ESL Icebreakers with Fun and Flair!

Motivation, Introduction, Listening, Vocabulary, Cooperation, Review

Nancy Charest
Nnanc97@aol.com
Susan Kocaba
skocaba@branfordschools.org

ERACE

Why Use Icebreakers?

Icebreakers can play an important role in helping students integrate and connect with one
another in a group environment. They can be motivational tools. They help stimulate
cooperation and participation. Icebreakers can provide a change of pace and positive
momentum for study and discussion by: (Icebreakers)

Developing social skills

Creating a good atmosphere for learning and participation
Building rapport
Encouraging cooperation
Building listening skills
Helping to develop a sense of community
Helping students review material

Using Icebreakers

Be enthusiastic!
Choose volunteers carefully and avoid causing embarrassment.
If something is not working, quickly move to the next activity.
Timing is important. Icebreakers are short, 10-30 minutes. Be sure to finish while students are
still enjoying it.

Drum Jam*
http://adulted.about.com/od/icebreakers/qt/drumjam.htm
The ancient art of drumming can be a fun and easy way to energize your class or review material.
Size: This is best in groups of 6-12, but could work in groups of up to 15.
Use: Strengthening listening skills and developing an ear.
Time: 10 minutes is ideal.
Materials: None
Instructions: Start your group by practicing a few rhythms. Tap a simple beat, repeatedly, and have the class
follow you. A 3- or 4-beat measure works best.
When ready, you start with a simple beat. The next person adds something different to your beat, and so on
around the room. Encourage creativity, fun, syncopation, and a mixture of techniques.
You might start with a slower beat to practice and then pick it up.
Some options to explore:
Tapping with fingers only.
Slapping with whole palm.
Tapping with finger nails only.
Knocking with knuckles.
Banging with soft side of fist.
Three quick taps in one beat.
Pausing a beat.
Example: Start with two finger taps on your right hand and a knock with your left knuckles. Tap, tap, knock.
Tap, tap, knock. The next person adds a bang, pause, slap. Bang, pause, slap; next, Slap, tap-tap-tap, bang, etc.

Life Raft
Size: Form groups of 6
Use for: Oral language, building community through cooperation
Time: 10 minutes
Material: Newspaper
Instructions: Place opened (2pp) newspapers scattered in an open area. You will need a newspaper foldout
for each group of six. Following oral directions, at the count of 3, each group of students finds a life raft for
their group. Everyone in the group must fit on the newspaper using language to accomplish their goal.

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).

Acting Class
Size: This can be done as a whole class activity.
Use: Fluency, vocabulary, reading with expression
Time: 5-10 minutes
Materials: Index cards
Instructions: Review a phrase or sentence that you want students to remember. Have index cards with the
words loudly, whispering, singing, monotone, screaming, fast, slowly, in a deep voice, in a high voice.
Students choose a card and repeat the phrase/sentence as it dictates on their chosen card. This builds
vocabulary. Choose words according to appropriate levels.

Shopping Trip
http://iteslj.org
Size: This can be done in small groups or as a whole class activity. I prefer small groups.
Use: Vocabulary, speaking
Time: 30-45 minutes
Materials: Magazines with plentiful pictorial advertising, scissors
Instructions: Pass around some magazine ads, and have each student choose an ad that he/she likes. Give
students an opportunity to explain their choice to the group.

Who, What, Where, When*

Size: Whole class
Use: Review of Wh- questions, speaking, getting to know classmates
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials: 3 x 5 Index cards
Instructions: Give each student a 3 X 5 index card with a one-word Wh- question starter written on it. The
question starter should begin either with who,what,where or when. Students write one question
using the question starter. For example, What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Students mill around the
room asking students their question and recording the answers. Students share their responses with the class.
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Matching Pairs
Size: Whole class
Use: Visual discrimination, cooperation, oral language
Time: 10 minutes
Materials: Holiday pictures/word cards/photographs, scissors
Instructions: Have holiday picture cards. Write the name of the holiday on individual index cards. Students
receive either the index card or a picture. On the count of 3, they try to partner with the match.
A variation is to do this using compound words. Another variation is to do this using photographs of people cut
in half.

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.

