Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
Nothing is more awkward for a teacher than posing a question to a group of ESL teens and being met with blank stares and an eerie silence. Sometimes, you might catch the murmurs of students seeking clarification from their equally puzzled classmates. Conversation starters for ESL teens don’t have to lead to discomfort; instead, they should always be enjoyable and engaging! If your students still hesitate to speak even with prompts, you may also find it helpful to read about why ESL teens freeze when speaking and how to build consistent speaking routines that reduce anxiety over time.
Here are 10 conversation starters for ESL teens that actually work — tested in real classrooms and loved by students.
Want to try a free sample of these cards first?
Grab a printable + editable version of my A1-level “Would You Rather” conversation starters right here: Free A1 ESL Conversation Cards | “Would You Rather?” for Beginners
1. Would You Rather…?
This type is always a hit with teens — they love comparing weird situations. For example: Would you rather be invisible or be able to fly? For ESL teens, these conversation starters require them to also justify why they made the choice they did.
Use it as: a warm-up, quick poll, or pair discussion.
In my classroom, I have mixed levels of students so I will have students work their peers with the same language levels and they enjoy helping each other gather the words they need, but they also tend to debate each other due to their varying answers.
2. What if…?
“What if…?” conversation cards give your students situations that they could possibly find themselves in. These are great to get students to use modal verbs such as would, should, must, etc. These encourage imagination and conditional thinking skills.
Sample Questions:
- What if you woke up and could speak any language — which one would you choose?
- What if animals could talk — which one would be the funniest?
- What if your phone disappeared for a whole week — what would you do?
Use it as: practice speaking in the second conditional (“I would… if…”). They’re great for partner conversations or creative writing prompts too.
3. Unpopular Opinions
“Unpopular Opinions” cards spark strong reactions and encourage debates. These questions ask students to agree or disagree with a bold or unusual opinion — encouraging them to express their views, justify their thinking, and respectfully respond to others. They are especially popular with teens that like to go against the status quo.
Sample Questions:
- Pineapple belongs on pizza. Do you agree or disagree?
- Homework should be banned forever. What’s your take?
- School uniforms are better than casual clothes. Why or why not?
Use it as: opportunities for debates, opinion writing warm-ups, or whole-class discussions.
This is a great conversation starter for ESL teens that need to learn to respectfully argue their points. It teaches sentence frames like: “I disagree because…” or “I see your point, but…”. It is a great transition into argumentative writing skills as well. If you’re ready to take those discussions further, this is the same approach I use when I teach argumentative writing to ESL students using scaffolds.
4. Create Your Own…
These cards push the envelope. It isn’t about quick responses. The student is expected to invent something new, such as a new technology, a new language, a new ice cream topping, etc. These conversation cards have students discuss their new invented product to the class. It’s a fun way to blend creativity with vocabulary practice around topics like technology, culture, and daily life.
Sample Questions:
- Create your own social media app. What does it do? What’s it called?
- Invent a new holiday. How do people celebrate it?
- Make your own sport. What are the rules and how do you win?
Use it as: pair interviews, group presentations, or mini writing extensions.
To further support your students, you can introduce sentence frames such as: “It’s called…” or “The rules are…”
5. Memory Lane
Invite your students to use the past tense and to talk about their real-life experiences with these “Memory Lane” conversation cards. It’s a powerful way to build speaking confidence and emotional connections in class.
Sample Questions:
- Tell me about a time you felt really proud.
- What was the best birthday you ever had?
- What’s a memory that always makes you laugh?
Use it as: pair interviews, small group storytelling, or even short writing extensions.
Some sentence frames that encourages students to recollect things from their past would be: “One time…” or “When I was younger…”.
6. This or That
“This or That” cards give students a fast, low-pressure way to make choices between two simple things — like pizza or burgers, summer or winter, texting or calling. These are very similar to the “Would You Rather…?” cards, but they are meant to be just quick answers. They are like the low-stakes version of the popular “Would You Rather…?” line of cards.
Sample Questions:
- Tea or coffee?
- Books or movies?
- Morning or night?
Use it as: fluency warm-up, a mingle activity, or a speed chat game.
