Discussion Questions
Online Resources
Internet TESL Journal's conversation questions for the classroom
ESL Discussions has 709 discussions of 20 questions each, ready to print and give to students.
ESL Conversation Questions has more lists of topics of conversation with questions.
Print Discuss - numerous ESL discussion topics, each with a warm-up task and a vocabulary list
Hopelink Adult Education's ESL Talk Time Topics - discussion questions and activities centered on American life. Each one has an outline for tutors to follow.
Talking Cards - a discussion guide requiring only standard packs of playing cards and the provided discussion questions
Published Resources
50 Conversation Classes - American English Edition, by Andrew Berlin: This book offers conversation questions that are great for small group discussion, as well as accompanying activity sheets with idioms, grammar, and vocabulary practice.
Cathy's Cards: Instant Conversation in the Classroom, by Cathy Jo Seitchik Diaz: set of 270 durable cards with questions specially created to provoke fun and interesting thoughts on a variety of subjects pertinent to upper elementary students through adults. Included teacher's manual has tips and dozens of activities and ideas for using the cards.
In My Opinion, by Phil Keegan: The 60 contemporary, thought provoking topics are presented in two basic formats. Just over half of them are in the form of a questionnaire that students fill out and/or respond to orally. They then compare their responses to discover the 'gaps' in their views relating to good-bad, right-wrong, liberal-conservative, likes and dislikes, and so on. The remainder of the activities are in the form of opinion cards, twelve to a page. Each card is a question that asks the cardholder to take a position, initiate an opinion for discussion, to be agreed with or challenged by the others in the class. This book is reproducible.