Learning, pronouncing, and using student names

Students tell us in campus forums, focus groups, and individual conversations how very important it is that instructors learn their names. A student’s name is an important part of their identity, heritage, family and culture. Learning, using, and correctly pronouncing names helps create a classroom environment where students can thrive. Using their names is the first step to building a relationship with students. Once that happens, learning can fall into place.

Following are ideas for learning and correctly pronouncing names. For more about using students’ names to build connections with the students, see the 4 Connections page.

Tips and strategies for learning names

The first step to any technique is to jump in! Be intentional. Remind yourself before each class that you will take time getting to learn names. You can do it! Model persistence for your students by being persistent yourself in trying to learn their names.

Name tents

The systematic use of name tents in high-enrollment biology courses has been shown by scholars at Arizona State University to have statistically significant positive results on student motivation and learning and also makes it more likely that students will seek help from their faculty (Cooper et al., 1017).

Many faculty agree one of the easiest way to learn names is by creating name tents. All you need is plain paper, markers, and tape. Card stock is optional but not needed.

Give them a group activity on the first day that will give you some free time to start visually looking at each student and their name card as you try to make connections. Here’s a blog post by a teacher who is able to learn 26 names within 5 minutes using this technique. You could also do this while they are taking a quiz. Spend this time mentally saying each person’s name as you scan the room. Try this in order by row/table at first, then try mixing up the order.

Another tip is to consider having them on a table near the door each day. As students come in, reach for and hand to students cards for students whose names you have already learned, a great way to practice.

From Laurie Stusser-McNeil, ESOL faculty: “Students make the first day, we pull them out for the first 1-2 weeks. It helps the students, too, who often work in pairs or teams. And every time a new student joins our class, I pull them out again. I learn them fairly quickly because I hand them out…and we laugh at me when I make a mistake.”
Anonymous Faculty: “Prior to the first day of class, I cut poster board I purchase at the dollar store in a variety of really bright colors. I cut them 3″tall x 9.5″ long. I put them out for students to pick up on the first day. Because I teach in the Arts, I ask them to choose their favorite color from the pile. I give them markers on the table to choose from for their nametag. On the back they print their registered name. They can share a pronoun as well, or anything they want to share with the class. On the front I have them design the name they wish to be called. They always get creative with this. Some come in early just for the tag design and some take it home to do it and bring it for the next class.
“Every day they come in and pick up their nametag, at the end of class they leave it on the exit table. They place the tag on their desk in view for each class so I can see it and other students can address them by the proper name as well.
“Five or ten minutes into the class, I pick up the I pick up the remaining tags and do roll call. If they are absent or late, I put the date on the back of the tag. If they are late, I note the time, so I know what and how they missed. This also helps the student track their attendance and participation.
“If I gave handouts when they were absent, I paperclip those to the tag for their return. This saves me time when they return. If they attended in zoom, I mark that as well. This helps me know if I need to address something that they could not see in zoom.
“I have been doing this for several years now and it seems that all of the students get to know each other much better with this. It also seems that they look forward to it each quarter as well.
“Name tags have made me so much better at name recall, I will never give this practice up. It only cost me a dollar or so per class, if that and it only takes a few minutes to do on my side and theirs as well. We normally do a lot of Q& A while they are designing them. THIS WORKS GREAT! I have even made it an assignment for some classes. F.Y.I. Seahawks Green and Hot Pink go really fast!”

Photos

Sometimes, practicing by yourself using photos can be helpful. You could take photos of each student (with their permission) on the first day, with them holding their name card/table tent just under their face.

Laura has students submit face photos, clarifying that the photo should be just of them, and looking like they would in class most days (glasses on/off; no filters such as kitten noses; no glam shots unless that’s how they come to school). She then uploads the photos to her student roll sheet, and uses it to call roll for the quarter.

Laura: “During introductory speeches I ask students to take notes on worksheets I make up with each students’ photo and name on them. They note pronunciation cues for each name as the person is introduced. Those are then submitted for credit and returned. Soon after, I give a quiz on the worksheet with pictures mixed up and names removed, asking students to fill in as many names as they can.”

Seating charts

Ask students to sit in the same place for a few classes to help you learn their names more quickly. Once you have your seating chart, study it until you remember your students’ names.

Anonymous Faculty: “I write down where they sit. For example, if they are sitting next to the wall on my right it’s RW). For some reason that jogs my name-retention.”