But how are these different than the “Would You Rather…” cards?
Where “Would You Rather” questions often involve more imagination and explanation (e.g., Would you rather be invisible or fly?), “This or That” questions are about everyday preferences. They’re great for quick warm-ups or speed-round speaking. For classes that need something fast and predictable, these are also included in my A2 and B1 ESL Conversation Starter Cards, which I use when I want students talking within the first five minutes of class.
7. Solve the Problem
The “Solve the Problem” cards help students to think critically and to work together to find solutions. Each card prompt poses a real-life situation and students are expected to explain what someone should do to resolve the issue. These cards build problem-solving vocabulary, modal verb use (should, could, might), and negotiation skills.
Sample Questions:
- Your friend is always late to class. What should they do?
- You forgot your homework, but class starts in one minute. What do you do?
- Your phone dies while you’re lost. What’s your next move?
Use it as: pair or group discussions, role-plays, or “walk and talk” activities
Students are encouraged to use sentence starters such as: “I think they should…”, “Maybe they could…”, and “If it were me, I would…”.
8. My Top 3
“My Top 3” cards ask students to choose and rank their favorite things within a category — like foods, movies, vacation spots, or school subjects. These prompts help ESL teens organize their thoughts, use descriptive language, and explain why something is their favorite. It’s a great way to practice listing, comparing, and giving opinions in a low-pressure setting.
Sample Questions:
- What are your top 3 favorite snacks?
- What are your top 3 songs right now?
- What are your top 3 places you want to visit?
Use it as: writing extensions
Encourage students to use sentence frames such as: “I think they should…“, “Maybe they could…“, and “If it were me, I would…“.
9. Future Dreams
The “Future Dreams” category invites students to talk about their goals, hopes, and plans for the future. These prompts encourage ESL teens to use future tense constructions like “I will…”, “I want to…”, and “I hope to…” — while also expressing what matters most to them. This category supports personal connection, motivation, and language for real-world use.
Sample Questions:
- What is one goal you have for this year?
- What job would you like to have in the future?
- What is one place you want to visit someday?
Use it as: writing prompt or for a vision board or class “dream wall” activity
Encourage students to use future-focused sentence frames such as: “Someday, I want to…”, “In five years, I hope to…”, and “My dream is to…”.
10. Mysterious Situations
“Mysterious Situations” cards present students with a strange or unexplained event — and they have to guess what happened, fill in the blanks, or create a possible explanation. These prompts build critical thinking, speaking fluency, and storytelling skills while giving ESL teens the chance to use modal verbs like might have, could be, must be, and past tense forms.
Sample Questions:
- You wake up and your backpack is filled with sand. What happened?
- You see a pizza box on your porch, but no one ordered pizza. Who sent it?
- Your teacher suddenly disappears for a week and no one knows why. What’s the story?
Use it as: pair storytelling, group “solve the mystery” games, or even short writing extensions.
This category is great for building confidence with speculation and helping students speak in longer responses without feeling pressured. Students should be encouraged to use sentence frames such as: “Maybe someone…”, “I think it could be…”, and “It must have been…”.
Why It Matters?
Speaking is the last skill an ESL teen can acquire and it is partly due to a lack of practice. In order to build fluency, we need to encourage speaking English in the classroom. Incorporating these simple conversation starters for ESL teens builds confidence and vocabulary. It truly is a must-have for any ESL classroom. Sentence starters are another powerful scaffold for reluctant speakers, and I share my favorite free ESL sentence starters for teens here.
I encourage you to try them in your classroom and see for yourself how engaged and confident your teens will become—especially when you pair conversation practice with light pronunciation check-ins, a system that has made a big difference in my own classroom.
If you’re looking for something structured, reusable, and leveled — especially for mixed-ability ESL classes — these sets were designed to make speaking practice easier for both teachers and students. Want all 10 of these conversation starter types ready to go?
Grab my printable and editable ESL conversation card sets:
Or you can get them all in a mega bundle:
ESL Conversation Cards Mega Bundle – 320 Prompts for A1–B2 ESL Teens
They’re low prep, leveled from A1–B2, and come in multiple formats!
