Electric Cars

Electric cars are becoming more common, which means students often have opinions about them. These questions cover everything from practical concerns like charging and cost to bigger debates about environmental impact and the future of transportation.

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)

1. Have you ever been in an electric car? Tell me about it.
2. What kind of electric cars do you see in your city? Do you see them often?
3. Do you know anyone who owns an electric car? What do they say about it?
4. Where do people charge electric cars? What does that usually look like?
5. What colors do electric cars usually come in? What’s a good color for a car?
6. How do most people get to work or school in your city? Do you do the same?
7. Have you ever charged an electric car? What did you think of the process?
8. What are some electric things you use every day? Which one do you use the most?
9. Have you ever ridden an electric bike or scooter? What did you think of it?
10. Are electric cars expensive? How much do you think one costs?
11. Are there electric buses or trains in your city? What are they like?

Elementary (A2)

1. When do you think the first electric car was made?
2. How long does it take to charge an electric car? Would you be willing to wait that long?
3. Which country do you think is trying the hardest to make electric cars popular? What are they doing?
4. Do you prefer big cars or small cars? What’s good about each?
5. What’s the coolest-looking electric car you’ve seen? What did you like about it?
6. What are the three most important things when you choose a car?
7. What is one thing you don’t like about electric cars? Why?
8. Do you prefer the look of electric cars or gas cars? Why?
9. What do you think is the most famous electric car brand? Why is it so well-known?
10. Do you think it’s easy or hard to find a place to charge an electric car in your area? Why?

Intermediate (B1)

1. Would you ever drive an electric car? Why or why not?
2. Do you think electric cars, hydrogen cars, or something totally different will be the future of automobiles? Why do you think so?
3. Do you think electric cars are popular in your country? Why or why not?
4. Do you think electric planes will become popular soon? Why or why not?
5. Electric cars don’t make much noise. Do you think that’s a good thing or a bad thing?
6. Would you rather have a car that charges at home or one that you fill up at a gas station? Why?
7. Have you ever taken a long road trip? Would an electric car work for that kind of trip?
8. If you could only use one type of transportation for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Why?
9. Should the government require all new cars to be electric by a certain year? Why or why not?
10. What do you think makes an electric car worth the higher price? Give me some examples.
11. Should apartment buildings be required to have charging stations for electric cars? Why or why not?
12. If you could design an electric car, what features would you include? Why are those features important?
13. Do you think electric cars are good for people who live in cold climates? Why or why not?
14. If you had to choose between an electric car and a gas car today, which would you pick? What would matter most to you?
15. Some people say electric cars are too expensive for most families. Do you agree? What could change that?
16. Do you think car companies are moving to electric cars because they care about the environment, or for other reasons? What makes you think that?

Upper-Intermediate (B2)

1. What are some of the benefits and disadvantages of electric cars?
2. What technology needs to be improved to make electric cars more popular?
3. Are electric cars really environmentally friendly if the electricity to charge them comes from coal power plants? What can be done to improve that?
4. What do you think is stopping people from buying electric cars? Is it the same in every country?
5. What do you think would happen if all taxis and buses in your city became electric tomorrow? What would be the biggest challenge?
6. How has the rise of electric cars affected the traditional car industry? What changes have surprised you?
7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars for people living in rural areas versus cities?
8. How is the charging infrastructure for electric cars different from the gas station system we’ve had for decades?
9. Compare the way car companies marketed electric cars ten years ago versus how they market them today. What has changed?
10. How do electric cars affect the job market for mechanics, gas station workers, and others in the automotive industry?
11. Electric cars are much quieter than gas cars. How does that change the experience of driving or walking in a city?
12. Some countries are banning the sale of new gas cars by 2035. What effects do you think this will have on everyday people?
13. Electric car batteries use materials like lithium and cobalt, which are mined in developing countries. What concerns does this raise?
14. Why do you think some people are strongly against electric cars, even when the technology is improving? What are their main arguments?
15. Governments are banning gas cars by certain dates, but charging stations still aren’t everywhere. What problems do you see when governments set ambitious goals before the infrastructure is ready?

Advanced (C1)

1. How do electric cars change the relationship between car ownership and energy infrastructure in ways that gasoline cars never did?
2. How might the shift to electric cars both empower and threaten developing nations in different ways?
3. What role do electric cars play in reshaping urban planning, from parking to power grids to the design of residential buildings?
4. What does the rush to adopt electric cars reveal about how societies prioritize different types of environmental damage over others?
5. Electric cars are often marketed as a way to save the planet, but they still require mining, manufacturing, and electricity from power grids. At what point does ‘green marketing’ become misleading?
6. In many countries, owning an electric car has become a status symbol for wealthy people. How does this affect public support for electric car policies that are meant to help everyone?
7. China dominates the global electric car battery supply chain. How does one country’s control over a key technology shape the politics and economics of the rest of the world?
8. Some people argue that focusing on electric cars distracts from better solutions like public transportation and walkable cities. How do you weigh individual solutions against systemic ones when tackling climate change?
9. The shift to electric cars will eliminate millions of jobs in the gas car industry while creating new ones in tech and energy. How should societies handle it when progress in one area causes serious harm in another?
10. Traditional car culture — the sound of an engine, road trips with gas station stops, working on your car in the garage — is fading as electric cars take over. What happens to a culture when the everyday rituals people grew up with start to disappear?
11. Electric cars collect huge amounts of data about where you go, how you drive, and when you charge. How does turning a car into a data-gathering device change the relationship between car owners, companies, and governments?

PDF: Download a PDF of all the questions