Everybody has hobbies, and everybody loves talking about them. Hobbies could be passions too, you know. Some simple questions to ask include:
Herkesin hobileri vardır ve herkes onlar hakkında konuşmayı sever. Hobiler de tutku olabilir, bilirsiniz. Sorulacak bazı basit sorular şunları içerir:
What are your hobbies?
Hobileriniz nelerdir?
Why do you like your hobbies so much?
Hobilerinizi neden bu kadar çok seviyorsunuz?
How often do you do these hobbies?
Bu hobileri new sıklıkla yapıyorsunuz?
How long have you been doing these hobbies, and how did you get started?
Bu hobileri ne zamandan beri yapıyorsunuz ve ne zaman başladınız?
What hobbies did you used to have, but now do not?
Bir zamanlar yaptığınız ama şu an devam etmediğiniz hobiler nelerdir?
Is it important to have hobbies? Why/why not?
Hobi sahibi olmak önemli mi? Neden?
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:
İnsanlar yaşlandıkça, algılanan zamanın değeri artar, bu nedenle herkesin söyleyecek bir şeyi olduğu pratik bir konudur. Gibi sorular sorabilirsiniz:
How much free time do you usually have?
Genelde ne kadar boş zamanınız olur?
How important is time to you?
Zaman sizin için ne kadar önemli?
If you had more free time, what would you do?
Daha fazla boş vaktiniz olsa ne yapardınız
“Time is money.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?
“Zaman paradır” sözüne katılıyormusun? Neden?
How do you feel about time that is wasted?
İsraf edilen zaman hakkında ne hissedersin?
3. Sleep
As people get older, they start to appreciate a good night’s sleep more and more. This topic is often a favorite for all. Some example questions are:
İnsanlar yaşlandıkça, iyi bir gece uykusunun değerini giderek daha fazla takdir etmeye başlarlar. Bu konu genellikle herkesin favorisidir. Bazı örnek sorular şunlardır:
How much sleep do you usually get?
Genellikle ne kadar uyursun?
Why do some people sleep well while other people do not sleep well?
Bazı insanlar iyi uyurken bazıları neden uyuyamaz?
What do you do when you have trouble sleeping?
Uyku problemin olduğunda ne yaparsın?
What time do you usually go to sleep? What time do you usually get up?
Genellikle saat kaçta uyursun? Kaçta kalkarsın?
Have you ever slept in a strange place that was not a bed?
Yatak olmayan garip bir şeyin üstünde uyudun mu?
4. Music
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:
Müziği herkes sever ve çoğu insan ona karşı çok güçlü duygular hisseder – özellikle de konu en çok sevdikleri (veya nefret ettikleri) müzik olduğunda. Sorulacak bazı basit sorular şunlar olabilir:
What types of music do you like/dislike?
Ne tür müzik seversin/sevmezsin?
How do certain kinds of music make you feel?
Bazı tür müzikler seni nasıl hissettirir?
What types of music come from your country?
Sizin ülkenizde ne tür müzik var?
What’s your favorite song/album/artist?
Favori şarkın/albümün/sanatçın ne/kim?
What music is popular in your country right now?
Şu anda ülkende ne tür müzik popüler?
5. First Dates
Unless you’re 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:
Görücü usulü evliliklerin yapılması gereken bir yerde değilseniz, ilk buluşmalardan bahsetmek herkesin ilgisini çeker. Hepimiz bunu yaşadık. Şunlar gibi sorular sorabilirsiniz:
How many first dates have you had?
Kaç kişiyle ilk kez çıktın?
How do you feel about first dates?
İlk kez çıktığında ne hissedersin?
What is a common first date like in your country?
Ülkende İlk çıkmalarda yaygın olan şey nedir?
What is the best/worst first date experience you’ve ever had?
En kötü çıkma deneyimin neydi?
What makes a good first date in your opinion?
İyi bir ilk çıkma sence nasıldır?
6. Work
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:
Birçok insan çalışıyor ve bu konuda söyleyecek çok şeyi var. Demek istediğim, uyanık olduğun saatlerin yaklaşık üçte birini işte geçiriyorsan, söyleyecek çok şeyin olabilir. Bazı iyi sorular şunlardır:
What work do/did you do?
Ne iş yapıyorsun/yapardın?
How do/did you like the work?
Nasıl işleri seversin/severdin?
What is your dream job?
Rüya işin ne?
What work is common in your city/area/country?
Senin bölgende/şehrinde/ülkende ne tür işler yaygın?
What is your general view about work? Why?
İş hakkındaki genel kanaatin nedir? Neden?
7. Risk
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:
Herkes risk konusunda belirli bir şekilde hisseder. Bazıları risk odaklı, diğerleri riskten kaçınıyor. Riskler hakkında konuşmak, iyi bir konuşma sağlıyor gibi görünüyor. Bunu gibi sorular sorabilirsiniz:
What is your definition of risk?
