Three Easy English as a Second Language (ESL) Icebreakers

You can never have too many warmers or ESL icebreakers for teaching English, right? They're ideal for classes of any age; whether you know them well or are about to teach a class of children you've never met before. This article is the second part of ESL Icebreakers to make sure you and your students have a fun and active class.

Preparation: Bring pieces of A5 paper to the classroom – enough for each child to have one.

Approximate Time: 5 to 15 minutes

This warmer is designed to break the ice and get students talking to one another. It can be used to review specific vocabulary or grammar points, depending on your target language. It is particularly useful for reviewing past and future tenses. The following example uses the past tense.

Instructions:

1. Start by telling the students something you have done that week.

2. Ask the students to think of and share a couple of things they have done that week (but not too many).

3. Distribute a small A5 piece of paper to each student.

4. Instruct them to write down one thing they have done that week, anonymously, without telling or showing anyone.

5. Ask them to fold their paper twice and hand it to you.

6. Redistribute the papers randomly to different students.

7. The students must walk around the room and find the owner of the paper they received by asking questions related to the sentence.

Optional: Once they have found the correct partner, students can present their findings to the class.

Preparation: Bring A5 pieces of paper to the classroom.

Approximate Time: 5 to 15 minutes

This warmer is a variation of the previous activity and can also be used for revision purposes, although it involves less dialogue.

Instructions:

1. Start by telling the students something you have done this week.

2. Ask the students to think of a few things they have done during the week.

3. Distribute a small A5 piece of paper to each student.

4. Students should write down one thing they have done, anonymously, without telling or showing anyone.

5. Ask the students to screw their paper into a ball. You can demonstrate this using a spare piece of paper.

6. Tell the students they are going to have a snowball fight with their paper and should continue picking up different ‘snowballs’ until you tell them to stop.

7. When you say stop, students should pick up a snowball from the floor and return to their seats.

At this stage, you have two options:

• Option 1: Ask the students to mingle and find the owner of the snowball they picked up. This is excellent for practising dialogue and question formation.

• Option 2: Have students read the sentence aloud and allow the class to guess who wrote it. This option is ideal for developing reading and listening skills.

Preparation: Bring a large A3 piece of paper to class.

Approximate Time: 5 to 15 minutes

This creative warmer is a fun and engaging activity that helps break the ice or review vocabulary.

Instructions:

1. If necessary, begin with a quick review of body parts and descriptions.

2. Start by drawing the top of a person on the A3 paper. You can change this to an animal, alien, monster or any imaginative character. Describe what you are drawing to the students, but do not show them your drawing.

3. Fold the top of the paper down to hide your drawing and pass it to the next student.

4. Ask the next student to draw the next part of the body based on your description or their imagination.

5. Continue passing the paper around the class, with each student drawing a new part. Each time, the drawing should be folded to conceal what was done before.

6. Once everyone has contributed, unfold the paper gradually to reveal the completed creature. This usually leads to plenty of laughter and enjoyment.

Extension Activity:

After revealing the creature, encourage the students to work together to create a backstory. They can include details such as the character's name, age, job, hobbies and where it lives.
This can be done as a class or in small groups, and students can present their creation to everyone.