Conversations / Environment
Environment Conversation Questions for Adult ESL Classes
Use these 20 discussion questions about Environment to run a full speaking lesson with adult learners (B1–B2). Each part opens with a vocabulary warm-up, every question is labelled with the thinking skill it practises, and each part fills roughly thirty minutes of class time on its own.
Reviewed by Brando Oxley · 15 Aug 2026
Part 1
Everyday Choices and the Environment
Focus: discussing daily habits, waste, transportation, energy use, shopping choices, and simple ways to reduce environmental impact
In one minute, think of two things people throw away, two actions that can help the environment, two natural places, and one environmental problem.
EXPERIENCE
What environmental issues do you notice most in the area where you live?
ROUTINE
What habits do you already have that reduce waste or save energy?
PREFERENCE
Which environmental habit would be easiest for you to improve, and why?
COMPARE
Compare using public transportation with driving a private car. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
DISCUSS
Why do some people care strongly about environmental problems while others pay very little attention to them?
SHOPPING
How can the way people shop create more or less waste?
PROBLEM-SOLVE
Your neighborhood produces a lot of plastic waste. What practical changes could residents make?
PRIORITIZE
Which should people focus on first: using less plastic, saving energy, driving less, or wasting less food?
ADVISE
What advice would you give someone who wants to live in a more environmentally friendly way without spending much money?
REFLECT
How much difference can one person's environmental choices really make?
Part 2
Communities, Business, and Environmental Responsibility
Focus: discussing larger environmental problems, responsibility, business decisions, public policy, community action, and future solutions
Choose one word from each category: Person: resident, farmer, scientist, business owner; Action: recycle, protect, reduce, clean; Place: beach, city, forest, factory; Feeling: worried, hopeful, frustrated, responsible. Use your four words to describe a short scene in two or three sentences.
CULTURE
Which environmental problems receive the most attention in your country?
DISCUSS
Who has the greatest responsibility for protecting the environment: individuals, businesses, or governments?
COMPARE
How can environmental priorities be different in wealthy countries and developing countries?
EVALUATE
Should environmentally harmful products cost more even if that makes life more expensive for consumers?
BALANCE
How can communities protect nature while still creating jobs and supporting economic growth?
PROBLEM-SOLVE
A beautiful natural area is becoming damaged because too many tourists visit it. What could be done?
EVALUATE
How useful are recycling programs if people continue buying and throwing away large amounts of unnecessary products?
INFLUENCE
How can companies encourage customers to make more environmentally responsible choices?
PREDICT
What environmental changes do you think will affect everyday life most over the next twenty years?
RECOMMEND
What is one environmental change your town or city should make a priority?