Risk tanımın ne?
Are you a risk taker? Why/why not?
Risk alan biri misin? Neden? Neden değil?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of taking risks?
Risk almanın avantaj ve dezavantajları neler?
What risks do you come across in your work/life?
Hayatında/işinde ne tür risklerle karşılaştın?
What risks have you taken in your life?
Hayatında ne tür riskler aldın?
8. Food
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:
Yemek muhtemelen herkesin en evrensel konusudur ve herkes ne yediğini tartışmayı sever. Bu aynı zamanda yeni başlayanlar için ideal bir konudur çünkü kelime dağarcığı genellikle oldukça basittir. Bu gibi soruları kullanabilirsiniz:
What is your favorite food? Why?
Favori yemeğin nedir? Neden?
What food comes from your country?
Sizin ülkenize özgü yemekler nelerdir?
How do you feel when you eat food?
Yemek yediğinde ne hissedersin?
What foods do you dislike? Why?
Hangi yemekleri seversin? Neden?
Where do you usually get food from?
Genelde nereden yemek alırsın? Neden?
9. Motivation
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:
Öğrenciler motive olmuş bir grup olsun ya da olmasın, motivasyon öğrencilerinize ilham vermek için tartışmak için iyi bir konudur. Bazı örnek sorular şunlardır:
How motivated are you in general?
Genelde motivasyonun nasıldır?
What motivates you to do things?
Seni iş yapmaya ne motive eder?
What is the best motivator to succeed?
Başarı için en iyi motivasyon nedir?
What do you do when you feel demotivated?
Motivasyonun düştüğünde ne yaparsın?
What is a good way to motivate others?
Başkalarını motive etmenin en iyi yanı nedir?
10. Beauty
Beauty is one of those topics that’s conventionally more geared toward women than it is to men. 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.
Güzellik, geleneksel olarak erkeklerden çok kadınlara yönelik olan konulardan biridir. Ancak, herkes güzelliği tüm biçimleriyle takdir edebilir ve herkes güzellik kavramının kültürlerimizde, toplumlarımızda ve davranışlarımızdaki önemini fark edebilir. Artı, erkekler güzellik, görünüm ve tımar konusuna dikkat ederek sizi şaşırtabilir.
This makes it a good topic to discuss to get some opinions and various views within a group of students. You could ask questions like:
Bu, bir grup öğrenci içinde bazı fikirler ve çeşitli görüşler almak için tartışmayı iyi bir konu haline getirir. Şunlar gibi sorular sorabilirsiniz:
What is “beauty”?
Güzellik nedir?
What/who do you consider beautiful?
Neyi/Kimi güzel bulursunuz?
What does “inner beauty” mean to you?
“İç güzelliği senin için ne ifade eder?
Do you consider artificial beauty (cosmetic surgery) to still be beauty? Why/why not?
Yapay güzelliği (estetik ameliyatı) yine de güzel bulur musun? Neden?
How do you feel about the emphasis that people put on beauty these days?
Bu günlerde insanların güzelliğe verdiği önem hakkında ne hissediyorsun?
What would you tell your children about beauty?
Çocuklarına güzellik hakkında ne demek istersin?
11. Crime
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 friends’ 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:
Suç, insanların favori konu listelerinin başında olmayabilir ama konuşulan bir şey. Yetişkin arkadaşlarınızın yaşam deneyimlerine bağlı olarak, hayatlarını etkilemiş bir şey olabilir. Bunu tartışmayı öğrenmek, öğrencilerinize uzun vadede yardımcı olabilir. İyi tartışma soruları şunlardır:
Is crime a big problem in your city/country?
Suç ülkenizde büyük bir problem mi?
Have you ever been a victim of crime?
Hiç bir suçun kurbanı oldun mmu?
What crime is common in your city/country?
Şehrinizde/ülkenizde ne tür suçlar yagın?
What would you do if you noticed a crime being committed?
Bir suç işlendiğini görseniz ne yaparsınız?
How is the law enforcement in your city/country?
Sizin ülkenizde/şehrinizde kanun gücü ne durumda?
12. Love
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:
Herkes aşkı sever ve çoğu insan hakkında konuşmak istedikleri ilk elden deneyimler olmuştur. Sohbeti devam ettiren evrensel konulardan biri daha. Romantik aşk ve kalp kırıklığı ile ilgili olmasa bile, öğrenciler ebeveynleri ve çocukları ile ailevi aşk hakkında ve ayrıca arkadaşlar arasındaki aşk hakkında konuşabilirler. Bunun gibi sorular iyidir:
What is love?
Aşk nedir?
Who/what do you love?
Kime/neye aşık olursun?
What good/bad experiences have you had with love?
