A selection of English ESL questions (interrogative) printables with discussion starters, speaking cards, speaking practice

Discussion starters, speaking cards

Questions (interrogative)

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

This worksheet contains 18 conversation cards and two matching exercises with money/finance words. The cards can be cut out if desired and be used as conversation questions. Can be used with both young learners and adults (elementary to intermediate). 

Let's Talk about Money

Set of 20 prompts (Find someone who) which students have to use to make correct present simple questions. This ESL worksheet can be used individually, as a whole class exercise or for group or pair work (on the second page the questions are divided into 4 sets of 5 questions). Students can mill around the classroom if so desired, asking and answering questions. Answer key included.

Find Someone Who - Present Simple Questions (1)

In pairs, Student A is an employer Student B is applying for a job but there is a reason they should not get the job. Example: a pilot that is afraid of heights

Student A must ask questions in the job interview until he/she is able to determine why they should NOT hire Student B.

Job interview game (what's wrong with me?)

Set of 20 prompts (Find someone who) which students have to use to make correct past simple questions. This worksheet can be used individually, as a whole class exercise or for group or pair work (on the second page the questions are divided into 4 sets of 5 questions). Students can mill around the classroom if so desired, asking and answering questions. Answer key included.

Find Someone Who - Past Simple Questions (1)

35 Qs to start a conversation about holidays. The Qs can also be used for a speaking test of any kind of exam.

Holidays- Conversation Questions

This took forever to put together, but it was SO worth it! 



Includes 3 Bingo cards and 17 Role-play cards. 

I make everything in Open Office and then convert to Doc.. so check that everything looks right before using. 



Start the class with the 7 target questions on the board. 

I have the students ask me the questions and I answer them with the target answers. 

Students ask each other the questions in pairs, then report their partner's responses if there's time. 



Then I give the role-play cards. Students might need help with some pronunciations  You might have to teach "Spouse, Swahili, Unemployed, and Household."

 

Next I hand out the Bingo cards… I explain how to play by having students ask me the questions (I use the Taxi Driver card).  Go around and help them look for the info on their cards.  They figure it out quickly. 



Now students stand up and play!  Monitor for correct target language… 

I folded the top of the paper where the questions are when it looked like the students had started to memorize the questions. 



Once students have a BINGO (5 up and down, 5 left to right, or 5 across) they can sit down. They don't have to ask questions, but they still have to answer. 



After everyone has a BINGO, I have the students make sentences with their winning squares… ____ is a _____, ____ lives in_____, etc… 



This lesson was designed for 1 hour class of adult (mixed) beginners and a 2 hour class of (pre) beginners.  



7 Questions Talking Bingo with Role-play Cards

This is a gap worksheet that assists students to ask and answer questions politely by using the indirect form

Indirect Questions - being polite

a worksheet to ask questions and give information about yourself

introduce yourself

This is an activity for kids to train structure "Where is ..?" They should match the answer with the right question. 

Where is this animal ?

There are 50 questions connected with English speaking countries. There is a key! Enjoy my Culture Quiz about the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Culture Quiz

These are typical greetings and responses for the US. Also included in this printable worksheet is a simple conversation format to get students speaking. Enjoy!

US Greetings and Easy Conversation

Students work in pairs and ask each other the question: "Do you like ...bananas...?" When their partner answers, "Yes, I do" they colour the happy face, whereas they answer "No, I don't ," they colour the sad face. as a follow-up, the teacher can ask some questions concerning their partners' answers.

77 Questions (interrogative), Discussion starters, speaking cards, Speaking Practice English ESL worksheets pdf & doc