Welcome to our Advanced ESL Conversation Lessons (C1–C2). These topics help fuel discussions for fluent learners who want to deepen fluency, express themselves with more complex vocabulary and syntax, explore complex ideas, and build critical thinking through real-world discussions.
Everyday Life
What is your comfort food?
This ESL lesson uses video and discussion prompts to get students talking about food, culture, and the memories that make certain dishes so comforting
What do your hobbies do for you?
Discover this complete guide based on the Huffington Post article Healthy Hobbies That Will Improve Your Life, featuring discussion questions and vocabulary to get your students talking about their favourite activities.
What bad habits would you like to break?
This complete ESL conversation lesson plan uses engaging discussion prompts and vocabulary activities to help your students debate how to change routine behaviours, featuring thought-provoking conversation questions about willpower, discipline, and personal growth.
How are you feeling?
This ESL conversation lesson uses Tiffany Watt Smith’s TED Talk on the history of human emotions to help explore and expand their feelings vocabulary. Featuring downloadable Google Docs worksheets and targeted discussion questions, ready-to-use lesson plan designed to build emotional literacy and fluency across all proficiency levels/p>
What kind of music improves your mood?
This ESL conversation lesson explores the scientific connection between music, productivity, and mental health. It includes pre-discussion prompts, mind-mapping activities, and thought-provoking reading questions about how different genres of music impact our daily lives.
Why do humans treat their pets like human beings?
Explore the psychology behind why we anthropomorphize our animals with this ESL conversation lesson focused on how humans treat their pets like people. This lesson features vocabulary matching, a mind-mapping activity, and discussion questions centred on a New York Times video about pet behaviour and relationships.
What movie do you want to see?
Bring the magic of cinema into your classroom. Movies, film genres, and personal entertainment preferences get them talking and exchanging preferences. Included targeted vocabulary and stimulating discussion prompts to get students sharing their favourite films and future watchlists.
If you were a car, which would you be?
In this more technical ESL lesson, we watch a video from the Buisiness Insider that sparks our driving fantasies. Take a fun spin on shop talk and discuss what car best represents your students
When you go to someone's house, what to do you look at?
Explore global living standards and household objects with this ESL lesson focused on comparatives and superlatives. Based on Anna Rosling Rönnlund's TED Talk and interactive "Dollar Street" photographic database, this complete lesson plan includes targeted discussion prompts and a free data collection handout to practise descriptive and comparative language.
What book would you like to read? Ignite a little book talk with your students (even if they may not actually read novels yet) and have them build their vocabulary of preferences. This lesson features perusing Good Reads to talk about what they might like to read.
5 of the most interesting talking points…
Discover how to spark deep, meaningful connections with this ESL conversation lesson focused on the art of powerful questioning. Perfect for levels A2 through C1, this reading and speaking activity explores the psychology of great conversation starters and includes a targeted True/False handout to test comprehension and build fluency.
If you were a car, what car would you be?
In this ESL conversation lesson, we use the businessman Rodger Dubbing car collection, one of the largest in the world, where each car is a work of art and a piece of history, to talk about preferences and features.
Actions and Verbs
Could you try something new for 30 days?
This ESL conversation topic is focussed on the TED talk by Matt Cutts, where he talks about how making small, sustainable changes to his everyday life for 30 days can drastically change many things. Is this something your students would do?
What do you do for Valentin's Day?
Nothing? All in? Do what you have to? This ESL lesson on Valentin's Day does the opposite of glorifying this rather controversial holiday. Good material for reflection and discussion. It features two hilarious videos, discussion prompts and an article about the business of love. All for free.
Psychology and Life Lessons
Is failure always bad?
In this ESL conversation lesson, we go over author Elizabeth Gilbert’s (author of Eat, Pray Love) Ted talk about what failure has done for her, and the life lessons or experiences a person can cultivate along the way. A thought-provoking lesson that will yield some insight and authentic sharing.
Are you a multipotentialite? Wait...what?
In this ESL conversation lesson, we discuss the common question: What do you want to do “when you grow up”? We watch a TED talk by Emilie Wanpnik about the idea that multi-potential can mean shifting careers and aspirations. And how to be OK with that. Can your students relate?
How do you define success?
In this ESL conversation lesson, we look over the TED talk by Alain de Botton, who explains how society views success and how this can blind us to what true success actually is. How do your students define success?
Do you talk to strangers?
Are we encouraging isolation, apathy, disengagement, fear, tribalism? Even though it is natural to gravitate toward people who have familiar ideas and beliefs, could we be missing something in those who are different from us? Discuss it with your ESL advanced and intermediate students.
Would you rather talk or text?
This conversation lesson, about how lonely online connection can make us feel, features a poignant TED talk by psychologist Cheryl Turkle, who shares her knowledge on this topic. Can your students relate?
How are you feeling?
This ESL lesson features a TED talk by Tiffany Watt Smith where she breaks down the history of human emotions and why we may or may not have trouble putting how we’re feeling into words.
What body language should you avoid?
In this lesson we look over a fascinating article by the Business Insider about common body language mistakes professionals make. Have you or your students ever made these body language mistakes?
Can body language improve my mood?
This advanced ESL conversation lesson goes over body language that can have an effect on brain chemistry through an impactful TED talk by Amy Cuddy, who explains how simply adjusting your posture can change how you feel in the moment.
Can body language improve my mood?
This advanced ESL conversation lesson goes over body language that can have an effect on brain chemistry through an impactful TED talk by Amy Cuddy, who explains how simply adjusting your posture can change how you feel in the moment.
Is too much choice making us unhappy?
In this ESL conversation lesson, we look over a TED talk called the paradox of choice that explains how sometimes having choices, despite it seeming like the right thing, can be overwhelming and stressful.
Do you want to climb a mountain?
In this ESL conversation lesson, we discuss the difference between your afraid self and your courageous self, through the TED talk by rock climber Alex Honnold, who explains how he managed to get over his fear and free solo Yosemite’s 3000 feet El Capitan.
What matters most in life?
The answer is different, depending on the person...right? Or is it? This intermediate to advanced lesson features a video by PragerU. Money, family, health, happiness, which ones do you and your students think matter most in life?
How does gender work?
This ESL conversation lesson features a video where trans scientist Dr. Karissa Sanbonmatsu explains how DNA works to create gender differences, as well as some struggles that she faced as a trans scientist, in an old boys club, who struggled to embrace her identity.
What bad habit would you like to break?
Without being too hard on ourselves, I’m sure we can think of at least one bad habit. Then watch a great PBS ASAP video to explore the psychology of breaking a bad habit.
Media and News
Why do we believe weird things?
One of my all-time favourite lessons, this conversation lesson features a masterclass in media and literacy. Thanks to editor and chief of skeptic.com Michael Shermer’s TED talk that explains why humans believe strange things in a witty and comedic fashion. Do you think your students would be capable of doing such a thing?
What music improves your mood?
Studies have shown that music can have profound effects on your brain chemistry and your overall well-being. Read this article in Thrive Global by Mayo Osin with your students, and discuss how music can impact mood.
The Weather and the Environment
What is the weather today?”
This lesson consists of a video from PBS about the science behind weather, as well as a handout and a game about weather idioms and sayings.
Are your clothes environmentally friendly?
Discover the impact the fashion industry has on the environment through the process of its creation as well as the waste it creates, and discover a video that proposes solutions to this problem. What do your students think?.
Do you eat…environmentally?
Watch PBS' Hot Mess on Food vs. Climate Change to gather items that create the tension between food production and climate change. Then pull together the actions that can reverse this.
