Speaking topics for ESL

Appearance
What is the first thing you notice about a person?
What do the clothes someone wears say about that person?
Is there a part of your appearance that you are very proud of? (i.e. eyes, fashion
sense, hair etc.)
What is the most interesting haircut you have seen?
Have you every gone through the entire day without noticing something was
wrong with your appearance? (i.e. missing button, food in your teeth)
What kinds of things do you do to improve/maintain your appearance?
Are there any fashion trends in the past you followed but think are silly looking
now?
How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
Have you ever been intimidated by someone’s appearance?
Do people in your country talk a lot about other people’s appearance?
Is it rude to tell the person that they need to improve their appearance?

Animals
What animal best represents you? Why?
What creature scares you? Why?
Except for food, do humans need other animals? Why or why not?
What is the most effective way to save endangered species?


What are some examples of useful traits that help animals survive? (i.e. a giraffe’s long
neck)
What is Darwin famous for?
What traits have made humans a successful species?
What is the cutest animal you can think of? How about the ugliest?
Why do humans have pets? Do you have a pet? Why or why not?
Are there any animals that we should try to kill off completely?

Advice
What three pieces of advice will you give your children?
Whose advice do you follow more, your parents’ or your friends’ advice?
If you could give the leader of your country some advice, what would it be?
If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice, what would you
tell your younger self?
Who was the wisest person in your country’s history? What kind of advice did they give?
Where do you go to get good advice?
Now it’s your turn to give some advice:
What are some things students should do to improve their English?
What should I do to make more money?
How can I get more free time?
What should people do when first meeting their boyfriend/girlfriend’s parents?
What should someone do to be happy?


Art
How often do you go to art museums?
Do you consider yourself to be artistic?
What do you think about modern art paintings?
How many forms of art can you name? What is your favorite form of art?
Is graffiti art? Why or why not?
What is the most famous statue in your country?
Who is your favorite artist? Why do you like them so much?
Do you think that art is important to society? Why?
Have you ever tried drawing, painting, sculpting, or something else artistic?
What is the most famous painting in your country?
What is traditional art like in your culture?
What country do you think is the most creative?
Why is art so expensive? Do you think it should be more, or less, expensive?

Do you have any artistic friends? What kinds of art do they create?

Beauty
Do you think beauty is the same for every person?
Do you think that different cultures think about beauty differently?


What do you think of plastic surgery?
What is the most common plastic surgery in your country?
What does “Beauty is only skin deep.” mean?
What kind of beauty contests are popular in your country? Do they have beauty
contests for men too?
What celebrities do you know of that have gotten plastic surgery?
Who is the most beautiful/handsome celebrity in your country?
What makes someone beautiful?
Do you think science can measure beauty?

Birthdays
What was your most memorable birthday?
What do you usually do to celebrate your birthday?
Do you think that the person having the birthday should pay for the birthday party or
should their friends and family pay for the party? Why?
Where is the best place to have a birthday party?
What gifts do you like to receive on your birthday?
What is the most heart warming birthday wish you can give someone?
What is the best birthday party for someone else you’ve been to? How about the worst?
What were your birthdays like when you were growing up?
What birthday traditions are unique to your culture?
At what ages do people have a massive birthday party in your culture?

What flavor cake or what type of food do you like to eat on your birthday?
How have birthdays changed from generation to generation in your culture?

Books
Do you read many books?
How often do you read books?
Did your parents read to you when you were a child?
What are some of the advantages of books vs. movies? How about
the disadvantages of books vs. movies?
What was the last book you read about?
Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction books?
Do you think people don’t read enough books these days?
If you could only read one more book for your entire life, what would it be?
Can a book change the world?
Who is an author that you like? Why do you like their books?
What is one example of traditional literature in your country? Did you have to read it in
school?
Do you like reading the traditional literature of your country?

Camping
What is the best activity to do while camping?
How many times have you gone camping? Did you enjoy it?


Where have you gone camping?
What are the 4 most important things to bring when you go camping?
Is camping with lots of amenities (solar panels, fans, stove, etc.) still camping? How
much luxury is too much?
Where is the best place to go camping in your country?

