Travel ESL Conversation Questions

This is an excellent speaking activity for students when engaged in a conversation about travel, as well as for adult students in any program or one-on-one lessons. Travel words on the list include – journey, flights, destination, trip, license, accommodation, backpacking, international, leisure, and countries.

The free discussion worksheet for the topic of travel is anything but boring, and it’s guaranteed to pique your students’ curiosity. They may be inspired to go on vacation or organize group trips, especially when cheap flights are easily available on reputable websites such as sa.wego.com.

Students should be placed in groups or pairs, and they should take notes on what their partners say and answer.

Travel ESL Conversation Questions

  • Have you ever been abroad?
  • Where have you been?
  • Are you planning on going anywhere for your next vacation?
    • If so, where?
    • Who with?
    • How long will you stay?
  • Are you afraid of going abroad alone?
  • Do you have any tips to get cheap flights? 
  • Could you live in another country for the rest of your life?
  • Describe the most interesting person you met on one of your travels.
  • What was your best trip.
  • What was your worst trip.
  • Did your class in high school go on a trip together?
    • If so, where did you go?
    • How long did you stay?
    • How did you get there?
  • Do you have a driver’s license?
  • Do you like to travel with children? Why or why not?
  • Do you like to travel with your mother? Why or why not?
  • Do you prefer summer vacations or winter vacations?
  • Do you prefer to travel alone or in a group? Why?
  • Do you prefer to travel by train, bus, plane or ship?
  • Do you prefer traveling by car or by plane?
  • Have you ever been in a difficult situation while traveling?
  • Have you ever been on an airplane?
    • How many times?
    • What airlines have you flown with?
  • Have you ever been to a foreign country?
  • Have you ever gotten lost while traveling? If so, tell about it.
  • Have you ever hitchhiked? If so, how many times?
  • Have you ever taken a package tour?
  • How do you spend your time when you are on holiday and the weather is bad?
  • How many countries have you been to? How many states?
  • How many times have you traveled abroad?
  • How much luggage do you usually carry?
  • If you traveled to South America, what countries would like to visit?
  • If you went to ___(Insert a country name)__, what kind of souvenirs would you buy?
  • If you were going on a camping trip for a week, what 10 things would you bring? Explain why.
  • What are some countries that you would never visit? Why would you not visit them?
  • What are some things that you always take with you on a trip?
  • What countries would you like to visit? Why?
  • What countries would you most like to visit?
  • What countries would you not like to visit? Why?
  • What country do you most want to visit?
    • Why?
    • Do you think you will ever go there?
  • What do you need before you can travel to another country?
  • What is the most interesting city to visit in your country?
  • What is the most interesting souvenir that you have ever bought on one of your holidays?
  • What languages can you speak?
  • What place do you want to visit someday?
  • What was the most interesting place you have ever visited?
  • What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever been to?
  • When was the last time your traveled?
  • When you are on a long car journey do you play games or sing songs to occupy your time?
    • What kind of games?
    • What songs?
  • Where are you going to go the next time you travel?
    • When are you going to go?
    • Who are you going to go with?
    • How long are you going to go for?
    • What are you going to do there?
    • What kind of things do you think you will buy?
  • Where did you go on your last vacation?
    • How did you go?
    • Who did you go with?
  • Where did you spend your last vacation? Your summer vacation? Your Christmas vacation?
  • Where will you go on your next vacation?
  • Would you like to take a cruise? Where to? With who?
  • Do you prefer traveling on a hovercraft or a ferry?
  • Would you prefer to stay at a hotel/motel or camp while on vacation?
  • Would you rather visit another country or travel within your own country?
  • Would you rather go to a place where there are a lot of people or to a place where there are few people?
  • Do you find more fulfillment from your leisure activities including vacations than from your job?
  • Do you think the type of vacation one takes reflects one’s social status?
  • What are popular tourist destinations in your country?
    • Have you been to any of them?
    • Which would you recommend if you could only recommend one? Why?
  • Do you prefer active or relaxing holidays? Why?
  • Which is better, package tour or a tour you organize and book yourself?
  • Why do you travel?
    • Why do people travel?
  • Would you like to go back to the same place?
  • Did you find anything of particular interest? / Did you get attracted to anything special?
  • What are some benefits of travel?
    • Why do people travel?
  • What is your favorite mode of travel?
  • Have you travelled in business class?
  • When you were a child did your family take a vacation every year?
  • Do you prefer a budget or first class hotel? Why?
  • Do you travel with a lot of baggage or do you like to travel light?
  • What is your favorite method of travel at your destination? Train? Bus? Boat? Bicycle? Backpacking?
  • What is the best kind of holiday for different ages of people? Children? Teenagers? Adults? Elderly people?
  • Do you think it is a good idea to travel with friends, or alone? How about with your family?
  • If you had $100,000, where would you go on holiday? How about if you had $10,000? What about $1,000?
  • Which countries have you travelled to?
  • Do you prefer hot countries or cool countries when you go on holiday
  • Who makes the decisions when your family decides to go on holiday
  • If you could choose one place to go this weekend, where would it be?
  • How do you browse for the best deals on flight tickets?
  • Has the airline ever lost your luggage? What happened?
  • On long flights do you usually walk around the plane to avoid health problems?
  • Have you ever read an interesting question in an in-flight magazine? What was it?
  • Is there any difference between young tourists and adult tourists?
  • Do you think tourism will harm the earth?

