ESL Introductory Classroom Activities
Fun Icebreaker Ideas for the First Day of English Class
When working with ESL students, be they energetic. Be they kindergarteners or too-cool-for-school teenagers, there are a few tried-and-true introductory lesson activities that will start any course off on the right foot.
Ice Breakers
Some sort of energy boost activity always works, especially if the class meets early in the morning. Get the students moving and out of their seats with an activity along the lines of Simon Says, where they must focus and follow what you are doing. That way, once they sit back down, they have your attention, and you can begin your introductory lesson.
Learning Your Students' Names: The English Name Game
Some sort of name game works best with smaller groups of students. If possible, sit in a circle. Each student must come up with an adjective starting with the same letter as his or her first name, i.e. "Super Suzanne." The trick with this game, though, is that a student must first say all of the names that came before him or her. So the second person would say, "She is Super Suzanne, and I am..." and so on.
Alternatively, you could have each student choose an animal beginning with the same letter as his or her first name (e.g., "Suzanne the Salamander"), or any other category you find appropriate.
The name game is, believe it or not, a hit with older students. Teenagers can get very clever with the words they come up with, and the result is usually lots of laughs around the circle.
Getting to Know Each Other
There are a few simple options for get-to-know each other activities:
- The Questions Game: This is a way to get each pupil talking. What the student must do is say something about himself, then turn that around as a question to you or to another student. For example, "My favorite color is blue. What's your favorite color?" This can be another circle activity, and it works with large groups of students, too.
- The Partner Interview: Come up with a set of fun questions (and encourage students to think of their own!) that students must ask each other. Then each of your students must present his or her partner to the rest of the group. This is a fantastic exercise for several reasons: it encourages students to feel comfortable speaking the language in front of a group, plus it allows them to practice speaking with third person verb conjugations (which are often difficult for ESL students), and, of course, everyone learns more about each other.
Other Filler Activities
If you're left with some extra time in the lesson after completing all of your introductory activities, consider some of these options:
- Who Am I?: This game never fails to amuse. Have some Post-It notes handy, and have each pupil write down the name of a well-known person. Each student sticks the Post-It on a fellow student's forehead, and a guessing game follows. Then each person asks the group yes-or-no questions about the name on his or her forehead. A "yes" answer means the student is allowed to ask another question. A "no" answer means that the next person asks a question.
- Twenty Questions: Divide the class into two teams, choose a category, and have each team pick something that fits that category. Teams ask each other yes-or-no questions; whichever team figures out the opponents' word or name in fewer questions wins.
- Other Classic Games: If you only have a couple of minutes to kill, favorites like Hangman or Charades always work.
So regardless of whether you're teaching English abroad or in the United States, these activities are effective in getting to know your students and making them comfortable speaking English with you. For more ideas, check out the British Council's website for teaching English.
