ESL Personality Questions and Reading Worksheet

ESL personality questions based on reading activity and 20 conversation questions with personality adjectives.

1 Warm up. Watch the video and do the personality test. Do you agree with the result?
2 Read the text and answer the questions below.

Personality is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique. It is believed that personality arises from within the individual and remains consistent throughout life.

Examples of personality can be found in how we describe other people’s characteristics. For instance, “She is generous, caring, and a bit of a perfectionist,” or “They are loyal and protective of their friends.”

The word “personality” comes from the Latin word persona, which refers to a theatrical mask worn by performers in order to either take on different roles or disguise their identities.

Personality Types

One theory suggests there are four types of personality. They are:

  • Type A: Perfectionist, impatient, competitive, work-obsessed, achievement-oriented, aggressive, stressed
  • Type B: Low stress, even-tempered, flexible, creative, adaptable to change, patient, tendency to procrastinate
  • Type C: Highly conscientious, perfectionist, struggles to reveal emotions (positive and negative)
  • Type D: Worrying, sad, irritable, pessimistic, negative self-talk, avoidance of social situations, lack of self-confidence, fear of rejection, appears gloomy, hopeless

Research on personality can provide us with fascinating insights into how personality develops and changes over the course of a lifetime. This research can also have important practical applications in the real world.

For example, people can use a personality assessment (also called a personality test or personality quiz) to learn more about themselves and their unique strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. Some assessments might look at how people rank on specific traits, such as whether they are high in extroversion, conscientiousness, or openness.

Other assessments might measure how specific aspects of personality change over time. Some assessments give people insight into how their personality affects many areas of their lives, including career, relationships, personal growth, and more.

Personality type can also have an impact on your health, including how often you visit the doctor and how you cope with stress. Researchers have found that certain personality characteristics may be linked to illness and health behaviors.

Adapted from: Verywell Mind


  1. What is personality?
  2. How can we learn more about ourselves?
  3. Can personality change over time?
  4. How can your personality influence your health?
  5. How would you describe yourself?

ESL Personality Questions

  1. How would you describe someone creative?
  2. Who is the most competitive member of your family?
  3. How do you feel about people who are impatient?
  4. Who is the most generous person you know?
  5. What are some irritable habits you have?
  6. Are you rather pessimistic or optimistic?
  7. In which profession do you need to be really achievement-oriented?
  8. How can we improve our self-confidence?
  9. Do you think one can train to become more patient?
  10. Do people get less flexible as they age?
  11. Have you ever been in a situation that felt hopeless? What happened?
  12. What makes some people charismatic?
  13. Do you know someone hilarious?
  14. Describe your most reliable friend.
  15. Describe your most conscientious friend.
  16. How would you describe someone who is resourceful?
  17. Do you think aggressive people should be put in jail?
  18. What are intuitive people good at?
  19. Do you think a mother can be impartial about her children?
  20. What are you determined to accomplish?

Similar resources:

Conversation Questions: Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Conversation Questions Passive Voice: ESL Speaking Activity

50 ESL Conversation Questions for Teens and Adults

12 ESL Negotiation Role-plays: Real-life situations

Communication Boardgame

ESL Reported Speech Speaking Activity: Gossip

TED Talks Worksheets

Conversation Questions for ESL Lessons

This speaking activity contains 30 ESL conversation questions for ES lessons. Great for teens and adult learners. (16+, B1+). It is best for small groups or as a pair-work.

The slideshow can be used as a resource for online teaching, just share your screen on Zoom or another app when teaching online. You can use it for a group discussion or if you want to use the activity in smaller groups, assign your students into breakout rooms and send them the PDF with the conversation questions before your lesson. During the lesson, pop into the breakout rooms to listen in and observe.

You can use the video below – How to Never Run out of Things to Say – Keep a Conversation Flowing! as a warm-up.

