Questions · ESL icebreakers
ESL icebreakers that get the class out of their seats
Icebreakers for English class work best as a mingle: everyone stands, everyone asks, everyone answers several times. These questions are short enough to remember without looking and fun enough to repeat.
- 17 questions
- EN + TL on every card
- Free in the app
Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.
Pick one snack you would still accept even when you're already full.
Pick one snack na tatanggapin mo pa rin kahit busog ka na.
Some cravings stay charmingly powerful. The snack you still make room for usually knows exactly how to find your soft spot.
May cravings talaga na malakas pa rin kahit busog. Yung snack na yan, alam kung saan ka mahina.
The questions
17 ESL icebreaker questions
Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.
Snacks, habits and small rules
7 questions
Every student has an answer, and most answers get a laugh.
-
Pick one snack you would still accept even when you're already full.
Pick one snack na tatanggapin mo pa rin kahit busog ka na.
Back of the card
Some cravings stay charmingly powerful. The snack you still make room for usually knows exactly how to find your soft spot.
May cravings talaga na malakas pa rin kahit busog. Yung snack na yan, alam kung saan ka mahina.
-
Name a food that tastes better when it's free.
Sabihin mo yung pagkain na mas masarap kapag libre.
Back of the card
Free food has its own seasoning. Sometimes the best flavor is the tiny thrill of not paying for it.
May sariling sarap ang libreng pagkain. Minsan yung best flavor, yung small joy na hindi ikaw ang nagbayad.
-
Pick one drink that makes an ordinary day feel a little special.
Pumili ng isang drink na nagpaparamdam na medyo special ang ordinary day.
Back of the card
A drink can turn an ordinary pause into a tiny celebration. Sometimes that small upgrade is the whole point.
Minsan isang drink lang, parang may small celebration na sa ordinary day. Yun na yung tiny upgrade.
-
Complete the line: I'm chill, but please don't ___.
Kumpletuhin: Chill naman ako, pero please wag ___.
Back of the card
Tiny pet peeves are usually harmless, but they still deserve their moment. Everyone has a small line somewhere.
Harmless lang ang tiny pet peeves, pero deserve din nila ng moment. Lahat tayo may small line somewhere.
-
Confess one harmless habit you know is very you.
I-confess yung harmless habit na very you talaga.
Back of the card
Harmless habits become part of your signature. They may be small, but people who know you probably notice.
Yung harmless habits, nagiging signature mo rin. Maliit lang, pero napapansin yan ng mga nakakakilala sa'yo.
-
Describe a tiny routine you do even if nobody notices.
I-describe yung tiny routine mo kahit walang nakakapansin.
Back of the card
Tiny routines can be private proof that you have your own way of moving through the day.
Yung tiny routines, private proof minsan na may sarili kang way gumalaw sa araw, sa sarili mong style.
-
Describe your favorite quiet moment at home in one sentence.
I-describe in one sentence yung favorite mong tahimik na moment sa bahay.
Back of the card
Quiet at home can be its own kind of treat. Sometimes the best part is that nothing needs to happen.
Yung tahimik sa bahay, treat din minsan. Minsan best part na yung walang kailangang mangyari.
Quick choices
4 questions
Easy to remember during a mingle.
-
Pick one view for a quiet morning: a beach sunrise or city lights before dawn.
Sa tahimik na umaga, alin ang gusto mong tanawin: pagsikat ng araw sa beach o city lights bago sumikat ang araw?
Back of the card
Picture the view. Which detail would you want to remember?
Isipin ang tanawin. Anong detalye ang gusto mong maalala?
-
If your old phone could save only one, would you keep the photos or the messages?
Kung isa lang ang mase-save sa lumang phone mo, photos o messages ang ititira mo?
Back of the card
Imagine giving the saved memories a title. No need to show any photos or messages.
Isipin na bibigyan mo ng pamagat ang natirang mga alaala. Hindi kailangang magpakita ng photos o messages.
-
Choose a memory power: remember every name or remember every route you have taken.
Pumili ng memory power: tandaan lahat ng pangalan o lahat ng daang nadaanan mo.
Back of the card
Give your memory power a name. It can sound heroic or completely ordinary.
Bigyan ng pangalan ang memory power mo. Puwedeng pang-hero o ordinaryo lang.
