Set up a game to break the ice and make students comfortable. For a new class, the warm-up activity can also allow you to use it as an informal assessment of the students' level of English proficiency. One effective icebreaker is to write the name of famous people on cards and tape a card to each student's back. Students ask questions to find out the names on the cards. The first student to determine the name on his back wins.
Read to students to provide practice in listening. They will pick up the rhythms of the English language and learn new vocabulary by hearing unfamiliar words in context. As an alternative, read an article in a newspaper or magazine that students will find interesting.
Start a discussion by writing a pithy saying, proverb or idiomatic expression on the board, then asking students what they think the expression means. This will give the students practice in speaking. Examples could be, "Money is the root of all evil" or "Where there's smoke, there's fire."
Pair students up and have them take turns reading a fairy tale or short story to each other. Before they read, ask them to identify the main characters and their traits, where and when the story takes place, what the main problem is in the story and how the problem is resolved.
Ask students to write short essay on a particular topic. Edit their work to make sure it has a topic sentence for each paragraph and a thesis statement of the essay's main idea. Each paragraph should focus on one aspect of the topic, and there should be at least three sentences with details, examples and facts that elucidate the subject of the paragraph.