History gives students a chance to connect the past to their own lives and cultures, which usually leads to some great discussion. These questions cover major events, historical figures, and how the past still shapes the world today.
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 your favorite period in history? What do you find interesting about it?
- Have you ever visited a historical site or museum? Tell me about it.
- Who is a famous historical person from your country? What do you know about them?
- Did you enjoy learning about history in school? What did you study?
- Have you ever watched a movie or TV show set in history? What was it about?
- Are there any old buildings or ruins near where you live or grew up? What do you know about them?
- If you could travel back in time, what year would you visit? What would you want to see?
- What is the most famous historical event from your country? Do people still celebrate or remember it?
- Do you know any stories about your grandparents’ lives when they were young? What is one good story?
- Have you ever learned something surprising about history? What was it?
- Have you ever visited a castle, palace, or ancient ruin? What did you see there?
- Is there a war or conflict from history that you have read about or studied? What happened?
Elementary (A2)
- What is the oldest building or place in your city? What makes it so special?
- What subject in history was boring to you in school? Why didn’t you find it interesting?
- Are there any historical foods or cooking methods that people no longer use in your country? What happened to them?
- What is a historical place in your country that tourists like to visit? Why is it popular?
- Do you prefer learning about ancient history or more recent history? Why?
- How has your city or town changed compared to how it looked many years ago? What is different now?
- Is there a historical figure you admire? What did they do, and why do you like them?
- Have you ever seen old photographs of your city or family? What surprised you about them?
- What is a holiday or celebration in your country that exists because of a historical event? Why do people celebrate it?
- Did people in your country play different games or have different entertainment in the past? What has changed?
- What is one thing about life in the past that you think was better than today? Why do you think so?
Intermediate (B1)
- What historical event do you think changed your country the most? Why?
- What part of history do you think would have been the hardest to live through? Why?
- What old tradition or custom from your country’s history do you think has mostly disappeared? Why do you think it ended?
- What historical event do you wish you could have seen in person? Why?
- Should statues of historical figures who did terrible things be removed from public places? Why or why not?
- What do you think is the most important invention in history? How do you think it changed everyday life?
- If you could ask any historical figure one question, who would you choose and what would you ask? Why that question?
- Do you think your country’s history is mostly taught accurately in schools, or are some things left out or changed? How so?
- Do you think people learn from the mistakes of history, or do they keep repeating them? What makes you think so?
- Do you think it is important to protect old buildings, even if they are expensive to maintain? Why or why not?
Upper-Intermediate (B2)
- Do you think it is better to learn history from books, from visiting places, or from talking to older people who lived through events? What are the good things about each?
- Are there any historical events that people in your country still argue or disagree about? What makes it so hard to agree on?
- Should countries that benefited from colonialism or slavery pay some form of compensation today? Why or why not?
- If one event in history had happened differently, what event would you change? How do you think the world would be different now?
- How does the way a country teaches its history in schools shape the way its citizens think about other countries? Are there any examples you can think of?
- How has the internet changed the way people learn about and interpret historical events? What do you think about those changes?
- Compare how historical events from hundreds of years ago are portrayed in movies or TV shows versus in academic history books. What gets changed or left out, and why?
- How do economic factors, things like trade, poverty, or wealth inequality, help explain why major historical events happened? Give me some examples.
- Is it possible to study history in a truly objective or neutral way, or does the historian’s own background always shape what they write? Why do you think so?
- Compare how your country remembers a war or conflict with how another country remembers the same event. How is it different?
- Some people argue that we should stop celebrating certain holidays because of their connection to difficult parts of history. What are the arguments for and against this?
- How have the roles of women in society changed over the last 100 years? What do you think still needs to change?
- Why do you think some countries have apologized for things they did in the past while others have not? What effect does an official apology have?
Advanced (C1)
- What role do museums and historical sites play in how a country shapes its national identity? What can be done when different groups have different ideas about what should be displayed or preserved?
- Why have histories of ordinary people, workers, women, minorities, the rural poor, been so consistently overlooked throughout history, and what happens when those stories start to get told?
- History is often described as being written by the winners. How does this shape not just what we know about the past, but how people in defeated or colonized societies understand their own identity today?
- Why is it that two neighboring countries can look at the same historical events, the same wars, borders, or treaties, and arrive at completely opposite interpretations of who was right?
- Throughout history, certain technologies, the printing press, the telegraph, the internet, have radically changed who controls information. What patterns do you notice across these disruptions, and what do they suggest about the current moment?
- The ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Chinese all built massive structures that still exist today. Why do you think powerful civilizations always seem to build big things? What does that say about human nature and power?
- Wars often destroy cultures, languages, and traditions, but they also lead to new inventions, social changes, and alliances. How do you weigh the destruction caused by major conflicts against the progress that sometimes comes from them?
- Many countries were colonized by European powers, and the effects are still visible in their languages, borders, and economies today. At what point does a country stop being shaped by its colonial past and start being responsible for its own future?
- People often say we should ‘learn from history,’ but every generation seems to face the same problems: war, inequality, corruption. Is the idea that history teaches us anything actually true, or is it just something people like to say?
- Oral traditions kept history alive for thousands of years before writing existed. Now we rely on written records, photos, and video. What do we gain and what do we lose when a culture moves from storytelling to documentation?
- Some historians argue that individuals like Napoleon or Gandhi changed the course of history, while others say that large social and economic forces would have created similar changes with or without them. Which view do you find more convincing, and what examples support your thinking?