Speaking Part 3: Discussion Questions

Eating habits
1. Tell me about the types of food that people eat in your country.
2. How are the eating habits now in your country different from eating habits in the past?
3. How healthy is your country’s food?
4. Why do you think different cultures have different table manners?
5. How may eating habits change in coming decades?
Education
6. How are education priorities today different from those in the past?
7. What is your opinion on the way languages are taught in schools?
8. How can the type of school you go to affect career success?
9. What changes do you think will happen in the classroom in the near future?
Environment
10. Is water pollution a problem in your country?
11. What are some of the causes of water pollution?
12. What can individuals do to try and ensure water is kept clean?
13. Do you think problems with the cleanliness of water will improve in the future?
Influence of television
14. How popular is watching television in your country?
15. Tell me about the types of program that are generally on television in your country.
16. Why do people like watching television?
17. Do you think state or private television is better?
18. What effects can watching television have on children?
Influences on the young
19. What type of people influence the young in your country?
20. Why it is important to have role models?
21. Do you think the education system in your country influences young people’s behavior?
22. What type of person (parents, teachers, friends etc) is best to influence young people’s
behavior?
23. What do you think young people will be most influenced by it the future?
Leisure activities
24. What types of leisure activities are popular in your country?
25. Why it is important for people to have time for leisure activities?
26. Why are some activities more popular than others?
27. Are the types of leisure activities that are popular today the same as those that were
popular when your parents were young?
28. What types of leisure activities may become more popular in the future?
Shopping
29. Is shopping a popular activity in your country
30. How have shopping habits changed over recent years?
 31. To what extent do you think advertising affects the way people shop?
32. Do you think shopping habits are likely to change in the future?
Sports
33. What types of sports are popular in your country?
34. What are the benefits of playing a sport?
35. Do you think the types of sport that are popular will change in the future?
36. How can sports bring people from different countries closer together?
Transport
37. How do most people travel long distances in your country?
38. Have the types of transport people use changed much over the last few decades?
39. What kinds of improvement have there been in transport in your country in recent years?
40. Do you think transport is likely to continue to improve in the future?
Attitudes to tourism
41. Why do you think people like to travel to different places in their free time?
42. How do you see tourism changing in your country in the future?
Conserving the countryside
43. Why is it important to protect the countryside?
44. In what ways is the countryside in danger in your country?
Historic buildings and monuments
45. Why are historic buildings and monuments important to a city?
46. Is it better to keep old buildings, or build new modern ones?
Attitudes to family
47. In what ways have families in your country changed in recent years?
48. Should husbands and wives have different roles within the family? Why (not)?
Family or friends
49. Which are more important to you: your family or your friends?
50. What conflicts can arise between a person's family and a person's friends?
Family responsibilities
51. What responsibilities do parents have towards their children?
52. What responsibilities do children have towards their parents?
Things to buy
53. What typical things can visitors to your country buy?
54. What things do young people like to buy in your country?
Money
55. Is it a good idea to save money? Why (not)?
56. Do you think that people are happier if they have money? Why (not)?
Shopping
57. What can shops do to make shopping more pleasant for their customers?
 58. Do you think that in the future people will do most of their shopping using the Internet?
Why?/ Why not?
Shopping at markets
59. Do people in your country enjoy going to open-air markets that sell things like food or
clothes or old objects? Which type of market is more popular? Why?
60. Do you think markets are more suitable places for selling certain types of things? Which
ones? Why do you think this is?
61. Do you think young people feel the same about shopping at markets as older people?
Why is that?
Shopping in general
62. What do you think are the advantages of buying things from shops rather than markets?
63. How does advertising influence what people choose to buy? Is this true for everyone?
64. Do you think that any recent changes in the way people live have affected general
shopping habits? Why is this?
Attitudes to food
65. What do you think a healthy diet consists of?
66. Which do people in your country prefer: traditional food or fast food such as hamburgers
or pizzas?
Learning about food
67. Do you think children should be taught about healthy diets and cooking at school? Why
(not)?
68. At what age do you think children should be taught to cook?
Food aid
69. What can be done to prevent poor people in the world going hungry?
70. Should rich countries help poor countries with more than just food?
Travelling and learning
71. What do people learn from travelling?
72. Do you think the growth of international tourism is a good thing? Why (not)?
Tourism and culture
73. How has tourism changed the way people in your country live?
74. How should tourists behave when they visit your country?
Ways of travelling
75. What do you think is the best way for a tourist to travel if they want to learn about your
country?
76. What are the advantages and disadvantages of travelling by plane?
Reasons for daily travel
77. Why do people need to travel every day?
78. What problems can people have when they are on their journey, for example to work or
school? Why is this?
 79. Some people say that daily journeys like these will not be so common in the future. Do
you agree or disagree? Why?
Benefits of international travel
80. What do you think people can learn from travelling to other countries? Why?
81. Can travel make a positive difference to the economy of a country? How?
82. Do you think a society can benefit if its members have experience of travelling to other
countries? In what ways?
Attitudes to education
83. How has education changed in your country in the last ten years?
84. Is a good education more important to a boy or a girl? Why?
The focus of education
85. How well do you think schools prepare young people for working life?
86. Do you think schools should teach subjects like art, music and dancing? Why (not)?
Education and technology
87. How important is it for schools to have computers for their students?
88. Is the Internet a valuable educational tool?
Safety and danger
89. In what ways is life becoming safer, and in what ways is it becoming more dangerous?
90. Should people always avoid danger, or is it a good idea sometimes to take risks?
Taking risks
91. What risks should people try to avoid?
92. Do you think people take fewer risks as they grow older? Why (not)?
Adventure
93. How important is it to have adventure in our lives?
94. What do people learn about themselves from having adventures?
Attitudes to newspapers
95. In what ways are newspapers better for learning about the news than listening to the radio
or watching television?
96. Do you think newspapers should be completely free to say whatever they want?
Tastes in reading
97. What do people enjoy reading in your country?
98. Do you think it is important for people to read a lot? Why (not)?
Public and private lives
99. What sort of stories do newspapers and magazines publish about well-known or famous
people in your country?
100. Do you think the media should be allowed to publish stories about the private
lives of public figures?
Sport & Health
101. What do you do to keep fit?
 102. Are you good at sport?
103. What sports do you play?
104. What is the most popular sport in your country?
105. What are the best ways to keep fit?
106. Do you think most people consider exercise a chore or do they find it fun?
107. What is the most popular form of exercise in your country?
108. Do you think people in your country are less healthy than they used to be?
109. How can we encourage young people to stay healthy?
110. Should governments intervene to force people to be healthier?
Random
111. Is it better to make important life decisions on your own or is it better to consult other
people?
112. Do you think good decision-making can be taught?
113. Is watching TV a good way of forgetting about work or study?
114. Should coworkers also spend their leisure time together?
115. Do you agree that English should be the main language of international exchange?
116. What are the difficulties in creating a universal language?
117. Why do some companies have uniforms for their employees?
118. Who do you think has a harder time making decisions, children or adults? Why?
119. Is it convenient to use an APP?
120. What do you think about family business?

