28 ESL Discussion Topics for Adults That Everyone Has Opinions On (2024)

Everybody has hobbies, and everybody loves talking about them. Hobbies could be passions too, you know. Some simple questions to ask include:

As people get older, their perceived value of time increases, so it’s a practical topic that everyone has something to say about. You could ask questions like:

As people get older, they start toappreciate a good night’s sleep more and more. This topic is often a favorite for all. Some example questions are:

Everybody loves music and most people feel very strong emotions towards it—especially when it comes to the music that they love (or hate) most. Some simple questions to ask could be:

Unless you’re teaching in a place where arranged marriages are the thing to do, talking about first dates gets everybody interested. We’ve all been there. You could ask questions like:

Lots of people work and have lots to say about it. I mean, if you’re spending about a third of your waking hours at work, you may have lots to say. Some good questions are:

Everyone feels a certain way about risk. Some are risk-oriented, others are risk-averse. Talking about risks seems to generate some good conversation. You could ask questions like:

Food is possibly the most universal topic of them all and everyone loves to discuss what they eat. This is also an ideal topic for beginners because the vocabulary is usually pretty simple. You could use questions like:

Whether or not the students are a motivated bunch, motivation is a good topic to discuss in order to inspire your students. Some example questions are:

Beauty is one of those topics that’s conventionally more geared toward women than it is tomen. However, anyone can appreciate beauty in all its forms, and anyone can recognize the importance of the concept of beauty in our cultures, societies and behaviors. Plus, men might surprise you by caring to chime in on beauty, looks and grooming.

This makes ita good topic to discuss to get some opinions and various views within a group of students. You could ask questions like:

Crime may not be on the top of people’s lists of favorite topics but it’s something that’s talked about. Depending on your adult students’ life experiences, it may be something that has affected their lives. Learning to discuss it could help your students out in the long run. Good discussion questions are:

Everybody loves love and most people have had some firsthand experience they’d like to talk about. It’s another one of those universal topics that gets the conversation going. Even if it’s not about romantic love and heartbreak, students can talk about familial love with their parents and children, as well as love between friends. Questions like these are good:

We all have goals and talking about them actually gets us more encouraged to do something about them. Sharing goals is also a good thing to help get themdone. A good set of questions is:

We all have dreams, sometimes on a nightly basis, and talking about them is a great discussion topic for classes asthey inspire students to be creative and even whimsical. Great questions for this topic include:

Along with eating, everybody loves talking about their favorite eateries and restaurants. Some students could even relate to each other with their choices and views. Good questions include:

Cooking is another topic that may allow forsome good conversation. Most people in most countries do a good amount of cooking. A few good questions could be:

If there is a topic that everyone loves deep down, it has to be money. People love talking about money. Well, may not if they’re broke—but even if they are, it’s a good, relatable topic that gets conversations going. Great questions include:

This one is a personal favorite for many. Shopping is becoming more and more prevalent and brings out some zest in some people. They just love shopping! Others feel strongly the other way—very few people are completely neutral on this topic. A few good questions are Aurogra:

Everybody makes plans and discussing them could even influence the class to start making plans of their own! A few example questions include:

Books make for a good discussion topic because most people enjoy a good book.

When you read, your mind is filled with new images, feelings, ideas and thoughts. Books also empower and educate people, so your adult students may believe in the value of books. It can be immensely satisfying for adult students to share how they feel about reading. Some questions to ask are:

Now comes a topic that more men may favor, but it’s still good for classes since female spectators are on the rise. Some students may also have children that enjoy sports! A few good examples are:

Life discussions go on in all languages and English is no exception.

Practicing discussions on life is a good topic to cover since everyone has their own views and thoughts on the ubiquitous subject. You could bring up questions like:

Television is one of those topics that everyone has an opinion about. The irony of it is that even though more and more programming is viewed on computers and tablets, television is still a hot topic classes love to discuss.If you’re after a resource that uses TV and other native content, check outFluentU.

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You’ll be able to showcase native English forms and provide some great context before diving into discussion questions. Good questions include:

Learning is like nature—it’s all around us, even on a subconscious level. Our brains are built to absorb, filter and store information. Discussion about learning could actually stimulate some English learning amongst the students! A few questions that are suitable are:

Like television, talking about movies is a topic that has something to be said by everybody. I mean, who doesn’t watch movies? A few good questions to be asked could be:

Games are fun and everybody enjoys fun, no?

But in all seriousness, talking about games gets discussion more geared towards past tense, which gives the students a fond sense of nostalgia. Some simple questions could be:

The year is 2019 and you can’t go a day without talking about computers. A greatly universal topic that could have students discussing quite a few things, which could all relate to real life too! Great questions on this could be:

Even though nobody likes to talk about problems, per se, everybody still talks about their problems to other people! Problems are actually a good topic for discussion since they could help others relate to each other and even present solutions too. A few fine examples of questions are: