Tag Archives: games

6 Excellent First-Day Icebreakers

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Dear readers

Here I am again!! I Didn’t  this summer fly by ? It totally  flew by!!!

Oh my god! The beginning of another school year is fast approaching and I am feeling  the butterflies starting to gather in my stomach, even after 25 years teaching English. Yes, even after all this time, I still feel like a newbie about to teach her first class. I have yet to decide whether this is a good or a bad thing.  In these 25 years there are not many things I have not tried but I always like to start telling my students something about myself. I used to include information about my age, but I no longer do ( for obvious reasons)  and in fact, I always say I am 25, with a wink, if a student dares overlook the fact that I have intentionally omitted that bit of information. Anyway. I feel like in my twenties 🙂 when facing a new group of students.

Why use icebreakers?

Teaching aduIts has a lot of advantages and some minor disadvantages. In my experience, one of these disadvantages is that they tend to be naturally shy when asked to speak a foreign language  so it’s essential to break the ice from the very first moment students enter my class. The sooner I get to know them and they get to know each other,  the faster they will start learning. One way to accomplish this is by using icebreakers.

Below are some of the icebreakers/first-day activities I normally use to introduce myself .Some of them might sound familiar to you although I have slightly modified the name to better describe my own contribution but I should add that  I take no credit for inventing these games. I hope you find something you can use. I would suggest you demonstrate how to play the games  by  first offering personal information about yourself. It doesn’t have to be too personal, just a bit, enough to satisfy students’ curiosity.

This is an interactive image using ThingLink

1. HANGMAN WITH A TWIST (no preparation required)
I have yet to meet a student who doesn’t like playing  hangman. This time we will play  a variation of the traditional  hangman game as all the words will  contain some information about myself ( blue, twenty.-four, music, keeping fit…etc). Remember that you cannot use proper nouns such as names, places, and brands.

PROCEDURE.

  • Think about some information you want to share with your students and play the hangman  game.
  • Choose beforehand the information you want to use and play hangman for every piece  of information you want to share. Once they have guessed the correct word, explain  why this word is important to you.

Students in pairs play hangman with using their own personal information.

How to play Hangman here

2.CONCENTRIC CIRCLES ( requires little preparation)

  • PROCEDURE
    Students arrange  themselves so that they are facing each other in two circles. The inner circle faces out, the outer circle faces in, so that each participant has a partner that they’re facing (Note: If the group has an uneven number of people, the teacher should participate in the circles)
  • Tell the students that they will be having a series of short conversations with  different partners. They  will need to  introduce themselves and  share the time given  so that everybody has a chance to speak.
  • Give students a  getting-to-know-you question and  ask pairs  to discuss their answers to the question (Note: after  three minutes, call time)
  • Rotate for the next question, forming a new partnership.

This engaging one-to-one game gives students the chance to get to know their classmates very quickly

Some ideas

1. Why do you want to learn English?

2. What’s your favourite TV programme?

3. What you like doing in your free time?

4.Do you prefer to live in the city or in the countryside?

5. Where do you hope to be 10 years from now?

3.PERSONAL INFORMATION  BINGO (requires preparation)

Everybody knows how to play Bingo. This time we are going to play bingo with personal information.

PROCEDURE

  • Decide on 20 or 25 general traits that you think might apply to your students and use  a free online bingo generator here or  here to create your own bingo cards. Some ideas: who has a pet, who speaks two languages, who hates maths, who went abroad last year, who has a friend called Mary, who likes tea, who is  his/her twenties, who hates going shopping,who has slept on a beach, who doesn’t like meat…etc)
  • Now cut all the squares in the bingo card and put them in a bag.
  • Draw one card at a time asking ” who….?”.
  • The winner is the person who first fills  4 boxes (if you have  20 traits) or 5 boxes (25 traits) either across or down and yells BINGO.

Ask students now in pairs  to talk about some of the squares they have crossed  off.

4.PERSONAL STAR (no preparation required)

The one I like best is Personal Star, for many reasons but mainly because it requires no preparation  and students always  enjoy a bit of gossip  about their new teacher.

PROCEDURE

  • Draw a  six-pointed star  and on each point write  6  answers to questions about yourself. (My answers are black, London, December 9, tennis, Terry and meat.)
  • Tell students that the star contains information about you.
  • Ask them to try to guess the information behind the words by asking questions.If they don’t get the idea give an example. Tell them “My favourite colour is black. What question do you need to ask to find out this information?” Elicit from them, “What’s your favourite colour?” and cross out the word ‘black’ from the star.
  • Then, put the students in pairs. Ask them to draw their own personal star and write 6 pieces of information about themselves on each point. In pairs they can ask each other questions to find out about their partner. When they have all finished, ask them as a group to tell the others what they have found out about their partner

5.WHO AM I? (no preparation required)

I love this game to introduce myself to my students. It is played in teams and there is a winner. If you have been reading me for some time you know I am very competitive; that must be the reason why I am definitely going to use this one this year. The game was written by Paul Adams  and here is the link.

