Start your Class Off in Style with this ESL Warm-Up Activity
Would You Rather? is a fun ESL warm-up activity. You can buy ready-made decks, but they aren’t ESL specific. I use self-made cards, which takes a bit of time buy then you can recycle them from class to class. Another options is to just make a list of questions. If you’re quick on your feet, you can do this without materials.
For example, “Would you rather have eyes like a fly’s, or eyes like a spider’s?” Students must choose one and explain why.
If you class is small, you can do this as a single group. Each student can answer the question, and you can too! If the class is a bit larger, I prefer to work in small groups of 3-4, giving each group part of the deck of cards. This helps make your class more student-centred and increases student talking time. If you want to work in groups, but haven’t prepared questions in advance, state two choices and give each group 1-2 minutes to discuss amongst themselves.
Procedure for Would you Rather?
- In advance, prepare cards with two choices, the odder, the better. For example, “Would you rather have eyes like a fly’s, or eyes like a spider’s?” If you want to do this without cards, simply give students two choices and 1-2 minutes to discuss.
Divide students into groups of 3-4 and give each group an equal portion of the deck of question cards.
Have students take turns choosing a card to ask their group, or read aloud and give their own answer.
Like this ESL Warm-Up Activity?
If you liked this ESL warm-up activity, then you’ll need to check out this book: 39 ESL Warm-Ups: For Teenagers and Adults. There are enough fun, engaging and interesting ESL warm-ups to start off every one of your classes in style.
Chances are your students haven’t spoken a word of English since your last class. If this is your situation, then you’ll need to do your best to ease students into it. I find that going directly into the lesson is less than ideal! It’s best to start with something light and fun, but in English. Once everyone is warm-up, dive into your main lesson for the day. If this sounds awesome and you’re looking for fresh new ideas for ESL warm-ups, check out the book on Amazon. It’s available in both digital and print formats.
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