Storytelling

Storytelling is something everyone does, even if they don’t think of themselves as a storyteller. These questions get students talking about the stories they love, the ones they grew up with, and what makes a story worth sharing.

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. What is your favorite story? (A book, a movie, a TV show, etc.) What is it about?
2. Do you like stories that are funny, scary, or exciting? What is a good example of that kind of story?
3. What kind of stories did you like when you were a child? (Fairy tales, animal stories, adventure stories, etc.)
4. What is a famous story or fairy tale from your country? What happens in it?
5. Do you ever tell stories to children? What kinds of stories do they like?
6. Where is the best place to hear or tell stories? (Around a campfire, at home, at school, etc.)
7. Do you like stories with a happy ending or a sad ending? What is a good example?
8. Who tells you the best stories? (A friend, a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, etc.)
9. What is a story you have watched or read more than once? Why do you keep going back to it?
10. Do you like long stories or short stories? Why?
11. What character from a story is your favorite? (From a movie, a book, a cartoon, etc.) What makes them your favorite?
12. How often do you read or watch stories? Every day, once a week, or not very often?

Elementary (A2)

1. Who is the best storyteller you know? What makes them so good?
2. Have you ever told a story that made everyone laugh? Tell me about it.
3. Do you like telling stories or do you prefer listening to them? What’s good about each?
4. What kind of stories don’t you like? Why?
5. Have you ever started reading a book or watching a show and stopped because the story was boring? What was it, and why did you stop?
6. Do you prefer real stories (true stories) or made-up stories (fiction)? Why?
7. Have you ever cried because of a story in a movie or book? What happened in the story?
8. Have you ever exaggerated a story to make it more interesting? What happened?
9. Have you ever listened to a podcast or audiobook? What did you think of it?
10. Have you ever told a story and nobody believed you? What was the story?

Intermediate (B1)

1. What makes a story interesting to you? Give me some examples.
2. What is a story you liked as a child but don’t like as much now? Why did your feelings change?
3. Do you think movies based on books are usually better or worse than the original? Why do you think so?
4. Should children be taught storytelling in school? Why or why not?
5. If you could write a story about your own life, what part would you focus on? Why is that part the most important to you?
6. Do you think violent or dark stories can have a positive effect on people? How so?
7. Do you think the hero of a story always has to be good? Why or why not?
8. Should parents read bedtime stories to their children every night? Why or why not?
9. Do you think people are better at telling stories now or were they better in the past? What makes you think so?
10. Some people say every story has already been told. Do you agree? What makes you think so?
11. Do you think true stories are more powerful than fiction? Why or why not?

Upper-Intermediate (B2)

1. How has streaming changed the way stories are told in TV shows and movies? What do you think about those changes?
2. Compare stories told from the perspective of the villain versus the hero. What do you gain or lose from each perspective?
3. How have the stories that are popular in your country changed over the last 20 or 30 years? What caused those changes?
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of AI-generated stories compared to those written by human authors?
5. In many countries, traditional folk stories and legends are disappearing. What do you think is causing this, and what can be done to preserve them?
6. Some stories are told from the point of view of an unreliable narrator, someone who might be lying or mistaken. What effect does this have on the reader or viewer?
7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of learning history through stories rather than through facts and dates?
8. Some stories that were once considered dangerous or banned are now seen as classics. Why do you think society’s view of certain stories changes over time?
9. Why do some stories become popular all over the world while others stay local? What factors make a story travel well?
10. How do advertisements use storytelling to sell products? How is it different from regular storytelling?

Advanced (C1)

1. Why do you think humans have been telling stories in every culture throughout history? What does this tell us about what it means to be human?
2. Stories often ask us to feel sympathy for characters who do terrible things. How does this affect our moral instincts, and is it a good thing or a dangerous thing?
3. Some say that the stories a society tells about its past, its history, its heroes, its founding myths, are more about the present than about what actually happened. Do you agree, and what are the consequences of this?
4. How have political and social conditions in your country or region shaped what kinds of stories are told, celebrated, or suppressed?
5. The line between ‘true story’ and ‘fiction’ is often blurry, documentaries shape facts, memoirs exaggerate, and historical dramas invent dialogue. Does the distinction still matter, and why?
6. Governments and political movements have always used storytelling to build support. When does storytelling become propaganda, and how can people tell the difference?
7. People often say that stories help build empathy because you ‘walk in someone else’s shoes.’ But is there a risk that consuming stories about other people’s suffering becomes entertainment rather than education?
8. Older generations often say that young people don’t know the important stories of their culture anymore. Is this a real loss, or do new stories simply replace old ones as society changes?
9. AI can now generate stories, scripts, and even entire novels. If a machine can tell a story that moves people emotionally, does it matter that the machine does not actually understand the story?
10. In many countries, the news has become more like storytelling, with dramatic music, emotional language, and clear heroes and villains. How does this affect the way people understand what is happening in the world?

PDF: Download a PDF of all the questions