Students usually have a lot to say about phones, apps, and social media. These questions range from simple preferences to bigger debates about tech in our lives.
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)
- Are there any new gadgets that you really want to get?
- What is your favorite piece of technology you own? What do you like about it?
- Is there a piece of technology that you really want that doesn’t exist? (i.e. flying cars, teleportation, etc.)
- Do you like new gadgets or do you prefer to use technology you are comfortable with? Why?
- Do you prefer reading on screens or reading on paper? What’s good about each?
- Who do you call or text the most? What do you talk about?
- What do you use your phone for the most? How many hours a day do you use it?
- Have you ever used a voice assistant like Siri or Alexa? What do you use it for?
- What kind of apps do you use the most? (Social media, games, news, shopping, etc.)
- Do you like taking photos or videos? What kinds of things do you like to record?
- What’s the worst technology you’ve ever bought?
Elementary (A2)
- Have you ever had a computer or phone break? Tell me about it.
- What is the most annoying thing about your phone? What makes it so frustrating?
- Who taught you how to use a computer? What did they show you first?
- What was the first piece of technology you ever owned? Tell me about it.
- Have you ever sent a message to the wrong person? What happened?
- What is one app you deleted because you didn’t like it? What was wrong with it?
- What technology don’t you like using? Why?
- Do you check online reviews before you buy technology? What do you check for?
- What do you think makes a good password? Give me some examples.
- Have you ever bought something online that was different from the picture? What did you do?
Intermediate (B1)
- How has technology changed in your lifetime? What changes have affected you the most?
- What do you think has been the most important invention in the last 100 years? Why do you think so?
- What do you think will be the next biggest technological advance?
- Do you think that there will be more or less innovation in the future? Why or why not?
- Give some examples of technology that have made the world worse.
- What do you think is the most important thing that humans have created? How has it changed the world?
- What is the future of transportation?
- Do you prefer texting or calling? Why?
- What technology do you use every day that your grandparents never had? Why is it important to you?
- Do you update your apps and software right away or do you wait? Why?
- Should children have smartphones? Why or why not?
- Is it worth paying more for the newest version of a phone or computer? When are they worth it?
- If you could design an app, what would it do? Who would use it?
- If you could only use one app for the rest of your life, which one would you choose? Why?
- Should parents limit how much time their children spend on screens? What is a fair amount?
Upper-Intermediate (B2)
- How can countries help to create more inventors?
- How will computers change in the future?
- Do you think that people will travel outside of our solar system? How will they get there?
- What are the possibilities of technology in clothing?
- Do you think technology makes people more connected or more isolated? How so?
- Do you think artificial intelligence will take people’s jobs? What jobs are most at risk?
- Do you think online learning is as good as being in a classroom? What is better about each?
- How has social media changed the way people communicate? How often do you use it?
- How do apps and websites use psychology to keep people using them? What techniques work on you?
- What are the implications of everyone having a camera in their pocket all the time?
- Some people say technology makes us less creative. Others say it makes us more creative. What are the strongest arguments on each side?
- What happens to a society when some people have access to the latest technology and others do not? How big is this problem where you live?
- Compare how people made friends before the internet and how they do it now. What has been gained and what has been lost?
- How do companies use your personal data, and what should they be allowed to do with it? Where do you draw the line?
- Compare the way people used to learn new skills versus how they learn them now with technology. What has changed?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of children growing up with tablets and smartphones from a very young age?
Advanced (C1)
- How do the economics and politics of the world affect what technology gets developed?
- What tensions exist between privacy and security in the digital age? How should societies balance these competing values?
- How might the shift from owning products to subscribing to services fundamentally change the relationship between consumers and companies? What are the broader economic and social implications?
- What role should technology play in addressing climate change? What are the tensions between technological solutions and behavioral or political change?
- To what extent does the race between countries to lead in artificial intelligence mirror past arms races, and what lessons from history should guide how governments approach it?
- Social media companies profit from keeping people engaged, but high engagement often means more outrage and division. How should societies balance free expression, corporate profit, and mental health?
- As artificial intelligence becomes better at creating art, music, and writing, what does that mean for how we define human creativity and the value we place on it?
- Technology allows people to work, shop, and socialize without ever leaving home. How might this shift toward virtual life change the physical design of cities, local economies, and human relationships over the next few decades?
- How do the ethical concerns around facial recognition technology reveal deeper tensions between security, privacy, racial bias, and the power of the state?
- Why do people often resist new technologies at first but then become completely dependent on them? What does this pattern tell us about human nature and our relationship with change?