What is the longest time you have spent camping?
Tell a story about a camping trip (it doesn’t have to be your story).
What is the best thing about camping? How about the worst thing?
What is the best food to bring on a camping trip?

Cars and Driving
If you were going to get a new car, what kind of car would you get? A luxurious car? A
sports car? A hybrid or electric car?
What kind of cars do you think look the best?
Can you drive?
If yes, are you a good driver? When did you get your license?
If no, do you want to get a driver’s license? Why or why not?
What is the fastest you have gone in a car?
Do you think cars are safe?
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of driving versus public
transportation?
What do you think cars will be like in the future?


Do people drive well in your country?
Would you like to drive an F-1 race car?
Do you think the use of cars will increase or decrease in the future? Why?

Challenges
What is a challenge you faced?
There are many amazing challenges to try:
Visiting all continents
Swimming in all of the oceans of the world
Climbing Everest
Can you think of some more interesting challenges that a person can do?

What kind of challenge would you like to try?
Do you have any heroes that have done something amazing?
Challenges don’t have to be amazing. What are some normal challenges people face?
Some people think that facing challenges improves a person. Do you agree or
disagree?
Think of some tragic events that happened. Do you remember what you were you doing
when you found out about them?
Do you think someone is a better person after they have been through a challenge?
What are some challenges you think the next generation will face?
Should people make their children have easy lives with few challenges or make sure
their children face challenges?


Change
Are you someone who likes change?
In what ways have you changed since you were in junior high school?
How do you think you will change in the future?
Which political party in your country is most likely to make big changes? Is that a good
or bad thing?
“The only thing constant is change.” Do you agree with this statement? Explain.
What are the biggest changes in the world you have seen since you were a child?
What is the biggest change most people experience in their lives?
Is change good or bad for a person’s mental health?
What is the most positive change you have experienced in your life?
“You are the same person you were 5 years ago except for the books you have read,
the people you have met, and the places you have traveled.” Do you think this quote is
accurate?

Childhood
What was the best thing about your childhood?

What do you miss most about being a child?
Do you think that children these days have a better or worse childhood than your
generation? Why?
What do you think is most important for a happy childhood?
What about your childhood do you wish you could change?


Where did you grow up? How did that affect your childhood?
What were some of your favorite activities when you were a child?
Who, besides your parents, had the biggest impact on your childhood?
What do you want to provide your children that you didn’t have when you were growing
up?
Who were you really jealous of when you were a child? Why were you jealous?
What was your experience at school like? (elementary, junior high, or highschool)

Choices
Would you rather live in your home country or live abroad?
Would you rather be smart or beautiful / handsome?
Would you rather be poor and happy or rich and unhappy?
Would you rather marry someone plain with a good personality or someone beautiful
without much personality?
If war broke out in your country would you rather flee the country or fight?
Would you rather be rich or famous?
If you had to lose one of your senses(sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste) which would
you rather lose?
Would you rather marry a rich celebrity or a rich CEO?
Would you rather have a brand new Mac or PC?
Would you rather take a trip to a new country or get a new TV?

Cities
Do you like cities or the country side? Which is better and why?
You can make one change to your country’s capital city, what will you change?
What are some of most famous cities in the world? What makes them famous?
Why do you think that humans started living in cities?
Do you think that we will still live in cities 100 years from now?
How do you think cities will change in the future?
What city would you like to visit?
What city is best known for:
fashion?
technology?
art?
industry?
travel?
What makes a city great to live in?
Are cities good for the environment or bad for the environment?

Cleanliness
How clean is too clean?
How dirty is too dirty?


How can bacteria help humans?
If you drop food on the floor, will you pick it up, blow it off/dust it off and eat it?
What is the dirtiest job?
How often do you wash your hands with soap?
What is the grossest thing you have seen someone do?
Did your mom let you get dirty when you were a child?
What is the dirtiest you have ever been?
How often do you clean your house or room?

Do you do the dishes right after eating? How long do you let the dirty dishes sit without
washing them?
Do you know anyone who is REALLY concerned about germs and cleanliness?