Conversation Questions for ESL Lessons

  1. Describe your worst travel experience. 
  2. What was the most important chance meeting you’ve experienced? 
  3. How would you describe a good life? 
  4. How did going to school shape you as a person? 
  5. How important do you think self-improvement is? 
  6. What will the future of transportation look like? 
  7. What strategies do you use to make big decisions? 
  8. What are some of your plans for the future? 
  9. How would you explain the idea of love to an alien? 
  10. What policies could the government implement to improve people’s health? 
  1. What was the scariest dream you’ve had? 
  2. What life hacks have you found to be particularly effective? 
  3. If you could design a reality TV show, what would it be like? 
  4. What combinations of flavors do you like, and why do they taste so good? 
  5. How have standards of beauty changed in your lifetime? 
  6. What is your best school story? 
  7. Why do some words sound funny to us? 
  8. What are the best and worst things about your favorite restaurant? 
  9. How would your country change if children were allowed to vote? 
  10. What experiments would you like to run if time and money weren’t an issue? 
  1. How would the world change if some people could use magic spells, and some people could not? 
  2. Why is it so hard to learn from our mistakes? 
  3. What is your most controversial opinion? 
  4. How do you usually celebrate some of the major holidays? 
  5. What valuable lessons should we learn from history? 
  6. How has photography changed the world? 
  7. How do your values differ from others? 
  8. How do you wish your country would change? 
  9. What completely baseless conspiracy would you like to start? 
  10. What social situations do you dread? 

Slideshow – Conversation Questions for ESL Lessons

Conversation Questions: Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Conversation questions for practicing comparative and superlative adjectives.

1. We use comparatives to compare two things (or people).

This movie is more interesting than the one you chose.

Susie is smarter than her brother.

2. Superlatives are used, however, to show the difference between more than two things or more than two people.

This is the best ice cream I’ve ever had!

He is the fastest runner in this group.


One-syllable adjectives

If an adjective has only one syllable, we add –er to make the comparative form.

  • quick – quicker
  • nice – nicer
  • warm – warmer
  • cold – colder

We add –est to make the superlative form. Don’t forget that we use the definite article the with the superlative.

  • quick – quicker – the quickest
  • warm – warmer –the warmest
  • cold – colder- the coldest

There are some spelling changes with one-syllable adjectives. If there is one vowel followed by one consonant at the end of the adjective, we often double the consonant.

  • hot – hotter – the hottest
  • big – bigger – the biggest
  • thin – thinner – the thinnest

If the adjective ends in y, this often changes to i.

  • happy – happier – the happiest

If the adjective ends in e, we don’t add another e, just r.

  • fine -finer – the finest
  • nice – nicer- the nicest

Two-syllable adjectives and adjectives with more than two syllables

For two-syllable adjectives, we use more or most.

  • careful – more careful – most careful
  • bored – more bored – most bored

Some two-syllable adjectives can take –er or –est.

  • clever – cleverer – cleverest
  • quiet – quieter – quietest

Adjectives with two syllables that end in y usually can add –er or –est. We can also use more or most.

  • dirty – dirtier – dirtiest
  • pretty – prettier – prettiest
  • happy – happier – happiest

Some adjectives are irregular. There is no rule, we have to learn their forms.

  • good – better – the best
  • bad – worse – the worst
  • far – further – the furthest
  • little – less – the least
  • much – more – the most
Conversation questions superlative and comparative adjectives
  1. Are you happier now than you were a year ago?
  2. Do you agree with the following: ‘The more expensive, the better quality.’
  3. Do you think vegetarianism is healthier than eating meat?
  4. Is it better to be poor and happy or to be rich and unhappy?
  5. Why is lying sometimes easier than telling the truth?
  6. What would be more difficult for you, to spend a night alone in the woods or to give a speech in front of hundreds of people?
  7. Does educated always mean more intelligent?
  8. What is more dangerous, boxing or skiing?
  9. Are teenagers lazier than they were 20 years ago?
  10. What job is more demanding, a nurse or an engineer?
  11. Which job is the most gratifying?
  12. Describe the best holiday you’ve ever had?
  13. What is the most surprising thing that has ever happened to you?
  14. What’s the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
  15. When did you feel the proudest?
  16. What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you?
  17. Describe the most delicious dish you’ve ever eaten.
  18. Who is the smartest person you know?
  19. Who inspires you the most?
  20. What is the weirdest present you’ve got?

