Getting to Know You ESL Activities, Games and Icebreakers
In this intriguing getting to know you game, students discover secrets about their classmates by asking yes/no getting to know you questions. First, students write secrets about themselves on cards. Each secret can be an interesting fact or something unique that is unknown to the rest of the class. Students then fold up their secret cards and put them in a box. Next, each student takes one card from the box and silently reads the secret on the card. After that, students form a yes/no question about the secret on their card to find out who wrote it. Students then walk around the class asking one another the question to find out whose secret they have. When a student finds the right person, they write the person’s name on the card, keep it, and take another card from the box. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
In this useful first day of class speaking activity, students write get to know you questions to ask a new classmate and then interview them and use the information to introduce them to the class. First, students read five interview questions and create five more getting to know you questions of their own to ask a partner. In pairs, students then take turns asking their partner the questions, noting down the answers. Next, students use their partner's answers to complete an introductory text, creating five more sentences of their own. Lastly, students introduce their partner to the class by reading the text aloud. As the other students listen, they write down questions they want to ask the student being introduced. Students then ask these questions at the end of each introduction.
In this free getting to know you speaking activity, students conduct a survey to get to know their classmates and find out information about them. Students go around the class asking questions with Do you...? or Are you...? in order to complete statements on the worksheet. When a student finds a classmate who answers 'yes' to a question, they complete the corresponding sentence with their name and ask a follow-up question to gain more information, noting down the response. If a classmate replies 'no', the student asks a different question or moves on to speak to another student. Afterwards, students give feedback to the rest of the class on what they found out.
Here is a productive first day of class speaking activity to help students introduce each other. In the activity, students complete an introductory text by writing getting to know you questions and asking them to a classmate. First, students read the introductory text and complete the ten questions they need to ask to complete the text. Students then pair up with someone they don’t know very well and take it in turns to ask the questions to their partner and complete the text with their answers. Finally, students introduce their partner to the class by reading the text aloud.
In this insightful getting to know you questions activity, students interview each other and share personal information to find people who would make compatible flatmates. In pairs, students take it in turns to interview their partner by asking the get to know you questions on the worksheet and noting down the answers. Students then compare their answers and decide if they would make good flatmates or not. Next, each pair joins with another pair. Students then take it in turns to share their partner's answers with the group to see if they would be compatible with any other students. Afterwards, there is a class feedback session to find out who would make compatible flatmates.
In this engaging getting to know you speaking activity, students practice asking for details to questions and building conversation. In two groups, students write short answers to questions on the worksheet. Students then pair up with someone from the other group and give them their answers. Next, students take it in turns to ask their partner questions to find out more details about their answers using the language provided. Finally, students share what they found out about their partner with the class.
In this free getting to know you questions game, students race to make questions from answers given by other students. To begin, students look at their question cards and complete sentences with answers that are true for them. Students then take it in turns to pick up the top card from their pile and read out the answer on the card to the group, e.g. 'In the future, I want to travel the world'. The other students then race to say the question that they think corresponds to the answer. The first student to say the question written on the reader's card wins and keeps the card, e.g. 'What do you want to do in the future?' The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. As an extension, students read the questions on the cards they won and each group member answers the question in turn.
In this light-hearted icebreaker game, students guess information about a partner and form questions to ask them to find out the truth. Assign each student with a partner from the other group, keeping the two groups separate. Working alone, students read the statements on their worksheet and indicate whether they think they are true or not for their partner. Next, students write down the questions they need to ask their partner to find out the truth. Students then pair up with their assigned partner and take it in turns to ask each other their questions. For each correct guess, students put a tick. Students also ask follow-up questions to find out more details. The student with the most correct guesses wins the game.
Here is a handy first day of class speaking activity for intermediate students. In the icebreaker activity, students create getting to know you questions, interview a partner using the questions, and then introduce them to the class using the information they found out. First, students complete the worksheet with getting to know you questions that they would like to ask their partner. When the students have written 12 questions each, they take it in turns to ask and answer the questions with their partner. Students write their partner's answers in sentence form in the space next to each question. Afterwards, students introduce their partner to the class using the information.
In this interesting getting to know you speaking activity, students write information about themselves and then hand it to a partner who has to find out why the student wrote the information and ask follow-up questions. Students start by writing short answers to questions in shapes on the worksheet. Students then give the shapes part of the worksheet to their partner. Next, students take it in turns to ask their partner why they wrote the information in the shapes, e.g. 'Why did you write Spain in shape number 2?' Their partner then explains their answer, e.g. 'I wrote Spain because I went there on my last holiday'. Next, the student asks follow-up questions to gain more information. The two students continue taking it in turns to find out why their partner wrote the information in the shapes until all the information has been revealed. Afterwards, students report back to the class on the most interesting things they found out about their partner.
This fun geting to know you board game can be used as an icebreaker activity on the first day of class to help students talk about themselves and become acquainted with one another. Students take it in turns to roll the dice and move their counter along the board. When a student lands on a square, they talk about the get to know you topic on the square. While the student is talking, the other students listen and ask follow-up questions or join in with their opinions. The first student to reach the finish wins the game.
Here is an enjoyable getting to know you speaking activity for the first day of class to help students find out interesting facts about one another. Students look at incomplete personal information statements on the worksheet and write the get to know you questions they need to ask to complete the statements, e.g. 'What's your earliest memory?' Students then go around the classroom asking each question to a different classmate and completing the statements with answers, e.g. 'Sophia's earliest memory is feeding ducks in a park'. When the students have finished, they share what they found out about each other in small groups and then with the class.
In this free icebreaker game, students give true and false personal information and their classmates ask questions to help them decide if the information is true or false. First, students complete ten personal information statements on the worksheet. Five of the statements must be true and five must be false. Students indicate which statement is which by putting a tick for true or a cross for false. In groups of four, students then take it in turns to read their ten statements to the group. As the students listen to each statement, they ask questions to help them decide if the reader is lying or telling the truth. Students then decide if the statement is true or false by marking their guess with a tick or cross. Afterwards, students reveal which statements were true and which were false. Students score one point for each correct guess. The student with the most points wins the game.
This memorable getting to know you speaking activity can be used as an icebreaker on the first day of class. Students take it in turns to pick up an alphabet card from the pile and look at the corresponding topic and question on the worksheet. The student then tells the group the topic and asks the other students the corresponding question. Each student answers the question in turn and the students generate a short discussion on the topic. The next student then picks up an alphabet card and the process continues. When the students have finished, they share any interesting or surprising information they found out about their classmates.
Here is a creative getting to know you activity to help students get to know a classmate and practice dependent prepositions at the same time. First, in two groups, students underline the correct preposition and complete each sentence with three words or short phrases so that it is true for them, e.g. 'I'm good at swimming, tennis, and drawing.' Next, students pair up with someone from the other group and take turns asking questions relevant to their sentences to see if they have something in common, e.g. 'Are you good at swimming?' If they have that thing in common, the student circles the word. If not, the student asks the same question again with the next word or phrase they wrote down, e.g. 'Are you good at tennis?' If, after asking three questions, the student hasn't found something in common, they cross out the sentence, and it is the other person's turn to ask a question. Afterwards, students refer to their findings and complete sentences about the things they have in common, skipping the sentences for which they didn't find anything. Lastly, students share their findings with the class.
In this rewarding getting to know you game, students talk about various topics for one minute to help them get to know each other and improve fluency. In groups, students take it in turns to pick up a card and talk about the topic on the card continuously for one minute. If a student manages to talk for one minute, they score a point. However, if the student hesitates too often, repeats information or stops talking before the time is up, they don't score anything. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins.