Color
What is your favorite color?
Is color important to you?
Does color affect your emotions?
Imagine being in a room where everything is dark blue how would you feel? What if the
room was red? Black? Yellow? Pink?
Why do you think colors affect humans so much?
Do you think that certain colors are only for boys or only for girls?
Which colors do guys usually like more? How about girls?
Why do you think there is a difference?
If you HAD to change your hair color, what color would you change it to?


Most electronics are either black, silver or white. Why do you think this is? Do you think
we will have more colorful electronics in the future?
Colorful tattoos are becoming more popular in places like America. Do you think they
will become as popular in your country? Why or why not? Would you ever get a tattoo?
Why or why not?
Pink and purple are rarely worn by men in western cultures, why do you think this is?
If you bought a car, what color would it be?
Can you think of some examples of camouflage in daily life?

Communication
How is communication changing between people?
It used to be common to talk to strangers. Do you think it’s okay to talk to people you
don’t know?

How often do you start up a conversation with people you don’t know?
Think about how your Grandmother talks with people. Is it the same as how you talk to
people?
Use your imagination. How will people communicate in the future?
How have smart phones changed communication?
Name at least 10 forms of communication.
Do you think people can communicate with ghosts and spirits?
How has communication changed through human history?
What is the most basic form of communication?

Cooking


How often do you cook?
How good are you at cooking?
What are some things that you can cook?
What dish or food are you best at cooking?
Do you think you can cook better than your mother?
Who is a better cook, your mother or your grandmother?
Are cooking shows popular in your country? Do you watch any cooking shows?
What is the hardest thing to cook?
What are some of the advantages of cooking your meals at home? How about the
disadvantages?
Is it important for husbands to know how to cook?
Does your father cook?
Who is the best cook you know?
Would you like to be a chef? Why?
If you had your own personal chef, what meal would you ask for most?
How hard is it to become a chef? What do you have to do to become a chef?

Dreaming
How often do you dream?
Do you dream in color or black and white?
Have you ever had a flying dream?
Have you ever been falling in a dream and just when you are about to hit the ground
you wake up?


Do you think dreams have meanings?
Do you think dreams can tell the future?
Have you ever been dreaming and woken up and couldn’t move?
What was the best or worst dream you can remember? Don’t share your dream if it’s
too personal or too intense.
Why do we forget dreams so quickly?
Have you ever kept a dream journal?
Why do we dream? What is the purpose of them?
Do you think animals dream too? What kind of dreams do you think they have?
What does your country’s culture traditionally believe about dreams?

Eating Habits
Talk about what you have eaten today.
What is the most unhealthy food you can think of?
What do people need to eat more of?
Do you usually eat healthy food?
What are some different types of diets you have heard of?
Do you think your parents ate healthier food at your age than you do? How about your
grandparents?
Do you eat a lot of small portions or a few large portions of food each day?
Do you think people from your country usually eat healthy food?
What are some things about your eating habits you want to change?

Do you think that organic food is much better than normal food or are they about the
same?


Why is organic food so much more expensive?
What is traditional food in your country like? Is it healthy?
Do you think that a person’s eating habits affect how long they will live?

Family
How do members of a family support each other?
Who do you think has the most power in the family? Why?
Do you agree with the saying “Children should be seen and not heard”? Why do you
agree or disagree?
Are good family members or good friends more important? Why?
What problems do parents have to solve as their children grow up?
How close are you to your extended family? (cousins, aunts, great uncles etc.)
What is the perfect number of children a family should have?
What do you think of people who marry and decide not to have children?
How do you think western families and eastern families differ?
What do you think is the most important thing to make a happy family?
Is it better for mothers to stay at home with kids or go to work to earn more money for
the family?
Many families send their children to private institutes or daycares for most of the day. Is
this good or bad?
How do you define the word “home”? Is it where you live? Where your family lives or
where you grew up?
When married people talk about having children they talk about “starting a family”. Can
two married people be a family if they don’t have kids?

