120 ESL conversation questions by topic and level
Each topic has 5 questions for A2, 5 for B1 and 5 for B2+. Copy a line or read them straight from the screen during the lesson.
The questions are written to read out as they are. Change names and places to fit your student's life, and skip any topic that feels too personal.
Travel
A2
- Where did you go on your last holiday?
- Do you prefer the beach or the mountains? Why?
- How do you usually get to work or school?
- What do you always pack when you go on a trip?
- Which city in your country should a tourist visit first?
B1
- Tell me about a trip that didn't go as planned. What happened?
- Would you rather travel alone or with friends? Why?
- What's the most beautiful place you've ever visited?
- How do you choose where to stay when you travel?
- If you could live abroad for a year, where would you go and why?
B2+
- Does tourism do more good or harm to the places people visit?
- Should cheap flights cost more to protect the environment?
- Can you really get to know a country in a two-week holiday?
- How has social media changed the way people choose where to travel?
- What would you miss most about your country if you moved abroad for good?
Food
A2
- What did you have for breakfast today?
- What's your favourite food?
- Can you cook? What can you make?
- How often do you eat out?
- What dish from your country should a visitor try?
B1
- Which dish from your childhood do you still love?
- Describe the best meal you've ever had. Where were you?
- Have you ever tried a food you really didn't like? What was it?
- Do you follow a recipe or improvise when you cook?
- How are family meals different now from when you were a child?
B2+
- Should schools teach children how to cook?
- Is it worth paying more for organic or local food?
- Why do so many people order food through apps instead of cooking?
- Should governments tax sugary drinks and fast food?
- How much does a country's food tell you about its culture?
Work
A2
- What's your job, or what do you study?
- What time do you start and finish work?
- Do you like your job? Why or why not?
- How many people do you work with?
- What do you do on a normal day at work?
B1
- How did you get your current job?
- What's the best part of your job, and the worst?
- What job did you want when you were a child?
- Do you prefer working from home or in an office? Why?
- Tell me about a good boss you've had. What made them good?
B2+
- Should a four-day working week become the norm?
- Is it better to have one career for life or to change jobs often?
- How will artificial intelligence change your job in the next ten years?
- Would you take a higher salary for a job you found boring?
- What makes people want to stay at a company for years?
Family
A2
- How many people are there in your family?
- Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are they like?
- Who do you live with?
- What do you usually do with your family at the weekend?
- Who is the oldest person in your family?
B1
- Who are you most similar to in your family, and how?
- What family traditions do you have for birthdays or holidays?
- Tell me about a favourite memory with your grandparents.
- What did your parents teach you that you still use today?
- How is your family different from a typical family in your country?
B2+
- Is it better to grow up in a big family or as an only child?
- Should young adults live with their parents until they can buy a home?
- How have families in your country changed over the last fifty years?
- Who should look after elderly parents: their children or the state?
- Do parents today give children too much freedom or too little?
Hobbies
A2
- What do you like doing in your free time?
- Do you play any sports?
- What kind of music do you listen to?
- What did you do last weekend?
- Do you prefer watching films at home or at the cinema?
B1
- How did you start your favourite hobby?
- Is there a hobby you gave up? Why did you stop?
- Which book, film or series would you recommend to me, and why?
- What new hobby would you like to try, and what's stopping you?
- How has the way you spend your free time changed since you were a teenager?
B2+
- Should a hobby be relaxing, or is it better when it challenges you?
- Is it a problem that so many hobbies now happen in front of a screen?
- Should you try to make money from a hobby you love?
- Why do you think some people never find a hobby they enjoy?
- Are expensive hobbies about passion or about status?
Technology
A2
- How many hours a day do you use your phone?
- Which apps do you use every day?
- Do you prefer reading on paper or on a screen?
- What was your first phone like?
- Do you buy things online? What do you buy?
B1
- What's the most useful app you've found recently?
- Could you live without your phone for a week? What would be hardest?
- How do you use technology to practise your English?
- Tell me about a time technology made a problem worse.
- Which technology do your parents or grandparents find hard to use?
B2+
- Should children under 14 have a smartphone?
- Do social networks bring people closer or push them apart?
- How much personal data would you give away for a free app?
- Will AI translation make learning languages unnecessary?
