change without notice.

· Get familiar with the classroom. You'll have more credibility if you look at ease there.

· Plan something the early birds can do as the rest of the class drifts in. For example, write some simple questions on the board. As the students come in, give them copies of a short reading where they can find the answers.

· Plan icebreaker activities, like that old standby "Find Someone Who". There's a chapter full of them in Zero Prep: Ready-to-Go Activities for the Language Classroom, by Laurel Pollard and Natalie Hess.

· Plan an activity to find out what the students want and need to learn. Have them chart where and how they use English in a typical day, or draw a map of the places where they use it. This will give you plenty of themes for future classes.

· If you're teaching in your own country rather than theirs, find out if they need any help settling in. "What I Need", from Zero Prep, is good for this. Even immigrants who've lived in a new country for months or years may have questions they're embarrassed to ask anyone but their English teacher.

· Get materials at several different levels, even if you're not supposed to be teaching a multi-level class. Students do get placed in the wrong level sometimes, and there may not be a class at the right level that they can go to immediately. Instead of sending them home, or having them hang around feeling either bored or overwhelmed, give them a activity at their own level.

· Have a good reading ready. Besides letting everyone take a break from talking, this will help you assess the students' reading skills, vocabulary, and interests.

· As always, plan more activities than you think you'll need. It's a lot better to have something left over for another day than to find yourself standing in front of the class wondering what to do next.

Follow these guidelines and your first class will be full of promise for the future. Your students will know they've come to the right place.

Jane Wangersky is an ESL teacher and author. To get a free reading for your ESL class right now, visit her site http://eslfreepress.typepad.com/the_esl_dollar_store The ESL Dollar Store.