Team building is an important skill for everyone to learn, but it can become especially essential for students who do not speak English as their native language. In an English-speaking school, these students feel like, and often are, outsiders. Creating a sense of belonging in the classroom can help them gain the confidence they need to actively participate in other classes and activities

Ball Toss
Gather five to 10 soft balls that are small enough to catch in one hand, but not too difficult to see. Have the group stand in a circle. If the group is large, or it is early in the class year, you may want to outfit each person with a name tag. Be sure the names are easy to read. As the instructor, introduce the game by saying one of the student's names and tossing a ball to them. Once they have received it, have them toss to another student in the same manner. Continue this until every student has received the ball once, and only once. The last person should return the ball to you. Instruct the students to do this again, throwing to and receiving from the same person as in the first round. After three or four names, Introduce additional balls at regular intervals for as long as you wish to continue the activity. When you decide to end the activity, take balls out of circulation until the last one is returned.

Cotton Ball Race
Divide the class into two to four teams. Give each team a large bowl, a spoon and a small container of 20 cotton balls. place the bowls on one side of the room and instruct each team that they are to transfer the cotton balls from the container to the bowl, one by one using only the spoon. Encourage the team members to shout out encouragement. Teams soon learn that a steady pace is needed to win.

Marshmallow Tower
Give each team a bag of small marshmallows, a bag of large marshmallows, and a box of toothpicks. Give them 10 minutes to plan and 20 minutes to build a freestanding tower using only the marshmallows and the toothpicks. The tallest tower still standing at the end of the 20 minutes wins. This can get quite messy, but it's a lot of fun.

Zip Zap
This game requires no materials and can be played with any number of people. Have the class stand in a circle. Choose a person to start and have them point to the left or right -- their choice -- and say "Zip." The person they point to must choose to say "Zip," which will continue the game in the same direction, or "Zap," which will reverse the direction of the game. If a player does not respond within a beat, they are out of the game and the circle gets smaller. An important rule to remember is that when a person has been "Zapped," they cannot "Zap" back.