Download the conversation questions superlative and comparative adjectives here.
Other grammar questions:

Conversation Questions Gerunds and Infinitives: ESL Speaking Activity

Conversation Questions: Future Tenses

Conversation Questions: Present Perfect and Past Simple

Conversation Questions Conditionals: ESL Speaking Activity

Other resources:

Funny Conversation Starters: 60 Questions

Storytelling Cards: Imaginative Card Game

Bundle of Role-play Activities

Bundle of Three Taboo Card Games

Food ESL Conversation Questions and Video Activity

This speaking and listening activity consists of a video warm-up activity and food conversation questions.

As a warm-up activity watch this video on the 15 best foods around the world. Have students take notes on each food as they watch.

  • What is it made of?
  • How was it prepared?
  • Where does it come from?
  • Have you ever tried that?

After you watch the video, put students in groups or pairs, and have them compare notes and discuss what foods from the video they’ve tried or would like to try.

A tip, whenever I need my student to work in pairs or teams, I use Random Team Generator. It’s super easy and convenient.

Food conversation questions

  1. Do you eat to live or do you live to eat?
  2. Which food did you hate as a kid?
  3. Which food did you love as a kid but hate now?
  4. If you could only eat three meals for the rest of your life what would you eat?
  5. What kind of sweets do you like?
  6. What is your favorite snack?
  7. What do you think about cooking shows?
  8. Do you think it’s important to know how to cook?
  9. What is your favorite fast food?
  10. What food would you choose to eat as your first meal after a year abroad?
  11. What food would you choose as your last meal?
  12. What is your favorite condiment?
  13. What food do you eat in your country when celebrating something or during holidays?
  14. Who are better cooks, men or women?
  15. What is your favorite cuisine? What do you like about it?
  16. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?
  17. What is the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?
  18. Do you prefer to eat at home or eat out?
  19. How healthy is your national cuisine?
  20. What is the best cuisine in the world?
Download: Food ESL Conversation Questions

Need more food resources?

ESL Role-play Worksheet: Food

At The Restaurant: ESL Pair Work and Role Play Lesson

Food Taboo Cards

Questions for ESL Conversation: 60 Questions Based on Vogue Interviews

If you’re an ESL teacher, you know that speaking is a difficult skill for students to master. Plus, speaking can be intimidating. It’s one thing to write and another thing entirely to perform in front of others. That’s why these 60 questions for ESL conversation based on Vogue’s 73 Question series, in which celebrities quickly answer random questions, is great for practicing speaking skills with your students.

You can start this activity by watching Adele’s take on 73 questions. After that, put your students in pairs so they can play out their version of the interview. To do that, download the worksheet 60 Questions for ESL Conversation.

The worksheet contains 60 questions divided into 2 sets. This is a pairwork activity, so students can both ask and answer the questions.

  • Allow the students 5 minutes to read the questions and to make sure they understand and look up any unfamiliar vocabulary.
  • Explain that they have to conduct the interview in the style of Vogue’s 73 questions, so they have to quickly ask and answer the questions.
  • Decide how long it should take and tell them, I would allow 5-10 minutes based on the level of the group.

As a variation of the activity, they can record each other’s responses to create a similar video to the one below.