How do you think family life is changing in your country? (example: wife working,
husband cleaning, kids at institutes) Is this change good or bad?
What do you think of gay marriage?
Is spanking or hitting a good way to discipline children? Why or why not?
What age is too young to get married?
Why do people get married?
If you were offered an excellent job abroad could you leave your family and country for
5 years?

Fast Food
What is your least favorite fast food restaurant and why?
Does fast food taste good or bad? Why?
Why is fast food so popular?
How often do you eat fast food? What do you usually eat? Where?
What is a food that people think is healthy but really isn’t?
Do you know anyone who has worked at a fast food restaurant? How did they like it?
How has fast food changed in your country?
How is your country’s fast food different from other countries’ fast food?
Can you think of any healthy fast food?


How would you define “fast food”?

First Impressions
When you look at someone, what makes you think they are…
•

Dangerous

•

Greedy

•

Intelligent

•

Kind

•

Not smart

•

Crazy

•

Generous

Do you like to meet new people or do you prefer to hang out with people you already
know?
When and where did you meet most of your friends for the first time?
Have you met someone who you hated right away even though you didn’t know them?
When are the most important times to make a good first impression?
What are the best ways to make a good first impression?
Do you make first impressions based on what people wear?

What kind of impression are you trying to make with your clothes?
Do you try to make a different first impression now than you did in high school?
Have you ever tried to make a great first impression but completely messed it up?
In what jobs do people have to make very quick decisions based on first impressions?


Free Time
What are some things you like to do in your free time?
Do you have more free time now than when you were a kid?
What would you do if you had more free time?
Is there such a thing as too much free time?
How do free time activities differ now compared with the past?
Do you think people had more or less free time in the past?
What is the most worthwhile thing a person can do with their free time?
What does the idiom “Time is money.” mean? Do you agree with it?
Is there something you wish you could do with your free time but can’t?
Do you think a four day work week would be a good idea?

Friendship
Do you prefer to have many friends or just a few that you are close to?
What are the benefits of having just a few close friends? How about the benefits of
having many friends?
Describe your best friend.
Are you close friends with anyone who you knew in elementary school?
Why do people need friends? What can happen if a person has no friends?
What is the biggest thing you have done to help a friend?
Do you have any friends who would risk their life to save you?
Would you risk your life to save a friend? How about a stranger?
What kind of qualities do you look for in a friend?

What is the best way to make new friends? Do you like making new friends?
Do you think sites like Facebook are good for friendships or do they stop people from
becoming close?
How did you meet your best friend?

Future
What kind of neighborhood will you live in when you get older?
What will cities be like 50 years from now? Think about how these will change (make
two or three predictions for each):
Transportation
Pollution
Crime
Advertising
Buildings
Work
Shopping
Nightlife
When will you graduate?
How will you use English in the future?
Will humans ever meet aliens? What will the meeting be like?
What kind of sci-fi movie will the future be like? (The Matrix, Terminator, i-Robot,
Minority Report etc.)
Do you think houses will be more environmentally friendly in the future?
Where will we get our energy when we run out of oil?


How will India and China affect the environment in the future?
What will happen if we keep polluting the environment?
Will the climate keep changing or go back to normal?

Will science find a solution to the environmental problems we have? What kind of
solution will it be?
What will you do this weekend?
Do you want to get married? When will you get married?
Will you have children?
What will life be like when you are 40?
Will computers ever take over the world?

Getting a Job
What is the best way to find a job?
What do you think are the five most common questions asked at a job interview?
What are some things you should do for a job interview? How about things you
shouldn’t do?
How is the job market in your country, is it easy or difficult to get a job?
How many jobs have you had? What were the interviews like to get those jobs?
If you were going to change jobs or try to get a job, what kind of job would you want to
apply for?
How should a person dress when they go for a job interview?
How should you act when you are in a job interview? Confident? Polite? Humble?
What are resumes like in you country? What information do employers want to know?
What are some good things to have on your resume?


Habits
What are some things you do every day?
What are some good habits you have?
Do you have any bad habits?
Can your group give you any advice for your bad habits?
What is something you should do every day but don’t?
What are some activities you like to do?