  • Write on  the board information about yourself and next to each piece of information write a number.
  • Divide the class into  two or three teams, depending on the number of students per class.
  • Tell students that teams  have to choose a number and ask the question they think matches the answer on the board.
  • Teams  take it in turns to choose a number and ask the question they think matches the answer.
  • They  get 1 point for asking the correct question and 1 point for using the correct grammar.

6.A QUESTION, PLEASE(no preparation required)

Again, this little game requires no preparation and students love it because it gives them the perfect opportunity to meet their new classmates

PROCEDURE

  • Ask students to write two questions they would like to ask you.
  • Answer some of their questions elaborating on your answers.
  • Tell students questions cannot be repeated  so they need to be ready to write a new question if necessary.
  • Once this step has been completed and their curiosity satisfied,  ask students to stand up and mingle, introducing themselves to the rest of the class  by saying their names and then asking their questions and answering their partner’s .
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Knoword: A Fun Highly Addictive Game to Help you Expand your Vocabulary

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Wanna have some fun with words?

Knoword is a fast-paced word game that helps boost vocabulary and spelling . It is  highly addictive , a lot of fun  and  a game of quick thinking.

How does it work?

Once you hit the LET’S GO button , it gives you a dictionary definition randomly generated  and the first letter of the word you need to guess. You are given a minute to guess the word . If you don’t know , click on the X and you’ll briefly see the word before a new definition is presented to you. Every single time you guess a word , you get an added time bonus (5 seconds) + 20 points  and every time you skip a word -10 points

From the Menu on the right you can choose from three levels of difficulty: Novice, Hotshot and Wizard.

You don’t need to register to play the game although if you do , you can keep track of your statistics.

Seen on Free Technology for Teachers, a blog written by Richard Byrne, which I highly recommend.

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Inspiration from Ellen Degeneres Show: Never Have I Ever

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I firmly believe that the way you present things to your students matters. From boring points of grammar to challenging speaking activities, there is always a way to get their attention. I am of the opinion that students learn much better if you completely discard from your teaching the idea of boring master classes where the only person in the room seems to be the teacher and choose instead a more interactive approach. I try hard not to forget this student-centered approach during the whole lesson.

There is also something I try not to forget. You learn better when you have fun! And here we go, for a lot of fun!!

Image by Michael Rozman/WarnerBros

  • Skill: Speaking
  • Level: B1 upwards
  • Aim: using the Present Perfect to talk about experiences.

You never know where and who you’ll get inspiration from! I got the idea for this Speaking Activity watching Ellen Degeneres show.Have you ever seen her show? It’s hilarious! Anyway, she’s got a section called “Never Have I Ever” where she asks her guests questions and they need to put up a sign with the words Yes, I Have or I Have Never.

This hilarious speaking activity is fairly simple and requires little preparation.
♥Ask students to write on a different sheet or slip  of paper the short answers  Yes, I have and I have never “

♥ Tell them you are going to ask a question to the whole class.

♥ Ask them to answer  your question by putting up the YES, I HAVE or I HAVE NEVER sign

♥ Ask some students to explain their answers.

It’ll certainly be funnier if you choose to ask some spicy questions like the ones Degeneres posed to her guests.

Do you want to try? How would you answer these questions?

  • Have you ever skipped school?
  • Have you ever fallen asleep in the cinema?
  • Have you ever been to a nude beach?
  • Have you ever done something you regret?
  • Have you ever read a whole Harry Potter book?
  • Have you ever drunk while underage?
  • Have you ever had an accident?
  • Have you ever kissed someone on the first date?
  • Have you ever read the Bible?
  • Have you ever aced a test without studying?
  • Have you ever passed out?
  • Have you ever slept until 5 pm?
  • Have you ever eaten food that fell on the floor?
  • Have you ever tried to cut your own hair?
  • Have you ever lied to get a job?
  • Have you ever regifted something that was gifted to you?
  • have you ever given a stranger a fake phone number?
  • Have you ever met someone famous?

Learn English and Have Fun!

Used TO: Introducing Used to ,a Nice Short Writing Game and a Beautiful Song.

Games, Grammar, Speaking, Vocabulary Games, Writing, , ,

After almost eight years posting ( I had another blog before this one) I have to say that I am absolutely convinced that if it were not for my blog,I wouldn’t be able to find and remember half the activities that I do in my class. Don’t misunderstand me !!! I’m not implying by any means that I’m sort of disorganised or forgetful; a teacher should never fall into this category, but the truth is that this blog has helped me tons to have all my stuff organised. That must have been the reason that prompted me to start writing… but to be honest, I cannot remember! :).

