Topics Part 1 ( 2 minutes)

Prospects
What do you hope to be doing this time next year?
Tell me something about your future plans regarding work.
Are job prospects for your age group generally good where you live?
Are you generally optimistic about your own prospects?
Daily life
Do you like studying alone or with classmates?
What do you usually do at weekends?
How often do you chat with your friends?
Do you use the internet? Why? Why not?
Daily life
What did you have for dinner last night?
How much time do you spend with your friends?
What do you usually do when you want to relax?
What will you do when you get home today?
Daily life
• What is the ideal balance between leisure time and work time?
• How far should a boss go to accommodate an employee’s home circumstances?
• Why do you think some people are workaholics?
• If you had more leisure time, what would you do with it?
Feelings
• What makes you happy?
• Can money buy happiness? Why/Why not?
• How do your feelings vary during the day?
• What makes you angry?
Family
• Is there anybody you are really close to? Who/Why?
• Do you find it easier to talk about important decisions with friends or with
family?
• Would you prefer to have been brought up in a smaller or larger family?
Why/Why not?
• How would you like to help your family?
Home
• Tell me what you like about your home.
• What improvements would you like to make to your home?
• How important is it to have your own bedroom?
• How does the colour of a room affect you?
Home life
• Can you tell me something about your home?
• What kind of things do you do with your family?
• Can you tell me something about family meals?
• Which member of your family are you most like? In what way?
House and home
Can you tell me about the area where you live?
How long have you lived in your home?
Can you tell me about your neighbours?
What would you like to change about your town?
House and home
Do you believe that new buildings should be required by law to be
environmentally friendly?
How can we make our homes friendlier to the environment?
To what extent can the place you live affect your way of living?
What factors affect your choice of accommodation?
House and home
• What’s the area like where you live?
• How long have you lived in your present home?
• What is your favourite place in the house or flat where you live?
• Tell me about the people you live with.
House, Home, and Local Environment
Is there anything you don’t like about the area where you live?
Which is your favourite room in your house?
Do you prefer living in the countryside or the city?
What do you like about your neighbourhood?
House, Home and environment
Do you prefer living in the city or the countryside?
Can you tell me a few things about the area where you live?
What kind of house do you like?
What pet would you like to have?
The environment
• Can you tell me something about the natural features in the area where you
live?
• What kinds of things do you recycle?
• How can we improve the problem of litter?
• Can you tell me about an outdoor area where you like to spend time?
Types of accommodation
• If I want to visit your town, where can I stay?
• What accommodation do you prefer on holiday?
• Describe different kinds of accommodation you have stayed in.
• Describe the best and worst accommodation you have ever stayed in.
Leisure
• What type of clubs do you belong to?
• Do you think it’s a good idea to join a club? Why/Why not?
• Why do people join clubs?
• Do you think clubs are becoming more or less popular these days?
Leisure
How much free time do you have?
Which do you prefer, indoor or outdoor activities?
Do you prefer spending your free time alone or with friends?
Which is your favourite leisure activity?
Free time
• How much free time do you have in a week?
• What do you like to do in your free time?
• How do you usually spend your weekends?
• What sports do you enjoy watching and what sports do you enjoy playing?
Free time
• What do you usually do in the evening?
• How did you spend last weekend?
• Tell me about your favourite sport.
• Which different hobbies have you enjoyed at different times of your life?
Free time and entertainment
Do you have any special interests or hobbies?
How often do you go out with friends?
How do you usually entertain yourself in your free time?
Where do you usually go on holiday?
Entertainment
Where do you usually go out with your friends?
What sort of films do you prefer watching?
How do you keep yourself entertained in your free time?
Is reading popular among teenagers? Why (not)?
Relations with Other People
Do you feel having a lot of friends is a good thing?
Are you a good judge of character?
What characteristics do you look for in a good friend?
Do you aspire to have a large family in the future?
Relationships with other people
Do you prefer to spend your free time with friends or family, and why?
Are there any characteristics that most of your friends share?
Tell me about a family celebration you enjoyed.
How do you usually keep in touch with people who live far away from you?
Shopping
Who do you prefer going shopping with?
Do you like buying small gifts for friends and family?
Why do you believe people enjoy receiving gifts?
Do you prefer doing your shopping in huge malls or small local shops?
Shopping
Many people view shopping as a form of entertainment. Why do you think that
is?
How would you improve the shopping facilities in your area?
Do you take ethical considerations into account when shopping? Give
examples.
Why do you think so many people buy things they cannot really afford?
Shopping facilities
• Describe the general shopping facilities in your town.
• How much do you like going out to do your shopping?
• Why do you think some people prefer to do their shopping on the Internet?
• What are some problems of shopping online?
Transport
• Is having your own means of transport important to you? Why/Why not?
• Which form of transport do you like least? Why?
• Tell me about the longest journey you have ever made.
• In the future, what different forms of transport do you think there will be?
Travel
• When you travel, what are your priorities when choosing accommodation?
• What’s the most unusual place you’ve spent the night in?
• What are the arguments against people owning holiday homes?
• How can a houseguest be made to feel comfortable?
Travel
Tell me something about your travel experiences.
Is there any place you wouldn’t like to go back to? Why not?
What might persuade you to visit a new place?
What environmental issues should people consider when choosing how to
travel?
Travel
• What kinds of transport have you used?
