Icebreakers

The Wrong Delivery: A2 speaking lesson

Help a film crew replace the wrong props. Practise polite requests in a 35-minute lesson for online one-to-one classes or classroom pairs. Includes teacher steps, learner pages, and printable role cards.

Who Am I?  First off we have "Who Am I?". It takes a little prep (just some paper and tape) but students really seem to get into it. They may not get to know each other from this one, but they will certainly get comfortable talking to each other.

Two Truths One Lie Next is a tried and true activity with virtually no prep. Great for students getting to know each other and can be a very short or very long activity. It can even be easily turned into a game.

Paper Fight This get to know you activity is definitely active and can be bit hectic but if you and your students are keen it can be an activity they will remember for a long time.  Good for building rapport between you and your students.

Deserted Island The deserted island question is one that we have all done. It's popular for a reason and students seem to really enjoy figuring out which items to take to the island. With no preparation and lots of talking, this is a good one to have in your utility belt.

Twenty Questions Twenty questions is also another well worn activity, but one that never gets old. An added bonus is that it can be used to review target vocabulary. It's good as a warmer to get them comfortable with speaking English again.

Multipurpose This next activity is an interesting one that will get them talking as well as get them thinking creatively. It can be used in a limited way to review vocabulary since it can only be used for a few words, but the few that you review will definitely be stuck in their heads after this activity.

Personality Quiz  Ah, personality quizzes. Accurate or not, people really seem to enjoy taking them. You might want to hide the fact that it is a personality quiz until the very end though. A great activity to get them talking and also a great activity to review or practice adjectives.

Riddles  Next up, riddles! Logic puzzles! Knock their brains into gear and get them to think outside the box. To get the most out of this one, definitely put them in groups of three or four. Students get a lot more out of this activity when they can bounce their ideas off other students.

Bingo Icebreaker Use this bingo board to get your students to ask each other questions. Available as a Word file download so you can edit it for your needs!

Spot the Difference  Last one! This one takes the most prep of all of them. The language production on this one isn't that high either, but most students will really get into it. You can also use it to point out some extra vocabulary to get a bit more bang for your buck.

Small Talk  Completely random questions, so random in fact, that every student can find at least a couple of questions that will pique their interest.

Have you ever... Questions about students experiences using the present perfect (i.e. have you ever...). Everyone likes talking about themselves and the things that have happened to them! (These questions are also listed under grammar)

Comparatives / Superlatives Questions based on comparatives (i.e. bigger, smaller, more interesting) and superlatives (i.e. the biggest, the smallest, the most interesting). Lots of questions to get students talking about their opinions on many different topics. (These questions are also listed under grammar)

250 Conversation Starters This is a site aimed at native speakers of English but it has a lot of questions in the "random conversation starters" section that would be suitable for intermediate and advanced students. A great extra source of questions if the questions above aren't enough for you.