10 First Day Activities for an ESL Class
10th August 2024
Brainstorming Greetings and Introductions
This English exercise focuses on categorizing greetings and introductions. It covers formal and informal expressions for greetings and introductions, as well as conversation starters. Students match phrases to categories and are encouraged to add their own examples.
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Greetings and Introductions Critical Thinking Exercises
The critical thinking exercises consist of two parts: identifying mismatched words in related groups and categorizing expressions as polite, impolite, or neutral. Students learn to recognize appropriate language for different social situations. The exercise helps develop understanding of context and tone in communication. It aims to improve students’ social interaction skills in English.
Greetings and Introductions Pronunciation Practice
This exercise enhances English language learners’ listening and pronunciation skills, focusing on greetings and introductions. It comprises two parts:
- A listening discrimination task where students identify specific words from similar-sounding options, improving their ability to distinguish subtle phonetic differences.
- A word and syllable stress exercise that helps learners recognize and produce the correct stress patterns in common phrases, which is crucial for natural-sounding speech.
Elementary Vocabulary Dictation
This visual vocabulary/picture matching exercise provides context and allows students to connect vocabulary with real-world scenarios and concepts. It’s an effective way to reinforce language learning, especially for visual learners.
Introductions conversation (with answers and audio)
This is model dialogue for practicing language useful for greetings and introductions. Students listen and complete the conversation with the vocabulary in the box.
Introductions conversation (PDF)
“Getting to know you” conversation/ listening exercise (with audio and possible answers)
This is another elementary and introductory speaking skills and listening exercise to encourage students to write their own “getting to know you” questions and answers.
Greetings & introductions vocabulary exercise
This is an elementary ESL exercise for practicing language useful for greetings and introductions. Students try to match the greetings and introductions with appropriate pictures.
Greetings and introductions conversation 2
This is another elementary gap fill conversation exercise.
Family/relationship survey speaking activity
A fun and reliable elementary present simple tense speaking activity for a large class. The great thing about it is that it works at really elementary levels. The teacher models the activity using the survey template drawn on the board. Students then move around the classroom talking to at least five other students. During the survey part of the activity the teacher is free to monitor the students and also participate, having an opportunity to speak to students individually. As the students are finishing their surveys, the teacher can write a model report on the board.
Family relationship survey (PDF)
Related Resources:
Create-a-Conversation Exercises
Eslflow’s listening activities
8 Classroom Language and Vocabulary Exercises
4 Picture-Based Present Continuous Tense Worksheets
9 Super Elementary Speaking Exercises
5 Elementary Conversational Expressions Exercises
10 Really! Elementary ESL classroom icebreakers
7 Essential Speaking Activities for ESL Classes
3 Great Icebreakers to Start a Class
8 Invitation and Request Dialogues for Everyday Scenarios
Getting to know you survey speaking activity
This another fun and reliable survey speaking activity for a large class. It’s a little bit more advanced than the activity above. The teacher models the activity using the example questions and a survey template drawn on the board. Students are then encouraged to write their own questions. During the survey part of the activity the teacher is free to monitor the students and also participate, having an opportunity to speak to students individually. As the students are finishing their surveys, the teacher can write a model report on the board.
These worksheets are brilliant. Really imaginative, interesting and above all FUN.
Thank you so much for your time and effort in producing them.
Best wishes
Pat Gilchrist
Thank you so much, they are great activities, greatly aprecciated!
they will be used today to see then I ‘ll know how well they were received and understood by my beginning ESL class. They look very interesting. Love the photos and graphics.
thank you sooo much these worksheets are amazing.
Thanks for the comments. it encourages me to keep going.
Thank you for such great ideas! I have been looking for ideas for online tutoring. These are excellent!
Thanks for such great and interesting ideas.