• Which kind of transport do you like best? Why?
• What was the last journey you made? Can you tell me about it?
• How often do you use public transport? What do you think of it?
Travel
• What is your favourite means of transport? Why?
• Tell me about the most interesting journey you’ve ever made.
• How do you get to school or work every day? How easy is your journey?
• What do you think of the public transport here?
Travel
Which country would you like to visit in the future?
Can you tell me a few things about your favourite holiday destination?
Would you ever go on a hiking holiday?
Food
• What did you have for breakfast today?
• What was your favourite food when you were a child and what didn’t you like?
• What are you going to have for dinner this evening?
• What kind of food do you enjoy cooking?
Food and Drink
What is your favourite food? Why?
Do you eat much fast food?
Do you prefer eating out or at home?
How often do you eat out with your family?
Health
• What do you do to keep fit?
• How healthy do you think your diet is? Why?
• When you were younger, what advice did your parents and teachers give you
about staying healthy?
• How do you plan to stay healthy in the future?
Health and body care
• Describe some very common illnesses which people get.
• How often do you have a cough or catch a cold?
• Do you take any medicine when you have a cold? If so, what? If not, why not?
• What do you do to keep healthy?
Education
• What did you enjoy and what did you not enjoy at primary school?
• Tell me about a teacher that you particularly remember.
• What do you think are the most useful subjects at school? Why?
• How do you plan to continue your education when you are older?
Education
• How important is it for children to be taught maths at school?
• In which ways have you found maths useful in your own life?
• Why do you think some people find maths easier than others?
• How could maths lessons in schools be improved?
Education
What have you enjoyed most about your education so far?
Which subject has been the hardest for you to understand?
Where do you like to do your homework and why?
What new skills would you like to learn in the future?
Education
It is said that we continue to learn throughout our life. How far do you agree?
How much does a person’s success at work depend on their education?
Can private universities offer as good an education as state universities?
More and more institutes are offering on line courses. Do you believe a virtual
classroom can ever replace a real classroom?
Work
• How do you/will you use English in your job?
• What do you think would be your perfect job? Why?
• Is there a job you wouldn’t like to do? Why not?
• Is the salary the most important thing for you? Why/Why not?
Work/School
• How do you get to work/school?
• Can you tell me about your typical day at work/school?
• What do you like best about your work/school?
• What do you remember about your first day at work/school?
Music
• What sort of music do you enjoy listening to?
• What do you think about background music in shops and other public places?
• Which musical instrument would you most like to play? Why?
• Which music do you like the most? Why?
Language
How do you practise English outside the classroom?
What do you find most difficult about learning a language?
How will you use English in the future?
What have you enjoyed most about learning English?
Internet
How often do you use the Internet?
How do you use the Internet to help you with your studies?
Tell me about your favourite website.
How often do you send emails?
Technology
How does modern technology affect the way we live?
Why do you think it is easier for young people to use technological devices
than it is for older
people?
Some say technology has bridged the gap between the different generations.
Do you agree?
Do you believe that rapid technological advance brings risks with it?
Animals
• What is the most attractive animal, in your opinion? Why?
• How much contact do you have with animals in your daily life?
• Can you tell me something about the wildlife in your country?
• Is it important to protect all animal species?
Films
• What kind of films do you enjoy?
• What was the last film you saw? What was it about?
• Are there any kinds of film you don’t like?
• Who do you watch films with?
Physical appearance
Who do you take after in your family? In what way?
What physical characteristics do you find especially attractive? Why?
Some people believe that beautiful people have easier lives. What’s your view?
Do you think cosmetic surgery is a good way of enhancing appearance?
Why/Why not?
Money management
Would you call yourself a big spender or a super saver? Why?
Can you tell me about the last time you wasted money on something?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of giving spending money to
children?
What do you think are the best techniques for managing money?
Foreign language ability
What memories do you have of your first foreign language lesson?
Why are some people better language learners than others?
How do you think future technology will influence foreign language learning?
Some people say that learning a foreign language is easier when you’re a
child. What’s your opinion?
Reading
Do you find reading a good way to relax, and why?
What do you remember about the first books you read?
Which newspapers or magazines do you usually read, and why?
What do you think about e-book readers?
Interior design
• What’s the most impressive room you’ve seen?
• Have you ever decorated a room? Tell me about it.
• If you had a lot of money, how would you like to decorate your home?
• How much does the design of the inside of a building affect our lives?
Pollution
• Can the media focus so much attention on pollution that it becomes counter-
productive?
• Tell me about a place that has suffered from pollution.
• Do you think pollution will get better or worse in the future? Why?
• Who should be responsible for reducing pollution?
TV, radio, computer
• About how much television do you watch each week?
• What kinds of programmes did you watch last week?
• Do you think television stops people studying? Why/Why not?
• Do you know which programmes you’re going to watch next week?
Sports
Would you say you are a sporty person?
What is your favourite sporting event?
Do you believe being a professional athlete is easy?
How often do you take exercise?
Sport
• How important is sport in your life?
• Do you think sports people are paid too much? Why/Why not?
• How much sport do/did you play at school?
• Which new sport would you like to learn? Why?
Sports
What do you think a person can learn from playing a team sport?
How far should parents push their children to develop any talent they may
have in sport?
In your opinion, should sports be compulsory in schools?
How important do you think competitive sport is to developing one’s
personality?