Every teacher knows how exciting and motivating it is for students to 'try on' a new personality, to have a chance to be someone else - even for a few minutes!
That's why all sorts of 'impersonation' activities are so popular with ESL learners, and we should take advantage of this and have all sorts of mingling activities more often.
One of the most successful warmers for me has been the 'Who Am I?' type activity where the teacher sticks a card with a celebrity's name on each student's back and the student should go around asking Yes/No questions about his/her identity. Of course, s/he is not allowed to ask 'What's my name?' or 'Who am I?' sort of direct questions.
Sometimes most daring ESL teachers write the names on the Post-It notes and stick them on the Ss' foreheads :)
The document contains names of 11 celebrities - you're welcome to change those or add your own.
Enjoy and tell us about your experience with this!