CONVERSATION TOPICS - Intermediate level

A list of conversation topics suitable for intermediate level learners of English.

♦Note:
  It's a good idea to pre-teach essential vocabulary before beginning a
discussion.
  This will help students feel more comfortable and encourage them to
participate.

CONVERSATION TOPICS - Intermediate level

1. What is for you the most enjoyable type of holiday?

(camping, hotel, club, rented accommodation, touring, sports activities, etc.)
List 5 things not to forget when you go on holiday.

2. Describe your favourite pastime/hobby.

- Why is it so enjoyable?
- When did you take it up?
- How often do you do it? etc...

3. Annoying habits
- Can you think of some things that annoy you?
- What annoys you on public transport?
- Do some drivers have annoying habits?
- Does snoring annoy you?
- Do children or young people do things that annoy adults?

4. What are the 5 most important decisions in a person's life?

After making suggestions, the group decides on the order of importance.

5. Who is the greatest? (Ask students to add to the list.)

- Who is/was the greatest leader in the world?
- Who is/was the greatest athlete of all time?
- What is/was the greatest movie you ever saw?
- Who is/was the greatest inventor of all time?

6. Your experiences in life

- What is the best idea you hav ever had?
- What is your biggest stroke of luck?
- What if the best / the worst piece of advice you ever received?
- What achievement are you most proud of?
- What initiative would you never take again?

7. Environment
- What are some of the most serious environmental problems?
- What are the causes of pollution?
- What are the causes of climate change?
- Suggest ten things people can do to help the environment.
- Suggest five things governments could do to help the environment.
8. Natural disasters
- What is a natural disaster? (fires, flooding, earthquakes ...)
- Can you give an example of a natural disaster?
- Have you ever been in a fire?
- If you had to leave your home quickly, what would you take with you?
- What would you do if you lost everything?

9. Television
- How often do you watch television?
- What do you think of the quality of television programmes today?
- What television programs are popular in your country?
- Is watching television good for children? Why? Why not?
- What would be your ideal TV show?

10. Fake news

- Have you ever heard of fake news (fabricated news)?
- Where do we most often find fake news?
(newspapers, social media, show business ...)
- What examples of fake news can you think of?

11. Are people becoming telephone addicts?

- Could you live without a telephone?
- What would happen if our telephones no longer worked?

12. Why are social networks so popular nowadays?

- What are the positive/negative effects?
- Are social networks sometimes used for bad purposes?
- What bad purposes can you think of? (harassment, fake news ...)
- What advice would you give to people about social networks?

13. Do you think actors, singers, sportsmen, etc. earn too much money?
- Why/why not?

14. Manners and politeness

- What do you think are some good/bad manners?
- Can good manners in one country be bad manners in another country?
- What are some good manners for using a mobile/cell phone?
- Why are manners important?
- Do people have better manners now than before?

15. Under what circumstances would you :

- walk out of a restaurant?
- refuse a taxi?
- call the manager of a hotel?
- sleep in a train/bus station?
- wear casual clothes to work?

16. If you won a lot of money, what would you do?

Would you :
- keep it a secret?
- stop working?
 - go shopping?
- buy a new house?
- travel around the world?
- give money to your family/friends?
- give money to charity?

17. What is a good job? (Ask students to add to the list.)

- an interesting job?
- a well-paid job?
- a secure job?
- good working conditions?

18. If you had to move to another country because of your job (or your partner's
job),
- what country would you prefer if you had a choice?
- what would you miss most?
- what would be the most important for you?

19. What have been the most important new stories in the last year?
- Are certain events given too much/too little coverage?
- Do you trust everything you read, hear or see on the news?

20. Travel
- What country would you most like to visit?
- Is there a place you would never visit again?
- If you were only allowed to take five things to an unknown destination, what would
you take?

21. Food
- What country has the best cuisine?
- What is your favourite food?
- What is the worst thing you’ve ever tasted?
- Do you worry about the safety of the food you eat?
- Do you buy organic food?

22. Equality men/women

- Are men and women always treated equally?
- Is it the same in all countries?
- Do women often face discrimination at work?

23. If .......... , what would you do?

- If your house caught fire, what three things would you save before running outside?
- If you could be another person for one day, who would you choose to be?
- If you could be invisible for one day, what would like to do?
- If you could live without sleeping, how would you spend your nights?
- If you could change ONE thing in the world, what would it be?