Two activities that I did yesterday with my students and that I don’t want to forget are

1. A small warm-up to introduce Used To

2. A  fun nice short writing game that requires no preparation

1. Introducing Used To. The picture below shows what I wrote on the whiteboard. I made sure I gave examples of past actions -in the diagram the font is in black- and past states -in blue. (Remember: We use ‘used to’ for something that happened regularly in the past but no longer happens or for something that was true but no longer is).

At this stage, a good performance makes all the difference.

Students pay more attention when you dramatise or introduce the idea in a nice way. Let’s see two examples. Which do you think will make the student pay more attention?

1. OK, Today, I am going to explain Used to, It is used to…. and here are some examples… Do you understand? Any questions?

2. Ok, folks !! That’s me 10 years ago!! Look at my hair now!! What colour is it? Do you think it suits me?? Thanks so much !! You’re so sweet! Now I have fair hair but 10 years ago, I used to have dark hair.  What about you? Has anybody changed their hairstyle?? Yes, teacher, I had dark hair too and now I have red hair!! Ok ! María, so in English, you can say! I used to have dark hair but now my hair is red.

The second option works much better, trust me on this one!

2. WRITING GAME: I HAVE RETIRED

Target language : Used To to describe past habits or states, contrasted with the  present

Preparation: none

Level : B1/B2

Time: about 15 minutes

Procedure:

Setting the context. Tell students they have to imagine they are 70 and they are retired. They are happier in retirement than when they were working but there are some things that they still miss.

Step 1. Students in pairs or in threes choose the job they used to have.

Step 2. Students will need to produce four sentences using Used To , giving clues for the other groups to guess their job.

  • All the sentences must contain ” Used to” in the positive or the negative
  • the first sentence will contain the clue most difficult to guess
  • the last sentence will contain the easiest clue
  • The first sentence will be awarded 4 points and the last one 1 point

Step 3. Each group will name a spokesperson who will read out the clues. It’s important ,at this stage, to ask students to speak up and clearly . Some rules:

  • The spokesperson will read the first sentence and the other groups will raise a hand if they think they know the answer.
  • Only one guess is allowed for each clue
  • If the answer is correct, they will be awarded the four points, if it is not,the second clue will be read for three points.

Example

  • 4 points . I used to work with a lot of people
  • 3 points. I used to work after “work”
  • 2 points. I used to use my voice a lot
  • 1 point . I used to work with children

How many clues did you need to hear??  Yes, the answer is TEACHER

3. LEARNING WITH SONGS. Is there a best way to learn?

This is a beautiful song by the Newcastle songwriter James Morrison and it is called Once When I was Little . I used some time ago to talk about Childhood Memories and to revise Used To.  I hope you like it. I love it!

Click here to see how I worked with the song

A Fun Writing Activity to Practise Giving Advice . Students in the limelight

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Raise your hand if you have never had a problem!  Nobody??? Good! That’s what I thought! Now, raise your hand if you have never asked for advice!! I see !! OK ! Maybe some of you don’t like to ask for advice!!

Ok folks !!! What’s clear is that we all have problems and and when we have them, we most usually turn to friends or family asking for advice; it remains to be seen whether we follow the advice but even if we  end up feeling that the advice  given hasn’t helped much, I’m sure, at least, you would  feel grateful  just because someone you trust has been willing to take the time to listen to you.

In this post, I want to share with you an activity to practise giving advice, which has worked really well with my students (see photo below)

LEVEL: B1

AIM: to give written advice using

♥I think / I don’t think you should…

♥ If I were you , I would…  

MATERIALS: A clean sheet of paper and a pen or you can download the template here.

STEPS

1. Introduce / revise the two structures above, used to give advice. Share with your students a problem and ask them to offer you advice using the two structures above. Choose the funniest or most sensible advice as the best offered.

2.  Give students a copy of I NEED SOME ADVICE or display the template so that they can copy the information on a clean sheet of paper.

2. Students write their name  and their problem in the space provided and leave it on their table, face up.

3. Introduce the idea of Agony Aunts ( see definiton here) and tell students they are going to act as agony aunts to solve some problems.

4. Students stand up and they go around the class reading their classmates’ problems and writing their piece of advice in the space provided, together with their name inside the brackets. The same advice cannot be repeated. Allow 10 minutes for this step

 5.  Students sit down at their desks, read the advice offered for their problems and decide on the best. Problem and advice will be read aloud. The students who has offered the best advice gets one point. See who gets more points and name him the new Agony Aunt.

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