ESL Conversation Topics for Beginners | Top 20 TEFL Topics

If you want to know what to talk about with your ESL beginners, you’re in the right place. Check out some of the best ESL conversation topics for beginners, including family, sports, hobbies, pop culture, and more.

ESL Conversation Topics for Beginners

Check out some of the best TEFL conversation topics if you teach beginners.

#1: Hobbies

Students can talk about their hobbies, including why they like them and how often they do them. They can also talk about hobbies that they don’t like and why.

#2: School Life

If your students go to school, they can talk about things like school unforms or lunches, favourite memories, subjects, and teachers, as well as something controversial like year-round schooling.

#3: Goals for the Future

I love to have my students talk about their goals for the future. It can be something like getting a certain score on the IELTS test, finding the job of their dreams, or going somewhere on vacation.

#4: TV and Movies

Most people these days watch a lot of TV and movies, which makes it an excellent conversation topic for beginners. Students can talk about what they’re watching these days, favourite actors and actresses, and the best movies of all time. They can also discuss whether they prefer watching movies at home, or in the theatre.

#5: Pop Culture

If you can tie your English lesson into what’s happening in the world right now, consider that a job well done! Students love talking about what’s trending.

#6: Sports

Most people play or watch a sport of some kind, and even if they don’t, they can talk about why they don’t like to!

#7: Annoying Things/Pet Peeves

Who doesn’t get annoyed by at least one thing in the world around them? Slow walkers? Too many commercials on TV?

#8: Food

Food is life, to some people! Who doesn’t like talking about the things that they love to eat, and things that they don’t?

#9: Habits

Healthy vs unhealthy habits is a nice ESL conversation topic for beginners. Smoking, drinking, exercise, sleep, and more.

#10: The Weather and Seasons

A nice topic for ESL beginners is talking about the weather and seasons. It can lead to all kinds of other sub-topics, including clothing, months of the year, and holidays.

#11: Advice

People love telling each other what to do! That’s why I love to talk about advice, using should and shouldn’t with my students. There are plenty of nice activities you can do with this, and it’s easy to come up with problems to fit whatever group of students that you’re teaching.

#12: Travel

Vacations and travel make a nice topic for beginners. You can talk about past vacations to cover the simple past. Or, upcoming vacations for the future tenses.

#13: Family

Family is one of those topics that everyone has something to say about! You can talk about family members for absolute beginners.

#14: Time

Time: everyone wants more! Talk about how students spend their time, and what they’d do if they had more.

#15: Sleep

What time people go to sleep and wake, as well as sleeping routines makes a nice option for a beginner ESL conversation topic.

#16: Clothing

Everyone has his or her own fashion sense. Get students to talk about what they usually wear, and whether or not they enjoy shopping and dressing up.

#17: Pets

Cats vs dogs: the classic debate! And some of the pros and cons of having a pet in general.

#18: Money

Money is another one of those things that everyone has an opinion about. Students can talk about whether they like to spend, or save, and in general, how they spend their money.

#19: Studying English

If you’re teaching an English class, then everyone in that class is studying English! Talk about why students are studying, along with their goals, and perhaps what makes a good teacher.

#20: Holidays

I love talking about holidays with my students by introducing some vocabulary, customs, and traditions for popular Canadian holidays. Then, I get students to tell me about a similar holiday in their country.

More ESL Conversation Topics

If you need to level up your teaching for beginners, you’ll want to pick up a copy of this book. There are dozens of interesting and interactive conversation topics that are complete lesson plans. You’ll be able to make it through an entire semester in style. Pick up a copy of the book today:

Conversation Topics for ESL Beginners: Join the Conversation

Do you have any more ideas for conversation topics for English beginners?  Leave a comment and let us know. We’d love to hear from you!

Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API