When you are teaching English as a foreign language, you do not want to jump right into the lesson. Instead, you should begin class with some fun warm-up activities to review the previous class’ information, introduce the new material, and engage the students. With so many classes a week, it can sometimes be difficult to come up with great warm-up activities for your class. This is why we have put together a list of fun warm-ups that can be adapted to any age group!

Sing a song

Singing a song is a fun way to engage the students, help with pronunciation, and introduce new vocabulary. For example, if the subject material of the class is feelings, a great song to begin class with is “If you’re happy and you know it”. This song covers several different feelings and demonstrates actions associated with them. A song will also help with the student’s memory to learn the material.

Watch a music video

Along the lines of singing a song, is watching a music video. This not only visually stimulating for the students but also engages them in the same way as singing a song does.

Simon Says

Another great way to warm up students is to physically warm up their bodies. Simon says engages students both physically and mentally. By using the vocabulary learned in previous classes, you will be reinforcing what they have already learned while preparing them for the new lesson.

Interviews

One way to have students warm up is to have them interview one another. This will test their vocabulary knowledge and engage them, as they will be discussing topics that interest them with their friends. It will also enable them to get more practice of real conversations between their peers.

I went to the market…

One of the best ways to warm up is to play games with the students. A fun way to review vocabulary, test students’ memory, and engage them is to play “I went to the market”. To play the game, one student begins by saying “I went to the market and bought…” and states an item. The next student repeats the sentence with the item and adds another item. The game continues until a student forgets or repeats an item.

Find someone

Another fun game for students to play is to “find someone”. Each student will receive a piece of paper with a bingo board set up. Within each box, it will say, “find someone who likes/dislike…” with different items. The students must walk around and talk to their peers until they find someone who likes or dislikes that item. The first student to get “bingo” (5 in a row) wins.

These are just a few of the fun warm-up activities you can do to engage students and start your class.

What fun activities do you like to do with your students to begin class?