Interview Icebreaker for the First Day of Class

ESL Introduction Activity for Pre-Intermediate Students and Above

Aug 23, 2008 Katherine Kocisky

With this lesson, a teacher can develop rapport with students and guarantee laughs on the first day of class by allowing the class to interview him or her.

Aside from establishing classroom expectations and rules, an ESL teacher's duty is to develop a positive rapport with his or her students. The following activity works well in a class where the students already know each other and would not benefit from asking each other get-to-know-you questions. Instead, it focuses on the teacher, while the class works together to predict and find answers about the teacher. For this lesson to work, a minimum of two students is needed. However, it is far more interesting and diverse if the class size is bigger.

Interview Icebreaker Lesson Procedure

  1. Teacher briefly introduces him or herself by name and asks pairs of students to brainstorm three to four questions that they'd like to ask the teacher.
  2. Teacher selects or asks for two students, preferably outgoing and with strong English, to come to the front of the class.
  3. Teacher tells the class that they are to imagine that volunteer one and two are the teacher. The rest of the class must ask their questions to the two volunteers, who must predict what the teacher might say. For example: a student asks volunteer one, "Where are you from?" The volunteer mustn't state where he or she is from, but where he or she thinks the teacher is from: "I'm from Hollywood." This part of the lesson usually generates the most laughter. The next question goes to volunteer two. The two alternate fielding questions until the activity is over.
  4. Teacher must record all questions and answers, writing quickly, while students continue interrogating the volunteers.
  5. When students run out of questions, teacher asks the class if they'd like to know the real answers to their questions. Were the volunteers correct or not?
  6. When they say yes, the teacher repeats all the questions, then states his or her genuine answers. Students may ask follow-up questions.

It helps if the teacher has a sense of humor, but the teacher still needs to draw the line if an inappropriate question is asked. If the class has difficulty thinking of questions or is simply a quiet group, the teacher can divide students into teams and motivate them with competition. Afterward, the team with the most questions answered correctly by the volunteers wins a prize.

Lesson Benefits

  • Teacher can evaluate the students' overall level of English, particularly their ability to form questions.
  • No planning is required.
  • Teacher develops rapport with students and creates an comfortable classroom atmosphere, open for discussion.

Because the class works together to create questions and make predictions, they're more interested in hearing the real answers than if the teacher simply states facts. In turn, students are more eager to share their own information.

The copyright of the article Interview Icebreaker for the First Day of Class in Language Study is owned by Katherine Kocisky. Permission to republish Interview Icebreaker for the First Day of Class in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
ESL Classroom Set Up for Interview Icebreaker, Katherine Kocisky ESL Classroom Set Up for Interview Icebreaker