Effective warm-ups in the German-language classroom: Form and function

This article explores three questions developed to be central to the creation and implementation of an effective classroom warm-up: Does it help jumpstart students’ use of German? Can it capture students’ attention? And does it encourage building rapport through providing opportunities for personal expression or relevance? Based on my experience as an instructor for the first and second semesters of the German language sequence at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I argue that a well-constructed warm-up in a German language course is more than a low stakes invitation to cultivate a mindset conducive to the demands of language learning; it is an opportunity to begin learning from a place of genuine interest, trust, and confidence. By implementing warm-ups with the guidelines outlined in this article in mind, mnemonically referred to as JARR (Jumpstarting language use, capturing Attention, and building Rapport through Relevance) warm-ups, instructors can set students up for success not only for the next hour of learning, but also for their entire language journey—all in the first 5 minutes of class.