How much do you exercise every week?
What is a successful life? What habits should you have to have a successful life?
What three habits will improve your life?
What are some habits that can improve your English ability?
What is something you do about once a week, month or year?

Health
What is the best thing to do to stay healthy?
What do you think the worst disease to have would be?
Do you consider yourself to be healthy? Why?
How often do you exercise?
What is your diet like? Do you eat mostly fruits and vegetables?
What do you think about the health care system in your country? How could it be
improved?
People are living longer and longer thanks to medicine. How long would you like to live?
How about forever?


Are there any diseases like small pox that you think humans could totally get rid of if we
tried?
Where do you think the future of medicine will be? Genetics? Cybernetics? Chemistry?
Would you like to get your genome sequenced?
If you could find out that you were at risk to get a certain disease, would you want to
know?

Holidays
What is your favorite holiday? Has your favorite holiday changed since you were a kid?
On what holiday do people in your country eat a lot of food?
Do you give gifts on any holidays?
What foreign holidays do you know about?

What is the strangest holiday or festival you have heard of?
Do you think that all countries have similar holidays?
Talk about your best memory from a holiday.
Are there any holidays that you really don’t like?
Do you think your country should have more, or less, holidays? Why?
Does your country have parades during holidays? Have you ever been to a parade?
What is the most important holiday?

Homes
Is your home clean? Are you a very organized person?


Do you have a lot of decorations in your home or is it bare?
Are you happy with the size of your home?
What is your favorite appliance, electronic device, or piece of furniture in your home?
If you had $3,000 to improve your home, what would you spend it on?
Do you agree with the saying “Wherever I lay my head is home.”?
How is your home different from your childhood home?
What would you say the decoration style of your home is?
What would your ideal house or apartment look like?
What do you do to maintain your home?
What household chores do you hate doing?

Jobs
What are some of the worst jobs you can think of?
What are some of the best jobs you can think of?
How long do you want to work?
Is it better to be a boss or an employee? Why?
What would be the most satisfying job for you?
What is one of the most exciting jobs you can think of? How about one of the most

boring jobs?
What kind of job do you want to get in the future? What kind of tasks will you have to
do?
Do you think what job someone has determines who they are?
What is the most dangerous job?


How difficult is it to get a job in your country?
What company is the best to work for?

Learning English
Submitted by: Michael Shelby
Why are you learning English? How will you use the English you learn?
Which of these do you do: attend English classes at school, learn English with a tutor
(private teacher) or study English yourself (on your own)?
What materials do you use for learning English?
Since when (how long) have you been learning English?
Is it effective to practice English your own with ready-made materials and checking your
own progress?
Are there any vowels or consonants you have problems with?
Do you do grammar exercises based on real life situations?
How do you practice speaking English?
What do you use to improve your listening ability?
In what ways do you expand your English vocabulary?
Do you try to use what you have learned already in what you are learning now?
Do you also make up your own samples of conversation sentences and examples of
vocabulary usage in sentences?
Do you sometimes communicate in English with native English speakers? In what
ways?
Do you do oral and written translation exercises from your native language into English?

What is the most difficult thing about learning English?
What typical mistakes do you make?


What area of English are you best at (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, listening
comprehension, speaking, reading or writing)?
What do you think your level is (beginning, intermediate, advanced)?

Meeting New People
If you don’t know your partners very well ask them some questions to get to know them.
Do you like meeting new people? Why or why not?
What are some things that you usually talk about when you meet a new person?
If you see a handsome boy/beautiful girl that you want to get to know, what is the best
way to approach them?
Why don’t strangers talk to each other as often as they used to?
Have you ever had a stranger come up and start talking to you? How did you respond?
Do you know any funny “pick up lines”?
Do you think that some people are destined to meet?
Where is the best place to meet new people?
Have you ever met someone you hated right after meeting them?

Memory
What is the best memory you have?
Who was your most memorable teacher? (Bad or good)
Do you have any strong memories linked to a particular smell?
How do you want people to remember you?
How good is your memory?