A great way to encourage ESL students to speak is by bringing up some fun and interesting conversation topics. “Would you rather” questions are great for adult ESL conversation classes. ESL speaking lessons using would you rather questions require little to no preparation. With minimum lesson prep ahead of time, you will easily get your students to practice speaking English.
Fun Would You Rather Questions for ESL Adults
Here are the top 30 would u rather questions for adult ESL students. The questions are divided into different levels. Easily find questions from the categories that relate to your ESL students. Have a fun English conversation with these ESL would you rather qauetions!
Questions for ESL Beginners
- Would you rather be very rich or very beautiful?
- Would you rather be too hot or too cold?
- Would you rather win the lottery or live twice as long?
- Would you rather be very strong or very fast?
- Would you rather be able to stop time or go back in time?
- Would you rather have a bicycle or a scooter?
- Would you rather be able to control fire or water?
- Would you rather have three eyes or two noses?
- Would you rather work in the morning or work at night?
- Would you rather wash the dishes or do the laundry?
Questions for Intermediate ESL Students
- Would you rather run your own business or work for someone else?
- Would you rather live in the countryside or in a big city?
- Would you rather have one kid or many kids?
- Would you rather have no pets or many pets?
- Would you rather shop for 6 hours or do chores for 3 hours?
- Would you rather have more time or more money?
- Would you rather use paid time off during summer or winter?
- Would you rather have bad breath or smelly feet?
- Would you rather have pasta without sauce or sauce with pasta?
- Would you rather spend a day off alone or with a partner or friend?
Questions for Advanced ESL Students
- Would you rather be poor and happy or rich and miserable?
- Would you rather have one best friend or 100 acquaintances?
- Would you rather have a big family in a small house or a small family in a big house?
- Would you rather be honest and poor or be corrupt and rich?
- Would you rather live in your homecountry forever or immigrate to a different country?
- Would you rather work longer hours for 4 days or work regular hours for 5 days?
- Would you rather well-paying but unethical company or a moderately paying but ethical company?
- Would you rather have an easy but dead-end job or a challenging job that has an opportunity for growth?
- Would you rather learn another language or learn how to play an instrument?
- Would you rather get married at a very young age or at a very old age?
How to Plan an ESL Conversation Lesson
ESL Conversation Activities
Here are some of the best conversation activities to do along with the would you rather questions with your adult students.
#1: Role Plays
Role-play is a very practical activity that is closely related to real life! Find out what your students need the most. For example, they might like traveling or shopping. During a roleplay, they will be able to use vocabulary and commonly used phrases when people go to a restaurant or a shopping mall. Also, ESL students will build confidence to use these words and phrases in real life!
#2: Just A Minute
Try Just a Minute activity with intermediate or advanced-level ESL students. This can be a great speaking and listening activity. Write a bunch of topics on the whiteboard that your students would like to talk about. Put students into a group of four. Each group must decide who’s going to go first. Now, randomly choose a topic from the board. The first person from each group has to speak for one minute about that topic. The three other members have to listen carefully, and each person asks one or two follow-up questions.
#3: Dialogue Substitution
If you have a class with lower-level ESL students, try the dialogue substitution activity. Use a dialogue from the textbook or write a new dialogue based on your students’ needs. Take out the keywords from the dialogue, and put a word bank at the top of the page. Students will pay attention to the words and really try to understand the dialogue, which makes it a more meaning-focused activity!
#4: The Expert
Try this English speaking activity with your advanced-level ESL adult students. Make students write down three things that they are an expert at. It can be anything like how to cook ramen, how to make a paper plane, or how to use Excel shortcuts. Put students into pairs and let them have a free conversation about the expertise for about three to four minutes. Switch partners and repeat the exercise about three times.
#5: Would You Rather?
Put students into groups and hand out a list of would you rather questions. Each person must choose an option and explain why they think one is better than the other. It is a fun and easy icebreaker conversation activity!
FAQs About Would You Rather Questions for Adults
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the would you rather questions for adults.
What are “Would You Rather” questions?
Would You Rather questions are great conversation starters for ESL students. You have to choose one of the two options and explain why. It is a great way to learn about other people in an unusual but fun way.
Is would you rather a good icebreaker?
Conversation activity using Would You Rather questions is one of the best ESL icebreaker activities. You get to know a bit more about people around you, have fun, and practice speaking.
What are good questions for Would You Rather?
- Would you rather have more money or more time?
- Would you rather be able to stop time or go back in time?
- Would you rather live in a very cold country or a very hot country?
- Would you rather be able to make one change in the past or learn about one fact in the future?
- Would you rather be a famous celebrity or a politician?
Would U Rather?: Join the Conversation
What are your thoughts on these would you rather questions for adults? Did you find any good questions for your ESL adult students? If you have any great would you rather question ideas, let us know in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.