Job Discussion Forums

[Margot73]

I'm starting a new session this weekend. I can never come up with good ice breakers. Something good for adults. They are low-intermediate. I would prefer something that doesn't take forever to explain.

[rusmeister]

Rather than a particular 'activity', I'd recommend taking typical grammar errors literally on a regular basis - make sure they're clear they're not being laughed at - only the silly situations.
Ex - "I am knowing that we are in x......OK, now I'm finished (knowing)!

(Famous dead writer) has written (famous book)! (News!)

Look! The sun shines! (Every day! "Wow! Ooooh!")

I have been cutting my finger!

We have been Russian!

Graphic illustration or acting out of silly situations helps a lot. I call it teaching 'stupid English'. It relaxes tight atmospheres within a few weeks.

[spiral78]

It's not exactly an icebreaker, but I usually have a new group stand and introduce themselves to each other. Then I ask each student to introduce another student to the group, rather than introducing themselves. It's not too difficult to explain, but be sure they understand they'll be introducing someone else (preferably someone they don't already know).

For students with the English to deal with it, I also elicit what they feel culturally appropriate information for introductions in a 'western' culture (lots of Asians are overly comfortable with things like age and marital status, in terms of fitting in in North America - you're in New York, aren't you, Margot?)

After this, again, if they have the English skills, I ask them to arrange themselves in descending order by last names, using English only. Then I DON'T help them figure this out!

I got this idea from Dave's cookbook, by the way, and blessings on the head of whoever posted it.

I follow it up sometimes (if it went well) by asking pairs of students to figure out other ways to organize the class (by house/apartment numbers, number of children, number of months/years living in North America if they're immigrants). Then the students can try out their ideas -

[danielita]

one of my favourite games is: "Two Truths and a lie". I write 2 truths and one lie about myself on the board and have them guess which one is the lie. Then I have them come up to the board and do the same thing for themselves. I have had great success with this and have learned some VERY interesting stuff!

Good Luck
D

[wildchild]

you take turns introducing yourself by saying your name with a twist.

For example, "snob bob" or "big betty"

the catch is that you have to say all the names of those who have gone before you. One would think that it will be difficult to remember the names, but because they often rime, it is not so difficult.

students often have fun making a rime out of their name and it is a good way to learn the names of your classmates (and students, of course!)

[surrealia]

This site has some interesting and unusual icebreakers:

http://www.group-games.com/games-by-type/


and this page has a lot of links to games and activities:

http://www.geocities.com/allhou/lessgames.htm

[DNK]

One that I love and that gets everyone up and running is that you have one person stand in the middle of the room and say something they've never done (or done, or want to do, or if they were a millionaire would do, etc, pick the structure for any grammar points you'd like to focus on) and anyone who HAS done it has to get up and find another chair. Trick is you take one away, so there's always someone in the middle.

It's fairly flexible, and the "never" aspect probably is best dropped to avoid confusion. The reason I include it is the original name of the game is, "never have I ever," but this is all unnecessary for language learners. At least you know. The version on the link below just has everyone sitting in a circle with fingers. That works, too, but then you lose the movement and excitement. It probably takes less time, though.

It might be a good idea to ask everyone to think of a few "lies" for a minute before starting, otherwise you're going to have a lot of "dead" time waiting for the person in the middle to think of something. At least have a few you could drop them if they do get stuck. And there's a good chance the same person will get stuck there often. Be prepared for that, since some people just aren't aggressive or agile/fast enough to get the seats.



Another I was shown during my training course was have everyone divide a piece of paper into four parts and write their name in one, their family in another, a dream in another, and maybe their home in the fourth. Of course, you can tailor this also to the previous lessons or even as part of the induction for the upcoming lesson if you're really crafty. Anyway, then the students get up, pair up, and have the other try to guess what are in the pictures. In the end, you can then have each partner introduce the things to the class about the other.

[Shimmeringstar]

I teach at a college and the icebreaker I use is to give the students each a piece of paper that says "Find someone who..." and then have various characteristics like "has a younger brother," "is left-handed," "likes to cook," etc. Next to each characteristic is space for the student to write someone's name.

So... they must walk around the room, meeting other students until they find people to match each point on the paper (and write the name of the person next to that characteristic). It's a good way to get the students interacting, speaking English, and meeting others.

Good luck!

[surrealia]

And here's a special 2-part icebreaker:

In the first class, give each student an index card. Put them in pairs, and have them interview each other. (You might want to write a few sample questions on the board.) Everyone should take notes on their partner. When everyone is finished interviewing each other, get pairs to come to the front, where each student introduces his/her partner to the class. You take up the cards when they are finished.

Outside of class, you prepare a series of questions about the students based on the information on their cards. For example:

Who has 3 sisters and 4 brothers?
Who likes to play rugby?
Who goes to the movies every Saturday night?

Now here's part two: after a few days (weeks?) bring your questions to class. As you take the roll, quiz the students on their classmates.

[surrealia]

Another fantastic collection of icebreakers:

http://www.mgu.ac.jp/~ic/helgesen/physical/physical_-prehtml.htm