This is a sponsored blog post by sa.wego.com

Photo by 熊大 旅遊趣 on Pexels.com
Other resources:

ESL Travel Vocabulary Taboo Cards

ESL/EFL Vocabulary Activity: Travel Compound Nouns Dominoes

ESL Role Play Worksheet: Travel/Holidays

Food and Travel ESL Lesson: Interactive Online Lesson

ESL Conversation Lesson: Game Of Thrones And Traveling

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

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

Taliban Take over Afghanistan: Dare to Educate Afghan Women(UPDATED)

If you don’t live in a cave you know what’s happening in Afghanistan right now. If you don’t know, you can find out here.

No matter what your political preferences are, or what do you believe in, I’m sure you agree that education is important. What is happening in Afghanistan right now will have tremendous negative consequences on the education of Afghan girls. Watch the Ted Talk. Discuss it with your students. You can also help here, or here.


This Ted Talk education ESL video lesson is based on a  talk by Shabana Basij-Rasikh. She is an educator from Afghanistan, humanitarian, and women’s rights champion. She grew up under the rule of the Taliban, which banned education for women so she had to dress as a boy to attend a secret school.

This is her story.


Level: Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate

Time: 45min.(video 10min.)

Skills: speaking, listening, reading

Topic: education, human rights

Taliban Take over Afghanistan | Ted Talk Education Lesson Plan | Dare to Educate Afghan Girls | Shabana Basij-Rasikh

WARM-UP

Discuss the questions

1. Do you think education should be free? Why? Use arguments to justify your opinion. 

2. What was your parents position on your education? How do you think it has influenced your life? What is your position on your education? 

3. Can you imagine being denied higher education based on your gender or religion? How would it influence your life?

Write three reasons why education is important.

1.__________________________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________________________

VOCABULARY

1 Read the sentences and try to work out the meaning of the underlined words/phrases.

1. I dressed as a boy to escort my older sister, who was no longer allowed to be outside alone, to a secret school.

2. A total maverick from a remote province of Afghanistan, he insisted that…

3. …had my family not been so committed to my education…

4. …the one exiled from his home for daring to educate his daughters,

5. And I see their parents and their fathers who, like my own, advocate for them despite and even in the face of daunting opposition.