60 Questions for ESL Conversation Activity

STUDENT A

  1. What’s the best thing that happened to you this month?

2. What is something you’re tired of? 

3. What is something that recently moved you? 

4. If you could teach one subject in school what would it be? 

5. What’s your favorite beverage? 

7. What is your favorite cake?

6. What is your favorite movie?

7. What is something you can’t do? 

8. What is one habit you wish you could break?

9. What makes you laugh no matter what?

10. What does creativity mean to you?

11. What are your favorite lyrics of all time? 

12. What is something you’ve always wanted to try but you’ve been too scared to do? 

13. What did you want to do with your life at age 12? 

14. What is something you will not be doing in ten years?

15. What is an important life lesson for someone to learn? 

16. What is one goal you are determined to achieve in your lifetime?

17. Would you ever live anywhere besides where you live now? 

18. What is your favorite dessert? 

19. Is there a dessert you don’t like? 

20. It’s brunch! What do you eat? 

21. Who is your favorite artist? 

22. Favorite Disney animal? 

23. What is a book you are planning on reading? 

24. What did you read most recently? 

25. Favorite solo artist? 

26. What’s your favorite board game? 

27. What’s a city you wish to visit?. 

28.  Where does one go on a perfect road trip? 

29. What do you do on a rainy day? 

30. What’s your favorite exercise? 


STUDENT B

1. What is your worst subject in school? 

2. What do you usually eat for breakfast?  

3. What do you usually eat for dinner? 

4. Favorite baked good?

5. What is something you wish you could be good at? 

6. Skiing or Surfing? 

7. Cooking or Baking? 

8. Most recent celebrity crush?

9. What’s your favorite clothing brand or store? 

10. How do you manage stress? 

11. What do you do to relax? 

12. Favorite fashion trend of all time? 

13. Best fashion advice you’ve ever received? 

14. Trend you would like to see disappear forever? 

15. What is your spirit animal?

16. Television show you’ve binged on recently?

17. Who do you turn to when you’re sad? 

18. Name one thing you’ve learned the hard way? 

19. If you could make a documentary about anything, what would it be? 

20. What is your Kryptonite? 

21. What are you most enchanted by? 

22. What is your biggest strength?

23. What is your biggest weakness? 

24. What are 3 words to describe living where you live? 

25. Cutest thing on planet earth?

26. Most important advice you’d give your future children? 

27. Best first date idea? 

28. What do you first notice about someone when you meet them? 

29. What’s your guilty pleasure? 

30. Plans for the weekend? 

Download 60 Questions for ESL Conversation

English Speaking Practice: 20 Conversation Topics

Balderdash: ESL Speaking Game

Storytelling Cards: Imaginative Speaking and Writing Activity

Funny Conversation Starters: 60 Questions

Funny Conversation Starters: 60 Questions

Save time preparing your ESL conversation lessons, try these funny conversation starters. Need a warm-up activity? Looking for something different and fun? No problem, share your screen if you teach online or use a projector when teaching in the classroom. You can also download the PDF and print the questions.

This extensive list of funny conversation starters was compiled from various sources and not primarily targeted at ELT learners. The questions are authentic, not taken from a textbook, and enable students to have real, authentic conversations.

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60 Funny Conversation Starters for ESL Students

