The Media
111 conversation questions and prompts
Choose a question or prompt. Describe your experience or share your opinion. Give details when you can.
Use the level groups as a guide when choosing prompts for your students.
A1
Beginner (A1)
15 questions
- What kinds of videos do you watch on your phone?
- What do you like on the radio: people talking or music?
- Where do you see ads on your way to school or work?
- What do you watch when you have only ten minutes?
- How long is a good podcast for you?
- Which famous person do your parents like?
- What do you watch on a big screen?
- What magazines do you have at home?
- Which cartoon characters do you see in ads?
- Who in your family likes making videos?
- What do you listen to before you go to sleep?
- Which person on TV has clothes you like?
- Who chooses what to watch in your home?
- What language do you read the news in?
- What do you like about your favorite news program?
A2
Elementary (A2)
32 questions
- What words from a movie or show do you use in real life?
- Who chooses the radio station when you travel by car?
- What would you like to make: a video, a magazine, or a radio show?
- What have you watched for much longer than you planned?
- What kind of magazine would you like to see for sale?
- Tell us about an ad that confused you.
- What do you like to watch that the other people in your home dislike?
- What could you talk about for a whole podcast episode?
- What did you copy from a cartoon when you were a child?
- How do you feel when a new episode comes out only once a week?
- What kind of radio host makes you want to keep listening?
- What would you like to do for a music video: dance, film, or make the clothes?
- What can you watch while doing something else?
- Which part of a magazine do you read first?
- What product looked very different in real life from its ad?
- Tell us about something you enjoyed watching that other people called bad.
- What comics did people read when you were in school?
- What things with movie or cartoon characters on them have you owned?
- What do you enjoy watching people do but would never try yourself?
- Which magazines are worth keeping after you read them?
- Which famous person is popular with both young and old people you know?
- What do you like to watch with someone much older or younger than you?
- What radio program do you remember from when you were younger?
- What would make you cancel a streaming service?
- What would you put in a magazine for people your age?
- Would you enjoy an audiobook with different actors for each character?
- What makes a magazine cover catch your eye?
- Where do most people in your country get their news?
- Which famous person appears in the news too often?
- What makes you stop reading a news story?
- Which do you enjoy more: reading the news or listening to it?
- What news story would you like to hear more about?
B1
Intermediate (B1)
38 questions
- When would you choose a movie over starting a series?
- Have you ever been surprised by what a radio or podcast host looked like?
- Which ads do you remember better than the products they sell?
- Tell us about a video that made an unfamiliar subject interesting to you.
- How much unrelated conversation do you enjoy before a podcast gets to its main subject?
- What ordinary thing did you learn about a famous person that surprised you?
- What did you believe about adult life because of movies or television?
- What makes a podcast host feel like someone you know?
- When does seeing a real brand in a movie bother you?
- Tell us about a scene in a movie or show that reminded you of your own life.
- Would you rather hear an author read their own book or hear a professional actor read it?
- What job looked appealing on screen but less appealing when you learned about it?
- Whose taste in movies or shows has influenced yours?
- What can you do while listening to a story without losing track of it?
- How do you feel when a song you love appears in an ad?
- How do you feel about watching someone react to a movie or video you already know?
- What would interest you most in a magazine from the year you were born?
- Would you rather have a small loyal audience or one video that millions of people watch?
- What would you like to watch again but cannot remember the name of?
- Why do some adults feel embarrassed about reading comics?
- Which ad have you seen so often that your opinion of it changed?
- How has having so much to choose from changed the way you watch things?
- Which do you prefer: a podcast with a planned topic or one where the hosts talk freely?
- What makes you stay to watch the credits?
- What do you notice in a printed magazine that you tend to miss on a screen?
- Which people behind a movie or show deserve more public attention?
- Which ending have you kept thinking about after watching it?
- What kinds of personal problems would you enjoy hearing podcast hosts discuss?
- Tell us about a time you did not understand a joke because you had not seen the show or video it came from.
- What makes a three-hour movie feel short or a short video feel long?
- What kind of person do the ads on your phone seem to think you are?
- What place turned out to be different from how you had seen it on screen?
- Which products look strange being advertised by celebrities?
- Would you put your own name on a video channel or invent a name for it?
- Does the media in your country report the whole truth, mostly truth, or mostly lies?
- How has the internet changed the news in your country?
- How has the media changed in your country during the last 20 years?
- Tell us about a news story you kept checking for updates.
B2
Upper Intermediate (B2)
15 questions
- When would you rather listen to an enthusiastic beginner than an expert on a podcast?
- How much does it matter to you that people on screen look like people you see in everyday life?
- What can a simple homemade video offer that an expensive production cannot?
- What can a comic communicate better than a page of ordinary writing?
- How do you feel when a podcast host uses a personal story to sell a product?
- Which unrealistic details in movies or shows bother you, and which do you enjoy?
- What can a small podcast lose when it becomes a big business?
- What would persuade you to pay for a magazine when so much is free online?
- When do ads showing a perfect life inspire you, and when do they put you off?
- Who has the most control over the media in your country?
- How does the media help create a healthy society?
- Should the media just report the facts or should the media interpret the facts?
- Can you think of a politician who used the media in a successful way? How about a politician who was destroyed by the media?
- Should the media show graphic violence? Why or why not?
- What is the fairest and most balanced media outlet in your country?
C1
Advanced (C1)
11 questions
- When readers find a meaning that the author says was never intended, whose interpretation carries more weight?
- Where would you draw the line between enjoying a reality show and enjoying someone's humiliation?
- What should publishers do with language in an old children's book that they would reject in a new one?
- How much responsibility do you take for an artist's behavior when you recommend their work?
- When a joke cannot survive translation, how much should a translator change to make it funny again?
- When does an interviewer need to let a guest finish, even if the guest keeps avoiding the question?
- What can make a true-crime podcast worth making when the victim's family wants the story left alone?
- When an ad moves you, does knowing that it was designed to do so change the value of that feeling?
- What makes an exaggerated advertising claim harmless fun rather than a promise the company should keep?
- What do you make of ads that criticize consumerism while trying to sell you something?
- How much space should a news report give to an argument that few experts accept but many readers believe?