Help! How Can I Remember Students’ Names?

Before I started teaching, I was most worried about things like controlling the classroom or creating lesson plans. Once I actually started, however, a new problem emerged. 

Remembering hundreds of students’ names quickly became my biggest source of stress. How do you take attendance? How do you call on students in class? How to you record who did their homework? How do you hand back homework to the right students? 

 I started hunting for techniques to help me remember, and over the semester, I’ve been trying them out and adding to them. Here are the things I do at the start of each semester to nail down their names. 

1) The Name Game

            I have a whole post about this ice breaker activity I do on the first day of class. It does take a while to complete, but each semester, I’ve found it to be the most effective way to remember their names quickly. Here’s the short version of how to play: Each student stands and says his name, while saying the names of any students who stood before him. For example, Student 1 stands and says, “My name is Ashley.” Student 2 stands and says, “Her name is Ashely, my name is Joshua.” In the end, you benefit from hearing their names again and again and again. 

2) Student notes

            After hearing all their names from the Name Game, I quickly jot down their names in a notebook. Then, as class progresses, I write down notes about students’ appearances to help me remember them better. I’ll write down that Tiffany has long black hair, black wire glasses, and a button nose. Cara’s makeup is impeccable, has dyed brown hair with roots showing a little, and has large eyes. I avoid things that could easily change, such as clothes, but this list becomes my reference point for the coming weeks. When I can’t remember if that girl in the back is Diane or Alison, a quick check of my notes tells me that Alison doesn’t have glasses and her hairstyle is a bob. I add to this list as needed, but after a week or two, I don’t even need to reference it anymore!

3) Double-checking with students

            On the second day of class, I like to walk around and chat with students before class or during breaks. During that time, I just double-check their names. “You’re David, right?” Usually, the students are shocked I can remember most of their names (due to my handy dandy list I reviewed before and during class), and if I forget a name, I’m quickly forgiven and now I have new information to add to my list.

4) Homework check in class

            During the first couple weeks of class, I don’t have students turn in their homework. Instead, I choose simple homework assignments that I can easily check in class. I tell them to write their English names on their papers, and as I go around checking their homework, I have another chance to connect their names to their faces. I just clip my attendance sheet onto my hand-dandy clipboard, and mark who completed their homework as I walk around the room.

 Bonus Tip: Get their pictures

            Of course, depending on your school’s policies or the ages of your students, you might not feel comfortable getting their pictures. Since I teach college, this is one step I’m able to do. I don’t rely on it heavily, but it has come in handy before. I create a group chat online so I’m able to contact my students and send out messages whenever I need to. The program China uses, WeChat, allows me to see their profile pictures or any other social media posts. As I’m scrolling through posts, sometimes I will use their selfies to help remind me of their names. 

These are the four things I do during the first few weeks of class! Taking a little extra time to get their names down at the beginning really helps to avoid stress and confusion for the rest of the semester—not to mention how touched the students are when they realize that I know each and every one of them.