6. …this is something that is often dismissed in the West…

7. …they’re often the initial and convincing negotiators of a bright future for their daughters…

8. I fear that these changes will not last much beyond the U.S. troops’ withdrawal.

2 Match the words/phrases (a-p) to their explanations(1-16).

a)escort(v.)              1)demand something forcefully, not accepting refusal.       

b)allow                     2)without being influenced or prevented by

c)maverick               3)a person who helps other people to come to agreement

d)remote                  4)difficult to deal with

e)insist                     5)accompany (someone or something) somewhere

f)commit                  6)the process or action of a military force moving out of an area

g)exile(v.)                 7)let (someone) have or do something.

h)dare                      8)of or at the beginning

i)advocate(v.)           9)able to make you believe that something is true or right

j)despite                 10)to think or say that something is not important

k)daunting              11)to send someone away from their own country, village, etc

l)dismiss                12)far away, distant

m)initial                  13)to promise or give your loyalty, time, or money to something

n)convincing          14)an unorthodox or independent-minded person

o)negotiator           15)have the courage to do something

p)withdrawal          16)publicly recommend or support

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Watch the video and answer the questions.

1. Why do you think the Taliban made it illegal for girls to go to school?

2. Why was Shabana’s grandfather special?

3. What would have happened if the Taliban had found out that Shabana and her sister were going to school?

4. How many women in Shabana’s age have made it past high school?

5. What were Shabana’s parents prepared to do in order to pay for her school fees?

6. How many girls went to school in Afganistan under the Taliban, and how many are in school now? 

7. What is SOLA?

Discuss the questions

1. What would you change about your school if you could?

2. Some people say that schools are useless for life. Do you agree?

3. What do you think are the most important life skills?

4. Do you need education if you want to be successful?

5. What are the most useful things that you learned at school?

6. What are the most useless things that you learned at school?

7. Besides school, where and how can you learn something new?

8. What talent or skill would you like to improve?


Download Ted Talk Education Lesson Plan:

Other resources:

ESL Exam Speaking Picture Description and Questions

Online ESL Video Lesson : Can Sci-fi Predict the Future?

Food and Travel ESL Lesson: Interactive Online Lesson

Improvisation Cards: ESL Speaking Activity

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

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

These interesting and deep conversation starters are not only intended for ESL students but also for everyone who would like to start chatting with a stranger, neighbor, colleague, someone they fancy, partner, friend.

No matter how well you know somebody, these deep conversation starters will help you connect with them even more. You will get to know them better, and at the same time, you will learn something about yourself.

This activity contains 60 questions and a YouTube video, so students can practice listening as well as speaking.

Reccommeded for ages 16+ and B1+

The slideshow can be used as a resource for online teaching: share your screen on Zoom or another 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.

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

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30 Deep Conversation Starters

  1. If you could learn the answer to one question about your future, what would the question be?
  2. What smell brings back great memories?
  3. If you opened a business, what kind of business would it be?
  4. Where and when was the most amazing sunset you have ever seen?
  5. What is something you are obsessed with?
  6. What do you do to get rid of stress?
  7. What three words best describe you?
  8. What would be your perfect weekend?
  9. Who had the biggest impact on the person you have become?
  10. What is the most annoying habit someone can have?
  11. Where is the most beautiful place you have been?
  12. What do you do to improve your mood when you are in a bad mood?
  13. What’s your favorite way to waste time?
  14. What do you think of tattoos? Do you have any?
  15. What is something popular now that annoys you?
  16. When was the last time you worked incredibly hard?
  17. Who in your life brings you the most joy?
  18. Are you very active, or do you prefer to just relax in your free time?
  19. What’s the best / worst thing about your work/school?
  20. If you had intro music, what song would it be? Why?
  21. What were you really into when you were a kid?
  22. If you could have any animal as a pet, what animal would you choose?
  23. Are you a very organized person?
  24. What is the strangest dream you have ever had?
  25. How often do you stay up past 3 a.m.?
  26. Which is more important, having a great car or a great house? Why?
  27. What do you bring with you everywhere you go?
  28. If you had to change your name, what would your new name be?
  29. What is something that really annoys you but doesn’t bother most people?
  30. How should success be measured? And by that measurement, who is the most successful person you know?

