ESL Drama Games and Icebreakers

These four ESL drama games and icebreakers help children practise speaking, listening and working together through playful activities. Adapt the language and pace to suit your group.

1. Greetings

Level: Beginners and above
Language focus: Greetings and introductions
Participants: At least 3
Resources: Clear space

Invite the children to walk around the room in different directions. Give them 30 seconds to greet as many people as possible, shaking hands if appropriate and saying, “Hello, my name is … Pleased to meet you.”

Extension

Ask children to greet one another in different imagined situations. For example:

• Meeting someone they have not seen for ten years
• Meeting someone who owes them money
• Greeting someone with bad breath
• Greeting someone they are very fond of
• Meeting someone they do not like
• Greeting someone they feel suspicious of
• Meeting someone they are frightened of

2. Snowballs

Level: Pre-intermediate and above
Language focus: Statements and questions
Participants: At least 4
Resources: Paper, pens and clear space

Give each child a piece of paper and ask them to write one statement about themselves. Everyone scrunches their paper into a ball and places or gently tosses it into the middle of the circle. Children mix the paper balls until the educator calls “Stop!”

Each child picks up a paper ball, reads the statement and asks classmates questions to discover who wrote it. If the group knows one another well, encourage less obvious statements.

3. Roll the Ball

Level: Beginners and above
Language focus: Names, turn-taking and listening
Participants: At least 4
Resources: A ball and clear space

Ask the children to sit in a circle with their legs apart. They roll a ball to one another while saying:

Roll the ball, roll the ball,
Roll the ball to (name).
(Name) has got the ball,
Roll it back to me.

Repeat, inviting children to choose different names.

4. Data Processing

Level: Elementary and above
Language focus: Asking questions and listening
Participants: At least 4
Resources: Clear space

Ask the class to work together to form a line in a particular order. They may organise themselves by:

• First name, alphabetically
• Surname, alphabetically
• Best friend’s name, alphabetically
• Hair length
• Shoe size
• Birthday
• Number of brothers and sisters

Extension

Challenge more advanced groups to organise themselves without speaking, using only gesture and movement.

Related: Drama activities for ESL students and the ESL drama activities hub. Further reading: British Council TeachingEnglish.