105 Fun ESL Warm-Up Questions and Activities for Adults
Are you looking for fun and engaging ways to kick off your ESL classes? Look no further! This collection of 105 fun ESL warm-up questions and activities for adults will help you break the ice, boost students’ confidence, and set the scene for a successful and enjoyable lesson.
These ESL warm-up questions can be used at the beginning of each class. They are a good way to introduce a new topic, review material from previous classes, or encourage communication and interaction from the offset. Ideal for busy teachers!
I have organised the conversation questions according to level so you can use this post with beginners to advanced English learners. Let’s start your English classes off on the right foot.
Key Takeaways
- Warm-up questions help create an engaging learning environment and boost student confidence.
- Tailor warm-up activities to individual interests, encourage follow-up questions & provide feedback for maximum effectiveness.
- Use virtual breakout rooms, polls & multimedia resources to adapt the warmer activity for online teaching.
Warm-Up Questions for Beginner ESL Students
For lower-level students, I suggest warm-up questions related to personal interests, family, and daily life. These are ideal for stimulating conversation and building communication skills on familiar topics.

These ESL conversation questions allow English learners to share their experiences and opinions while practising vocabulary related to their lives. While the questions have been written with adult learners in mind, they can also be adapted for younger students.
Personal Interests and Hobbies
- What is your favourite hobby, and why?
- Do you like to read? What kind of books do you enjoy?
- What kind of music do you like? Do you have a favourite band or singer?
- Do you enjoy cooking? What is your favourite dish to make?
- What sports do you like to watch or play?
- Do you have any pets? Tell us about them.
- What’s your favourite movie or TV show?
- Do you enjoy travelling? Where is your favourite place you’ve visited?
- What do you like to do at the weekend?
- Do you have any hobbies that you do with your family or friends?
Family and Friends
- Tell us about your family. How many brothers and sisters do you have?
- How do you usually celebrate your friends’ birthdays?
- Who is your best friend, and how did you meet?
- Do you prefer spending time with friends or family? Why?
- Can you tell me about a favourite memory with your family?
- What is your favourite family tradition or celebration?
- Who in your family do you talk to the most?
- What’s the best advice a friend or family member has given you?
- Do you look like any of your family members? Can you describe them?
- What’s something you love to do with your friends?
Everyday Life
- What is your daily routine on weekdays?
- How do you usually spend your weekends?
- What is your favourite meal of the day? Why?
- How do you usually travel to work or school?
- What is your favourite season and why?
- What’s your favourite local restaurant or café?
- What is your favourite way to relax after a long day?
- What is one thing you can’t live without? Why?
- How often do you go shopping for groceries or clothes?
- What’s something you want to learn how to do?
These ESL conversation questions are simple enough for beginners to understand but also open-ended to encourage conversation and personal expression among English learners. However, you can adapt them based on your knowledge of the students and ask relevant follow-up questions if appropriate.
The secret to effective ESL warm-ups is to build a welcoming atmosphere where students are comfortable expressing their ideas.
Warm-Up Questions for Intermediate ESL Students
For intermediate students, warm-up questions regarding travel and culture, current events, and examples of hypothetical situations provide engaging conversation starters.
Travel and Culture
- Have you ever travelled to a foreign country? What was your experience like?
- If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go and why?
- What is the most interesting cultural festival or event you have attended or heard of?
- How does the cuisine in your country differ from that in other countries you know about?
- Can you describe a traditional outfit or costume from your culture?
- What are some customs or traditions from your culture that others might find surprising?
- What cultural differences have you noticed between your country and others?
- Is there a language you would love to learn? Why?
- What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen in your travels?
- How do you think travelling affects a person’s view of the world?
Current Events and News
- What is a significant news event that you recently heard about?
- How do you usually get your news? Through television, newspapers, or online?
- What are your thoughts on the impact of social media on news consumption?
- Is there a global issue that you feel particularly strongly about?
- How do you think technology is changing the way we interact with the world?
- What are some environmental issues that concern you?
- How do you think the current global economic situation affects everyday people?
- What’s an important historical event that has shaped your country?
- Do you think space exploration is important? Why or why not?
- What’s a recent scientific discovery or technological advancement you find fascinating?
Hypothetical Situations
- If you could have any job in the world, what would it be and why?
- If you could live in any era of history, when would you choose and why?
- If you had a superpower, what would it be, and how would you use it?
- What would you do if you won a million dollars?
- If you could have dinner with any person from history, who would it be and why?
