Fun First-Lesson Ice-Breakers

1
?
When I walk into a class for the first time, instead of introducing myself, I like to draw a big
question mark on the board and get the students to do all of the hard work. I sometimes tell
them that I would normally introduce myself, but Im feeling a little tired and that they must
do the hard work. For more advanced students, the teacher could walk in the class and
have students ask whatever comes into their mind with little preparation, while lower levels
could work in pairs or groups and write down some questions they could ask. Error
correction is very important, the teacher should write the question on the board, and if a
question is asked in a structurally incorrect way, the teacher can elicit the answer from
other students in the class. This is good way to build the confidence of students and show
them that incorrect answers are still beneficial to the class. This exercise is a great way to
start off a class as it puts the students in a position where they are effectively doing work in
your class, experiencing your role as a teacher in the class, and building their confidence in
using English in a fun and light-hearted manner.

2
Lie Detector
Lie detector is a great way to build rapport and trust with students. This activity involves the
teacher writing three sentences on the board about him: 2 are true, and 1 will be a lie.
Teachers should embellish the details slightly and write some sentences that the students
wouldnt be likely to guess. Depending on the level of the students, the students can then
ask questions about the topics of the three statements of the teacher to determine the lie.
BUT, the hook to this game is that YOU, the teacher, may lie verbally to the students in your
response, and the students must play the role of a lie detector and figure out which
sentence is a porky pie. You can then set it up as a fun game, while analysing the level of
the students by getting them to write three sentences about them, with one of the sentences
being a lie. A good way to do this is the class versus the teacher, if the student can
successfully deceive the teacher, the class will get the point. If the teacher can successfully
detect the lie, the teacher will get the point.

3
Talk about your partner
In some classes, especially basic levels, the students may not possess the necessary
knowledge of structure or vocabulary for the above exercises. Introductions are vital, as
the teacher can learn a lot about the interests, along with wants and needs of a student.
You may find out something rather unique, like the softly spoken middle-aged woman who
drives rally cars as a hobby on the weekend! This would make quite afantastic talking
point when it comes to asking the student about her weekend. To avoid being predictable
and to challenge the students, introductions can be done with a twist by finding out the
information from their partner and completing presenting the information to the class. This
takes a traditionally quiet, individual task and transforms it into a fun, social activity that
incorporates the additional skills of forming questions provided the student uses English
and not their native language!

4
Expectations, wants and needs
When dealing with children, the expectations of the teacher play a significant role in
contributing to a productive flow of the course, especially for dealing with classroom
management. However, when it comes to dealing with adults, focusing on the
expectations of the students is vital when providing extracurricular activities. All adult
students would have an expectation of an English class, and when you fulfil the
expectations of the student, you succeed as an ESL teacher. By finding out the
expectations of the students, you can tailor the course around their wants and needs, which
at the end of the day gives you positive feedback and provides you with a great reputation
that can lead to more opportunities in the future.

5
End the class on a fun note
After completing a successful first class, leave on a high note and play a game. A
great little quicky vocab game is to come up with a topic, e.g., The Beach, and have the
students stand up and form a circle in the middle of the room. The student must say an
original word associated with the topic, e.g., sand, sea, etc. If the student gives an answer
that is not associated with the topic, takes too long to answer or repeats a word, they must
sit down. The game continues until one person is left standing, who is the winner.

Other Activities
Snowball Fight*
http://adulted.about.com/od/icebreakers/qt/snowballfight.htm
Size: This game would work with any size. Use: Introductions and
recapping learning
Time: 20-30 minutes is ideal.
Materials: Paper from your recycle bin would be perfect if one side is
blank.

Instructions: If used for introductions give each student a piece of paper

and ask them to write their name and three fun things about themselves.
Have them crumple the paper into a snowball. Divide the group into two
teams on opposite sides of the room and let the snowball fight begin!
When you call stop, each student is to pick up the nearest snowball and
find the person whose name is inside. Once everyone has found their
snowman or snowwoman, have them introduce him or her to the rest of
the group. If used for recapping, ask students to write a question
regarding the topic you want to review. Provide each student with
several pieces of paper so there is abundant snow. If you want to make
sure certain issues are covered, add some snowballs of your own. When
the snowball fight is over, each student will pick up a snowball and
answer the question in it. Another variation for grammar review is to
have students do three different snowball fights writing a noun first, a
verb second, and an adjective third. After the third snowball fight the
student writes a sentence using the words on the paper (Used in the
demonstration).

Mind Reader*
Size: Whole class
Use: Vocabulary, categorizing, oral language

Materials: Paper and pencils

Time: 15- 20 minutes

Instructions: Each student needs a paper and pencil. The teacher says in
a dramatic voice, I am the mind reader! Tell me what I am thinking.
She then instructs the class to write all the items they can in a particular
category. For example, he/she says I am thinking of a kind of car. What
is it? The mind reader writes the name of one car on a paper which is
kept private. Student list all the cars they can think of in a minute. The
mind reader then reveals the name of the car. A student with the
matching answer becomes the next mind reader with a new category.