Aşkla ilgili iyi/kötü ne gibi deneyimlerin oldu?
Can you be too young to be in love? Why/why not?
Aşk için çok genç plabilir misin? Neden?
How do you feel about love?
Aşk hakkında ne hissediyorsun?
13. Goals
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 them done. A good set of questions is:
What are your current goals in life?
How do you plan to reach your goals?
How often do you set goals for yourself?
What goals have you set and achieved in the past?
How do you feel when you reach your goals?
14. Dreams
We all have dreams, sometimes on a nightly basis, and talking about them is a great discussion topic for classes as they inspire students to be creative and even whimsical. Great questions for this topic include:
What kinds of dreams do you have?
What do you think dreams mean?
How much of your dreams do you remember? Why?
What is your opinion on premonitions? Are they real?
What are examples of memorable dreams you have had?
15. Restaurants
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:
How often do you go to restaurants?
What is your favorite restaurant? Why?
What do you usually order at a restaurant?
What is the restaurant experience like in your country?
Have you ever worked in a restaurant?
If you owned a restaurant, what kinds of food would you serve?
16. Cooking
Cooking is another topic that may allow for some good conversation. Most people in most countries do a good amount of cooking. A few good questions could be:
In your home, who usually cooks?
How often do you cook?
How well do you cook? What can you cook well?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of cooking?
What food would you like to learn how to cook?
17. Money
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:
How well do you manage your money?
Why do some people have money problems?
What are some good ways to make money?
What would you do if I gave you $20/$2,000/$2,000,000?
How often do you save money? Why?
18. Shopping
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:
Do you enjoy shopping? Why/why not?
What is your favorite shop? Why?
In your city, where is a good place to go shopping?
How do you feel about online shopping?
How do you think shopping will be like in the future?
19. Plans
Everybody makes plans and discussing them could even influence the class to start making plans of their own! A few example questions include:
How often do you plan things? Why?
What are your plans for (________)?
What are your plans for your English?
What do you think of this quote? “Having no plan is a plan to fail.”
Do you have any back-up plans?
20. Books
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:
Do you like books/reading? Why/why not?
What kind of books do/did you like?
What is your favorite book? Why?
What was the last book you read?
Do you believe reading books/literature is more important than reading stuff online? Why/why not?
21. Sports
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:
Do you like sports? Why/why not?
How often do you exercise/play sports?
Did you play any sports as a child?
What sport/physical activity is popular in your country?
What is your opinion on professional sports?
22. Life
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:
What is the meaning of life?
How is your life going up to this point?
What do you think happens after life?
What important life lessons have you learned?
If tomorrow was your last day to live, what would you do?
23. Television
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 out FluentU.
If you’re looking for creative ways to teach English, then you’ll love using FluentU in your classroom! FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
It’s got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking world actually watch regularly. There are tons of great choices there when you’re looking for songs for in-class activities.
You’ll find music videos, musical numbers from cinema and theater, kids’ singalongs, commercial jingles and much, much more.
How often do you watch TV?
Should everyone have a television in their home?
What is the best way to watch television: On a television set, computer, tablet or phone?
What television programs are popular in your country?
What do you think will be the future of television?
What is your opinion on television?
If you had your own TV show, what would it be like?
24. Learning
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:
How important is learning? Why?
Besides English, what are you currently learning?
What things are you good/bad at learning? Why?
What would you most like to learn?
What is the most difficult part of learning? Why?
25. Movies
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:
What was the last movie you saw? How was it?
What is your favorite movie? Why?
How are the movies in your country? What are the best ones?
How often do you watch movies in English?
If there were a movie about your life, what kind of movie would it be? Why?
26. Games
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:
What is your favorite game ever?
What games did you play as a kid?
What games are popular/came from your country?
How competitive are you when it comes to games?
What games do you still play now? Why?
27. Computers
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:
Describe your computer at home/work.
What do you usually use a computer for?
Do you like computers? Why/why not?
What was the first computer you ever had like?
What do you think will be the future of computers?
28. Problems
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:
How do you deal with your problems?
What problems do you come across in your work or life?
Do you feel that problems are opportunities? Why or why not?
What was the last problem you solved and how did you do it?
“Problems don’t matter. Solutions do.” Do you agree or disagree?
So that’s the list of discussion topics you could use with your ESL classes. Depending on their skill levels, you can feel free to make the questions a bit easier or more challenging.
The best topics are those that are talked about in the students’ own native language (everyday things) and the best questions are usually open-ended as opposed to something that could be answered in a word or two.
It’s also best to avoid topics that could offend students like death, sex, politics and religion—but that’s certainly something that varies from classroom to classroom.
These topics may even inspire you to come up with some of your own, as you’ll begin to understand your students on a deeper level and knows what works and what doesn’t.
Happy discussing!
