Nothing to talk about? Draw a topic.

To get started

• My name is ... and I am from ...
• I am ... years old.
• I live in ... with my ...

Keep it going

• What do you do every day?
• Do you have any brothers or sisters?
• What do you like?

To get started

• There are ... people in my family.
• My mother is a ...
• I have one brother and ...

Keep it going

• Who do you look like?
• What do you do together?
• Who is the funniest person?

To get started

• My best friend is ...
• We met when ...
• He / She is very ...

Keep it going

• What do you do together?
• Do you ever argue?
• Why is this person important to you?

To get started

• On my last birthday I ...
• My friends gave me ...
• We went to ...

Keep it going

• What is the best present you got?
• Do you like parties?
• What will you do next year?

To get started

• I am learning English because ...
• The hardest part for me is ...
• I started when ...

Keep it going

• What would you do with perfect English?
• What helps you most?
• Do you feel nervous when you speak?

To get started

• It started when ...
• Then, to make it worse, ...
• In the end, ...

Keep it going

• What did you learn from it?
• Can you laugh about it now?
• Who helped you?

To get started

• A few years ago I learned ...
• At first it was ..., but ...
• Now I can ...

Keep it going

• How long did it take?
• Who taught you?
• What skill do you want next?

To get started

• I would tell myself not to ...
• I wish I had ...
• Then again, without those mistakes ...

Keep it going

• Do you believe in regrets?
• What would you do differently now?
• What are you proud of?

To get started

• I found myself torn between ...
• My conscience told me ..., whereas ...
• In hindsight, I’m not sure I ...

Keep it going

• Would you make the same choice today?
• Did you compromise, or pick a side?
• Who did you turn to for advice?

To get started

• Oddly enough, in English I come across as ...
• Language shapes how we perceive ...
• Part of my identity seems to ...

Keep it going

• Which language do you think in?
• Do jokes survive translation?
• Is something lost when you switch?

To get started

• I get up at ...
• First I ..., then I ...
• For breakfast I usually eat ...

Keep it going

• Do you like mornings?
• How do you go to school or work?
• What time do you go to bed?

To get started

• I like / don’t like shopping because ...
• I usually buy ... online.
• The last thing I bought was ...

Keep it going

• Shops or online?
• What do you spend the most money on?
• Do you shop alone?

To get started

• I try to ...
• I should ... more often.
• I gave up ... last year.

Keep it going

• What is your worst habit?
• Do you sleep enough?
• Is it hard to eat well?

To get started

• My favourite food is ...
• I love ... because it is ...
• I don’t like ...

Keep it going

• Can you cook it?
• Where do you eat it?
• What did you eat yesterday?

To get started

• In my country, meals are ...
• A typical dish is ..., which ...
• People here believe ...

Keep it going

• Which dish should every visitor try?
• Is fast food changing that?
• What foreign food do you love?

To get started

• There is a place near ... called ...
• They make great ...
• It is not expensive, ...

Keep it going

• What do you always order?
• Who do you go with?
• Do you prefer eating out or at home?

To get started

• I live in a house / a flat.
• My home has ... rooms.
• My favourite room is ...

Keep it going

• What is in your room?
• Is your street quiet or busy?
• Who lives with you?

To get started

• Last summer I went to ...
• I stayed there for ...
• The best part was ...

Keep it going

• Who did you go with?
• What did you eat there?
• Would you go back?

To get started

• I live in ..., it is a ... city.
• It is famous for ...
• There are many ...

Keep it going

• What should a tourist see there?
• What is the worst thing about it?
• Would you move away?

To get started

• I would rather ... because ...
• The main advantage is ...
• The downside would be ...

Keep it going

• Where would you raise children?
• What would you miss most?
• Is remote work changing this?

To get started

• I believe it does, because ...
• When I went to ..., I realised ...
• Not necessarily; ...

Keep it going

• What surprised you most abroad?
• Is tourism good for local people?
• Where would you never go?

To get started

• At the weekend I ...
• On Saturday I usually ...
• I like to ... with my friends.

Keep it going

• What did you do last weekend?
• Do you sleep late?
• Where do you go?

To get started

• Yes, I have a ...
• No, but I want a ...
• Its name is ...

Keep it going

• What does it eat?
• Who takes care of it?
• Cats or dogs?

To get started

• In my free time I ...
• I started ... when I was ...
• I am good at ...

Keep it going

• How often do you do it?
• Is it expensive?
• What hobby do you want to try?

