Icebreaker: How have I changed?

ESL Icebreaker: Variant A

1. Print and cut out the cards. There should be 24 cards.
2. Students can work in pairs or as a class. Students choose a card at random (if you are working online, simply use the online cards provided or the text boxes on the PDF). Each card is composed of a category in blue, and three boxes: past, present and future.

1. If students are working in pairs, each takes a turn telling the other how this aspect of their has evolved by talking about the past and the present and what their plans are for this category in the future.

For example: food – When I was little I loved candies, cakes and everything sugar. Now I pay more attention to what I eat because I know sugar isn’t good for your health. I think food will become more and more processed and artificial, so I want to start cooking more at home.

2. The other student takes notes to be able to present this information to the class later. Encourage students to note down keywords rather than full sentences so they can better practice their speaking and presentation abilities. Pairs could also take this time to find things in common.
3. Next, students present a bit about their partner to the class according to the notes they took.

ESL Icebreaker: Variant B

1. If the class works together, each person writes one word in each box (past, present and future). It might be a verb, noun or adjective.
2. The student shows their card to the group and the others guess why they put this particular word in that box by asking yes or no questions.
   

   For example: food – past: the word is McDonald’s : “Did you eat a lot of McDonalds when you were younger?” – No.
   “Did you hate McDonald’s? – No
   “Did you eat McDonald’s when you celebrated something?” – Yes!

3. Now you can ask your student to elaborate. Ask your other students if they have similar memories, habits or plans for the future.

This activity not only allows your students to get to know each other better but also to recognize the changes we have made in our lives.

You can use these cards in any number of ways, not just how we have mentioned above. If you have any other great ideas, leave a comment below and tell us how you used them!