Practice names in class out loud

Try practicing with names as students come in the door, or when you pass back papers, or when you call on them, or when you acknowledge them as they’ve spoken in class. This way you’re creating muscle memory – recall the adage that brain cells that fire together, wire together. You’re also using one of the 4 Connections as you address the student by name – a side benefit!

From Allison Green, English faculty: “On first or second day of class, go to each student in turn, ask them what they want to be called this quarter, say it out loud, check pronunciation with student, and write it on the board. Every five or so students, go back to the beginning and name them in order, trying not to look at the whiteboard where you’ve written their names. By doing this, I can name 25 students in order without looking at the board by the time I come to the end. (I will forget about half by the next day, but they are now starting to stick.) Then, I erase the board so the students can’t see the names and ask students as a group to name each student in order. We say the names together. Although it might seem like students would be bored, they are always patient through this process and amazed that I learn all the names in 20 minutes or so. A good first impression! This process works because you are listening, speaking, writing, and reading each name, cementing it in your mind. It’s also an opportunity to model respectful pronunciation of student names. I don’t pronounce every name perfectly, but I ask students to repeat, then I try it out, then I ask if I got it right.
Laura: “I call roll every day (and ask a question of the day – favorite comfort food, favorite local restaurant, entertainment you’ve streamed lately, favorite musical artist/band, favorite superhero, dream job, how many hours on social media a day, how are you feeling on a scale from 1-10, etc.) to help them and me learn to associate them and their names and their faces together, and to community-build.”

Practice names silently on your own

Anonymous faculty: “Practice the names on the way to or from class by looking at the roll sheet to see how many faces you can associate with the names.”

Or, practice with picture in front of you (see Photos section above).

You may be busy with your pedagogy during class time, take time later in the day reviewing each student’s name on the roster as you try to recall each face.

Helping students learn each other’s names

From Colleen Sheridan, LOGS faculty: “While students are working on an activity, I walk around to each group with my roll sheet, introduce myself and ask them to point to their name and introduce themselves. Before I leave the group, I say each of their names until I get them right. Then, once I’ve gone thru all of the groups, I walk around the classroom saying everyone’s name again to myself, but slightly out loud. Often, I make a game of it, and if I can’t remember someone’s name, I ask them for the first letter of their name. I keep asking for hints until I get it. . Then for every class afterwards, as students walk in, I say ‘Hi!’ using their names, or walk around practicing again if they are doing an activity, or say their names when they ask a question or I interact with their group. Usually by the second week, I’ve got them!”
Laura: “I sometimes do conversation circles then, too, Step one is to put students into two groups, put them in circles on opposite sides of the room, and ask each student to step to the middle of the circle and name each student in the circle. They do it until they get every one right, and then put someone new in the middle to do it, until all of them have had a turn.
“Then I put those student groups into two concentric circles and ask the inner circle to turn to face their partner in the outer circle. They remind each other of their names, then check to see that they’re saying them right, and then do a discussion topic for 1 minute (favorite way to eat eggs, are ghosts real, what surprising talent do you have, etc.). Then the outer circle moves a step to the right or whatever, and they continue with a new partner, new name, and new topic. We do that until they are back to their original partner.
“The ‘top dogs’ for the day are the students who then volunteer to get in the middle of a giant circle of all of us and name everyone successfully. All of those circles are sooo much fun!”

Canvas

Canvas allows entry of preferred names. Preferred names populate to discussion board, but not to gradebook or SpeedGrader. Learning students’ preferred names allows you to quickly use the student’s correct name when giving feedback on assignments.