Watch a video with 25 deep questions

Another activity you can do with your students is to watch a video with 25 questions similar to the questions above. These, as you will find in the video, are used in therapy and can help you to get to know people on a deeper level.

It’s a ten-minute video and it’s divided into chapters so when you click on a chapter you will see the particular question he is answering and the questions will also appear in the video, so you can pause the video and students can discuss it, either individually or in groups.

Other speaking resources:

Conversation Questions: Present Perfect and Past Simple

ESL Conversation Topics: 12 Mini Presentations

50 ESL Conversation Questions for Teenagers and Adults

Conversation Questions Gerunds and Infinitives: ESL Speaking Activity

Phrasal Verbs Activity and Exercises, Conversation Questions and PDF Worksheet

Conversation Questions: Future Tenses

30 Hypothetical Conversation Questions for ESL Students

Here is another set of conversation questions, this some for more advanced students as the questions are hypothetical, so it requires a knowledge of conditionals and a certain level of creativity. I’d recommend it for 16+ (B1, B2, C1). The questions for this activity are used with the kind permission of C.B. Daniels of Conversation Starters World.

As usual it this conversation activity consists of a slideshow for remote teaching and a downloadable PDF for easy printing.

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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1. If you were a transformer, what vehicle would you turn into?

2. What laws would you abolish if you could? What laws would you create?

3. If extra lives were a thing in the real world, how would you get them?

4. If you were a food, what food would you be?

5. What animal would be way better if it was covered in scales?

6. If you could design a planet, what would your perfect planet look like?

7. What would be your strategy for a zombie apocalypse?

8. If you could be the CEO of any company, what company would you choose?

9. What two animals would you like to switch the sounds they make?

10. Would you want to permanently feel zero pain if given the chance?


11. What cartoon world do you wish you could live in for a week?

12. What do you wish grew on trees?

13. What weird thing would you make socially acceptable if you could?

14. If every time you snapped your fingers, you would instantly be transported to a random point in humanity’s timeline, would you snap your fingers? If so, how often?

15. If you were perpetually surrounded by one aroma (besides your natural smell) which you and everyone around you could smell, what would it be?

16. If you could level up any aspect of yourself (i.e., strength, intelligence, charisma, etc.) but you had to decrease another aspect of yourself by the same amount, what aspects would you increase, and which would you decrease?

17. If humans lost the ability to see all colors except one, which color would you want to survive?

18. If you were a dictator of a small country, what crazy dictator stuff would you do?

19. If you could put wings on any species of animal, what animal would you choose?

20. How would the world be different if zeppelins had caught on and were the dominant form of air travel?


21. Every day 12 things appear in your backyard, they are random, but all start with a letter of your choosing. What letter do you choose?

22. If when you died, you could cease to exist or wander the earth forever, never being able to interact with anything, which would you choose?

23. If you could move anywhere and still have a livable wage, where would you like to move?

24. If you could get a ticket to any show or event, what would you want a ticket to?

25. If you could go back in time and give your parents advice before you were born, what advice would you give them?

26. If everyone was mentally incapable of lying, how would that change the world?

27. If you could be invisible, but it would mean being permanently invisible, would you want to be?

28. If you had to do a dance that had never been done in the history of mankind or be killed, what kind of dance would you do?

29. If you could erase one thing from existence, even the memory of the thing, what would it be?

30. If you were required by law to get a full body tattoo, what would you get tattooed over your entire body?


Other resources to practice speaking:

ESL Vocabulary Activity. Forbidden Words: Health

ESL Vocabulary Activity Based on Taboo: Food

ESL Travel Vocabulary Taboo Cards

12 ESL Negotiation Role-plays: Real-life situations

ESL Speaking Activity: Conversation Cards

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