- If you could instantly learn any skill, what would it be?
- Imagine you’re stranded on a deserted island. What three items would you want to have with you?
- If you could change one event in history, what would it be and why?
- What would your perfect day look like?
- If you could live anywhere in the universe, where would you choose and why?
These conversation questions challenge students by stimulating conversation, developing critical thinking, and enhancing vocabulary and cultural knowledge. This makes them perfect for students looking to take their English-speaking skills to the next level.
At this level, students should also be refining pronunciation, so use this as an opportunity to identify any problematic areas.
Warm-Up Questions for Advanced Students
For advanced students, conversation questions on ethics, technology, and language present exciting and demanding conversation starters.
Your English students will be good conversationalists by this point, so these questions encourage deeper discussions, critical analysis and complex language structures.
Ethics and Values
- How do cultural backgrounds influence your personal ethics and values?
- What role do you think ethics should play in education and academic research?
- In what ways do you think technology is challenging traditional ethical norms?
- What role do you think education plays in shaping a person’s values?
- How do you view the ethical implications of climate change policies?
- What is your opinion on the concept of universal human rights?
- Is it ethical for companies to collect personal data for marketing purposes?
- What is your stance on the death penalty and why?
- How do you balance personal freedom with social responsibility?
- Can ethical behaviour be taught, or is it innate?
Technology and Innovation
- What technological innovation has had the biggest impact on your life?
- How do you think artificial intelligence will change the future of work?
- What are the ethical implications of advancements in genetic engineering?
- Discuss the impact of social media on personal relationships and society.
- How do you see virtual reality technology changing entertainment or education?
- What are the potential risks and benefits of self-driving cars?
- How important is it to have regulations on emerging technologies?
- What role should governments play in regulating the internet?
- Explain the advantages and disadvantages of becoming more dependent on technology in everyday life.
- How can technology be used to solve global environmental issues?
Language and Communication
- How has language shaped human history and culture?
- What do you think is the most important aspect of effective communication?
- How does language influence the way we think?
- Explain how languages influence our personal identity.
- What are the benefits and challenges of learning multiple languages?
- How has the internet changed the way languages evolve?
- What are your thoughts on the preservation of endangered languages?
- How does body language impact communication?
- Discuss the differences between verbal and written communication.
- How do you think language will evolve in the future?
Conversation questions are ideal discussions for small groups or the whole class, depending on the size and dynamics of the class. Higher-level students will be able to provide full and detailed answers. So while these are good warm ups, you can also build your English lessons around some of these topics to look at the vocabulary and grammar in more detail.
Start your Class with a Warm-Up Activity
Here are 15 great ideas that you can use in the ESL classroom as warm-up activities:
- Two Truths and a Lie: Participants state two true facts and one false fact about themselves. The rest of the class tries to guess which one is the lie.
- Role-play Conversations: Create scenarios (like ordering in a restaurant, asking for directions, etc.) where multiple students must act out a conversation in pairs or small groups.
- Picture Storytelling: Show a random picture and ask students to create a story around it. This can be done individually or in groups.
- Charades with Vocabulary: Students act out a word without speaking while others guess. Focus on new vocabulary or themes you’re studying.
- Find Someone Who: Prepare a list of statements (e.g., “Find someone who has visited another country”). Students must find classmates who match these statements.
- Word Association Game: Start with one word, and each student quickly says a word associated with the previous one. This can be tailored to the lesson’s vocabulary.
- Sentence Building Race: Give students a set of words and challenge them to create the longest, grammatically correct sentence.
- Cultural Exchange: Students share something about their culture or country, fostering cross-cultural understanding and conversation.
- ‘What’s in the Bag?’ Game: Place several objects in a bag. Students reach in, feel an object, and describe it (without looking) to the class.
- Alphabet Story: Create a story where each sentence begins with the following letter of the alphabet. Each student adds a sentence.
- Memory Challenge: Display a list of words for a minute. Hide them and then ask students to recall as many words as possible.
- Pictionary with Vocabulary Words: Similar to charades, but students draw the word instead of acting it out.
- Taboo Words: Give a student a word to describe without using a list of commonly associated words (e.g., describe “snow” without saying “cold,” “white,” or “winter”).
- Opinion Polls: Present a statement and ask students to move to areas of the room based on their opinion (agree, disagree, unsure). They then discuss their reasons.
- ESL Bingo: Create bingo cards with different characteristics or experiences. Students mingle to find classmates who match the squares and form a bingo.
