esl conversation questions business

33 ESL conversation questions about business

Richard Branson famously said: “business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” But we’d argue that the same applies for ESL questions about business—there’s so much to talk about that it’s hard to know where to start! 

Use these ESL questions to discuss all things business with your students and have some fun in the classroom.

33 ESL conversation questions about business

  1. Does anyone in your family own a business?
  2. Do you own a business, or aspire to own a business one day?
  3. Would you prefer to work for a small business or a large corporation? Why?
  4. Would you prefer to work for yourself or for someone else? Why?
  5. Do you like to support small businesses when you can? Which ones?
  6. Are there any brands or companies that you prefer to support? Why?
  7. Are there any companies that you choose to not support? Why?
  8. In a business, would you prefer to be a manager or the owner?
  9. Would you prefer to own an online business or a physical business? Why?
  10. If you had to run a business, which industry would you like it to be in?
  11. How many brand slogans do you know in English? (e.g. Apple: Think different.)
  12. Do you think doing business is good for the environment? Why/why not?
  13. Which businesses do well during a recession?
  14. Which businesses do well during a pandemic?
  15. Do you think that governments should spend money to bail out businesses when there is an economic crisis?
  16. Have you ever left a good review for a business? Why?
  17. Have you ever left a bad review for a business? Why? 
  18. Do you think it is essential for every business to have a website these days?
  19. If you could own any business right now, which one would you choose?
  20. Does your neighborhood have any businesses that you love? Which ones are they?
  21. Why do you think some businesses succeed while other businesses fail?
  22. Why do you think some businesses manage to stay open for decades?
  23. What are the key ingredients of good customer service?
  24. Is there a business in your home country that doesn’t exist here? If so, do you think it would be successful here? Why or why not?
  25. Do you think that dealing with customers is easy? Why or why not?
  26. Do you think that you would be a good small business owner? Why or why not?
  27. What personality traits does a business owner need to have to be a good leader?
  28. Are you inspired by any entrepreneurs? If so, why?
  29. Do you want to be an entrepreneur one day?
  30. Why do some people choose to be entrepreneurs while others choose to be employees?
  31. Do you believe that it’s possible for businesses to always do the right thing? Why or why not?
  32. Do you think that the business world is fair? Why or why not?
  33. What are the differences between doing business in your home country and doing business here?

What ESL Discussion Topics and ESL conversation questions do you use in your lessons? Share your experience below.


Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith is an English Communication Coach based in Vancouver, Canada. He's the founder of Learn English Every Day, and he's on a mission to help millions of people speak English with confidence. If you want longer video content, please follow me on YouTube for fun English lessons and helpful learning resources!

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