First Day Jitters

This school year has begun.

On my way to class, I double-checked my big tote bag to make sure I had everything—flash drive, check; syllabus, check; work scheme, check; two sandwiches, check; sachet of three-in-one coffee, check; red pen, check; confidence, well . . . 

Jitters always accompany me on my first day anywhere. I've been teaching for ages, but first days always spook me—new students can spring unsettling surprises.

I got an amalgam of foreign students and local ones: some shy, some aggressive, some smug, some enthusiastic, some indifferent, and some with special needs. The first and only order of the day for me was to get these varied species collectively interested in the subject, English.
Pray tell, what's so interesting about parts of speech, punctuation marks, verb tenses—grammar in general?

Not much, unless it's done in a way that forces them to think or be on their toes. I got the ball rolling with introductions demographically, starting with me, part 1. In their teens, when self-consciousness grips one's psyche, they sputtered through the task.  

“That was the easy part,” I said after each one had mustered enough courage to stand up and say something about himself.

Groans. A good sign that they were getting interested.  

“And now on to part 2,” I added. “Let's introduce ourselves metaphorically.” After I had introduced myself, we arranged the desks and chairs into a circle. Face to face, eyeball to eyeball.   

Their creative juices started to flow.  And after a few minutes of conferring with their individual thoughts and each other, grace flowed.  I heard the most creative introductions in years.

So when the nouns, punctuation marks, verb tenses were discussed later, my new wards had been totally sucked in. 

Why do I go through this trouble to get students interested?  Should I even care? This is college after all, students should be left to fend for themselves.   

My first day in all my subjects in the university where I graduated were dull, boring, and cold. My professors simply went through the lesson with nary an encouraging word or gesture.

Fresh from high school in the province, I was totally disoriented and dismayed. Although I quickly got into the groove then, as a teacher today, I don't  want  to foist those same feelings on my students. 

I think I might have gone overboard though.  The first assignment was: Write me an email expressing your thoughts about your first day in my class. 

Now I am replying to all 52 emails (three sections), printing them, and checking each one for grammatical lapses.

There has to be an easier way to help students think, speak, write, and enjoy the class at the same time.  Any ideas?