-
If someone were choosing a snack or drink for you, what’s one choice that would almost always work?
Kung may pipili ng snack o drink para sa'yo, ano yung halos laging okay sa'yo?
Back of the card
Tiny preferences can be an easy way to know someone better. It feels good when people remember the simple things.
Minsan sa small preferences tayo mas nakikilala. Nakakatuwa rin kapag may nakakaalala ng simple things about you.
Free tickets and first impressions
6 questions
Slightly longer answers once people have warmed up.
-
You receive one free round-trip ticket. Where are you going first?
May libre kang round-trip ticket. Saan ka pupunta?
Back of the card
Choose one thing you would want to do before flying home.
Pumili ng isang gusto mong gawin bago bumiyahe pauwi.
-
What event would you choose if the ticket were free?
Kung may libre kang ticket sa isang event, ano ang pipiliin mo?
Back of the card
Imagine the event is about to begin. What are you most excited to see?
Magsisimula na ang event. Ano ang pinaka-gusto mong makita?
-
When you enter a new place, what’s one small thing you notice right away?
Kapag nasa bagong lugar ka, ano yung isang maliit na bagay na una mong napapansin?
Back of the card
What you notice first can hint at what makes a place feel interesting, calm, or welcoming to you.
Minsan clue yung una mong napapansin kung ano ang nakaka-curious, nakakapagpakalma, o nagpapagaan ng pakiramdam mo.
-
In a group hangout, which role do you usually fall into: planner, joker, listener, snack person, or something else?
Sa group hangout, anong role ang usually napupunta sa'yo: planner, joker, listener, snack person, o iba pa?
Back of the card
Group roles can be funny because they appear before anyone assigns them. Somehow every hangout finds its planner, joker, listener, or snack person.
Minsan lumalabas yung role bago pa may mag-assign. Sa bawat hangout, may planner, joker, listener, o snack person talaga.
-
Pick one joke style that makes you laugh right away.
Pumili ng joke style na mabilis kang mapatawa.
Back of the card
Humor has shortcuts. The joke that gets you fastest usually knows your exact kind of silly.
May shortcut ang humor. Yung joke na mabilis kang tamaan, alam niya yung exact kind of silly mo.
-
When you meet a new friend or group, how do you usually get comfortable?
Kapag may bago kang friend o group, paano ka usually nagiging comfortable?
Back of the card
People warm up at different speeds. Some start with jokes, some with listening, some by quietly showing up again.
Iba-iba ang pace ng pag-warm up. May dumadaan sa jokes, may sa pakikinig, at may tahimik lang na bumabalik ulit.
How to use them
Before you ask
The best ESL icebreakers are questions students can memorize after reading once and answer many times, so the same question gets more fluent with every new partner.
A whole-class icebreaker where each student speaks once, in turn, is mostly listening and waiting. The quieter version, where every student asks their own question to five classmates in ten minutes, gives each learner five rounds of real speaking. Repetition is the point: the fifth answer is always smoother than the first.
Hand each student one card. They mingle, ask their question, answer their partner’s, then swap cards and find someone new. At the end, ask a few students what the most surprising answer was.
Good for
Tips
- Play quiet music during the mingle; stop it to signal “find a new partner”.
- Ask students to remember one answer per partner. It forces real listening.
- Join in yourself. Students relax when the teacher answers too.
- Keep it under fifteen minutes so it stays an energizer, not a lesson.
- Pick up useful words students struggled with and write them on the board after.
Decks for this
The card-swap mingle
- Give everyone one card. They read it twice and turn it over.
- Find a partner. Ask your question, listen, then answer theirs.
- Swap cards and find a new partner. Repeat four or five times.
- Sit down and share. “Who had the strangest answer? What was it?”
ESL icebreakers
Frequently asked questions
What are good icebreaker questions for ESL students?
Short, concrete questions about snacks, habits, small preferences and imaginary free tickets. They are easy to understand, safe to answer and fun to hear.
How do I run an icebreaker in a large English class?
Use a mingle: everyone gets a card, asks it to a partner, swaps cards and moves on. Everyone speaks at once instead of one by one.
Can I use these icebreakers online?
Yes. Put students in breakout rooms of two or three with one question each and rotate rooms every few minutes.
Bring a better question to the table.
Free on iPhone and Android. 420 cards free, no account, works offline.