First lessons - Icebreakers

Some teachers start their young learners' language lesson by using an icebreaker. What are icebreakers? Icebreakers are exactly that! They ‘break the ice’ between children or adults who don't know each other.

Icebreakers are needed in any social setting. Imagine you are at a party and don't know most of the people there. You probably don't feel very comfortable. Nobody introduces you to anybody. You feel alone. As time passes, you possibly want to leave the party early and promise yourself never to go to another party!

The same thing happens in the language classroom, which is, after all, a social experience. It’s very important that you help your learners get to know each other better as well as getting to know you, the teacher. Otherwise, they won’t feel comfortable, and they won’t be able to learn.

At the start of a course, different teachers do different things. Some start with page one of the coursebook and some spend a lot of time explaining what is going to happen in the children's own language. Others may choose more formal activities which set a tone of discipline and control for the rest of the year. How do you start your first English lesson?

One common activity at the beginning of an English class is learning each other's names. Thinking of yourself as both a child and a teacher, watch the three activities below on video. As you observe, consider your answers to the following questions:

· Which activity would create the most or least stress for you?

· Which activity would allow you to get to know others in the group most effectively?

· Which activity would encourage the most participation from every student in the class?

· Which activity do you think may take up too much class time?

· Would you use any of these activities with your classes? Why? Why not?

· Do you think you would have to do more name-learning activities on a different day? Why? Why not?

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