Jigsaw Puzzle
Size: Depends on the number of the pieces of the puzzle
Use: Oral language, cooperation
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Puzzle
Instructions: When students enter the room, give each of them a piece of the jigsaw puzzle. They must
assemble the jigsaw puzzle together discussing where each piece should fit. Only the student holding the piece
may place it into the puzzle.
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Categories*
Size: Whole class in small groups
Use: Vocabulary, oral language, dictionary use
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Poster paper, marker, dictionary
Instructions: Divide students into small groups. Give each group poster paper and a marker. The group must
designate a recorder and a reporter. Each group has a different category such as: Vegetables, Furniture,
Occupations, Colors, Clothes, Flowers, etc. Give students 15 minutes to brainstorm as many words in their
category as they can. When time is finished, the reporter reads the responses to the whole class. Members of
the other teams may challenge an answer. The teacher and the student issuing the challenge use a dictionary
to resolve the challenge. The team gets one point for every answer that is unchallenged or beats the
challenge. The highest scoring team can claim victory.

Color Pieces*
Size: Small groups or whole class
Use: Speaking, vocabulary, introductions
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Cut up pieces of construction paper
Instructions: Have at least five different colors of construction paper cut up into 2 x 2 squares with enough
for one color for each student. Allow students to choose a color piece. Tell students that each color piece
represents a question. For example:
Red: What is your favorite time of the day? What do you like to do during that time?
Green: Are you a small town or big city person? Why?
Blue: If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go? What would you do there?
Yellow: Are you a morning person or a night owl? What time do you get up in the morning and go to bed at
night?
Orange: What is your current job or dream job? Describe your work responsibilities.
Depending on the class size, you could group those with same color together to discuss the question or put
one person with each color in a group. Questions can change depending on the level of the student.
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How Well Do You Know the Teacher?

http://www.eslcafe.com/ideas/
Size: Whole class
Use: Writing and responding to questions, introductions
Time: 20 minutes
Materials: Paper and pencil, class board
Instructions: This is a variation of an icebreaker found on Daves ESL Caf. It is a fun activity when you start a
new semester and you would like to introduce yourself to your class. Ask your students to write 2-4 questions
they would like to know about you, the teacher. While they are writing you can go around and check that the
questions are appropriate (As the teacher you may want to say you have the right to not answer a question
that you do not feel comfortable answering just as they do while in class).
Once the students have the questions written ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the class. Tell the
volunteer and class that the volunteer will now play the role of you as the teacher and the volunteer student
will answer as s/he thinks you would answer (not his/her own answers). While the students are asking the
questions and the volunteer is attempting to answer the questions as the teacher, the real teacher is
keeping score on the board- one point if the student answers the question correctly, point is some of it is
correct, and zero points if it is not correct. This really creates a lot of anticipation and laughter. The teacher
can then summarize or correct the responses at the end. You can rotate volunteer teachers to give more
students the opportunity to respond to questions.

Alternative Version of Find Someone Who*

http://www.eslcafe.com/ideas/
Size: Whole class
Use: Asking questions, introductions
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials: 3x 5 index cards
Instructions: This is another variation of an icebreaker found on Daves ESL Caf. Instead of giving students a
pre-made list requesting to Find someone who, you ask them to write on an index card I want to find
someone in the class who and then complete the sentence. The students then mill around the room asking
their personalized question to their classmates. This allows the student to determine what they want to find
out about their classmates.
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Ten Fingers (presented at TESOL 2013)*

Size: Small groups of 5-6
Use: Asking questions, practicing yes-no simple present and present perfect tenses
Time: 5-10 minutes
Materials: None
Instructions: Place 5-6 students in a small circle and ask them to hold up all 10 fingers. Each student takes a
turn asking a yes-no question. If the student cannot answer yes to the question, s/he puts one finger down.
The last student with a finger up wins. Some sample questions may be Do you have a pet? Are you
married? Have you ever been to an amusement park?

We Have a Lot in Common

Size: Students in pairs
Use: Asking and answering questions, introductions
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: None
Instructions: This is another great icebreaker for students to get to know each other. In pairs, ask students to
find three things that they both have in common besides what is obvious (same gender, language, etc.).
Students have to keep asking each other questions until they come up with a list of three things. For example,
we both shop at the Asian market in Middletown. The pairs then share their commonalities with the class.

