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Zero-prep in ELT

Олена Чухно

Created on November 16, 2025

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Transcript

Today internationally

17th November

International Students' Day

International Happy Gose Day

Title

Title

Use this side to give more information about a topic.

Use this side to give more information about a topic.

Subtitle

Subtitle

Which holiday are you going to celebrate - 1, 2, or both:))? Share in the chat.

Webinar series

Zero-prep in elt

Webinar 1 - Zero-Prep Ice-Breakers and Warm-ups Webinar 2 - Zero-Prep Skills Teaching Webinar 3 - Zero-Prep Marking and Feedback

Skovoroda Hub

Регіональний центр змішаної освіти на базі ХНПУ імені Г.С.Сковороди

Speakers:

Olena Chukhno PhD in Education

Olena Chekhratova PhD in Education

Agenda:

1. Ice-breakers vs. warm-ups: differences and similarities 2. Zero-prep ice-breakers 5-min break 3. Zero-prep warm-ups

Webinar 1

What do they have in common? What makes them different?

Ice-breakers + Warm-ups

Ice-breakers

Warm-ups

Ice-breaker, warm-up, or both?

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Title

Title

Title

You want your learners to switch to English at the beginning of the lesson.

You start your course and want your learners to get to know each other.

You want to quickly review last lesson's grammar.

Write a brief description here

Write a brief description here

Write a brief description here

Ice-breaker, warm-up, or both (continued)?

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Title

Title

Title

You want the learners to share something fun or unusual about themselves to build rapport.

A new learner joins the group mid-course and you want everyone to feel comfortable together.

You want the learners to discuss the picture connected to the topic of the lesson.

Write a brief description here

Write a brief description here

Write a brief description here

Ice-breaker, warm-up, or both (continued)?

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Title

Title

Title

You want the learners to revise the content of the module you have finished.

You want to break the silence at the start of the lesson while also introducing the topic "Travelling".

You want the learners to share weekend news as a way to reconnect and activate speaking.

Write a brief description here

Write a brief description here

Write a brief description here

Ice-breaker, warm-up, or both (continued)?

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.

Title

Title

Title

You want the learners to revise key vocabulary from the previous unit.

You want to energize a shy group and help them feel more comfortable.

You begin a new semester with the same group and want to reconnect and re-establish group dynamics.

Write a brief description here

Write a brief description here

Write a brief description here

help switch to English and prepare for lesson content

Ice-breakers

Warm-ups

build rapport, reduce anxiety

start of course, new groups

start of every lesson

topic or skill-related language

Why?

general language

5-10 min

When?

2-5 min

What?

How long?

What do they have in common?

  • aim to engage students and get them ready to learn

Ice-breakers + Warm-ups

  • reduce anxiety and encourage participation
  • often involve pair or group interaction
  • are light, low-stakes activities
  • create a positive atmosphere

Ice-breakers

Name-based

Personal information

Team-building

Movement-based

Needs-analysis

It's high time we had a

5-min break

Now that the ice is broken...

let's warm up!

Define the category of the warmers below:

Warm-Ups

Grammar

Vocabulary

Speaking

Movement

Brain activation

Which activity would you like to use with your students this week?

May all your classes start with connection and energy!!!

See you at Webinar 2 :))

  • Adjective Storm – Say as many adjectives as you can to describe yourself.
  • Word List – List words connected to the target topic.
  • Synonym Sprint – Say 5 synonyms for “good”.
  • Say/spell it Backwards – Pronounce/spell a topic-related word from the end to the beginning. The others guess the word (e.g., table – [lbeit]/e-l-b-a-t)
  • Wordle - https://wordlegame.org/today?seed=20251116

Learning Style Corners Students choose a corner representing how they learn best.

https://martech.zone/visual-auditory-kinesthetic/

The Last Photo in My Phone Learners choose one photo in their phone and tell a story behind it.

Avatar Introduction Students use an AI tool to create an avatar and introduce themselves.

Mime it – Mime an action. The others guess it. Stretch & Say – Stand up, stretch, and say one thing that makes you feel more energized. Front & Share – Move to the front and say one thing you like about school. Walk to the Object – Walk to the object that matches the description (e.g., smth. round, smth. metal). Jump & Word – Do five jumping jacks and say a topic-related word with each jump.

  • Childhood Memory – Describe a favourite childhood memory (Past).
  • Compare the pictures – Create one sentence
  • to compare the pictures (Comparatives).
  • Would you rather? – Choose between two options and justify your choice.
  • Sentence race – Use Random word generator to generate two words. Create a grammatically correct sentence.
  • Questions…questions – Make a dialogue
using only questions
  • Tic-Tac-Toe
  • Countdown Challenge – Count backwards from 20 in 10s.
  • Country List – Name all countries you know starting with “A”.
  • Rhyme Time – List words that rhyme with “day”.
  • Capital Sprint – Name as many capital cities as possible in one minute.
  • Alternative Uses – Think of as many uses for a paperclip as possible.
  • Morning Story – Describe your morning in 3 sentences.
  • Looking Forward – Share something you are looking forward to this week.
  • Learning Share – Say something new you’ve learned recently.
  • Goal Check – Share a goal you have this month.
  • Dream Location – Say where you’d like to live in the world.
  • Essentials – Talk about one thing you can’t live without.
  • Alphabet story - Write down one word that begins with each letter of the alphabet. Create a story as a group, by taking it in turns to say a sentence containing one word from your list.

English Identity Timeline Learners draw a quick timeline of key moments in their English-learning journey, using symbols, not words.