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Pick an ESL warm-up question at random

English learners need low-stakes talk before grammar drills. A random warm-up keeps energy up and stops the same two students from always going first.

Load these CEFR-friendly prompts, draw one for the whole class, or shuffle into a speaking order so volunteers are not always the same students.

Jump to the randomizer

20 items · Ctrl/⌘+Enter to run

Results

Run Pick (or spin the wheel) to draw from your list.

Try a scenario

Runs in your browser. Share links encode your list in the URL—only send them to people you trust.

Warm-up questions in this pack

Twenty classroom-safe prompts with everyday vocabulary. Edit any line for your level—A2 classes may shorten answers; B1+ can add “why.”

  1. 1. What did you eat for breakfast today?
  2. 2. Describe the weather outside in three words.
  3. 3. What is one word you learned this week?
  4. 4. Tell us about a place in your city you like.
  5. 5. What app or website do you use every day?
  6. 6. Who is someone you talked to yesterday?
  7. 7. What time did you wake up this morning?
  8. 8. Name a food you want to cook or try.
  9. 9. What makes a good weekend for you?
  10. 10. Share a small problem you solved recently.
  11. 11. What are you looking forward to this month?
  12. 12. Describe your favorite season and why.
  13. 13. What do you usually do after school or work?
  14. 14. If you could visit any country, where would you go?
  15. 15. What song or podcast have you heard lately?
  16. 16. Tell the class one goal for your English this week.
  17. 17. What is something kind someone did for you?
  18. 18. How do you relax when you feel tired?
  19. 19. What is a hobby you want to try?
  20. 20. Ask a classmate one question about their day.

Why random beats a fixed warm-up script

A laminated list on the wall becomes predictable. Drawing one prompt keeps attention on listening, not on who always volunteers.

Teachers can still scaffold: write sentence starters on the board, then let the randomizer choose the topic so practice stays fair.

Levels and timing

For beginners, pick one question and give 60 seconds of think time. For intermediate groups, shuffle the full list into a mingle order.

Delete culturally sensitive lines for your context. Add local place names so answers feel real, not textbook-generic.

How to use this list

  1. 1

    Load and trim

    Remove prompts that do not fit age or culture.

  2. 2

    Pick or shuffle

    Pick one for a whole-class spark, or Shuffle for speaking order.

  3. 3

    Follow up

    Ask one student to summarize a partner’s answer in English.

Tips for this scenario

  • Use no-repeats or the session pool so the same prompt does not return all week.
  • Pair with Groups mode to make breakout rooms after the warm-up.
  • Weighted pick is optional—keep weights off for equal speaking chances.

Frequently asked questions

Are these only for ESL?

They work for any English-medium class that needs quick speaking. Edit vocabulary for younger learners.

Can students spin the wheel?

Yes. Open Spin the wheel with this list loaded, or enable Spin wheel on this page’s Pick mode.

Does ListRandom store my class roster?

Not on our servers. If you paste names, they stay in your browser unless you share a link.

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