Our Icebreaker Activity with ESL students Elizabeth Sheppard
The idea of sharing personal information with fellow students is a very good one. It helps everyone bond and become more of a tight-knit class. ESL students can use this same exercise. Also, people don’t seem as “foreign” if we start knowing something about their families and lives. We find out that our fellow students are a lot like us, and we can start to think of them as friends.
If an ESL class doesn?t as yet write English as well as they speak it, perhaps they could do a film sharing their spoken answers about themselves, or they could tape-record their answers to be played back for the class.
This same kind of activity can be combined into a game, too, which is especially useful to younger students. Each student (before they know each other too well) could be asked to quiz the other to find out more about them as an alternate Icebreaker activity to help the whole class learn about the other students. After they interviewed each other, the person could share what they learned with the class. We use this activity in some of our Education classes to get to know each other. Students who were not able to converse with each other yet or are having difficulty with English might write about themselves in their native language and have it translated by somebody at the school, or have someone in the class translate it for them.
There is a lot I don’t know about ESL teaching, and I am only beginning to learn about teaching methods in my classes this semester, so I looked online for suggestions and hints for using the Icebreaker Activity or activities like it in an ESL class.
On the great website, “Dave’s ESL Cookbook”, (also mentioned by Dr. Eckard), I noticed that there are some great activities that use the “introduction” format. One is called the “Welcome Book” activity.
Here the teacher explains it:
“I'm at a school where I came in to teach roughly halfway through the academic year. The students (advanced level learners) had had a rather rough go of things the first half due to aspects of their culture shock that went completely ignored. So I turned this into an activity in which they can help others who may find themselves in the same shoes, as all foreign students to the States inevitably will: My students created an entire book of personal stories that can be read by new students in order to help them feel a little more comfortable in their new and wild environment. The stories all included an introduction (who, where from, age, etc, so that stu's felt a connection) and then stories about how they felt when they first arrived, what their culture shock was like, and ultimately how things turned out in the end for them. I had great students who insisted on helping the incomers and not frightening them, so they thought of all the positive aspects of being here. With a little enthusiasm it turned into a terrific and really positive project. Each student created their own story, and then I put everything together, printed it up like a book, and now my school uses it as part of the welcoming package. My new students love it, and I can see the sigh of relief on their face the day after they read it. It has been a huge hit. Good luck!”
I think the students would like to write the stories (and perhaps illustrate them?) and other students would benefit by reading them, and realizing that they are not alone, and that they CAN learn English, just like the author did.
Students who graduate or move to another school could leave the “Welcome” books that they wrote for ESL class for other students who speak their language. They could write half of the book in their original language and half in English, either on their own or with help.
This could be a great resource for teachers to use when new students who speak the same language as the ?Welcome book? writer come into class.
The web link for the “Welcoming book” exercise is here:
cafe.com/ideas/sefer.cgi?display:1055552436-89600.txt
In the example, the Welcome Book is used in the new student packet and handed out to new ESL students.
Finished information about students could also be posted in the classroom so that everyone in the ESL class could see interesting information about each student. (And parents could admire their student?s work). They could put their pictures or photos up, too, and share their favorite hobbies and interests with the class.
Students could prepare an “Introduction” all about themselves and their culture as part of an ESL class. It would be like an older student “Show and Tell”. This would help students explain about themselves and feel more a part of the group. This idea could be used with all ages.
If I were going to use a question and answer format for my class’s Icebreaker, I would explain what each sentence meant for students who didn’t understand English well. Perhaps there would be a translation available for some students. A lot would depend on the level of English proficiency of my students. Perhaps adding some pictures or illustrations of concepts and/or questions to the quiz would be helpful to students’ understanding. For younger students, perhaps a picture of a family above a family question would be in order.
Here’s another really great activity/game called “Interview Bingo” that runs along the same lines as our Icebreaker activity too, but is great for an ESL class. Again, you are accomplishing many different objectives -- affective ones, like helping your class climate and bonding students together, plus it?s just plain fun!
(from cafe.com/ideas/sefer.cgi?display:913434357-27934.txt
“Give students a 5x5 bingo sheet with questions that can be answered either "yes" or "no". ex. Can you ski? Have you been to Tokyo Disneyland? etc. Any questions will do. After reading/repeating the questions together once with the teacher, the students stand up and
interview their classmates. If their classmate says yes that classmate signs the bingo sheet. The object is to get bingo (five classmates signatures in a row). The center square is a "free question" (students may ask any questions they wish. To get students to talk to as many students as possible I select questions like , "Are you in the volleyball club?" etc. When students get bingo they go to the teacher. I put Snoopy stamps on their completed sheets. This game is a proven winner in Japanese junior high schools. I've been using it 4 years with all three grade levels and it has never failed.
Give it a try.
Michael Lindley
”
I could see this bingo game being used with older students too -- perhaps with an alternative reward to Snoopy stamps, though. How about pizza coupons or points that can be used at the end of a Unit for class prizes? What about a new book or comic written in English? What about extra time awarded at the computer doing an English ESL Webquest?
To wind up, I really enjoyed our Icebreaker exercise -- it helped me learn more about my fellow students. I believe that this exercise or one using its premise -- would really help ESL students as well. The class would get to practice English and get to know each other at the same time.