1 What is the worst advice you have given?

2 If you were in a circus, which character would you be?

3 Have you ever stalked someone on social media?

4 What is the best part about taking a selfie?

5 What is your favorite celebrity scandal?

6 What is one thing you should never say at a wedding?

7 What is the worst pickup line you have ever heard?

8 Did you have an imaginary friend? What was his/her name?

9 Have you ever had a dream where everyone was in their underwear?

10 Who’s your favorite comedian?


Funny conversation starters

11 Have you ever been on a blind date?

12 If you could only store one type of food in your pocket, what would you carry?

13 What is the worst present you have ever received and why?

14 If you were a farm animal, who would you be and why?

15 What is the worst first date you have ever been on?

16 If you could do anything illegal without getting caught, what would you do?

17 What is the weirdest food combination you’ve ever tried?

18 Do you remember what you were doing on the 21st of December, 2018?

19 Tell me an embarrassing, yet funny story.

20 What is the funniest joke that you know?

21 What would your dream job combination be? Mine would be a space-cowboy!

22 What’s the weirdest smell you have ever smelled?

23 What is the weirdest thing you are afraid of?

24 If animals could talk, which animal would be the rudest?

25 If a squirrel could talk, do you think it would have a really high voice or a really low voice?

26 What would be the absolute worst name that you could give your child?

27 What movie completely changes its plot when you change one letter in its title?

28 What is something that hasn’t happened yet, but would certainly break the internet?

29 What is the silliest way that you’ve been injured?

30 What quote or saying do people often say, but you believe is complete trash?


31 What was the funniest thing you’ve seen recently online?

32 What makes you laugh?

33 What is the weirdest thing that you have ever eaten?

34 What is a funny excuse that you have given to leave a party early?

35 What old person tendencies do you have?

36 What did you think was cool as a kid, but isn’t actually cool now?

37 What makes you smile without fail?

38 What is the craziest dream you’ve had?

39 Do you think you’d survive a zombie apocalypse? Why or why not?

40 What was your worst fashion disaster?


41 If you had to change your name to something totally new, what would be your new name?

42 If you had to name a chapter in your life right now, what would it be called?

43 What would the book about your life be called?

44 What was the last thing that you did for fun?

45 What part of a kid’s movie completely scarred you when you were younger?

46 What’s the weirdest thing that a guest has done at your house?

47 If you could start a secret society what would it be called?

48 What movie should be made into a musical?

49 Which animal would be super cool if it was made into the size of a horse?

50 If you could design a new ice cream flavor what would be in it?


51 What would you name your boat if you had one?

52 If the color blue had a smell, what would it smell like?

53 What is a magical power that you wish you had?

54 If you had an extra part of your body what would it be?

55 If you were a candy bar what candy bar would you be?

56 What is something that you love that everyone else thinks is gross?

57 What is the weirdest habit that you have?

58 What was your favorite cartoon as a kid?

59 What celebrity would you trade lives with?

60 What fairytale story would you like to be in?


Download 60 Funny Conversation Starters.

Other resources:

ESL Vocabulary Activity Based on Taboo: Food

Unfinished Sentences ESL Speaking Activity

ESL Role Play Worksheet: Travel/Holidays

12 ESL Negotiation Role-plays: Real-life situations

Conversation Starters: 30 Interesting Conversation Questions Not Only For ESL Students

Conversation Questions Passive Voice: ESL Speaking Activity

Passive Voice Conversation Questions

Form: a form of the verb ‘to be'(used to change the tense) + past participle

Tense Active Passive
Present simple I make dinner. Dinner is made (by me).
Present continuous I am making dinner. Dinner is being made (by me).
Past simple I made dinner. Dinner was made (by me).
Past continuous I was making dinner. Dinner was being made(by me).
Present perfect I have made dinner. Dinner has been made (by me).
P.p. continuous I have been making dinner. Dinner has been being made (by me).
Past perfect I had made dinner. Dinner had been made (by me).
Future simple I will make dinner. Dinner will be made (by me).
Future perfect I will have made dinner. Dinner will have been made (by me).

The passive voice is used to change the focus of the sentence:

  • The villain was played by Ralph Fiennes

To show that who or what causes the action is unknown or unimportant or obvious:

  • My car has been stolen

In formal writing instead of using someone:

  • The information will be disclosed next week.

Watch the video and practice the passive conversation questions below.

Conversation questions to practice passive voice

1) Have you ever been punished or made to pay for something that you did not do?

2) How would you handle integrating someone who had been frozen for 100 years into society?

3) How would your country change if children were allowed to vote?

4) Would civilization be better off if the internet had never been created?

5) Can you explain how glass is made?

6) What is the nicest thing that has been done for you?

7) Have you ever been awarded a prize?

8) What goal do you think humanity is not focused enough on achieving?

9) What traditions are kept in your family?

10) What’s the most difficult question you have ever been asked?

11) Have you ever been hurt by someone you trusted?

12) What 3 global issues should be solved right now?

13) What’s the best present you’ve ever been given?

14) What are the most popular foods eaten in your country?

15) Do you think children are spoiled these days? Why?


Other resources:

Conversation Questions Conditionals: ESL Speaking Activity

Conversation Questions: Present Perfect and Past Simple

Conversation Questions: Future Tenses

Conversation Questions Gerunds and Infinitives: ESL Speaking Activity

Bundle of Two Conversation Activities

English Speaking Practice: 20 Conversation Topics

These conversations topics and questions will help any learner practice and master speaking English. Age or level of English doesn’t matter, what matters is practice, practice, practice.

So here you go, find a speaking partner, choose a topic and have fun!

1. Current situation

How are you doing?

How’s the job?

How’s the family?

How was your weekend?

2. Job / Work

What do you do?

How long have you worked there?

Do you like it?

How are your coworkers?

What’s the best / worst thing about being a (their job)?

3. News

What do you think about (current news story)?

Did you hear about (news story)?

How much do you follow the news?

What do you think doesn’t get enough news coverage?

What gets too much attention in the news?

How do you get your news?

4. Sports

Do you like (sport you like)?

What teams do you follow?

What was the last game you went to?

What do you think about (popular player / team that is doing well)?

Do you play any sports?

Who do you think will win the (major sports event)?

5. Not too distant future

What are your plans for the weekend?

Where are you planning to go for your next vacation?

Do you have anything exciting going on this week?

1. Free time

What do you do in your free time?

How much free time do you have?

What do you wish you had more time for?

2. Music

What kind of music are you into?

What music did you like when you were younger?

