Every teacher needs a few tricks up their sleeve and a good icebreaker activity is certainly one of them. Whether it’s the beginning of a school year with a new group of students, a new student joins you mid-year, or any other occasion – such as you need to prepare the class for teamwork – icebreakers can help you build rapport and a sense of community in your classroom.
While there are tons of icebreakers you can find online, it is important to know that not all of them may be suitable for ESL students. In addition to not knowing people in the classroom, they may be uncomfortable and unwilling to take unnecessary language risks.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing an icebreaker for your ESL classroom:
- make sure the activity does not require too much personal information. Most students are not ready to open up on the very first day. In addition, in quite a number of cultures, getting personal in school is not expected. Finally, for a lot of English learners school is already an uncomfortable place, so asking them to stand out right away might defeat the purpose of creating rapport.
- make sure the icebreaker you choose for your classroom is at the right proficiency level of your students. That means that for beginners, you may need to use first language support and a lot of repetition and total body response. The activities may be a tad bit limited, too, for beginners, but that is totally fine. The language and tasks will become more sophisticated for the higher levels of English.
- make sure the icebreaker is age-appropriate. Sometimes it is hard to gauge what activity to choose, especially when the students are older. The general rule of a little bit of physical activity, an item to pass around and candy work well for all age groups, though*
*just a note about any food in the classroom: be up to date on possible allergies and food-related religious practices of your students.
As I mentioned earlier, there are so many icebreakers to choose from that it would be hard to put them all in one blog post. Since I am writing this article in August, the beginning of a new school year is right around the corner for many teachers and students alike. Therefore, I will focus on getting-to-know-you icebreaker activities that you can use right away!
Icebreakers for beginners
Ball Toss
Age level: children-adults
This is quite a popular icebreaker activity that can be easily adapted to your teaching situation. It works well with any level, but it is also one of the few icebreaker activities that true beginners can participate in as well.
Procedure:
Before the class: Write “getting to know you” questions on a beach ball using a dry-erase marker (make sure it dries well before the activity). The questions can be something like “what is your name?”, “where are you from?” “how old are you?”, etc. (the 5-wh questions).
During the class: demonstrate the game so the students know what the expectation is. Have a student gently toss the ball to you, then read the question that is under your right thumb and answer it aloud. Toss the ball to a student and ask him/her to do the same. The students thus keep going until everyone has gotten a chance to answer their questions.
Note: after you’ve used this activity for introductions, you can tailor it to meet any other language needs. For example, you may have a running list of questions created by students for their fellow classmates and write them on the ball whenever you need a warm-up activity. You can also review vocabulary in this way by writing down the words and the students providing either a definition or a sentence with the word. You can ask comprehension questions from the reading, etc.
3 Things About Me
Age level: children-teens
This game could be used as a follow up to the first icebreaker (on a different day) or on its own.
First, teach the students basic phrases of introduction such as “Hello, how are you?” – “I am well, thank you. And you?”; “My name is…”, “I am from…”, “I like….”, “I don’t like…” and, of course, “Thank you” and “Goodbye”.
At the end of the class, ask the students to bring 3 items in a bag that represent them (or that they like) for the next class. Tell them you will practice the language that they just learned. When the students bring their items, they will introduce themselves, tell where they come from and name the three things they like. They then finish by saying thank you.
Depending on your classroom set up and the students, you could do a variation of this icebreaker where the students do this in pairs or small groups. It is important for the teacher to participate as well – it takes off the tension and builds trust within the class. In addition, if you see that the students feel comfortable with this basic task, you could also instruct them to tell 2-3 sentences about each of their items.
Groups and lines
Age level: children – adults
This great icebreaker works well with all levels and allows students to see what they have in common. It is great for beginners because it does not require them to come up with an answer to a question they may not fully understand and they can immediately feel like they belong.
Procedure:
Ask students to line up or group themselves in a particular order.
- line up in alphabetical order by your first names/last names/ (or make groups with people whose first/last name starts with the same letter as yours)
- line up in order of your birthdays (starting with January 1st and ending with December 31st)
- line up in order of how many siblings you have
- get together with people who have the same eye color as you
- get together with people who were born in the same month/season as you, etc.
You can think of as many prompts as you wish and, of course, tailor them to the age group you are working with.
Note: for absolute beginners, you may need to pre-teach/review what you want them to do (alphabetical order, for example, seasons, etc.)
Icebreakers for intermediate level and up
Once your students have mastered the basics of the English language, the opportunities for even more games open up. Here are three getting to know you icebreakers for those at an intermediate level and up.
Concentric circles
Age group: teens – adults
This game allows students to have one-on-one conversations yet meet new people at the same time.
Prepare getting-to-know-you questions ahead of time. Have the students form two circles – one on the outside and the other on the inside. The students in the inside circle face the ones that are on the outside. Ask a question and the students spend 30 seconds to a minute answering it to one another. Then say “switch” and the students move clockwise to a new partner. They can then answer the same question to each other or you can change it to a new one. The game lasts until the students come back full circle to their original partner.
This is a great game for teens and adults because it allows for real-world conversation without the pressure to perform. In addition, it helps the students meet new people in a short amount of time.
Here are a few possible questions you can ask:
- Do you play sports? If so, which ones?
- Do you play any musical instrument? If so, which one? If not, would you like to learn to learn to play one?
- Describe your perfect vacation.
- Describe your perfect weekend.
- What kind of music do you like?
- Where would you like to travel?
and so on.
Four corners
Age group: children- adults
This game is an oldie but a goodie – tested by time and works well because it allows your students to practice listening.
Before the class, prepare getting-to-know-you questions and label the corners of your classroom from one to four.
Instruct students to listen for the question and the answer choices and move to the corner that represents their answer choice.
The questions can be about anything but as with all getting-to-know-you icebreakers, it is best to keep general.
Here are a few examples of what you may ask:
- Which one of these is your favorite sports? 1. basketball 2. soccer 3. baseball 4. American football
- What type of movies do you like? 1. Comedies 2. Dramas 3. Horror 4. Documentaries
- If you could learn a new language overnight, which one would you choose? 1. French 2.Spanish 3.English 4.German
- What is your favorite season? 1. Spring 2. Summer 3. Fall 4. Winter
and so on.
Just like the other icebreakers presented here, this one allows the students to see what they have in common with their peers and build a sense of belonging and rapport.
Light debate
Age group: children-adults
This activity allows students to express their opinions and get to know others beyond “what’s your favorite color”.
Write the question that you would like your students to talk about and one that requires the students to take sides on the board. For example: What makes a better pet – cats or dogs? or Would you rather live in a large city or in the countryside? or Should students be required to wear uniforms? etc.
Have the students split themselves into two groups, based on which side they support. Then each student should take turns by saying 2-3 sentences about why they chose that side.
The advantage of this icebreaker game is that the students can practice speaking in front of their peers without the pressure of feeling like they are alone in front of the class; the discussion has the potential to become lively, which allows students to practice English in a real-world situation; and finally, they are able to find those with similar likes and dislikes, which takes the tension off when you are in a new classroom.
Hope you have found this article useful. I know I cannot wait to try them out in my classroom!
For ESL beginner activities and lessons year-round, check out the ESL Teaching Roadmap– a membership created specifically for middle and high school ESL teachers, who work with newcomers and mixed level classes.
Enjoyed this article? Share it.. Pin it!
Here are more ice-breaker ideas
More start-of-the-year activities for kids