Values
121. What kinds of possessions give status to people in your country?
122. Has it always been the same or were different possessions thought of as valuable in the
past?
123. Why do you think people need to show their status in society?
Advertising
124. Do you think advertising influences what people buy?
125. Do advertisements give correct information, or do they encourage people to buy things
that they may not need?
126. Is advertising really necessary in modern society?
127. Do you think people take notice of advertisements on the internet?
128. How do you think it will change people's buying habits in the future?
129. Are there any disadvantages to shopping on the internet?
Community

130. What help does your own community need?

131. What kinds of things can people do to help improve their communities?
 132. What is your opinion about how attached people are to their communities nowadays -
are they more or less attached to the community where they grew up than people in the
past?
133. What are some of the ways people can help others in the community? Which is most
important?
134. Why do you think some people like to help other people?
135. Some people say that people help others in the community more now than they did in
the past. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Community Services
136. What types of services, such as libraries or health centers, are available to the people
who live in your area? Do you think there are enough of them?
137. Which groups of people generally need most support in a community? Why?
138. Who do you think should pay for the services that are available to the people in a
community? Should it be the government or individual people?

Music

139. At what age can people go clubbing in your country? (Is that the right age limit?)
140. Do you think it is possible to judge someone’s personality from their taste in music?
(Why/ Why not?)
141. Do you think it is true that anyone can sing with the right training? (Why?)
142. Do you think pop stars can be a bad influence on young people? (Can you give some
e How important is it to learn how to play music when you are young? (Why?)
143. How much does the internet influence how you listen to music? (Do you think it will
do so more in the future?)
144. Is foreign music or music from your country more popular with people your age?
(Why do you think that is?)
145. Is there any future for CDs, do you think? (How long might they still be around?)
146. Recently many singers and groups have first become famous through television talent
shows. What do you think about this?
147. What do you think about illegal downloading of music? (What should be done about
it?)
148. What would the advantages and disadvantages of being stricter about illegal
downloading of music be? (Would it generally be a good thing?)
149. What do you think about music education in your country? (How could it be
improved?)
150. examples?)
151. Can you think of any bad effects of listening to music with headphones? (Is it worth it
anyway?)
 152. Do you think it is possible to learn another language from listening to music in that
language? Why/ why not?
153. Do you think music while you are studying generally helps or not? (Why?)
154. Do you think the government needs to do more to preserve traditional music? (What
could they do?)
155. How do you think the music industry will change in the future? (Will the changes be
mainly positive or negative, in your opinion?)
156. How have music and the music industry changed over the last ten years? (Are those
changes mainly positive or negative, in your opinion?)
157. How important is music for young people nowadays, do you think? (Is that different
from the past?)
158. In what ways does music education benefit children? (Does that make it worth the
money?)

Movies

159. Why do you think people like watching films?

160. Do you think films have changed since you were a child? How?
161. As the technology for home viewing improves, do you think people will stop going to
the cinema in future?

