Can anyone give me some free/open talk topics ?

Question

Hi All - I'm an English teach in China - i have my own school and one of my classes is Speaking and Listening ! Their English is GREAT and i'm running out of good things to talk about with them - have any ideas for me ?? Thanks so much - you all are so great out there helping everyone !! xoxoxo

Answer 1

the generation gap

where did morals go

who raises children when both parents work

are arts important to learning

how does the world view china, america, canada,etc
(ex. why SOME see chinese as women abusers, filthy cooks, and overbearing)
(ex. why some see canadians as arrogant, disrespectful and cowardly)
(ex. why some see americans as self rightous, ...... etc i am sure you can go on), and where do these ideas come from.

Answer 2

Talk about some new words using easier words. Do not copy the definitions in the dictionary word by word but borrow some and make them easy adding your own words, the words you expect your student to understand. For example, when you teach them that the "sentence" is made of "subject" and "predicate" you may tell them that subject is "the name of a story" and the predicate is "the story." When you talk about the word "ability," do not define it as "power to do something well" because the word "power" may be more difficult to explain. Let me give you a sample explanation for "ability." "There are many things useful in our body and mind and around us that we may use to help us do something well. The better we can use those things, the higher ability(u-n.) we have. An ability(c-n.) is also something we can do well, for example, if you can sing well, singing is one of your abilities." If you can talk well about words, there will be a lot of words waiting and you don't need to ask anymore for topics. You will also learn along with your students. Does this help?

Answer 3

If you can, get your hands on a copy of "The Book of Questions." It is the single most valuable source I had to use for topics in my creative writing class. It contains questions such as :
-Ifyou dented somneone's car and no one was around, what would you do?
-Do males or females have it easier these days?
-Is the life of a beautiful butterfly more worthy then that of a cockroach? What about beautiful vs. ugly people?
-If a beggar came up to you and asked for money for a phone call, would you give it to him? What if a man in a nice suit asked you for the same thing?

These were great question in high school. I used them as icebreakers on the first day of school.

Answer 4

Is there a God?
Where in the world would you like to live, (or visit)??
Who is your favorite person?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What would you do with a million dollars?
What's your favorite food?
What is your greatest desire?
How long do you think you'll live?
What will the world be like in 20 years from now?
What's your favorite website?
(Oh please don't make me go on!?)