5 Great Ice-Breaker Exercises for TEFL Classes

It’s normal to feel nervous occasionally when you’re a TEFL teacher.

Even the most experienced teachers will feel some trepidation if they have a brand-new class in front of them. Sometimes, English learners of all ages can start a little quietly. They may even have the same level of nerves as you. A touch of anxiety is to be expected in these situations. It means you care.

The answer to this initial quietness is simple - ice-breaker exercises! These kinds of exercises encourage conversation, creativity, and participation, allowing you to understand your students and help your learners get a better idea of what you’re like as a teacher.

From kindergarten pupils to groups of professionals learning English for work, ice-breaker exercises are super helpful. So, here are five we’ve picked to help you get started.

Simon Says

The classics never go out of style, do they?

Simon Says is an absolute stalwart of this genre. It encourages TPR (total physical response) , a popular learning style. It gets students moving, helps them learn about parts of the body in English, is a core listening exercise, and, perhaps most importantly of all, it’s fun.

If you’ve never played Simon Says, here’s how it works. One person leads a group tasked with mirroring their activity and listening to instructions. As the teacher, you’ll be the first Simon and give instructions in English. “Simon says touch your knee”, “Simon says wave your right hand in the air”. If you instruct without saying “Simon says…”, anyone who does the action is out of the game. This continues until there is a winner.

A popular kinesthetic activity , Simon Says will get your students moving, laughing and feeling more comfortable in your classroom.

Who does this?

This one’s easy as well. ‘Who does this?’ can be called a million different things, but the basic premise is this:

Write some facts about some of your students on sheets of paper. For example, “This student has a dog”, “this student’s favourite colour is blue”, and “this student likes hockey”.

Mix up the sheets. Then, get your pupils to pick a random sheet, and find the student who matches the fact. They’ll need to match the statement to the relevant pupil, and they must discuss that particular subject in English. This will test vocabulary skills, improvisation, grammar and other vital aspects of the English language.

Not only does this encourage students to talk to each other, but it’s also a chance for them to learn vocabulary about the things they care about.

Timed ball game

There’s a lot you can do with a timer and a ball. Let’s start with the basics: grab a ball (preferably a soft one, like a beach ball or a foam ball!) and put a timer on the clock.

The game aims to encourage students to respond quickly in English. You start by picking a topic and saying one sentence, like “This weekend I went to the cinema” or “My favourite colour is green.” Then, throw the ball towards a student, who will catch it and answer with what they did at the weekend or their favourite colour.

Whoever has the ball at the end gets to pick the next subject. This game encourages quick thinking, vocabulary retention, and communication between all students.

Story challenge

This one’s slightly more advanced, but it can be hilarious .

Offer your students a prompt. This can be something like “When I woke up”, “Once upon a time”, “This weekend, I…”, “In my opinion,” or a similar starting phrase. Your student writes a response ending with a conjunction, such as “so”, “then”, or “because”. The sheets of paper are then mixed up, and you and your students tell a ridiculous, random story.

When you read the story out loud, you’ll find it can take weird and wonderful turns, entertaining your students and involving them in the task. It’s creative, an opportunity to share a laugh, and an encouragement to feel part of a group.

Yes or no?

This is another simple participatory activity that students love. You can do many variations, including “this or that” or “true or false”.

Write down several “yes or no” questions. The complexity of the questions should depend on the student's English proficiency. We suggest that you do not bombard under-10s with complex political questions.

You can split your classroom into two, or if you’re teaching online, ask students to gather two items of different colours. They can hold up one of the said items to vote a certain way. Your statement can be an opinion or a fact, like “Friday is my favourite day of the week” or “My birthday is in the first half of the year.” Then, your students will answer.

You can ask students who picked a particular side why they voted that way. For example, “My birthday is in the first half of the year. It’s on the 6th of March” or “Actually, my favourite day of the week is Sunday. On Sunday, I see my grandparents”. 

It’s a straightforward way to encourage critical thinking in English, and you can increase the intensity depending on your students' skills. It can even lead to debates in the classroom , which are incredibly fun!

Breaking the ice: crucial, fun and very worthwhile

The longer you teach, the more fun, engaging ice-breaker games you’ll develop. They’re fantastic for relieving initial tension in a quiet classroom and helping students engage with English practically. These particular games don’t have to only be for breaking the ice, though. If you get a particularly good response, these games can be used over and over!

Fostering positive relationships with your students and creating a fun, engaging classroom atmosphere is crucial. Your pupils will thrive when they feel challenged, invested in their tasks and curious to learn more. These games help build the right learning environment, where you and your students alike can thrive and build confidence.

A rewarding career in teaching starts with a highly-accredited TEFL course from The TEFL Org, but which course is right for you? Take our quiz today and find out which direction to take!