Warm-ups get English as a second language students' minds thinking in English before class. They help students focus on the lesson. They can take 10 minutes or less to do, and they generally get students smiling and ready to listen to what you have to say. They also can be good ways to get students in the class to interact if they do not know one another well.

Persuasion
Write some difficult situations on strips of paper and give the strips to one or two pairs of students in the class. Some situations include having one student be scared of his boss, but he wants a raise. The first student has to convince the second student to ask for a raise for him. Another situation could be asking a friend to call the first student's spouse because she is going to stay out all night at a dance club. Finally, you could have a student who bought a pair of shoes try to return them because he stepped in something unpleasant and ruined them. Have students act out their persuasion scenarios in front of the class. This activity is best suited to advanced-level students.

No "Yes" or "No"
Give students two or three pennies or squares of paper each. Have students walk around the classroom and ask other students a list of questions that are written on the board. The list of questions are typically answered with "Yes" or "No," but if a student answers with these words he has to give one of his pennies or a square to the other student. Some include: "Are you from the United States?"; "Have you lived here long?"; and "Do you have children?" Students practice their ability to make small talk and build their vocabularies by answering these questions using more words than a simple "Yes" or "No."

Question of the Day
Write a question on the board. Have students write their answers down. Give the class about five minutes to do this. Then pick a few students in the class to share their answers to the question out loud.

Brainstorm
Write a word on the board. Tell students to think of other words that relate to it. You could also write an idea on the board and have students contribute other related words. This is a good way to elicit vocabulary for a lesson that you will teach that day. It gets students to think about the topic before you actually begin the lesson. It also helps you gauge how much related vocabulary students already know.