Tip #1: Learn to say students' names
Getting students' names right is a critical first step in getting to know your students and establishing a positive relationship with families. Learn more about why it matters and how to get students' names right.
This topic is part of the Learning Students' Names professional learning module from Colorín Colorado.
Learning Objectives
The learning objectives for this topic are:
- Understand the importance of saying students' names correctly
- Understand the negative effects of mispronouncing students' names
- Learn strategies for pronouncing students' names correctly
- Learn what practices to avoid regarding students' names
Warm-up Activity
- What is the story behind your name or someone's name in your family?
- Is your name regularly mispronounced? If so, what is that experience like? If not, what do you think it might feel like?
What You Need to Know
Names are an important part of our identity. Getting students' names right is an important sign of respect and an indication that students are welcome in the classroom. Alternatively, students whose names are mispronounced or changed also may feel hurt at a loss that their full identity is not recognized or celebrated in the classroom. They (and their families) may feel embarrassed, disrespected, or unwelcome. This can also happen to students whose names are changed or shortened for "convenience."
Tips for Educators
- Learn how to say students' names correctly. When you ask students to say their name, listen carefully and repeat it until you get it right.
- Ask students to record themselves saying their names for you so that you can hear their pronunciation. (You can ask them to send you a voice recording or use an online platform like NameCoach.)
- Share recordings with colleagues who work with the students so that they also pronounce the students' names correctly.
- Model the correct pronunciation of students' names to the class so that all students can say it correctly.
- Use students' names when greeting them each day.
- Keep in mind that many students will not correct an adult who mispronounces their name.
- Refrain from: making jokes about students' names, coming up with a nickname that's easier for you to say, "Americanizing" a name, or a shortening a student's name.
Tips from a Teacher
Teacher Chris Homiak shared this activity with us:
Tried something new today: had students write their names phonetically, along with the way some teachers (in this first week) have been mispronouncing them. Recorded short videos on iPads, and practiced conversations of how to share with teachers.
I learned that I needed to fix my pronunciation on a few as well. So important to make space for getting this right. By middle school, many have given up and adopted different or shortened names. Many needed to be convinced of the right to expect correct name pronunciation.
Related Videos
Read the guiding question below and watch the related videos.
Guiding question:
- According to Ms. Khan, why do names matter?
Video #1: The importance of names and saying them correctly
Award-winning author Hena Khan talks about her own experiences with her name being mispronounced and how they inspired her middle grade novel, Amina's Voice.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
These questions can be used in self-reflection, written reflection, or discussion activities.
- What do you think the impact of mispronouncing a student's name might be?
- Why do you think, according to Mr. Homiak's quote above, that many students have adopted nicknames or shorter names?
- How might it affect how they feel in the classroom and how they interact with peers?
- What are the impacts of mispronounced names at graduations or other special events?
- What is one idea from this module that you can apply in your setting?
- A teacher gets feedback from students that she is mispronouncing their names. What steps could she take to address their feedback?
Extension Activities
Extension activities may be used in training, for assignments, or for learning artifacts that can be submitted for credit to professional learning programs.
NameCoach
- Read the article about NameCoach.
- Try the demo or ask students to send you recordings of them saying their names.
Online Resources
Read through one or more of the following resources. Make a note of three takeaways from each resource you read.
- Mispronouncing Students' Names: A Slight That Can Cut Deep (Education Week)
- 6 Teacher-Tested Tips for Getting Students’ Names Right (Education Week)
- How to Respect My Ethnic Name (@AnpuLondon)
Personal perspective: Dr. Edward Fergus
Read this book excerpt by Dr. Edward Fergus, Associate Professor of Urban Education and Policy at Rutgers University. He describes the moment when, after arriving in the U.S. from Panama at the age of nine, he was instructed to change his name from "Eduar/Eduardo" to "Ed" or "Eddie." What was the impact of this moment on his life and identity?
Star Trek
Read the following exchange from Star Trek: The Next Generation. What is your response? How might you use this exchange in professional learning or with students?
Lt. Commander Data: You called me "Dah-ta".
Dr. Kate Pulaski: [laughing] What's the difference?
Lt. Commander Data: One is my name. The other is not.
Recommended Resources
For additional in-depth resources, see the online course from the My Name, My Identity Campaign. To learn more about how to get students names right, see our related resource gallery, as well as our easy-to-share resources from Colorín on the Go.