What’s your favorite band / singer?

Have you been to any concerts recently?

What’s your favorite album?

3. Movies

What type of movies do you like?

What’s your favorite movie?

Who’s your favorite actor / actress / director?

What’s the last movie you saw?

4. Food

What’s your favorite food / ethnic food / restaurant / thing to cook / seasonal food?

Do you like cooking?

How do you usually find good restaurants?

What weird foods have you tried?

5. Books

Do you like reading books?

What types of books do you like?

What’s the last book you read?

What’s your favorite book?

What book is overrated?

Are there any books you would really recommend I read?

6. TV

What shows do you watch?

What do you think about (popular TV show)?

Have you seen (TV show you like)?

What are some shows that ended that you were really into?

What show do I really need to check out?

7. Travel

Where have you been on vacation?

What did you like / dislike about (place they traveled)?

Where do you wish you could go?

What place do I really need to see?

What’s your favorite place you’ve been?

8. Hobbies

Do you have any hobbies?

How long have you been doing them?

How did you get started?

What common misconceptions do people have about your hobby?

What hobbies did you have when you were younger?

9. Learning / Studies

What kinds of things do you pick up easily?

What subjects were hardest for you in school?

What kinds of things are you interested in learning more about?

1. Where they grew up

What was your hometown like?

Did you enjoy where you grew up?

How much did where you grew up shape you?

What were some of the best and worst things about where you grew up?

2. Things they were into

What games did you play as a child?

What kind of hobbies did you have when you were growing up?

What cartoons or shows did you watch when you were a kid?

What fads or interests were you really into when you were younger?

3. Friends

Do you stay in touch with your old childhood friends?

What do you usually do when you hang out with your friends?

Do you prefer having a lot of friends or just a few close ones?

How long have you known your best friend?

How did you and your best friend meet?

4. Accomplishments

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

What awards or trophies have you won?

What is the next big thing you want to accomplish?

5. The distant future

What do you think life will be like in 10 / 25 / 50 / 100 years?

Do you think humanity is headed in a good direction?

What discovery could be made that would completely change the course of humanity?

How long would you like to live?

Other English speaking resources

One-Minute Talk: ESL/EFL Speaking Activities

50 ESL Conversation Questions for Teenagers and Adults

120 Conversation Starters

Popular Conversation Topics for (not only) Adults and Teenagers: 50 Questions

Conversation Starters: 30 Interesting Conversation Questions Not Only For ESL Students

ESL Negotiation Role plays: 12 Real-life Situations

Unfinished Sentences ESL Speaking Activity

ESL Speaking Activity: Conversation Cards

20 Fun Discussion Questions for (Not Only) the ESL Classroom

I don’t know about your corner of the world, but here in Central Europe summer has arrived with full force. It’s scorching hot. I finally understand the 3-hour siesta they have in some countries. Who would want to move, or think in this heat? So I cut my students some slack, we play scrabble and have fun. The testing is over, the school term ends in a few days, field trips have been canceled because of Covid-19, there is not much left to do. And did I mention it’s boiling hot and our building doesn’t have AC? Right, so let’s have som fun.

This speaking activity contains 25 fun ESL discussion questions for teenagers and adult learners. (16+, B1+). It is best for small groups or as a pair-work.

The slideshow can be used as a resource for online teaching, just share your screen on Zoom or other app when teaching online. Click on the full screen option in the top right corner of the slideshow and your whole group can discuss or if you want to use the activity in smaller groups, assign your students into breakout rooms and send them the PDF with the discussion questions before your lesson. During the lesson, pop into the breakout rooms to listen in and observe.

Slideshow

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1. What’s the closest thing to real magic?

2 .Who is the messiest person you know?

3. What will finally break the internet?

4. What’s the most useless talent you have?

5. Where is the worst smelling place you’ve been?

6. What celebrity would you rate as a perfect 10?

7. What’s a body part that you wouldn’t mind losing?

8. What is the dumbest way you’ve been injured?

9. Which fictional character would be the most boring to meet in real life?

10. What are the best and worst purchases you’ve ever made?


1. If you had to change your name, what would your new name be, and why would you choose that name?

2. What are some things that sound like compliments but are actually insults?

3. What’s your biggest screw up in the kitchen?

4. What’s the worst commercial you’ve recently seen? Why is it so bad?

5. What is the craziest thing one of your teachers has done?

6. When did you screw everything up, but no one ever found out it was you?

7. What elements of pop culture will be forever tied in your mind to your childhood?

8. If you could know the absolute and total truth to one question, what question would you ask?

9. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read or seen this week?

