Family

• Are friends more important than family? What do you think?
 • Are chores assigned to children in your family?
 • Are you married?
 • Are you pressured by your family to act in a certain way?
 • Are you the oldest among your brothers and sisters?
 • Are your parents strict?
 • Did you ever meet any of your great grandparents?
 • Do you get along well with your family?
 • Do you get along well with your brothers and sisters?
 • Do you get along well with your in-laws?
 • Do you have any brothers or sisters? If so, how old are they?
 • Do you have any children? If yes, what are their names and ages?
 • Do you have to clean your own room?
 • Does your mother make you clean your room?
 • Do you like your family? Why or why not?
 • Do you live with any of your grandparents?
 • Do you live with your parents?
 • Do you look more like your mother or your father?

Home

• Can you describe each room of your house?
• What does the outside of your house look like?
• Where do you park your car at your house
• Do you like the place where you are living? Why or why not?
• What is your favorite room in your house? Why?
• How are homes different in your home country and in this country?
• How have you changed your home since you've started living there?
• How long have you lived where you are living now?
• How many different homes have you lived in?
  • Which one did you like the best? Why?
  • Which one did you like the least? Why?
• How many rooms are there in your house?
• How much is your rent? (Some people may not consider this to be a polite question.)
• If you could change anything about your present home, what would it be?
• Is your home in a convenient location?
• What changes would you like to make to your home?
• What do you like about your home? What don't you like?
• What do you think is the worst color for a living room?
• What is in your bedroom?
• What things in your home couldn't you live without?
• What things in your house could you easily live without?
• Where would your dream home be?
  • What would it be like inside and out?
• Which room do you spend the least time in?
• Which room do you spend the most time in?
• Who are your neighbors?
  • Do you get along well with your neighbors?
  • How well do you know them?
  • What have you done with your neighbors?
• Who lives with you? / Who do you live with?
• Would you prefer to live in a house or an apartment? Why?
• Is every house a home?
• What makes 'a house' into 'a home'?
• Have you ever been homesick?have you changed anything in your house recently? If so, what was that?
• What would you like to change in your house?
• What is the color of your front door?
• What kind of housing would you prefer?
• What is your dream house?
• Do you like to keep pets in your home?
• Are there any parks near your home?
• What strange materials do you know of that have been used to make houses?
• Could you build a house for yourself? How would you do it? (you cannot have a builder help you)
• How could you live without electricity? Could you make your own electricity? How?
• How can houses be made more environmentally friendly?
• Describe how you go about buying a house in your country. Can you borrow money from a bank? Is it easy to buy and sell houses?
• What would be important to consider when designing a city? Was your city planned? Describe a perfect city
• Draw/describe your dream house (money is no problem) where, materials, design, interior, landscaping etc
• Imagine you have arrived in a country where they don't speak your language. You have no money or friends there. What would you do for accommodation?
• Give some reasons why people become homeless.
• What problems do home owners have? What can they do about them?
• Is it better to rent or buy? Give reasons for your answer.
• What do you think houses in the future will be like?
• How important is security? How do you make a house secure?
• Make a list of the 10 most important things you would look for when choosing a house to live in.
• Some people say houses are too much like boxes or cages. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of a home stay?
• List alternatives to a house or apartment. (e.g. igloo)
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of these alternatives? Which alternative would you prefer to live in?
• Which are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a small house/flat/apartment? And living in a big one?
• Do you have a nice garden at your home? Do you plant flowers and trees in your garden? Do you help your mother/father to water those plants/flowers?
• Do you raise fish in your home? If so, what type of fish?
• Which do you like better, a home with a nice garden or a home without one?
• Do you have a mini swimming pool in your home?
  • A basket ball court 
  • A ping pong table? 
• Do you help to mow the lawn in your garden?

http://iteslj.org/questions/home.html

Favourites

• What is your best friend's name?
• What is your favorite animal?
• What is your favorite city in the United States?
• What is your favorite color?
• What is your favorite country? And why?
• What is your favorite day of the week? Why?
• What is your favorite drink in the summer?
• What is your favorite food?
• What is your favorite holiday? Why?
• What is your favorite kind of book?
• What is your favorite kind of ethnic food?
• What is your favorite kind of movie?
• What is your favorite kind of music?
• What is your favorite kind of pizza?
• What is your favorite magazine?
• What is your favorite memory of childhood?
• What is your favorite movie?
• What is your favorite pastime?
• What is your favorite proverb?
• What is your favorite radio station?
• What is your favorite season? Why?
• What is your favorite sport?
• What is your favorite television program?
• What is your favorite time of day?
• What is your favorite TV program?
• What is your favorite type of sushi?
• What is your favorite vegetable? Why
  • fruit, meat, salad dressing, etc.)
• What is your favorite Web site?
• What was your favorite subject in school?
  • ...in high school?
  • ...in junior high school?
  • ...in elementary school?
• What's your favorite smell?
• What's your favorite word in English? Why do you like it?
• Who is your favorite actor?
• Who is your favorite actress?
• Who is your favorite athlete?
  • Who is your favorite baseball player?
  • Who is your favorite soccer player?
• Who is your favorite author?
• Who is your favorite character from literature?
• Who is your favorite composer?
• Who is your favorite musician?
• Who is your favorite singer?
• Who is your favorite super-hero? Explain why.
• Who is your favorite TV star?
• Who was your favorite singer when you were younger? How about now?
  • In place of singer: actor, actress, baseball player, athlete, ...
• Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
  • ...in high school?
  • ...in junior high school?
  • ...in elementary school?
• Note: Many of the above questions can be changed from "What is" to "What was."

http://iteslj.org/questions/favorites.html

Getting to know each other

• Where were you born?
• How did you get your name?
• What is your first memory?
• What can you remember about elementary school?
• What was your neighborhood like when you were growing up?
• Was junior high school a happy time for you?
• What sports did you do?
• Did you study hard at high school?
• Do you still have friends from your school days?
• Did you study again after you left high school?
• Do you remember your first boyfriend or girlfriend?
• What is your best memory of childhood?
• What was your first job?
• How did you meet your husband or wife?
• Did you enjoy your wedding day?
• Have you lived in many different places?
• How would you describe your experience of having children?
• What advice would you give to new parents these days?
• What was a good decision you made?
• What would you change about your life if you could?
• What's the best thing that happened to you recently?
• What is the motto of your life?

http://iteslj.org/questions/lifesofar.html

Personality

• What are some characteristics of your personality?
• What makes you happy?
• What are some things that make you angry?
• Are you happy with your personality?
• Would you like to be different?
• Are you a determined person? Are you a stubborn person?
• Are you shy ? In which occasions are you shy?
• Do you consider yourself selfish ? Why?
• Is your personality suited to your job?
• In what way has your personality changed? Why has it changed??
• Are you more introverted (focused on your inner world) or more extraverted (focused on other people and the outer world)?
• Do you think you can change a major characteristic of your personality if you try?
• Do you think you have an unusual personality? Why?
• If you could change any aspect of your personality, what would it be?
• What sort of things would you do to amuse yourself during a car journey?
• What personality traits do you consider important in a good friend / a boss / a partner?
• Do you consider yourself to be even-tempered?
• What is one thing that many people don't know about you?
• What expressions include colors when discussing illness? (ex., white or pale, pink eye, black and blue for bruises, yellow fever)
• What expressions include colors and feelings? (ex. I feel blue, green with envy, red with rage, turning red, black circles under the eyes, you are turning blue)
• What do the colors in your home country's flag represent?
• Do you think birth order makes a difference in your personality?

http://iteslj.org/questions/personality.html