Here’s an excellent ESL icebreaker game that I always go back to on the first day of a new class.
Preteach Language -
1. What’s your name?
2. When’s your birthday?
Round 1 -
Have all SS stand in a semi-circle in the classroom. On the floor, write down January 1 at one end of the semi-circle, and December 31 at the other end. Now, ask SS to rearrange their circles based on their birthdays. SS will have to ask the same question many times, and there will be a lot of discussion about who stands where.
Round 2 -
Add another level of difficulty. This time, write a large ‘A’ at one end of the semi-circle, and a large ‘Z’ at the other end. Ask students to rearrange themselves in alphabetical order of their names. Also teach them that if two students have names beginning with ‘A’, they should then consider the next letter of their names.
For added urgency, get a stopwatch to class and time the students.
SS really start opening up with this ice breaker. They’re all forced to talk and there’s no room for shyness. My students enjoy this so much, they often ask for a repeat in the second lesson!
