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THE DISCUSSION ON COFFEE
STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student B.)

(1) Are you a ‘coffeeholic’?
(2) Do you care if you have instant or blend coffee?
(3) Do you need coffee to wake you up in the morning?
(4) Is coffee bad for you?
(5) Does coffee affect your appetite?
(6) What do you think of Starbucks?
(7) Do you think caffeine is a dangerous drug?
(8) What do you think of the new trend of flavored coffee?
(9) Do you like the smell of coffee?
(10) What would you like to know about coffee?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student A.)

(1) Are there any health benefits to drinking coffee?
(2) What do you know about coffee production and who gets the big profits?
(3) Would you drink less coffee if you knew it stained your teeth?
(4) What is the difference between blend, cappuccino and espresso?
(5) Does coffee grown in different parts of the world taste differently?
(6) What role does coffee (or tea) play in your life?
(7) What’s the difference between Irish coffee and Turkish coffee?
(8) Do you know what fair trade coffee is?
(9) Do you like coffee sold in cans?
(10) What do you think happens when you overdose on coffee?

THE DISCUSSION ON JUNK FOOD
STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student B.)

(1) What springs to mind when you hear the term ‘junk food’?
(2) How often do you eat junk food?
(3) What is it about junk food that is so bad for us?
(4) Do you think there should be a junk food tax to help pay for people who go to hospital with heart and weight problems?
(5) Why is junk food so delicious?
(6) Are parents who feed junk food to their children irresponsible?
(7) Do you think there’ll be more or less junk food in the future?
(8) What junk food do you really, really like?
(9) Is the junk food from your country tastier than the junk food from other countries?
(10) How can you change your lifestyle to eat less junk food?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student A.)

(1) Do lots of people eat junk food in your country?
(2) Does your government educate people about the dangers of junk food?
(3) Do you think junk food makers are immoral and should think more about people’s health?
(4) What do you think of people who eat mostly junk food?
(5) Does junk food or good quality healthy food make you happier?
(6) If you had to choose between a strict vegetarian diet forever or a junk food diet forever, which would you choose?
(7) Why does junk food cost so much?
(8) What is the definition of junk food?
(9) Is chocolate the most addictive junk food?
(10) Do you think people ate junk food hundreds of years ago?

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student B.)

(1) What is gossip?
(2) Have you ever been the victim of gossip?
(3) Are you a gossip?
(4) How often do you hear gossip?
(5) Are you interested in celebrity gossip?
(6) Do you like to know all the gossip about your friends and neighbours?
(7) Who is the biggest gossip you know?
(8) How quickly does gossip spread in your school / workplace?
(9) What are the most common subjects of gossip?
(10) Is there any gossip about your teacher?
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student A.)

(1) Why do people gossip or like gossip?
(2) Have you ever started any gossip?
(3) Do you read gossip columns in magazines? Why are these so popular
(4) Do you think it’s right that gossip columnists can make a lot of money writing bad things about people that may not be true?
(5) What is the most malicious piece of gossip you’ve ever heard?
(6) How do you feel if people gossip about you?
(7) What’s the difference between gossip and a rumour?
(8) Eleanor Roosevelt said: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” Is this true?
(9) Why do you think gossip is sometimes ‘hot’ and sometimes ‘juicy’?
(10) Do you think people who gossip lead sad lives?

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student B.)

(1) What do you think of cosmetic surgery?
(2) Do you think there’s a difference between cosmetic and plastic surgery?
(3) Would you consider having cosmetic surgery?
(4) Do you think cosmetic surgery is more popular with women or men?
(5) What do you think are the dangers of cosmetic surgery?
(6) What parts of your face / body would you like to change?
(7) Would you like to be a cosmetic surgeon?
(8) Why is cosmetic surgery so popular in some countries but not at all in others?
(9) What do you think of people who have cosmetic surgery?
(10) Do you think there should be an age limit for people to have cosmetic surgery?
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student A.)

(1) Would you have cosmetic surgery if it was free?
(2) What would you think if one of your parents came home with a new face / body?
(3) Do you think cosmetic surgery should be banned for children?
(4) Who would you like to look like?
(5) Do you think people who have cosmetic surgery are always happy with the results?
(6) What advice would you give to a friend who wants cosmetic surgery?
(7) Does cosmetic surgery always make people look better?
(8) Is cosmetic surgery playing with the way God made us?
(9) Do you know anyone who has had cosmetic surgery?
(10) Do you think a cosmetic surgeon is happy in their job?

bullying

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student B.)

