Everyone has experience giving and receiving advice, which makes this topic accessible for all levels. Good for practicing modal verbs and hypothetical situations.
Questions are organized by level from beginner to advanced. A printable PDF of all the questions is available at the bottom of the page.
Beginner (A1-A2)
- How can I…
- What / Who / Where should I…
- What is one piece of advice you always tell your friends? Why?
- Has a friend ever given you advice that made you laugh? What did they say?
- What is one thing your teacher always tells you to do? Do you do it?
- Do your friends and your parents give you the same advice or different advice? Give me an example.
- What advice do you give yourself when you are nervous? Does it work?
- What is one thing everyone should do in the morning? Why?
Elementary (A2)
- Where do you go to get good advice?
- Who has been the wisest teacher in your life? What did they teach you?
- What advice did your parents give you that you still remember?
- What was the last piece of advice you gave to someone? Did they follow it?
- How often do you reject the advice others give you?
- What advice have you received about learning English?
- Who do you ask for advice? Why?
- What kind of advice do your friends ask you for? What do you tell them?
- Do you like to give advice or get advice? What’s good about it?
- Who is the best person in your family to ask for advice? What does that person usually say?
- Have you ever followed bad advice? What did you do?
- What are three things you would tell a tourist visiting your city?
- Have you ever asked a stranger for advice? What happened?
- What advice do your grandparents or older relatives like to give? Do you listen to them?
- Who gives you advice even when you don’t ask for it? How do you feel about that?
- What kind of advice do you never want to hear? Why?
- What is one topic you feel confident giving advice about? Why?
- Have you ever paid someone for advice? What did you want help with?
- Have you ever given advice to someone older than you? How did it go?
- What advice would you give to someone moving to your country? Why?
Intermediate (B1)
- What three pieces of advice will you give your children?
- Whose advice do you follow more, your parents’ or your friends’? Why?
- If you could give the leader of your country some advice, what would it be?
- If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice, what would you tell your younger self?
- Who was the wisest person in your country’s history? What advice did they give, and do you agree with it?
- What should someone do to be happy?
- What is the best way to give advice to a friend? Why do you think that approach works?
- When is it better to keep advice to yourself?
- How do you decide whose advice to follow?
- Is it easy or hard for you to ask others for advice? Why?
- Do you prefer to get advice from older or younger people? Why?
- Do you think most people want unsolicited advice? Why or why not?
- How can you tell if someone’s advice is good or bad?
- Do you think advice from strangers can be valuable? Why or why not?
- What advice would you give a new student in your English class?
- Is advice still useful even if you don’t follow it? Why or why not?
- What advice do you have for making friends from different cultures?
- What advice would you give someone who is addicted to technology?
- When is it okay to give unsolicited advice?
- What advice do you have for someone going on a first date?
- Is advice more useful when it comes from personal experience? Why or why not?
- When is it okay to give advice in your culture?
- What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a leader?
- How has advice helped you in difficult times?
- What are some things students should do to improve their English outside of class? What has worked best for you?
- What should people do when first meeting their boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s parents?
- What should I do to make more money?
- How can I get more free time?
Upper-Intermediate (B2)
- What’s the difference between advice and criticism?
- Do you think people today need more or less advice than in the past? What has changed in society that makes you think so?
- Is it better to ask for advice before making a big decision, or figure it out on your own? What are the downsides of each?
- How has social media changed the way people seek and receive advice? What do you think about those changes?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of professional advice (therapists, coaches, consultants) compared to advice from people who know you personally?
- Compare the role of advice in individualistic cultures versus collectivist cultures. What are the key differences?
- When someone gives you advice, how much does their own background and life experience affect what they say? Can you give some examples?
- How has the advice given to young people about careers changed over the past few decades? What do you think caused these changes?
- Some people say that advice from books and podcasts has replaced advice from family and friends. Do you agree? Why do you think so?
- Do you think people in positions of power (bosses, politicians, teachers) have a responsibility to give good advice? What happens when they give bad advice?
- What role does age play in how seriously people take someone’s advice? How much does it affect you?
- In what situations can well-meaning advice actually do more harm than good? What are some real examples of this?
- How does the relationship between the person giving advice and the person receiving it affect whether the advice is accepted?
Advanced (C1)
- How do generational differences in values create tension when older people give advice to younger people, and how do younger generations decide which traditions to keep and which to leave behind?
- How does the commercialization of advice through life coaches, influencers, and self-help brands blur the line between genuine guidance and marketing, and what does this reveal about how society views personal responsibility?
- In what ways does the advice we give to others reveal more about our own values and biases than about the situation the other person is actually facing?
- How do power dynamics in relationships (parent-child, boss-employee, doctor-patient) shape the advice that gets given, and how freely can the person receiving it actually reject it?
- How has the rise of algorithm-driven recommendations (social media feeds, AI assistants, targeted content) started to replace traditional human advice networks, and what are we losing in that shift?
- To what extent is the advice people seek shaped by the desire for validation rather than genuine guidance, and how does this dynamic affect personal growth?
- How do economic inequality and social class affect both the quality of advice people have access to and their ability to follow it?
- Why do people often resist advice they know is correct, and what does this resistance reveal about the relationship between knowledge, emotion, and behavior?
- What does the phrase ‘everyone has an opinion’ reveal about modern society’s relationship with expertise, authority, and the value of advice?
- In what ways does advice simultaneously preserve existing social structures and create possibilities for social change? Give examples from history.