10 .What ridiculous thing has someone tricked you into doing or believing?

The questions for this activity are used with the kind permission of C.B. Daniels of Conversation Starters World.

Other ESL resources:

Popular Conversation Topics for (not only) Adults and Teenagers: 50 Questions

Conversation Starters: 30 Interesting Conversation Questions Not Only For ESL Students

Conversation Questions Gerunds and Infinitives: ESL Speaking Activity

30 Hypothetical Conversation Questions for ESL Students

Conversation Questions Gerunds and Infinitives: ESL Speaking Activity

ESL Exam Speaking Picture Description and Questions

Popular ESL Conversation Topics for English Practice

This activity for adults and teenagers contains five ESL conversation topics and fifty conversation questions. It starts with everyone’s most favorite topic: Tell me something about you. People love to talk about themselves, so let them! You can also watch this interesting Ted Talk about being ourselves. If you love Scottish accent as much as I do, watch also this.

Other included ESL conversation topics are Future, Society, Culture, and Environment.

The slideshow can be used as a resource for online teaching: share your screen on Zoom or other app when teaching online. Click on the full screen option in the top right corner of the slideshow and your whole group can discuss or if you want to use the activity in smaller groups, assign your students into breakout rooms and send them the PDF with the conversation questions before your lesson. During the lesson, pop into the breakout rooms to listen in and observe.

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Popular ESL Conversation Topics

You

  1. Use five words to describe who you are. Explain.
  2. What makes you happy?
  3. Who is the most important person in your life?
  4. Name three things you couldn’t live without.
  5. What do you love about your life?
  6. What do you hate about your life?
  7. What would you like to change about your life?
  8. Which character from a book/movie would you like to be and why?
  9. What do you value in other people?
  10. What do you like about yourself?

Future

  1. Do you plan everything or do you like to be spontaneous?
  2. Do you want to study at university? Why?
  3. What would you like to do with your life in 10 years?
  4. How do you think the world will change in 20 years?
  5. Do you think humans will colonize space one day?
  6. If you could know three facts about any specific time in the future, what would you like to know?
  7. Would you rather travel to the future or the past?
  8. What are you looking forward to?
  9. What scares you about your future?
  10. What would you say to your future 70-year-old self?

Society

  1. In your opinion, what are the most serious issues in our society?
  2. How would you describe your community?
  3. How do you imagine the ideal society?
  4. What values are important to you?
  5. How do legal drugs harm our society?
  6. How has society changed in the last 20 years?
  7. Which changes in our society do you dislike? Why?
  8. What is the influence of technology on our lives?
  9. Have you ever broken any rules?
  10. Which laws/rules should be changed? 

Culture

  1. How would you define culture?
  2. How is the culture of your country different from the others?
  3. Is there any culture that you admire/like?
  4. Do you think globalization can destroy the local culture?
  5. Which aspects of different cultures can you find in your community?
  6. Which part of your culture is the most important to you? Why?
  7. Which customs and traditions are typical for your culture/region?
  8. Is there anything about your culture that you don’t like?
  9. What do people from different cultures have in common?
  10. Which culture would you like to know more about?

Environment

  1. Which environmental issue is, in your opinion, the most serious?
  2. Can individual efforts make any change to improve the environment?
  3. How environmentally conscious are you?
  4. What can businesses do to behave more eco-friendly?
  5. What do you think about Zoos?
  6. What do you think about hunting?
  7. How do you feel about the future of our planet?
  8. Which industry is the most harmful to the environment?
  9. If you could, what 3 laws would you introduce to protect the environment?
  10. Do you think veganism is more eco-friendly than eating meat?

Other conversation resources:

Conversation Starters: 30 Interesting Conversation Questions Not Only For ESL Students

ESL Conversation Topics: 12 Mini Presentations

Role-play Scenarios for ESL: Discussing Different Topics and Situations, Even Vaccination!

ESL Vocabulary Activity Based on Taboo: Food

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