Slap, Clap, Snap - A great classroom icebreaker and warm-up activity

When you first step into a class full of new students, setting the stage for the kind of learning environment your class will have should be one of your top priorities. Particularly in an kind of language learning or EFL/ESL environment, you need students to feel comfortable around both yourself and the other students. As anyone who has ever tried can tell you, trying to speak a foreign language when you are nervous is much much harder than when you are relaxed. At the same time though, an overly relaxed environment can be counterproductive as well, because it can be hard to keep students concentrated, and focused on the task at hand.

 One great way to set the stage for a good classroom environment is the warm-up activity, Slap, Clap, Snap. It's a lot of fun, it encourages laughter and competition, and it helps you and your students to learn each others' names. Despite how fun it is however, it also requires concentration to do, and as such keeps students focused and trying their best.

 How to play Slap, Clap, Snap
 1. Introduce them to the rhythm:
- Slap (your thighs)
- Clap (your hands)
- Snap (your fingers)

2. Write the phrase: "My name's ________." on the board.

3. Show the students that each word corresponds to a sound.
- My (slap) name's (clap) _______ (snap).

 *This is also a great way to introduce students to the concept of reductions, and let them know that in natural spoken English no one says (my name IS _______). 

 4. Start the rhythm and keep it going. Introduce yourself in this manner, and then pass the buck onto a student. Have them go one by one introducing themselves in this manner without letting the rhythm stop or falter. Once everyone has introduced themselves...

 5. Repeat the process, this time speeding it up.

6. After they feel more comfortable, you can make the game more complex by adding in the phrase:
 This is ________.
 My name's _________.

 This way they have to remember the name and introduce the person before them, before themselves. After a round of this, things can be made even more complex by having them introduce two people before them with:
 That is _________.
 This is _________.
 My name's __________.

All in all, depending on the competency of the students, this game can take between 5 and fifteen minutes, and by the end of it, you should know at least 3 or 4 students names...especially if you play along with them. The only problem with this warm-up game is that it is much more suited to large classrooms (with at least 8 or 10 students) than smaller ones. (4 or less). If you are teaching in a larger-sized class (such as the ones that are common to Japanese universities), it is an exceeding useful warm-up game, and can do wonders for starting your ESL or EFL class out on the right foot.