Icebreakers

Icebreakers are simple, quick and enjoyable activities leading you and your students into the mood, decreasing the stress level of your students and engaging them into the language class.

Thus, here are some enjoyable examples that you can adapt for different age and level groups.

Icebreaker No:1 - Remember the name

1. Tell your students to make a circle. (if possible)
2. Number them starting from one to five so that they know the order. (1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5...)
3. Tell your name and your favorite color/animal/food/actor (or a word describing themselves, or ask them simply make a special movement)
4. Ask the student with number one to repeat your name and the information you gave (Ayça - red)
5. Ask the student with number one to tell his/her name and favorite color.
6. Ask the student number two to repeat your name, the information you gave, student number one's name and his favorite color
7. Ask the student number two to tell his name and favorite color.
8. Continue the activity as a chain.
9. When number five completes his chain, ask the second group to start from their number one student.
10. At the end, you can challenge your students to repeat all the names and favorite colors.

Icebreaker No:2 - How are you today?

1. Ask your students to draw a triangle or a star.
2. Tell them to close their eyes and ask them "How are you today?" 
3. Make them think of their feelings for a minute. (You can use some music at this point)
4. Tell them to open their eyes.
5. Tell them to write how they feel on the corners of triangle or star.
6. If anybody volunteers, you can ask them share their feelings with the whole class.

Icebreaker No:3 - Flying vocabulary

1. Make a vocabulary based on your students' age and level.
2. Tell your students to take a piece of paper and listen.
3. Tell them the first word from your list and ask them to write what pops up in their minds first.
4. Continue telling the words from your list one by one.
5. You can ask your students to share their related vocabulary list and learn why those were the first words they thought.

Icebreaker No:4 - Yes or No

1. Prepare some yes-no questions. Those questions can totally be silly and fun or related to the previous/future topics.
2. Make the questions appropriate for personal answers. Don't prepare questions with a certain correct answer!
3. Tell your students that you are going to ask them some questions and they or going to answer them: yes, no or maybe
4. Ask your students compare their answers with their friends.
5. At the end, you can ask your students why they chose yes, no or maybe as an answer.

Icebreaker No:5 - This is my song!

1. Find a melody for your students. This can be from a famous song or something that non of your students know. 
2. Make your students listen to the melody.
3. Ask them to write lyrics to make this melody a mini-song in 3 mins.
4. Ask your volunteer students to sing the song for the class.
5. Ask the class to vote for the best/ most enjoyable/ most creative song(s).

The visual's source