To get started

• I play ... every ...
• I watch ... on TV.
• I don’t like sports, but ...

Keep it going

• Which team do you support?
• Have you ever won anything?
• Is sport important for health?

To get started

• It is about ...
• The main character ...
• I liked it because ...

Keep it going

• Would you watch it again?
• Who would you recommend it to?
• Was the ending good?

To get started

• My favourite subject was ...
• I liked it because ...
• I was bad at ...

Keep it going

• Who was your favourite teacher?
• What did you do after school?
• What would you change?

To get started

• I hope I will ...
• I am planning to ...
• If everything goes well, ...

Keep it going

• What could stop you?
• What are you doing now to get there?
• Is this your dream or someone else’s?

To get started

• I would be a ...
• I think I would be good at it because ...
• The best part would be ...

Keep it going

• What would be the hardest part?
• Is money important in that choice?
• What did you want to be as a child?

To get started

• In my experience, ...
• It depends on ...
• The problem is that ...

Keep it going

• Would you take less money for more free time?
• Should people work from home?
• How do you switch off?

To get started

• History suggests that ...
• The real risk, in my view, is ...
• It largely depends on whether ...

Keep it going

• Which jobs are safe, if any?
• Who should pay for retraining?
• Would you trust an AI doctor?

To get started

• Today it is ...
• It is hot / cold / rainy.
• I like ... weather.

Keep it going

• What is your favourite season?
• What do you wear when it is cold?
• Does it snow where you live?

To get started

• I spend about ... hours a day on ...
• I mostly use it to ...
• To be honest, I think ...

Keep it going

• Does it make you happier?
• What would change without it?
• Do you post or only watch?

To get started

• I try to recycle ...
• I think the biggest problem is ...
• I could do more, for example ...

Keep it going

• Whose job is it, people or governments?
• Has the weather changed where you live?
• Would you pay more for green products?

To get started

• Compared to ten years ago, ...
• The biggest change for me is ...
• On the other hand, ...

Keep it going

• Which invention could you not live without?
• Are we too dependent on our phones?
• What worries you about the future?

To get started

• I mostly read / watch ...
• I trust it because ...
• I am a bit sceptical about ...

Keep it going

• How do you spot fake news?
• Should social media check facts?
• Do you ever avoid the news?

To get started

• To a large extent, ...
• Most people willingly ...
• The trade-off is ...

Keep it going

• What would you never share online?
• Should companies be allowed to sell data?
• Is safety worth less privacy?

To get started

• It would be naive to blame only ...
• Ultimately, ...
• Individuals can make a difference, but ...

Keep it going

• Should flying be taxed more?
• Are protests effective?
• What sacrifice would you accept?

To get started

• The difficulty lies in who gets to decide what ...
• There is a fine line between ... and ...
• Historically, restrictions on speech have tended to ...

Keep it going

• Is being offended a harm in itself?
• Should platforms or governments set the rules?
• Has satire become riskier?

To get started

• Up to a point, ...
• It can buy ..., but not ...
• The happiest people I know ...

Keep it going

• What would you do with a million?
• Is saving more important than spending?
• What makes you truly happy?

To get started

• For me, success isn’t so much ... as ...
• Society tends to measure it by ...
• Looking back, ...

Keep it going

• Has your definition changed over time?
• Is failure necessary?
• Who do you consider successful?

To get started

• If it were up to me, ...
• The fundamental problem is ...
• Schools should focus less on ... and more on ...

Keep it going

• Are exams a fair measure of ability?
• Should university be free?
• What did school fail to teach you?

To get started

• Some traditions hold communities together, for instance ...
• Others, frankly, ...
• The challenge is ...

Keep it going

• Which tradition do you secretly dislike?
• Who decides when a tradition ends?
• Is globalisation erasing them?

To get started

• I’d argue that the notion of free choice is ...
• Upbringing and circumstance determine far more than ...
• And yet, paradoxically, ...

Keep it going

• Can we be held morally responsible for choices we didn’t really make?
• Does believing in free will change how we behave?
• Where would you draw the line?

To get started

• On the face of it, ...
• What gives life meaning is arguably ...
• I suspect I would eventually ...

Keep it going

• Would anything still feel urgent?
• Who would get access first, and is that fair?
• What legacy would matter then?

To get started

• Cynics would say that ...
• Even if we benefit, that doesn’t necessarily make it ...
• Perhaps the real question is whether ...

Keep it going

• Does the motive matter if the outcome is good?
• Is altruism inherent or learned?
• What is the kindest thing a stranger has done for you?