Looking for some nice ice-breakers for advanced students

[moonlike]

Hi
I would really appreciate it if you provide some of your greatest experiences regarding cool ice-breakers for advanced students, especially the first day of teaching them. Honestly speaking I've surfed the net but so far I haven't managed to find a cool one. My students have been classmates for 5 terms so find-some one type game is kind of mind-numbing, I think. I really want to make the best first impression, so if anything crossed your mind, could you please drop me a line.

Thanks a million.

[5jj]

They are advanced students who have been together for five terms. Even if you come up with the ice-breaker to end all ice-breakers, they may have had it inflicted on them before. I would just introduce myself very briefly, and then get each student to introduce the student on their right and tell me one interesting thing they know about that person. This is a little different from the self-introductions they have probably done many times, and might bring up an amusing little anecdote. It will also give you an opportunity for follow-up questions if you wish.

[moonlike]

Thanks, I liked it. The problem is that they have had 2 straight terms with me, we know each other kind of well.
You know something that came to my mind was
1. Having a board game to let them learn some idioms and phrasal verbs (they really love learning new words)
2. Preparing some questions to be discussed and then getting feedback.

Thanks a lot.

[billmcd]

Hi
I would really appreciate it if you provide some of your greatest experiences regarding cool ice-breakers for advanced students, especially the first day of teaching them. Honestly speaking I've surfed the net but so far I haven't managed to find a cool one. My students have been classmates for 5 terms so find-some one type game is kind of mind-numbing, I think. I really want to make the best first impression, so if anything crossed your mind, could you please drop me a line.

Thanks a million.

I have used what is known in the U.S as "Whispering Down the Alley". If you are not familiar with this ice breaker, choose a short (very short) humorous story/joke in advance and from the group select a student, take them aside and relate the story. Have the student repeat the story to another stident privately. Repeat until all students have related/listened to the story until heard by the last student at which time he/she must relate the story out loud. The result can be interesting from both the language usage and story integrity standpoint.

[moonlike]

Thanks that was also cool. As I was googling on the net I came across two nice sites here are the links for those who are interested in more games.

EFL Classroom suggests ...
Games for Speaking English | eHow.com

[Esredux]

The one I like most might be called 'Senses': draw a five-column chart on the board - you might want your students to predict what it could be about. Elicit what senses we have, i.e. hearing, taste, sight, smell and touch and write them into each column. Then reasonably quickly dictate 10-12 words/phrases and ask the SS to sort them out into the column they think they fit in better - do not give them much time to think. It could be the vocabulary you'd like to revise or just random words. Allow enough time for pair work to compare the charts and encourage Ss to give their reasons, then feedback. The activity could be adjusted to any level and requires practically no preparation. It could also be a good starting point to get to know each other better.

[Tdol]

How about skipping ice-breakers and getting stuck in?

[5jj]

How about skipping ice-breakers and getting stuck in?

How many times have I said that to inexperienced teachers?

I have shocked some teachers I have observed by saying that there is no law that prescribes an ice-breaker/warmer at the start of a lesson and closer at the end. A good lesson does not have to follow a P-P-P (or E-S-A or whatever) pattern. I do get annoyed with trainers and observers who seem to believe that what is recommended on a CELTA/Trinity course is the only way to teach.

What trainees learn on such courses is methods and techniques that have been shown to be (usually) successful and effective. That does not mean that they are the only ways. What is often forgotten is that both Cambridge and Trinity stress that their certificates are initial qualifications. What has been learnt on such courses enables somebody with no previous experience to have a fair chance of surviving their first appointment without doing too much harm to their students or themselves.

If teachers have established a good rapport with their students, there is no absolute need for a 'warmer' as such. Why should one need to 'warm' an already warm relationship?

I must stress that I am not suggesting that newly-qualified teachers reject everything they have learnt on their initial training course. No. Much of what they learnt will be valuable ten years later. What I am suggesting is that the helpful guidelines they learnt should be treated as such, not as rigid laws.

So, moonlike, don't agonise about having to find an appropriate ice-breaker. Think about how you are going to introduce the topic you want your students to cope with.

[Esredux]

How many times have I said that to inexperienced teachers?

I have shocked some teachers I have observed by saying that there is no law that prescribes an ice-breaker/warmer at the start of a lesson and closer at the end. A good lesson does not have to follow a P-P-P (or E-S-A or whatever) pattern. I do get annoyed with trainers and observers who seem to believe that what is recommended on a CELTA/Trinity course is the only way to teach.

What trainees learn on such courses is methods and techniques that have been shown to be (usually) successful and effective. That does not mean that they are the only ways. What is often forgotten is that both Cambridge and Trinity stress that their certificates are initial qualifications. What has been learnt on such courses enables somebody with no previous experience to have a fair chance of surviving their first appointment without doing too much harm to their students or themselves.

If teachers have established a good rapport with their students, their is no absolute need for a 'warmer' as such. Why should one need to 'warm' an already warm relationship?

I must stress that I am not suggesting that newly-qualified teachers reject everything they have learnt on their initial training course. No. Much of what they learnt will be valuable ten years later. What I am suggesting is that the helpful guidelines they learnt should be treated as such, not as rigid laws.

So, moonlike, don't agonise about having to find an appropriate ice-breaker. Think about how you are going to introduce the topic you want your students to cope with.

This lashing out at 'inexperienced and newly-qualified CELTA/Trinity teachers' reads a bit weird since the original question was somewhat different, but politically is completely understood.

[5jj]

This lashing out at 'inexperienced and newly-qualified CELTA/Trinity teachers' reads a bit weird since the original question was somewhat different, but politically is completely understood.

I was not lashing out at inexperienced teachers. If I was lashing out at anything, it was at the trainers who left beginning teachers with the idea that they had to teach in a prescribed way. I have an enormous amount of sympathy for beginning teachers who have been brainwashed into thinking that there is only one set way to plan a lesson.

I have perhaps to apologise to moonlike for giving the impression that I consider her to be an inexperiencd teacher. I did not intend to give this impression; I was merely trying to suggest that it is not essential to begin every lesson with an icebreaker/a warmer.