Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Conversation Topics Advanced
Conversation Topics Advanced
o What kind of aid should the governments of rich countries give to poor countries?
(money - food - medicine - machinery/equipent - hospitals - schools - training ...)
o Are the poor poor because they lack opportunities or because they are lazy? What
reasons can you think of?
2. Fake news
Fake news (fabricated news) is the deliberate spread of misinformation. Sensationalist,
dishonest or outright fabricated headlines are often used to increase readership.
o Where do we most often find fake news? (newspapers, social media ...)
o What sort of fake news can you think of? (politics, show business...)
o How can we tell if a news story is ‘fake’ or not? (checking sources, dates, photos…)
o When you hear the word "violence", what do you think of?
o Do people tend to be more violent when they group together? (gangs / mobs / -
o crowds…)
o In what areas is there an increase in the level of violence? (football, politics, religion,
environment …)
o Does the repetition of violent images in TV news reports have a positive or negative
effect?
o If you were given the opportunity to be born again, what would you change in your
life?
o If you could have dinner with someone, dead or alive, who would you choose and
why?
o If you always had to tell the truth, what kind of problems would you encounter?
o If you could live without sleeping, how would you spend your nights?
o If you were given a choice beween great wisdom or great wealth, which would you
choose?
o If you could live forever on earth, as it is now, would you? Why or why not?
5. Natural disasters
o If you had to leave your home quickly, what would you take with you?
6. Annoying things
o What are some things that car drivers do that annoy you?
o Does it annoy you if someone cuts in front of you when you are waiting in line?
o Does smoking bother you?
7. Success-Failure
o Can you think of any famous people who encountered failure before success?
8. Social Networking
9. Diseases
10. Manners
o Can you give examples of what you think are good manners?
o What about table manners? Can you give examples of some good table manners?
o How about bad table manners?
o What advice about manners would you give a foreigner visiting your country?
o Do you think news coverage today correctly describes what is going on in the world?
o Do you trust the media? Are you sure the information given is always true?
o Can you think of any difficult questions one should be prepared for?
13. Environment
o Can you find ten things that each of us can do to help preserve our planet?
15. Risk
o In your opinion why do people take risks? (pleasure, work, challenge ...)
o Does a politician's personal life have an effect on their ability to do their job?
o Do you think the media pays too much attention to politicians' personal lives?
o You are asked to select a number of objects to represent life at the beginning of the
21st century.
The idea is to help future generations better understand how we lived and what
major events affected us.
What objects would your choose and why?
18. Technology
19. Travelling has become easier and cheaper. What has it changed in people's lives:
o work/employment
o holiday habits
o What advice would you give someone planning the same sort of trip?
21. Work
22. Is life today better than in the past? Think about the following:
o Violence
o Social issues : single mothers, unmarried couples, homosexuality ...
23. Inventions
o Are there some things that never should have been invented?
o The first and most popular use is the email. What others can you think of?
o What do you think the internet will be used for in the future?
o Are there times when it might be better to give partial truth to someone
31. Politics
o What do you think is the most important political issue right now?
o What type of information - if any - should a government keep from its citizens?
CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS :
2. Gay marriage is wrong (free starter debate available: How People React to Gay Adoptions)
4. You can’t have a happy family life and a successful career at the same time
6. Citizens should be allowed to carry guns (free starter debate available: Gun violence)
10. Women are not paid the same as men (30 Debates On Women and Gender Equality)
26. Single-sex schools are evil (free starter debate available: Single-sex schools is good for
education)
28. The United Nations is a failed organisation (premium lesson plan available: The United
Nations)
29. Intelligence tests should be given before couples can have children
32. Genetically modified foods or GMOs have no ill effects on our health (premium lesson plan
available: Genetically modified foods)
33. A man should have a wife for the family and a mistress for pleasure
45. The world is over populated and steps must be taken to reduce births
46. Euthanasia should be legal (free starter debate available: assisted suicide should be legal)
47. Cloning is a valuable scientific cause
MORE QUESTIONS...
1. Are social networking sites effective, or are they just a sophisticated means for stalking
people?
14. Children under five need to be educated about sex and relationships