Pollution/ Environmental problems

162. Which environmental problems are people most concerned about in your country?
163. What are the main causes of these environmental problems?
164. Do you think it is the responsibility of governments alone to protect the environment?
165. What measures can individuals take to protect the environment?
166. Do you think large companies and business organizations should be more
environmentally friendly? Why? How?
167. How can we teach children about the importance of protecting the environment?
168. Do you think that governments around the world are doing enough to tackle the
problems?
169. Why do some people not consider environmental problems to be serious?
170. What do you consider to be the world’s worst environmental disaster caused by
humans?
171. Why do you think environmental disasters caused by humans happen?
172. Do you think there will be more environmental disasters caused by humans in the
future?

Museum

173. How often do you visit museums?

 174. What type of museum is popular in your country?
175. What do you think of the importance of museums in history?
176. How do you think of the heritage of a country?
177. Compare the museums nowadays and in the past.
178. Have you ever been to a foreign museum?

Weddings
179. What presents are suitable for a wedding in your country?
180. Do you think money spent on a wedding is wasted?
181. Why do non-religious people choose to get married in churches?
Marriage
182. How long should a couple wait before getting married?
183. What is the secret of a successful marriage?
184. Should unhappy couples get divorced?
Communication
185. What are the main differences between spoken and written communication?
186. To what extent do you think the media influences how people communicate with
each other?
187. Do you think there are differences in the way men and women communicate?
188. Do you think that people become better communicators as they get older?
189. Do you agree that education has a strong and positive effect on people’s ability to
communicate effectively?
190. What impact has the growth of technology had on the way people communicate
and how do you think this will develop in the future?
Gifts
191. Do you think that present giving will play an important role in daily life? Why?
192. Compare the gift which people have received 10 years ago to the present that
people now are receiving? What's the difference between them?
193. Do you think that the brand name is very important for sales?
Trees

194. Do you think we should plant more trees?

195. Do you think trees are important?
196. What would you say are the benefits of having trees?
197. Do you think we need to protect trees?

Happiest Moment
198. What do you think is important in achieving happiness?
199. How do you celebrate some happy events?
200. What do the camera and video play in celebrating?
Favorite person in the family

201. What is the strongest relation in this world?

202. Can you love a person and one moment and hate him the very next moment?
203. Do family members play an important role in a person’s life?
204. Would you prefer a family member over a very close friend?
205. What is the basic reason people are not in good terms with their family members?
206. Do you consider the concern shown by family member as interference?
207. Would you do anything for a family member? Why
208. What are the different ways you could help a family member in trouble?
209. Do parents differentiate between different family members? How and why
210. Would you ever turn down a request of a close family member? Why
211. Rich families stay happy and poor families stay sad. Do you agree or disagree?

Favorite person

212. Does everyone in this world have a favorite person?

213. Are you ambivalent about a person in this world? Why
214. Is it necessary that the person whom you like should have the same likes and
dislikes as you have?
215. How much time does it require to start admiring a person? Why
216. What is the single thing which inclines you to get impressed from a person?
217. Why do people always like successful people?
218. How do you perceive people who idealize someone?
219. Has your choice changed over the years?
220. What other things can influence you in your life?

Hometown

221. Some people want to live in their hometowns for the rest of their lives. Why?
222. What is the main reason for liking a hometown other than the fact you were born
there?
223. Which affects a person’s personality more, the hometown or the current city?
Why
224. Most people in this world do not live in their hometowns. Why?
225. What do people do to remember their hometowns or to keep them alive in their
hearts?
226. Do people with the same hometown have a similar thinking? Why
Technology

227. What are some of the main uses of technology for communication?
228. Do you agree that some people use technology for communication too much?
229. What differences are there between the attitudes of older and younger people to
technology for communication?
230. Do you think that the advance of technology has improved standards of education
in schools?
231. Would you agree that the rapid development of digital technology has had a
positive impact on the world of work?
232. Do you think that the rate of technological expansion will slow down in the years
to come?

Holidays

233. First of all why do people go on holiday?

234. How important is it for families to go on holiday together?
235. Why do some people go on holiday alone?
236. What kind of holidays will be popular in the future?
237. Is it better to take a holiday in your own country or in a foreign country? Why?
238. What problems can people have on holiday in a foreign country?

Teachers

239. What are the most important qualities in a good teacher?

240. How respected are teachers in your society?
241. Do you think teachers get paid enough money? Why / Why not?
242. What things should children learn from their families?
243. Compare the education your parent’s had with the education you received.
244. Which subjects will be popular in the future? Why?

Electronic Device

245. What are the most popular electronic devices in Vietnam at the moment?
246. What devices do you think will be popular in the future?
247. Do you think people spend too much money on electronic devices?
248. In what ways can electronic devices make our lives harder?
249. What would the world be like without computers?
250. Should children be taught to use computers at school?

Being late
 251. When is it very important that people arrive on time?
252. What is the attitude towards arriving late in your country?
253. Can you suggest some ways to make sure you are not late for anything?
254. How easy is it to manage your time in the modern world?
255. Do you think computers make it easier or more difficult to manage time?
256. How much free time do you think people will have in the future?

Questions: 257-330