20 ESL conversation topics for adult students, with questions

A good conversation topic is one the student has an opinion about and the words to talk about it. The 20 topics below are grouped by level. Each has three questions and a link to a ready-made lesson on the same topic from the SnappySchool library. After the list, there's a plan for running a conversation lesson so it doesn't turn into an interview.

A2 topics

At A2, keep questions about the student's own life, and expect short answers. Each lesson practices one piece of grammar, and at least one question invites it.

1. Souvenirs and trips

Souvenirs from a trip practices irregular past verbs (went, bought).

• What was the last trip you took? Where did you go?
• What did you bring home? Do you still have it?
• What's a good souvenir from your city?

2. Tiny homes

Life in a tiny home practices comparatives.

• Is your home bigger or smaller than your parents' home?
• Could you live in a house on wheels? Why or why not?
• What's more important in a home: space, price or location?

3. Small goals

Setting small goals practices be going to.

• What are you going to do this weekend?
• What's one small thing you want to change this month?
• What's your English goal for next month?

4. Sleep and dreams

Sleep and dreams practices the past continuous.

• What time do you usually go to bed? Is it different on weekends?
• Do you remember your dreams? Tell me about one.
• What were you doing at ten o'clock last night?

5. Keeping fit

Keeping fit practices verb + to and verb + -ing.

• What kind of exercise do you enjoy doing?
• Have you ever joined a gym and stopped going?
• What helps you exercise more often?

6. Getting around town

Public transportation practices because, so and although.

• How do you get to work or school? Why?
• What's good and bad about the buses or trains in your city?
• Should buses and trains be free? Why?

B1 topics

At B1, students can give opinions and reasons. Ask "Why?" after every answer.

7. Culture shock

Culture shock in a new country practices the present perfect with for and since.

• Have you ever lived somewhere very different from home? What surprised you?
• What would surprise a visitor to your country?
• What advice would you give someone who has just moved to your city?

8. Doomscrolling

Scrolling through bad news practices the present perfect continuous.

• How long have you been on your phone today?
• Do you read the news every day? How does it change your mood?
• Could you stay off social media for a week? What would be hardest?

9. Bad habits

Breaking bad habits practices phrasal verbs like give up and cut down on.

• What's a habit you'd like to give up?
• What do you often put off doing?
• Have you ever cut down on something, like sugar or coffee? How did it go?

10. Dream jobs

The perfect job practices the second conditional.

• If you could do any job for a year, what would it be?
• What matters more in a job: money, free time or interesting work?
• Would you leave a safe job to start something of your own?

11. City or small town

City, suburbs or small town? practices although, despite, in order to and so that.

• Where did you grow up? Would you go back?
• What are the good and bad sides of where you live now?
• Where would you choose to raise children, and why?

12. AI art

Art made by AI practices the passive in more tenses.

• Is a picture made by AI real art?
• Should pictures made by AI be labeled?
• Would you hang one on your wall?

13. Fast fashion

Fast fashion and cheap clothes practices linkers like however and therefore.

• How often do you buy new clothes, and where?
• Would you pay more for clothes if the workers got fair pay?
• Could you go a year without buying new clothes?

B2 topics

At B2, students can handle abstract and hypothetical questions. Push for longer answers and ask them to argue the other side.

14. Digital nomads

Digital nomads: working from anywhere practices the present perfect simple and continuous.

• Could you do your job from another country? Would you want to?
• What would you miss most if you moved every few months?
• Are remote workers good for a city, or do they push up prices for the people who live there?

15. Imposter syndrome

Imposter syndrome: feeling like a fraud practices participle clauses.

• Have you ever felt you didn't deserve a job or a success?
• Why do people who are good at their jobs often feel like frauds?
• What would you say to a new colleague who is afraid to ask questions?

16. Food waste

Why we waste food practices should have, could have and didn't need to.

• What food do you throw away most often? Why?
• What do you do with leftovers?
• Should supermarkets have to give away food they can't sell?

17. The cost of living

The rising cost of living practices phrasal verbs like cut back on and keep up with.

• What has gotten more expensive where you live?
• Is it harder for young people to buy a home now than it was for their parents?
• What would you cut back on first if prices went up again?

18. Subscriptions

The subscription economy practices unless, as long as and in case.

• How many subscriptions do you pay for? Which ones do you really use?
• Would you pay a monthly fee for heated seats that are already in your car?
• Is it better to own things or to pay for them every month?

19. Helicopter parents

Helicopter parents practices used to, would and get used to.

• What did you use to do alone as a child that children today don't?
• How much did your parents check on you as a teenager?
• Where's the line between caring and controlling?

20. Fun as an adult

Having fun as an adult practices cleft sentences (What I love about Sundays is…).

• When did you last lose track of time doing something?
• What did you do for fun as a child that you'd like to try again?
• What do you love most about your weekends?

How to run a conversation lesson

The problem with a list of questions is that the student answers, you say "Interesting," and you ask the next one. After 40 minutes the student has talked a lot and learned very little. These six habits change that.

1. Start with something to react to. A short text, a photo or a one-minute story from your own life. Students say more about something they've just read or heard than about a question out of nowhere.
2. Give the words first. Put five to eight words on the screen. For fast fashion: cheap, quality, last, throw away, secondhand, fair pay. Then listen for them.
3. Ask follow-up questions, not new ones. "Why?", "What happened next?", "Can you give me an example?" Three follow-ups on one question beat three new questions.
4. Answer too, then swap. Your own short answer shows what a good answer sounds like. Then the student asks you. Asking questions is a skill, and adults rarely get to practice it in lessons.
5. End with a task. A decision, a ranking or a role-play gives the talk a point. Several of the lessons above end this way: choosing a home to rent, setting the rules for an art contest, planning a one-week digital detox, giving advice to a newcomer.
6. Take notes and correct at the end. Write down good phrases and mistakes while the student talks. At the end, show one thing they said well and two to fix, and ask them to say those sentences again.

A 60-minute conversation lesson

• Warm-up (5 minutes): one easy personal question on the topic.
• Input (10 minutes): a short reading or listening, with two questions.
• Words (5 minutes): six words from the text the student will need.
• Discussion (15 minutes): three questions, with follow-ups. Answer some yourself.
• Task (15 minutes): a decision, a ranking or a role-play.
• Feedback (7 minutes): good phrases and corrections, said again correctly.
• Homework (3 minutes): a one-minute voice message on one question.

Choosing topics

• Let the student choose. Show five topics and ask which one they'd like.
• Match the topic to the grammar they're working on.
• Be careful with money, family, health, religion and politics. They aren't off limits, but let the student bring them up, and always allow "I'd rather not say."
• Come back to a good topic a few weeks later with a harder task.

Questions

How do I get a quiet student to talk more?

Give them something to say: the words, an example answer and thirty seconds to think or make notes. Ask about their experience before their opinion. And wait a few seconds after a question before you rephrase it.

Should I correct mistakes during conversation practice?

Mostly no. Note them and go over two or three at the end. Correct in the moment only when a mistake stops you from understanding, or when the student has asked you to.

How many topics should I cover in one lesson?

One. A single topic with a text, follow-up questions and a task gives more practice than five topics with one question each.

Can A2 students have conversation lessons?

Yes. Keep the questions about their own life, give sentence starters such as "I usually…" and "Last weekend, I…", and accept short answers. Opinions and reasons come at B1, and debates and hypothetical questions at B2.