Conversation Topics / Video Games
Video Games Conversation Questions for Adult ESL Classes
Twenty ESL conversation questions about video games for adult classes (A2–C1). Part 1 covers playing itself — favourite games, habits, and gaming with others. Part 2 debates the bigger picture: esports, careers, game culture, and screen-time worries. Each part opens with a vocabulary warm-up and runs about thirty minutes.
Reviewed by Brando Oxley · 6 Aug 2026
Part 1
Playing Games
Focus: sharing experience, describing, comparing, evaluating, and giving advice
Think of one device people play games on, one verb used when talking about games, and one type of game.
Describe each word without saying it directly. Your teacher or partner must guess the word.
EXPERIENCE
What games did you play growing up — video games or not? Which one do you remember most fondly?
DESCRIBE
Describe a game you know well to someone who has never played it. What is the goal, and why is it fun?
COMPARE
Compare playing games on a phone with playing on a console or computer. Who plays each, and when?
PREFERENCE
Do you prefer playing with friends, against strangers online, or alone? What does each give you?
EVALUATE
Do you consider video games primarily technology, business, art, or entertainment? Defend your choice with an example.
ANALYZE
Why do adults sometimes hide how much they play? Is gaming still seen as childish in your country?
PRIORITIZE
For a good game, what matters most: story, graphics, challenge, or playing with others? Rank them.
PROBLEM-SOLVE
A parent worries their teenager plays too much. What rules or conversations would actually work?
ADAPT
Games are used in schools and job training in some countries. Where could "serious games" help most in yours?
ADVISE
Recommend one game — video, board, or card — for an English class, and explain how you would use it.
Part 2
Esports, Careers, and Culture
Focus: analyzing, discussing, defining, balancing, connecting ideas, and creating solutions
In one minute, think of two game genres, two jobs in the games industry, two words describing how games make you feel, and one problem gamers talk about.
ANALYZE
Do colleges in your country have official esports teams or gaming clubs? Why are universities starting to take gaming seriously?
DISCUSS
Should strong video-game players be eligible for university scholarships, like athletes? Where do you stand?
DEFINE
In your opinion, should esports be considered a sport? What makes something a sport at all?
EVALUATE
What skills can competitive gaming teach that may be useful in ordinary employment? Which jobs would value them?
BALANCE
What health or academic rules should a university esports team follow? How much practice is too much?
CULTURE
Does your country have a significant video-game industry? Should governments use tax incentives to attract game studios?
REFLECT
Would you choose a creative career with high salaries but frequent layoffs and cancelled projects? Why or why not?
IMPROVE
How could developers in your country create games that reflect local culture without limiting their global audience?
CONNECT
What has a game — of any kind — taught you about strategy, patience, or losing? Connect it to real life.
CREATE
Invent a video game set in your country. Where does it take place, what is the story, and who is the hero?
Lessons on this topic
Full reading + discussion lesson plans that pair with these questions.