Why Use Warm-Up Questions in ESL Classes?
Warm-up questions are a fundamental component of any ESL lesson plan. They help students ease into the class, engage them in conversation, and set a positive tone for the rest of the lesson.
But why are they so important?
Let’s examine how conversation questions can heighten confidence, initiate interaction, and establish a positive environment for a fruitful learning experience.
Boosting confidence
Warm-ups help students feel comfortable and confident speaking English. They let students talk about things they know well, making it easier to practice English without much stress. This reduces nervousness and makes a good learning space, increasing their confidence and eagerness to join class activities.
Breaking the ice
ESL icebreakers are a great way to engage students so they feel more relaxed and confident in class. Conversation questions can be a fun way to achieve this in classes, as they initiate interaction and help students get to know each other.
Activities such as “Two Truths and a Lie” or “Find Someone Who” can be adapted for various age groups, ensuring that English learners feel comfortable participating and sharing their own ideas and experiences. Even a simple activity like “Hot Potato” can make answering questions a lot more fun and exciting.
Setting the tone
Starting class with a fun discussion question helps students remember what they already know and gets them involved. It keeps them interested, engages them, and makes a good learning space where they feel more confident talking and practising their English.
Adapting Warm-Up Questions for Online Classes
Adapting conversation questions for teaching online can be straightforward with the appropriate tools and strategies.
You can create engaging and effective warm-up activities using virtual breakout rooms, interactive polls, and multimedia resources to help your students feel comfortable in an online teaching environment.
Virtual breakout rooms
Students can practice speaking skills and engage in meaningful conversations with their classmates by creating separate workspaces for small group activities. This helps them build confidence and provides a sense of community in the virtual classroom.
Interactive polls and surveys
Interactive polls and surveys are great tools for engaging students, collecting their opinions, and initiating discussions in an online ESL class.
Teachers can assess understanding and create a dynamic learning experience that keeps students engaged and motivated by asking them to share their thoughts on various topics.
Multimedia resources
Using things like videos and pictures, teachers can present conversation questions online. Adding these visual and interactive elements makes learning more fun and interesting. It grabs students’ attention and gets them to join in the discussion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are good questions to ask ESL students?
It depends on whether they are beginner students or advanced, but the questions should be interesting and appropriate. Good conversation questions will allow the students to practice their vocabulary and grammar from previous lessons. The English teacher should facilitate communication by asking follow-up questions or prompting for more information.
What are some examples of ESL warm-up questions?
Basic questions for young learners would be asking about their favorite food, favorite song, or what they like to do in their free time. You could then ask follow-up questions based on their answer.
For intermediate students, you want to ask conversation questions that prompt more vocabulary and grammar, including phrasal verbs and conditional structures. Topics related to travel, culture and current events will engage them.
For advanced and older students, you want to ask questions that promote more complex language structures and critical thinking. Example topics include ethics, politics, or technology, although you’ll have to ensure they are culturally appropriate.
How do you warm up before teaching English?
Start your English class with a few quick activities to engage and relax the students. You can use it to introduce the lesson’s target language by writing a word on the board and playing a game of ‘Make the Most Words’.
Another option is to invite students to share something in ‘Show and Tell‘ or try other fun warm-up activities like ‘Name Ten‘ or ‘Brainbox‘.
How can I adapt warm-up questions for online teaching?
To adapt warm-up questions for online teaching, use virtual breakout rooms, interactive polls and surveys, and multimedia resources. The dynamics of a virtual class can be overwhelming for some students.
Assist the first student to speak at the start of class with a clear and straightforward question to introduce the topic and build from that. Or start with a simple game to get the entire class involved.
How can I encourage students to ask more follow-up questions?
Encourage students to ask more follow-up questions by providing them with time to think of their own questions and respond. Demonstrate how to ask questions and offer positive reinforcements when they ask them.
A good idea is to create a dynamic system for asking questions. Use a ‘random question generator’ (online or with dice) and get students to choose a classmate to ask. There are many creative ways to make asking even basic questions a fun activity.
Summary
In conclusion, warm-up questions and activities are vital in setting the stage for successful ESL lessons.
You can create a dynamic and engaging learning environment by using topics and activities tailored to students’ interests and abilities, encouraging follow-up questions, and providing feedback and support. Students will acquire better language skills and increased confidence.
Start incorporating these fun ESL warm-up questions and activities into your lessons, and make those first five minutes of the class count.