Letters of the alphabet
Numbers 0-10
Common holiday vocabulary

I don't just want to stand there drilling it into them. Can you think of any fun games or activities that would liven it up?

Would really appreciate it, only just become a teacher and think I'm going mad :(

look on sparkles web site

Shall I presume your students are adults?

Many ways:
*Flash cards/picture cards and/or real items to teach vocabulary (I've a box for each theme "container (bol, glass, tin, cardbord box... with the name written on it) as some learners like to "touch" to memorise the vocabulary
*playing dominos (numbers)
*words dominos, to mach to make a sentence.(I make my owns with bit of cardboard from cereal box)
*role plays (and recording it to increase their confidance), and using cardboard plates with situation written on back.
*Bingo
*situation on video/dvd

st year of teaching was hard and scary for me too, but 5 years on now in further education and it become easier, as you can reuse your "tools" again and again

Of course the alphabet song. That's how I learned the abc's.

Can you try something similar to "one, two, buckle my shoe"?

Holidays - Each class celebrates a holiday for pretend. Monday is easter, tuesday is 4th of July, Wed is christmas, Thursday is New Year's, etc. Or something equivalent wherever you are.

-Alphabet song
-simple maths questions
-bingo
-spelling words out while writing them in the air
-buzz-fizz if you do bigger numbers (i.e. say buzz if you get 3 or a multiple of 3 or a number containing 3, fizz if the number is 7, a multiple of 7 or a number containing 7, 30=buzz-buzz, 37=buzz-fizz)
-numbering people 1-10 and getting them to throw a ball to each other while saying the numbers instead of names