Wishes
76 conversation questions and prompts
Answer in full sentences and share your reasons or a story. Use “I wish…” where it fits.
Use the level groups as a guide. Questions about wish-making traditions appear alongside prompts about things you wish were different.
A1
Beginner (A1)
5 questions
- Do you make the same birthday wish every year, or a new one?
- What do you wish for your family?
- What good wishes do you write in a birthday card?
- Draw a picture of one of your wishes. Tell us about it.
- Who do you talk to about your wishes?
A2
Elementary (A2)
8 questions
- Have any of your wishes ever come true?
- Who taught you how to make a wish? What did they tell you to do?
- When you make a wish, do you close your eyes? What else do you do?
- Which is more fun for you: making a wish alone or making wishes with a group? Why?
- Think of someone you know well. What is one of their wishes?
- What wish do you and someone in your family share?
- Did you ever write a wish on paper? Where did you put the paper?
- Which do you like better: a wish in a card or a wish someone says to you? Why?
B1
Intermediate (B1)
38 questions
- If you could have three wishes that would come true, what would they be? (No, you can't wish for more wishes)
- What do you wish you could change about the world?
- Many cultures throw things into water (like a fountain) and make a wish. Why do you think people do that?
- What do you wish you could do after this class?
- What do you wish you could eat right now?
- What do you wish would happen today?
- When do people make wishes in your culture? (for example, when you see a shooting star)
- Do you ever wish you could travel back in time?
- What do you wish you had right now?
- What do you wish you could fix yourself instead of paying someone else to fix?
- What did you believe about making wishes when you were a child?
- What do you wish people would stop asking you?
- When everyone is waiting for you to make a wish, is it easy to think of one?
- Some people say that telling a wish stops it from coming true. What do you think of that idea?
- Have you ever made a wish just because everyone else was doing it? What was happening?
- When do you wish you were a little less polite?
- Have you ever tried a wish-making tradition while traveling? What was it like?
- What do you wish people understood about your work or studies?
- What would you say to a child who asked whether making a wish really works?
- Which household job do you wish took half as long?
- Can you enjoy making wishes without believing they will come true? What, if anything, do you enjoy about it?
- If you missed a step in a wish-making tradition, would you start again?
- When do you wish you could stay calm more easily?
- Have you ever waited for a certain time on the clock to make a wish? What made you do it?
- What do you wish people would stop doing at concerts or movies?
- Which of your childhood wishes makes you laugh now?
- When you make a wish, do you choose your words carefully or say the first thing that comes to mind?
- Which everyday sound do you wish were quieter?
- When you were younger, what did you wish adults would let you do?
- What do you wish you could do with your hair that never seems to work?
- Has someone ever remembered a wish of yours that you thought they'd forgotten? Tell us what happened.
- What do you wish people would say directly instead of making you guess?
- Which hobby do you wish cost less to enjoy?
- What do you think of the advice, “Be careful what you wish for”?
- What do you wish you found interesting, but don't?
- Would you want to hear what people wished for when they were your age? Whose wishes would interest you?
- What do you wish you cared less about?
- When do you wish you could tell whether someone was joking?
B2
Upper Intermediate (B2)
14 questions
- What do you wish you had asked someone when you had the chance?
- Which event do you wish you had stayed at longer?
- What do you wish you had kept from your childhood?
- When have you thought, 'I wish I hadn't agreed to this'?
- What do you wish you had known before starting your first job?
- Which experience do you wish you had taken more pictures of?
- Tell us about a time you thought, 'I wish I had checked that first.'
- Which conversation do you wish you had handled differently?
- What did you once wish would happen that you're now glad didn't happen?
- Does making a wish help you feel better when you cannot control what happens?
- Have you ever gotten what you wished for and found that you didn't enjoy it? What was different from what you imagined?
- Have you ever wished an event would be canceled, then enjoyed it when it happened?
- Is there a wish you enjoy thinking about even though you don't want it to come true?
- How would you feel if someone tried to make one of your wishes come true without asking you first?
C1
Advanced (C1)
11 questions
- When someone says, "I wish I could help," what makes you hear it as kindness, an excuse, or something else? Give examples.
- How much of an apology is "I wish I hadn't said that"? What would you need to hear before accepting it?
- What changes when "I wish you would call more often" is said by a parent, a partner, or a manager?
- If someone insists they wish for a different life but keeps choosing the life they have, how would you make sense of that?
- How would you judge a wish for someone else to fail if their failure would give you a chance? Where would you draw the line?
- What is the difference between a wish and a prayer?
- Can you wish an experience had never happened and still value what it taught you? How would you explain that to someone who sees a contradiction?
- When people say, "I wish I'd known then what I know now," what might they be overlooking about their younger selves?
- How would you respond to someone who says their wish came true because they believed in it strongly enough? Would the circumstances change your response?
- If people pay to take part in a wish-making custom, what would make the price seem reasonable or exploitative to you?
- When is "That's wishful thinking" a fair response, and when does it shut down an idea too soon? Give an example of each.