I need an icebreaker/warmer/fun activity...

harmless_little_f***
harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
edited November 2007 in All Encompassing Trip
for a bunch of non-English speakers to kick off an English lesson. Any ideas?
'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

- the great Sir Leo Harrison
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    how old are they? have they met each other earlier? :)
    "Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
  • harmless_little_f***
    harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    eMMI wrote:
    how old are they? have they met each other earlier? :)

    They are all adults of post-college age. And no, they probably won't have met.
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    harmless_little_f*** wrote:
    They are all adults of post-college age. And no, they probably won't have met.

    ok. :) I was just asking cause naturally you'd do different things with kids than adults. with kids you could have a sorta running about game, but those usually don't go down well with grown ups. :D

    I can try and think of something. I know quite a few warm up/gamey thingies but can never think of one when I need to. lol.
    "Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
  • harmless_little_f***
    harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    eMMI wrote:
    ok. :) I was just asking cause naturally you'd do different things with kids than adults. with kids you could have a sorta running about game, but those usually don't go down well with grown ups. :D

    I can try and think of something. I know quite a few warm up/gamey thingies but can never think of one when I need to. lol.

    I need it for tomorrow so sorry for the short notice, but if you have any ideas give us a shout :D
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • dunkman
    dunkman Posts: 19,646
    naked Twister
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    harmless_little_f*** wrote:
    I need it for tomorrow so sorry for the short notice, but if you have any ideas give us a shout :D

    yeah, I'm thinking as I type. *thinks* :p
    "Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
  • Jennytree
    Jennytree Posts: 5,340
    Get them to listen to Speed Metal as they try juggle??

    no?



    *buries head in sand*
    This is me:
    http://www.facebook.com/jennytree

    SMELL YER MA!
  • harmless_little_f***
    harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    dunkman wrote:
    naked Twister

    Yep, the unspoken language of writhing bodies. Well if all else fails...
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • Sonja_S
    Sonja_S Vienna Posts: 444
    If you say non-English speakers do you mean they don't speak any English at all or is there some existing knowledge of the language?
    You can tell a man from what he has to say - Neil & Tim Finn
    They love you so badly for sharing their sorrow, so pick up that guitar and go break a heart - Kris Kristofferson
  • rival.
    rival. Chicago Posts: 7,775
    dunkman wrote:
    naked Twister

    beat me to it!

    bastard!
  • harmless_little_f***
    harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    Sonja_S wrote:
    If you say non-English speakers do you mean they don't speak any English at all or is there some existing knowledge of the language?

    They're entry level 2/lower intermediate so they know a little bit conversationally.
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • Sonja_S
    Sonja_S Vienna Posts: 444
    harmless_little_f*** wrote:
    They're entry level 2/lower intermediate so they know a little bit conversationally.

    You could ask everyone to briefly (about 1 or 2 minute) talk about a hobby of theirs and immediately after they start talking give them a piece of paper with something they have to say or do during that time. The others then have to guess what is on that sheet of paper. That usually lightens the mood and it's a lot more interesting than the 'Hi, my name is Bob' introduction round that everyone hates ;-) Also it happens so fast that people don't overthink what they're saying.
    You can tell a man from what he has to say - Neil & Tim Finn
    They love you so badly for sharing their sorrow, so pick up that guitar and go break a heart - Kris Kristofferson
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    most of the stuff I can think of is mainly aimed for young kids..

    but one that might be fun is called "Toothless animals". your teeth can't show at any point of the game, not even when you're laughing. this doesn't mean that your mouth needs to be shut, your lips should be covering your teeth. lol. kinda like if you were pretending not having any teeth at all.

    so, you sit in a circle and choose who starts. that person says a name of an animal (like "cow") to the person on their right. and their teeth can't be seen! so it'll sound ridiculous but fun. then the person next to the starter says "cow" to the person on their right. and so it goes on..

    you can change direction by choosing a different animal and saying it to the person on your left.

    laughing is allowed and practically impossible to avoid but your teeth can't show. if this happens, you're out. (of course that rule can be adjusted.)


    that's what I came to my mind, don't think it fits, that's fine. :D
    "Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
  • Get_Right
    Get_Right Posts: 14,130
    bowling

    edit: oh in the classroom?

    cant help ya sorry
  • gabers
    gabers Posts: 2,787
    This idea is stolen from Stripes:

    Sing "Do Run Run"
  • mookie9999
    mookie9999 Posts: 4,677
    harmless_little_f*** wrote:
    for a bunch of non-English speakers to kick off an English lesson. Any ideas?


    Take off pants fully exposed and go over male anatomy. Then tuck away press your chest together and go over female anatomy.
    "The leads are weak!"

    "The leads are weak? Fuckin' leads are weak? You're Weak! I've Been in this business 15 years"

    "What's your name?"

    "FUCK YOU! THAT"S MY NAME!"
  • wash_
    wash_ Posts: 1,073
    When I did my TEFL course our ice breaker was to stand in a circle and throw a ball to one another and ask questions, "whats your name", "where're you from" etc...

    Pretty basic, but useful for you as a teacher and the other students to know a bit more about them.
    2006 ░▒▓ Astoria, Dublin, Leeds, Reading, Lisbon, Paris, Verona, Athens
    2007 ░▒▓ London, Dusseldorf, Copenhagen, Nijmegen
    2009 ░▒▓ Manchester, London
    2010 ░▒▓ Hyde Park

    *§* Music is all the juice i'll need *§*

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