From Aaron Moehlig, chemistry faculty: “I use a ‘getting to know you’ survey on Canvas due during the first week of classes. It has a few questions about their preferred names/pronouns as well as some background into their academic/career goals. The last question is the most beneficial, as far as learning names. I ask them to upload a short video (that I assure them will not be shared with anyone else) showing their face and pronouncing their preferred name. I usually add one quick question to answer as part of this survey prompt, my favorite one has been asking about the history of their name or why/how they got their name. This is super helpful in learning names and remembering how to pronounce them. I often review the video before any meetings with students just to remind myself of who they are.”
From Shana Friend, ELCAP faculty: “I encourage students to put their pictures in Canvas. Then I can use that as a reference. I have also taken pictures of the class on the second day (allowing people to opt out). I have them come up in groups of 5-7. Then I label student names on the pictures for my own reference. If the class is ok with it, I post the labelled picture on Canvas, too.”
From Cory Martin, Healthcare Professions faculty: “In my week 1 ‘introductions’ discussion board, I ask students their preferred name. I create a name list and then greet each student by their preferred name each time I type assignment comments. Typing their name repetitively (over multiple assignment comments) helps me remember student names and establishes a student-centered approach.”
Anonymous Faculty: “I only teach online, but in order to better connect with my students, I would leave a voice recording for their 1st assignment feedback and address students by name. I ask for them to reply with an audio recording if I mispronounced their name and that seems to have worked well.”
From Ellen Bremen, communication studies faculty: “This isn’t anything terribly innovative, but for online courses, I ask students to do a video introduction in the discussion board using the media comment tool. One of the ways I have them start to introduce themselves is by saying their own name and pronouncing it, as well as letting us know what they would like to be called. Then, I have a printed copy of my roster on hand when I’m reviewing the introduction submissions. I write down the student’s name next to their roster entry with the pronunciation/what they prefer to be called, and I force myself to refer to the roster when I provide comments/feedback for their assignments. I always start with, ‘Hello NAME…’ before I get into the comments/feedback, so that helps me to remember who the student is, what they prefer to be called, and how to pronounce that preference properly. By week 2, I usually have it. I know this seems silly for an online course when we can just look at their names in SpeedGrader, but I was formerly guilty of not using a preferred name, nickname, etc. instead of what I saw there. Plus, now I am more prepared when I meet up with them on Zoom, which is mandatory once during the term.”

Zoom

Colleen Sheridan: “I ask students to sign into chat every class time, and then I say, ‘Good morning, ____!’ or ‘Hi __!’ for every student.”

Tips and strategies for pronouncing names

If you’re already good with pronunciations, keep up the good work! If you are tempted to say “I’m just not good with names” and stop trying, it’s not too late to turn things around, and it does matter. Here are some tips for fine-tuning your pronunciation of names as time goes on:

“Mutilating someone’s name is a tiny act of bigotry. Whether you intend to or not, what you’re communicating is this: Your name is different,” writes education blogger Jennifer Gonzalez
Mistakes will happen – they are inevitable. As with any pedagogy, the important thing is to learn from our mistakes, and constantly strive to do better.
Showing respect for student names doesn’t necessarily require an educator to nail the pronunciation on their first attempt. “We can’t say every sound or name in the world, but it is how we respond that matters,” says Rita Kohli, assistant professor at the Graduate School of Education at UC Riverside.
“Just own it,” writes Susan Balogh, an elementary school teacher at Baker School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. . “Don’t get defensive. Ask for forgiveness and say, ‘Shoot, I’m sorry, let me try that again.’ Students generally appreciate it when you try to get it right.”
Use Vocaroo.com to have students record the correct pronunciation – that’s all vocaroo does! Students hit the record button, say their name, press stop, then click “save and share”. They click the copy button and paste it…anywhere! Into an email to you, into their introductory discussion post on Canvas (so classmates also can hear it), etc.
Rather than taking attendance day 1 by reading their names, go around the room, have them introduce themselves. Listen carefully to their name, where they put emphasis and where the inflections are. Repeat their name back. Ask if you’re right. Try it again if needed. Then, write the pronunciation down phonetically on your roster.
Have students record their names, perhaps as part of a larger introduction recording. As you listen to each, when they are pronouncing their name, make a phonetic note on your roster (as above).
Or, can try to check pronunciation guides ahead of time. Practice before day one if you see names you think might be a challenge for you. Check pronunciation sites like Pronounce names, Inogolo, or Forvo.
Another technique is to try call-and-response games. As each student pronounces their name, the rest of the class tries in response. This also reinforces other students learning correct pronunciations.
Education blogger Jennifer Gonzalez recommends carrying around a clipboard with you with all the names you’ll need to say, including those you think you may already know – together with your phonetic pronunciations. Refer to it often.
Students feel embarrassed or invisible when teachers don’t try to pronounce their names correctly. Some even feel pressure to change their pronunciation. Never ask students to come up with a nickname – you’re taking a part of that student’s identity away. Some may offer; you could thank them but say no, that you want to keep working on it because it’s important to you.
Business communication writer Ruchika Tulshyan recommends not spending time talking about how difficult it may be for you (“I don’t want to butcher your name”; “I’m so embarrassed I don’t know how to say it”) as statements like these may make students feel even more excluded.