[jahkamakura]

We don't have only new students in demo classes unless there happens to be a group of friends who want to start together.

We only let one parent in at a time for a trial lesson and then ask them to take turns with other parents. Often they will stand outside the door so there is no eye contact with their child. We also have one trial student per class as with two many the class balance goes off.

We have found that with lots of review the other kids in the class shine and the trial parents worry the class is too hard. It's a difficult balance.

I often do a few songs that most kids know in Japanese, so the melody isn't new. But only after we've reviewed the vocabulary before singing so they can join in if they want.

I always do numbers, colors and sometimes animals in a trial lesson. We play games with the cards and often they kids will say something. If they are older, I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear because they usually know their colors and can help me read it.

Sometimes I get them to line up and use flashcards one at a time. They say the word, get a high five and run to the end of the line. If they don't know the card, they repeat after me. This gets most kids to at least say a word here and there.

I really don't think you can expect kids to talk their first lesson unless they've had some exposure to English before or are really outgoing.

Good luck!

Juli