ESL First Day of Class Games
ESL First Day of Class Game - Speaking: Forming Sentences, Repeating Information, Memorisation - Group Work - Young Learners - 20 minutes
This engaging first day of class introduction game helps students get to know each other. In the game, students race to give basic personal information about themselves and repeat other students' information. Arrange the students into two teams. Sit each team in a circle. Tell the teams that they are going to race each other to say everyone's name in their team. Give the first student in each team a ball. The first student begins by saying their name, e.g. 'I'm Ryan'. The first student then passes the ball to the second student who repeats the first student's name and then says their own name, e.g. 'He's Ryan, and I'm Kate'. The second student passes the ball to the next student who continues, e.g. 'He's Ryan. She's Kate, and I'm Amiko'. The game continues until all the names have been said. If a student forgets the name of a teammate, the team starts over from the first student. The first team to finish wins the round and scores a point. Then, start with a different student and repeat the game with other personal information, e.g. age, height, etc. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
ESL First Day of Class Game - Speaking: Sentence Completion - Young Learners - 15 minutes
Here is an entertaining way to get students to introduce themselves to the class. This introduction game works best with young learners. Begin the game by saying, "I'm the captain of a spaceship. I'm going on a trip to the moon. Who wants to go with me and what are you going to bring?" Then, write the following sentence on the board for the students to say: Hi, my name is... and I'm going to bring a/an/some... The students who are allowed to go are the ones who bring something that begins with the first letter of their name. However, don't explain this to the students. It's up to them to work it out! The first student then stands up and says the sentences on the board. If the item doesn't match with the first letter of their name, say, "I'm sorry, you can't go." Then, move on to the next student. If a student manages to work it out or accidentally says an item matching with the first letter of their name, you accept them on board and write up their name. Eventually, most of the students will understand the game when they see that some students are allowed to go. You can also have the students give more information about themselves (e.g. their age, hobbies, etc) by adding to the text on the board.
ESL First Day of Class Game - Writing and Speaking: Writing Sentences, Ordering, Guessing - Pair Work - Pre-intermediate (A2) - 25 minutes
Here is an icebreaker activity for the first day of class to help students get to know each other. In the activity, students use sequence words to order information about a partner. Write five sentences on the board in a random order about interesting things you have done in your life. Then, write some sequence words on the board, e.g. first, second, etc. Tell the students that the sentences are things you have done in your life, but the order is wrong. Students then guess the correct order of the five sentences using the sequence words on the board until someone gives you the right order. Next, tell the students to write five sentences in a random order about interesting things they have done, avoiding sentences where the chronological order is obvious. After that, in pairs, students read their partner's sentences and try to put them in the right order using sequence words. If the order is wrong, the student tries again until they get it right. Students repeat this process with several partners. Afterwards, students give feedback to the class on the information they found out.
ESL First Day of Class Game - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, True or False, Guessing - Pre-intermediate (A2) - 25 minutes
Here is a fun mystery game to play on the first day of class that helps motivate students to ask questions and learn interesting things about one another. First, students write their name on a piece of paper and a secret about themselves, such as a talent, skill, etc. After that, collect in the slips and choose one slip that has an interesting secret on it. Next, invite three students to go out of the room. One of the students must be the person who wrote the secret. Tell the three students the secret, and explain that they must all claim to have that secret. Bring the three students back in and sit them down in front of the class. Tell the class the secret, and explain that the secret belongs to one of the students. Students then ask their three classmates Wh questions to determine which students are lying and which student is telling the truth. After a few minutes of questioning, students vote for the person they think is telling the truth. Each student who guessed correctly scores one point. The process is then repeated and so on. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins.
ESL First Day of Class Game - Speaking: Forming Sentences, Controlled Practice - Group Work - Pre-intermediate (A2) - 25 minutes
Here is an inventive way for students to introduce each other on the first day of class. Students begin by writing their name and five things about themselves on a piece of paper, e.g. their age, hobbies, etc. If you want, write a short introductory text on the board for students to copy on to the paper and complete with their own information. Next, divide the students into two teams. The teams stand facing each other at opposite sides of the classroom. Students then crumple their paper into a snowball and have a snowball fight. When you say 'go', the snowball fight commences. When you shout 'stop', anyone holding a snowball must open up the paper and find the person whose name is written inside. The student then introduces the person to the class using the information written on the paper in the third person, e.g. 'His name is Joshua. He is 11 years old', etc. When the introductions have been made, the corresponding snowballs are removed from the game. The two teams continue the snowball fight until everyone has been introduced to the class.
ESL First Day of Class Game - Speaking: Writing, Asking and Answering Questions - Pre-intermediate (A2-B1) - 40 minutes
This fun first day of class game can be used to introduce yourself and the course to a new class of students. The game also helps you gain insight into your students' level of English. Before you begin, don't give the students any information about yourself or the course. Working alone, students write 3 to 5 questions they would like to ask about you or the course. While the students are writing, put their names on the board. Next, ask a student to come to the front of the class. Tell the class that the student is going to take on the role of the teacher (you) and attempt to answer another student's questions. The student then tries to guess the answers to the questions asked by a classmate. The student scores one point for a correct (or close enough) answer. The game continues with students taking it in turns to be the teacher and guess the answers to a classmate's questions until everyone has asked and answered one set of questions. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins. Finally, answer any questions that were left unanswered.
ESL First Day of Class Game - Writing and Speaking: Writing True or False Statements, Asking and Answering Questions, Guessing - Group Work - Pre-intermediate (A2-B1) - 20 minutes
This first day of class ice breaker can be used to either introduce information about yourself to a new class or for students to get to know one another. One version is played between the teacher and the class and in the other students play in small groups. In the teacher-to-class version, prepare ten sets of 'Two Truths and a Lie' statements about yourself. Each team then asks you one question to help them determine which statement is a lie. When all the teams have asked one question, they guess which one is false. If a team guesses correctly, they score one point. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. In the student-to-student version, each student prepares four categories of 'Two Truths and a Lie' statements. In groups of four, students then take turns presenting a set of statements, and each group member asks one question to help them determine which one is a lie. When all the students have asked one question, they guess which statement is false. Students who guessed correctly score one point. The student with the most points at the end wins.
ESL First Day of Class Game - Speaking: Asking Questions from Prompts - Group Work - Any Level - 20 minutes
This first day of class icebreaker helps you to introduce yourself to the class and gives you insight into your students' level of English. Cover the board with numbered information and answers about yourself. The type and amount of information you write will depend on the level of your class, e.g. 1. John, 2. blue, etc. Tell the class that the information and answers on the board are about you. Explain that the aim of the game is for teams to choose a number and ask a question that they think matches with the answer on the board. For some answers, many questions may be possible, but only one question is correct. Teams then take it in turns to choose a number and ask a question. Teams score one point for the correct question and one point for using the correct grammar. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
