1500+ ESL conversation questions for your classroom
ESL conversation questions are one of the best tools at an ESL teacher’s disposal. Giving your students the opportunity to share their thoughts via interesting discussions in English will help them fast track their English speaking skills. After all, one of the best ways to learn English is to speak it as much as possible.
In this guide, we’ll share how to use ESL conversation questions in the classroom to get the best results. And you’ll find links to over 1500 ESL conversation questions—printable guides that you can use to get everyone in your classroom talking.
Table of Contents
What are ESL conversation questions?
ESL conversation questions are English learning tools that help students practice their speaking skills, learn new vocabulary, and correct common mistakes. Using the right ESL conversation questions can create fun, lively discussions in the ESL classroom.
How do you use ESL conversation questions?
You can use ESL conversations to facilitate English speaking practice with your students. Here are some ways to use ESL conversation questions in the classroom and one-on-one sessions:
- Group Speaking Exercises. You (the teacher) ask the class a question in English. Multiple students can respond in English at random. This method is a good ice breaker. It can also help ESL students witness and learn from each student’s mistakes.
- Warm Up Speaking Exercises. Ask You may choose to do this before arranging your students in pairs. You can also have students focus on these simple warm-up exercises before you
- Partner Speaking Exercises. Ask your students to get into pairs. Have them take turns asking each other questions and responding in English.
- Individual Speaking Exercises. If you’d like to assign speaking practice as homework, you can also ask students to use ESL conversation questions at home. If you are remote teacher, students can also record themselves responding to these questions and submit them to you for remote-based assessment.
List of ESL conversation questions
- ESL Conversation Questions about Animals
- ESL Conversation Questions about Appearance
- ESL Conversation Questions about Birthdays
- ESL Conversation Questions about Business
- ESL Conversation Questions about Childhood
- ESL Conversation Questions about Community and Neighborhood
- ESL Conversation Questions about Colors
- ESL Conversation Questions about Cooking
- ESL Conversation Questions about Countries
- ESL Conversation Questions about Daily Routine
- ESL Conversation Questions about Dating, Relationships, and Marriage
- ESL Conversation Questions about Education, School, and University
- ESL Conversation Questions about Employment and Work
- ESL Conversation Questions about Environment
- ESL Conversation Questions about Ethics
- ESL Conversation Questions about Family
- ESL Conversation Questions about Fashion and Clothes
- ESL Conversation Questions about Food and Eating Out
- ESL Conversation Questions about Football and Soccer
- ESL Conversation Questions about Friends and Friendship
- ESL Conversation Questions about Intelligence
- ESL Conversation Questions about Games and Gaming
- ESL Conversation Questions about Gender and Gender Roles
- ESL Conversation Questions about Money
- ESL Conversation Questions about Movies
- ESL Conversation Questions about Music
- ESL Conversation Questions about Religion
- ESL Conversation Questions about the Olympics
- ESL Conversation Questions about Travel
- ESL Conversation Questions about Small Business
- ESL Conversation Questions about Social Media
- ESL Conversation Questions that use Simple Future Tense
ESL conversation questions books
ESL conversation question books can help you save time in the classroom and with lesson planning. These books are typically full of list of ESL conversation questions that you can print and use as exercise sheets with your students.
The best ESL conversation question books are:
- 500 Grammar Based Conversation Questions
- 67 ESL Conversation Topics with Questions, Vocabulary, Writing Prompts & More
- 1000+ ESL Discussion Questions for Teenagers: Interesting Conversation Topics for Teens
- ESL Conversation Questions for Kids: 50+ Topics for English Conversation Class
- 1005 ESL Conversation Questions: For English Teachers of Teenagers and Adults Who Want to Have Better TEFL Speaking and Conversation Classes
- 1001 Canadian Conversation Questions for the ESL Classroom
What are the best ESL conversation questions for beginners?
The best English discussion questions for beginners are those that focus on simple discussion topics with simple tense structures. For example, “What is your favorite song?” and “What is your favorite movie?” are perfect for beginner English learners.
Use these ESL conversation questions for beginners:
What are the best ESL conversation questions for intermediate speakers?
The best English discussion questions for intermediate speakers focus on topics that require answers with complex sentence structures and reasoning. “What is your favorite food, and why do you like it so much?” and “What is your dream job, and why would you pick this as your career?” are two great examples of a simple question that requires additional reasoning and descriptive language.
Use these ESL conversation questions for intermediate English learners:
- Money Conversation Questions
- Career Conversation Questions
- Personal Appearance Conversation Questions
What are the best ESL conversation questions for advanced speakers?
The best English discussion questions for intermediate speakers focus on topics that require in-depth answers with complex sentence structures, various tense structures, descriptive language, and reasoning. At this level, you may also benefit from introducing some controversial discussion topics; advanced English learners have the language skills required to participate in life discussions that go beyond the basics.
Use these ESL conversation questions for advanced English learners:
- Artificial Intelligence and AI Conversation Questions
- Ethics Conversation Questions
- Business Conversation Questions
How are you using ESL conversation questions in your classroom?
As you know, students at every level can engage in any topic of discussion to practice their speaking skills. But some some English discussion topics are better suited to each learning level. Choose wisely based on the English level, likes, and needs of your students, and your classroom will be full of fascinating discussions in no time.
Share your best tips and tell us how you use ESL conversation questions in the classroom. And be sure to add your requests for future discussion topics in the comments below.
