Did you watch TEFL International’s webinar on the best ice breaker games every English language teacher should know? If you missed it, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. Here are some key takeaways from the webinar.
What are ice breakers?
Simply put, ice breaker games break the ice! Often used at the beginning of a new school year, ice breakers can help you and your students get to know each other. They are a great warm-up exercise to get your students to start speaking in English and will help you gauge their language level. Playing a game will also create a relaxing and enjoyable environment!
Ice breaker games
Here are three ice breaker games from the webinar that you can play with your students!
Two Truths and a Lie
This game is perfect with a brand new set of students. First, ask your students to write down two true statements and one false statement about themselves. Next, have your students take turns reading their statements out loud to the class. After they’ve read out their statements, everyone else has to guess which statement was the lie. This game will help you get to know your class and will help your students get to know you!
ABC Word Chain
This game can be used to break the ice with a new class or it can be used anytime as a fun exercise for practicing vocabulary. First, choose a category and a word within that category. Then, have your students take turns creating a word chain by picking a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word. For example, if the category was "furniture" and the first word was "bed," the next word could be "dresser," and the word after that could be "recliner," and so on.
Finish the Sentence
Similar to the ABC Word Chain game, this game can be used as an ice breaker or it can be used anytime as a fun exercise for building sentences. First, write the beginning of a sentence. Next, ask your students to complete the sentence in their own words. Finally, have your students take turns reading their answers out loud to the class.
Teachers, do you play ice breaker games with your students? What games do you play? If not, how do you break the ice and get to know your students? Let us know in the comments below!