- Who should stop fake news online: users, platforms or governments?
Health
A2
- What do you do to stay healthy?
- How many hours do you usually sleep?
- Do you do any exercise? How often?
- What do you do when you have a cold?
- Do you drink more water, coffee or tea?
B1
- What healthy habit would you like to start, and why haven't you yet?
- How do you relax after a stressful day?
- Do you think you have a good balance between work and free time?
- Tell me about a time you changed your lifestyle. How did it go?
- What advice would you give someone who wants to sleep better?
B2+
- Should healthcare be completely free for everyone?
- Is mental health taken as seriously as physical health where you live?
- Do fitness apps and smartwatches make people healthier or more anxious?
- Should companies be responsible for their employees' wellbeing?
- How far should governments go to stop people smoking or drinking?
Environment
A2
- Do you recycle at home? What do you recycle?
- What's the weather like in your town today?
- Do you have a garden or any plants at home?
- How do you get around your town: by car, bus, bike or on foot?
- Do you like spending time in nature? Where do you go?
B1
- What small things do you do to help the environment?
- How has the weather where you live changed since you were a child?
- Would you buy an electric car? Why or why not?
- Which environmental problem worries you most in your town?
- Could you live without plastic for a month? What would be hardest?
B2+
- Can individual actions really make a difference to climate change?
- Should there be a limit on how many flights a person can take a year?
- Is it fair to ask poorer countries to cut emissions as fast as rich ones?
- Should cities ban cars from their centres?
- Are young people more worried about the environment than older people? Why?
How conversation questions change from A2 to B2+
The topic can stay the same while the question changes. What changes is the grammar the answer needs and how much the student has to explain or defend.
| Level | What the student can do (CEFR) | Questions that work | Example (travel) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | Handle short, simple exchanges about familiar topics and everyday activities. | Yes/no questions and what, where, when or how often about the present and the recent past. | Where did you go on your last holiday? |
| B1 | Talk without preparing about everyday topics like family, hobbies, work and travel, and briefly explain opinions and plans. | Experiences, stories, preferences and plans, followed by a "Why?". | Tell me about a trip that didn't go as planned. What happened? |
| B2+ | Take an active part in discussions and explain a point of view with its advantages and disadvantages. | Opinions, debates, hypotheticals and pros and cons. | Does tourism do more good or harm to the places people visit? |
The CEFR column sums up the speaking part of the CEFR self-assessment grid. Not sure of the student's level? Try our free English placement test first.
How to run a conversation lesson with these questions
Choose one topic, pick 3 to 5 questions at the student's level and plan your follow-ups. Correct at the end, not while they talk.
- 1
Pick one topic
One topic per lesson keeps the vocabulary together. Let the student choose it from the list: people talk more about what they chose.
- 2
Start with an easy question
Open with an A2 or B1 question even if the student is B2. A quick win gets them talking before you ask for opinions.
- 3
Follow up before you move on
After each answer, ask "Why?", "What happened next?" or "Can you give me an example?". Go to the next question only when the answer runs out.
- 4
Note mistakes in silence
Write down the errors you hear without interrupting. Keep 3 or 4 that repeat or get in the way of the message.
- 5
Go through them at the end
Use the last minutes for your notes: say the sentence the student said, ask them to fix it and have them practise the right version.
Follow-up questions that keep any student talking
A good follow-up turns a one-word answer into a conversation. These work at every level and with every topic.
- "Why?" or "Why not?": the simplest way to get a longer answer.
- "Can you give me an example?": turns a general opinion into a story.
- "What happened next?": for anything that happened in the past.
- "Was it different when you were a child?": brings in the past and comparisons.
- "What would you do?" or "What do other people think?": pushes B1 and B2 students into hypotheticals and other points of view.
If the answers stay short, drop a level: a student who freezes in a B2 debate often talks easily about the same topic at B1.
Want a quick set for today? The conversation question generator picks 5 random questions by level and topic. Teaching Spanish too? See these Spanish conversation topics. And for 1:1 lessons beyond questions, try these ESL games for one student.
Every student's corrections, ready for the next lesson
Keep the mistakes from each conversation in your SmartCookie lesson notes and plan the next lesson from them. Try it for 14 days, no card needed.