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100

NEWS COVERAGE IN THE MEDIA TODAY

• Do you think news coverage today correctly describes what is going on in the world?
• Do you trust everything you hear or see on the news?
• What improvements would you make?
• What is the most important current news story?
• Do certain types of events get too much/too little coverage?
• Do you trust the media? Are you sure the information given is always true?
• Is it important to keep up with current events?

200

ELECTRIC CARS

• n what way are they better than petrol cars?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars?
• Are electric cars popular in your country?
• What needs to be improved to make them more popular?
• Do you think the number of electric cars will increase in the future?
• Are car manufacturers really interested in preserving the environment?

300

MANNERS

• Are good manners important?
• Do people have better manners today than before?
• Can you give examples of what you think are good manners?
• What do you think are bad manners?
• Can good manners in one country be bad manners in another country?
• What about table manners? Can you give examples of some good table manners?
• How about bad table manners?
• Can manners affect your success in life? How?
• What's the best way to teach manners to children?
• What advice about manners would you give a foreigner visiting your country?

400

WORK

• Do human beings need to work to be happy?
• What motivates people to work long hours?
• Can perks (or fringe benefits) compensate for a boring job?
• What are the advantages/disadvantages of working from home?
• How do people find a balance between work and personal life?
• What would make you leave your job?
• In your opinion, which jobs are most prestigious? Why?
• In your opinion, what is the worst job in the world?
• If you could start your own business, what would it be?

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100

SOCIAL NETWORKING

• What is social networking?
• Can social networking sites be dangerous?
• What precautions would you advise people to take?
• Should the use of social networking sites be banned at work?
• Are social networking sites changing our daily behaviour?
• Is it possible to become a social networking addict?

200

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF....?

• If you were given the opportunity to be born again, what would you change in your life?
• If you could have dinner with someone, dead or alive, who would you choose and why?
• If you always had to tell the truth, what kind of problems would you encounter?
• If you could live without sleeping, how would you spend your nights?
• If you were given a choice beween great wisdom or great wealth, which would you choose?
• If you could live forever on earth, as it is now, would you? Why or why not?

300

THE ENVIRONMENT

• What are some of the most serious environmental problems today?
• Can you find ten things that each of us can do to help preserve our planet?
• What is your opinion on climate change?
• In what way will our children be affected by climate change?
• How can we make our homes more environmentally friendly?
• What can companies do to help preserve the environment?
• Which countries cause the most pollution?
• If we run out of oil, where will we get our energy from?

400

COMPARING LIFE IN THE PAST WITH THE PRESENT

• Education - employment - job satisfaction
• Health : prevention, treatment, new discoveries, social security, etc.
• Comfort : standard of living (housing/transport/leisure)
• Violence
• Social issues : single mothers, unmarried couples, homosexuality ...

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100

THE ENVIRONMENT

• What are some of the most serious environmental problems today?
• Can you find ten things that each of us can do to help preserve our planet?
• What is your opinion on climate change?
• In what way will our children be affected by climate change?
• How can we make our homes more environmentally friendly?
• What can companies do to help preserve the environment?
• Which countries cause the most pollution?
• If we run out of oil, where will we get our energy from?

200

ANNOYING THINGS

• Do people have habits that annoy you?
• Do you annoy people with some of your habits?
• What does 'pet peeve' mean?
• Do you have a pet peeve?
• What annoys you when you are driving a car?
• What are some things that car drivers do that annoy you?
• Does it annoy you if someone cuts in front of you when you are waiting in line?
• Does smoking bother you?
• Does something that your parents or friends do annoy you?
• Do some people in your office/company do annoying things?
• Can you think of any celebrities that are annoying? Why?
• What do people do on public transport or on the street that annoys you?

300

SHOPPING ONLINE

• Do you often do your shopping online?
• What do you buy online? :
  - food-clothes-furniture
  - services : airline tickets, theatre reservations, flowers, greeting cards ...
  - other
• Are the prices the same as in the shops/agencies or less expensive?
• Have you ever had any disappointments or bad surprises?
• What are the advantages of shopping online?
• What are the dangers?
• What advice would you give future online shoppers?

400

CAREERS ADVICE

• How important is it to have a good (well-paid/secure) job?
• What advice would you give a young person today?
• Would you encourage your children to accept a job in another country?
• Would you be disappointed if your children
  • left school early?
  • chose a manual job?

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100

FAKE NEWS

Fake news (fabricated news) is the deliberate spread of misinformation. Sensationalist, dishonest or outright fabricated headlines are often used to increase readership.

• Do you agree with the fake news definition?
• Where do we most often find fake news? 
• What sort of fake news can you think of? 
• How can we tell if a news story is ‘fake’ or not? 
• What is the purpose of the misinformation?
• Is fake news used in election campaigns?
• Have any countries recently been accused of spreading fake news?
• Can you think of ways to prevent the circulation of fake news?

200

SUCCESS/FAILURE

• How would you define success?
• Do you have the same idea of success as your parents?
• To what extent will your encourage your children to become successful?
• Do you think failures can contribute to a person's success?
• Can you think of any famous people who encountered failure before success?

300

RISK

• What is your definition of risk?
• Do you know any risk takers?
• In your opinion why do people take risks? (pleasure, work, challenge ...)
• What risks do you come across in your work/life?
• Are some people obliged to take risks in their jobs?
• When is a risk stupid or unnecessary?

400

FAMILY LIFE OR CAREER?

It is impossible to have a successful career and a happy family life.
You have to choose one or the other. Do you agree?

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100

RICH WORLD/POOR WORLD

• What kind of aid should the governments of rich countries give to poor countries? (money - food - medicine - machinery/equipent - hospitals - schools - training ...)
• Do you think all citizens should be encouraged to do voluntary service overseas so as to understand the problems of poorer countries?
• Are poor people poor because they lack opportunities or because they are lazy? What reasons can you think of?
• Is it right for rich countries to have strict immigration controls?

200

VIOLENCE

• When you hear the word "violence", what do you think of?
• Is the world more violent today?
• Are there different sorts of violence? (physical / mental /psychological / domestic …)
• What forms of violence have you noticed?
• Do people tend to be more violent when they group together? (gangs / mobs / crowds…)
• In what areas is there an increase in the level of violence? (football, politics, religion, environment …)
• What are the causes of violence? (jealousy, frustration, unemployment, poverty, conspiracy theories, fake news …)
• What violent conflicts are going on around the world?
• Does the repetition of violent images in TV news reports have a positive or negative effect?
• Does violence ever achieve anything?
• Is the increase in violence a worldwide phenomenon?
• What could be done to reduce violence?

300

TECHNOLOGY

• What technology would it be difficult to live without today?
• Has technology changed our everyday lifestyle?
• What technology, if any, has made our homes more comfortable?
• Has technology changed education methods?
• Has technology changed the way we do business?
• Will online education one day replace the classroom?

400

IMPORTANT LIFE DECISIONS

What are the 5 most important decisions in a person's life?
After brainstorming ideas, short-list five of them and decides on their order of importance.