Students love surprising facts and trivia, which makes this topic great for getting quieter learners to jump in. These questions work well for practicing numbers, making comparisons, and discussing what makes information trustworthy.
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)
- What is the strangest fact you have heard about the human body? What makes it so strange?
- How many languages can you say ‘hello’ in? What are they?
- Do you know how many countries there are in the world? Is the number bigger or smaller than you expected?
- What fun fact do you know about animals? Tell me about it.
- What is a fun fact about your birthday month? (For example: a famous holiday, a weather pattern, or a famous person born that month.)
- Do you know how many hours people sleep on average? How many do you sleep?
- Do you know any world records? (For example: the tallest person, the biggest pizza, or the longest road.) Tell me about one.
- What is the tallest building in your country? Where is it?
- What is the most popular food in your country? Do people in other countries know about it?
- What is one thing about your country that most people around the world probably do not know?
- Have you ever looked at a map and been surprised by how big or small a country is? Which country was it?
- What is one fact about your language that people who speak other languages might find interesting?
Elementary (A2)
- What are some interesting statistics you know of? What makes them interesting to you?
- What is the most surprising fact you have ever learned? Why did it surprise you?
- Have you ever heard a fact that you did not believe at first? What was it?
- Have you ever told someone a fact and they did not believe you? What happened?
- What numbers or data do you check when you go shopping? Why do you check them?
- Do you remember facts better when you see pictures or numbers? Why?
- Do you like quiz shows or trivia games? Why?
- Have you ever learned a fact from a family member that turned out to be wrong? What was it?
- What is a fact about food or health that you think everyone should know? Why?
- Have you ever looked up a fact or number online to win an argument? What happened?
- What is a number or statistic about your country that makes you proud? Why?
- Have you ever learned a fact that changed something you do every day? What was it?
Intermediate (B1)
- What do you think about these facts and statistics?
- What do you think the saying “Numbers don’t lie” means? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?
- Do you agree that “86% of statistics are made up on the spot”? Why or why not? What makes a statistic trustworthy?
- What kind of facts or statistics do you see in advertisements? Why do companies use them?
- Do you prefer learning new facts from videos, books, or people? Why?
- If you could know one statistic about your life (for example, how many meals you have eaten or how many hours you have slept), what would you want to know? Why that one?
- What makes a statistic believable or trustworthy? Give me some examples.
- Do you think people share more facts today than in the past? What changed?
- Should schools teach students how to spot fake statistics? Why or why not?
- Do you think people are more likely to believe a fact if it includes a number or percentage? How so?
- What fact or statistic would you most like to know about your own country? Why that one?
- Should social media platforms label posts that contain misleading statistics? Why or why not?
- What is one fact or statistic that changed the way you think about something? What did it change?
- What is more important when looking at statistics: the numbers themselves or how they are presented? Why?
Upper-Intermediate (B2)
- What are some of the problems with statistics?
- What are the REAL reasons for these correlations?
- Is it better to make decisions based on personal experience or based on statistics? When would each be more useful?
- How does the way a chart or graph is designed change what people take away from it? Give me some examples.
- How does seeing statistics about climate change affect people’s behavior? What can be done to improve that?
- When the news reports a statistic, what factors determine whether people share it or ignore it? Why do some numbers go viral?
- Compare how statistics are used in advertising versus in scientific research. What are the key differences?
- What are the risks of people making health decisions based on statistics they find online? What can be done to improve that?
- What happens when different studies produce conflicting statistics on the same topic? How should people decide what to believe?
- How do cultural differences affect the way people interpret statistics? Can you think of any examples?
- How has the use of statistics in sports (like player performance data) changed the way teams are managed? What are the downsides?
- How are statistics about economic growth or unemployment different from statistics about people’s well-being? Which type tells you more about a country?
- How has the availability of real-time statistics and data changed fields like medicine or transportation? What are the downsides of relying on this data?
- When politicians use statistics during debates, how much should voters trust those numbers? What should they look for?
- When a news story says something like ‘80% of people support this policy,’ what questions should a critical thinker ask before accepting that number?
Advanced (C1)
- Why do people often ignore statistics that contradict their existing beliefs, even when the data is strong? How does this play out in areas like health, politics, or economics?
- Why have governments and organizations become more focused on collecting statistics over the past century? What changes in society made this both possible and necessary?
- How has the rise of big data changed the balance of power between large companies and ordinary people? Where does this leave individual privacy?
- Why do shocking or extreme statistics spread faster than moderate ones? How does this affect the way society understands important issues like crime, immigration, or public health?
- How does the framing of statistics shape public opinion even when the underlying numbers are accurate? Give me some examples from politics or health.
- How does the availability of personal health data (like fitness trackers and DNA tests) change the relationship between patients and doctors? Is more information always better?
- How do different generations view the trustworthiness of statistics and data differently? What experiences shaped each generation’s attitude toward facts?
- How might the increasing use of predictive statistics and algorithms reinforce existing inequalities while claiming to be objective?
- Why do countries often measure success using economic numbers like GDP, even when those numbers say very little about how happy or healthy people actually are? What would change if we measured success differently?
- How does having access to more data and statistics make people feel more confident in their decisions while sometimes leading to worse outcomes? Where have you seen this happen?
- How has the ability to measure and rank everything, from schools to restaurants to employees, changed the way people behave? What do we lose when everything becomes a number?