(1) What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘bullying’?
(2) What different types of bullying are there?
(3) Was bullying a big problem at your school?
(4) Is it worse for children or adults to get bullied?
(5) Why do people bully each other?
(6) Do you think bullying should be made a crime or is it part of growing up?
(7) Is cyber-bullying (online bullying) worse than face-to-face bullying?
(8) What experiences of bullying do you have?
(9) How bad is bullying in your country?
(10) What kind of person is a bully?
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student A.)

(1) Do bullies need help? What kind?
(2) What can people who are bullied do to stop the bullying?
(3) If bullying involves violence, should someone call the police?
(4) What damage does bullying do to people?
(5) Should someone who is bullied make the name of the bully public – put it on the Internet?
(6) Is it always best to stand up to a bully?
(7) Do you think bullying will disappear one day, or is it getting worse?
(8) What message do you have for bullies?
(9) What advice would you give to someone who is bullied (a) online and (b) physically or emotionally?
(10) Are there similarities between bullying and torture?

THE DISCUSSION ON NO
STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student B.)

(1) What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘no’?
(2) Which do you say more, ‘no’ or ‘yes’?
(3) Is it sometimes difficult for you to say ‘no’?
(4) What did you think when your parents said ‘no’ when you were a child?
(5) What is a no-no?
(6) When was the last time you had to shout ‘no’?
(7) Are there any no-go areas in your town? Is your room a no-go area?
(8) Do you prefer no-frills, no-nonsense stores or do you like expensive department stores?
(9) Have you ever been in a no-win situation?
(10) Do you think ‘no’ always means ‘no’?
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student A.)

(1) What do you think of the word ‘no’?
(2) When was the last time you said ‘no’?
(3) Have you ever said ‘no’ when you really wanted to say ‘yes’?
(4) What would the world be like if everyone said ‘no’?
(5) What do you think are common questions to which people reply ‘no’?
(6) Why do you think people might say ‘no, no, no, no, no’?
(7) Which question would you always say ‘no’ to?
(8) What words do you know that commonly follow ‘no’?
(9) What times in your life has your head said ‘yes’ but your heart said ‘no’ – or vice versa?
(10) Why might your government start a “Say No” campaign?

Memory
What is the best memory you have?

Who was your most memorable teacher? (Bad or good)

Do you have any strong memories linked to a particular smell?

How do you want people to remember you?

How good is your memory?

What do you wish you were better at remembering?

Are computers making our ability to remember better or worse? Give some examples.

How much do you think memories change over time?

Why do you think some people remember the same events differently?

Is the ability to memorize lots of things important? Why or why not?

16 Useful Clues To Understand Your Dog Better

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student B.)

(1) Do you like dogs?
(2) Are dogs really “a man’s best friend”?
(3) What kinds of dogs do you like and dislike?
(4) Do you think dogs are the best pets?
(5) Do you think dogs have a good life?
(6) Are you ever afraid of dogs?
(7) What do you think of dogs that bark non-stop?
(8) Do you think people spend too much money on dogs?
(9) In what ways are dogs helpful to humans?
(10) Are there many abandoned dogs in your town?
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to Student A.)

(1) Do you prefer pedigree or mixed-breed dogs?
(2) Do owners have to clean up after their dogs in your town?
(3) Do you think some owners care too much for their dogs and not enough for other people?
(4) Why are dogs disliked in some cultures?
(5) What do you think of dog hotels, dog cafes and poodle parlors?
(6) Dog is on the menu in many countries. What do you think of this?
(7) What would you do if someone bought you a puppy as a present?
(8) What do you think of people who organize dog fights?
(9) In English, dogs go “woof woof”. How about in your language or other languages you know?
(10) What does a “dog-eat-dog world” mean? Is it true?

Is positive thinking a strong belief in your life?

What is the philosophy of positive thinking? How does positive thinking work?

How can positive thinking help you in your personal life?

Do you know anyone who practices positive thinking seriously? Do you find it encouraging or irritating?

How can the power of positive thinking change your approach to problem solving?

How can you apply positive thinking in practice?

How can we say positive thinking from false hope and  self deception?

Do you think positive thinking can help you to overcome all of your problems in life?

Some scholars, including Dr. Martin Seligman, believe that sometimes you need to be rather pessimistic to become more action-oriented. How do you respond to this idea?

Do you think that some people are more genetically positive than others? Let’s argue for and against this question

Privacy

How much do you value your privacy?

Do you think that websites like Facebook take away too much of your privacy?

Do you think people have the right to privacy? How about convicted criminals?

The only people who need privacy are people who are doing something illegal. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Do you think the Internet increases privacy or takes away privacy?

What is the greatest threat to privacy?

How private should corporations be? Should the public have access to corporate records?

How transparent should a government be?

Where do you like to go when you want to be alone?

Should there be more, or less, security cameras around cities?

How is privacy viewed in your culture?