Four Corners Activity (presented at TESOL 2013)

Size: Whole class
Use: Expressing and defending an opinion
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Four signs labeled Strongly Agree, Agree, Strongly Disagree, and Disagree
Instructions: Place signs with Strongly Agree, Agree, Strongly Disagree, and Disagree in each corner.
Gives students a statement that requires some evaluation of opinion (Example: Soda should be banned in
school cafeterias.). Students go to the corner that matches their opinion. The students in the same corner
discuss why they chose that corner and then report it to the rest of the class. After each corner has explained
their opinion you can ask students from the different corners to politely refute another corners opinion and
see if any of the students may now want to switch to another corner.
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One Question
Size: Whole class
Use: Asking questions
Time: 5-10 minutes
Materials: Teacher questions
Instructions: The teacher gives each student a different question and the student has to find the person in the
class that best answers it. For example, Who has lived in the United States the longest? The students can
also come up with their own questions.

Four Corners Introduction

Size: Whole class
Use: Introductions, oral instructions, direction words
Time: 10 minutes
Materials: 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 index cards
Instructions: This is another great activity to allow students to get to know each other. Give each student a 4
x 6 or 5 x 7 index card. In the middle of the card ask each student to write his/her first name. In each corner
ask the student to answer a different question from four predetermined questions. For example, in the top
right corner write the name of your favorite food. In the bottom right corner write the name of your home
country. Fill in the last two corners. Students then mill around the room looking at each others answers and
asking questions. This is also a nice opportunity to teach words like right, left, top, and bottom while following
oral directions.

Would You Rather?

www.insight.typepad.co.uk
Size: Whole class or small group
Use: Oral language development
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials: Teacher list

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Would You Rather?

Instructions: Present students with Would you rather questions similar to the ones below. As a whole
class or a small group, students discuss and then are given the opportunity to make and defend their choice.
Samples:
Would you rather have unlimited money or unlimited time?
Would you rather have a new car or new furniture?
Would you rather see a good movie or eat a good dinner?
Would you rather be lost in a jungle or in the desert?
Would you rather see the future or change the past?
Would you rather always be cold or always be hot?
Would you rather be invisible or be a mind reader?

Which Do You Prefer?

Size: Whole class in pairs
Use: To state preferences, get to know each other
Time: 20 minutes
Materials: Teacher-generated handout
Instructions: Teacher generates a handout similar to below. In pairs, students ask each other to choose which
they prefer (or not) and why. Students then report the information about their partner to the class and the
results are recorded on the board. Students can then take the class responses and create a bar graph of
preferences. The class can then compare the survey results.
Preferences
Eating pizza or tacos

My Answers

Drinking coffee or tea

Eating sweet foods or salty foods
Walking or running
Eating at home or in a restaurant
Talking on the phone or sending an email
Reading a book or watching TV
Sleeping in late or getting up early
Living in the city or in the country
Studying English in the morning or at night

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My Partners Answers

Human BINGO
https://bingobaker.com/
Size: Whole class
Use: Review of formulating a question, introductions
Time: 20 minutes
Materials: Pre-made BINGO cards
Instructions: There are several free BINGO card generator websites on the Internet. I have given a link to one
above and an example below. The teacher creates fragments of questions in each box of the bingo card. The
generator mixes up the fragments so students can all have different cards. Once you have enough cards for
each student, give students some time to review what is on their card and how they would ask the questions
to their classmates. After students are prepared, they mill around the classroom asking questions of their
classmates until they get five in a row and a BINGO. The student then has to read the responses with the
classmates name to check that it is a good BINGO.

Has ridden on a
horse

Speaks two or more

languages

Has more than

three siblings

Was born in January

or February

Is afraid of heights

Has been camping

Doesnt like roller

coasters

Likes to go hiking

Owns a cat

Has been scuba

diving

Has lived in the

United States for
over two years

Knows how to swim

Free Space

Has visited the

Statue of Liberty

Has broken a bone

Likes broccoli

Likes rap music

Has read more than

ten books in the last
year

Has traveled to five

or more countries

Has children

Has traveled to
Disney World

Writes poetry

Is a grandparent

Eats in a restaurant
at least once a week

Plays a musical
instrument

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