EFL warm up exercises

I'll be starting my classes in the next couple of weeks and of course that means getting to know new students. It is something that always leaves me feeling a little nervous, even after seventeen years of teaching. Still, a few opening night nerves never did anyone any harm and helps me remember that every class is different. One exercise that I use to help students get to know me and each other is a time - line. I originally saw it in Teaching Adult Second Language Learners by Heather McKay. It also is a good way of starting off private lessons as well.

Basically what you do is draw a line on the board (or a piece of paper) and at five or six points which represent an important event in your life but in note form. For example;

born 1978
high school in 1994,
driving test in 1998
Lydia 1999.

The students have to use the notes to guess what happened at those various points in your life and think of questions to ask you about them.

For example, You graduated high school in 1994. Where did you go to school? What was it like? etc. Then students create their own time - lines and with their partner (preferably somebody thay don't now) and do the exercise in pairs.

I think it's extemely important to create a sense of community in the classroom as quickly as possible. If students get to know each other then they will more comfortable pushing their English to its limits. In a positive, accepting atmosphere students take more "risks", i.e. attempt things that they may get wrong. Without such experimentation progress becomes much more difficult.