- Where do you come from?
- What is your home like?
- Tell me about your family.
- Tell me about your job/studies.
- Is there anything you dislike about your job/studies?
- What type of transport do you use most?
- Do you like reading?
- What kind of television programmes do you watch?
- Tell me about a film you have seen recently.
- Do you have a pet?
- What kind of food do you like?
- How often do you go shopping?
- What’s your favourite festival? Why?
- How do people celebrate this festival?
Family
- Do you have a large family or a small family?
- Can you tell me something about them?
- How much time do you manage to spend with members of your family?
- What sorts of things do you like to do together?
- Did/Do you get on well with your family? [Why?]
Accommodation
- What kind of accommodation do you live in? What’s it like?
- Have you always lived there?
- What are the main advantages of this [accommodation]?
- What changes would you like to make to improve it?
- Would it be easy for you to move to another accommodation?
- Do many people in your country live in such accommodation?
Neighbourhood
- Which part of town do you live in?
- What’s it like?
- What kind of shops are there in your neighbourhood?
- Do you get along well with your neighbours?
- What’s difficult about living there?
Education (students)
- What do you study?
- What is special about this subject?
- Is there anything you find difficult about it?
- Where do you study…? What’s your university/college like?
Education (graduates)
- Do you have higher education?
- What have you studied at university?
- What did you like about your studies?
- Was there anything you found difficult?
Job
- What’s your job?
- Is it a common job in your country?
- What are your working hours like?
- Do you get a lot of vacation and off time?
- Are you thinking of changing your job?
Cold weather
- Have you ever been in very cold weather? [When?]
- How often is the weather cold where you come from?
- Are some parts of your country colder than others? [Which parts?]
- Would you prefer to live in a hot place or a cold place? [Why?]
Laughing
- What kinds of things make you laugh?
- Do you like making other people laugh? [Why/Why not?]
- Do you think it’s important for people to laugh? *Why/Why not?
- Is laughing the same as feeling happy, do you think? [Why/Why not?]
Keeping in contact with people
- How do you usually contact your friends? [Why?]
- Do you prefer to contact different people in different ways? [Why?] ·
- Do you find it easy to keep in contact with friends and family? [Why/Why not?]
- In your country, did people in the past keep in contact in the same ways as they do today? [Why/Why not?]
Daily Routine
- What would you like to change in your daily routine?
- Are all your days the same?
- Tell me about your typical weekday and your typical weekend.
- What is the balance of work/study and free time in your normal day?
Visitors
- What would you suggest a visitor should see and do in your country?
- Are there any traditional arts or music you would recommend?
- Tell me about the kind of foreign visitors or tourists who go to your country.
- In what ways has tourism changed your country?
Festivals
- Tell me about the most important festival in your country.
- What special food and activities are connected with this festival?
- What do you most enjoy about it?
- Do you think festivals are important for a country? [Why?]
Dancing
- Do you enjoy dancing? [Why/Why not?]
- Has anyone ever taught you to dance? [Why/Why not?]
- Tell me about any traditional dancing in your country.
- Do you think that traditional dancing will be popular in the future? [Why/Why not?]
Musical instruments
- Which instrument do you like listening to most? [Why?]
- Have you ever learned to play a musical instrument? [Which one?]
- Do you think children should learn to play a musical instrument at school? [Why/Why not?]
- How easy would it be to learn to play an instrument without a teacher? [Why?]
Traffic where you live
- How do most people travel to work where you live?
- What traffic problems are there in your area? [Why?]
- How do traffic problems affect you?
- How would you reduce the traffic problems in your area?
Your friends
- Do you prefer to have one particular friend or a group of friends? [Why?]
- Are your friends mostly your age or different ages? [Why?]
- What do you like doing most with your friend/s?
- The last time you saw your friends, what did you do together?
- What makes a friend into a good friend?
- Do you think it’s important to keep in contact with friends you knew as a child? *Why/Why not?
Food and cooking
- What kinds of food do you like to eat?
- What kind of new food would you like to try? [Why?]
- Do you like cooking? [Why/Why not?]
- What was the last meal you cooked?
- Do you prefer home-cooked food or food from restaurants? [Why?]
Leisure
- Do you have any hobbies or interests? [What are they?]
- How did you become interested in (whatever hobby/interest the candidate mentions)?
- What is there to do in your free time in (candidate’s hometown/village)?
- How do you usually spend your holidays?
- Is there anywhere you would particularly like to visit? [Why?]
Your favourite place
- What place do you most like to visit?
- How often do you visit this place?
- Why do you like it so much?
- Is it popular with many other people?
- Has it changed very much since you first went there? [In what way?]
Your country
- Which part of your country do most people live in?
- Tell me about the main industries there.
- How easy is it to travel around your country?
- Has your country changed much since you were a child?
Colour
- What’s your favourite colour? *Why?+
- Do you like the same colours now as you did when you were younger? [Why/Why not?]
- What can you learn about a person from the colours they like?
- Do any colours have a special meaning in your culture?
Entertainment
- Do you prefer relaxing at home or going out in the evening? [Why?]
- When you go out for an evening, what do you like to do?
- How popular is this with other people in your country?
- Is there any kind of entertainment you do not like? [Why/Why not?]
Clothes
- How important are clothes and fashion to you? [Why/Why not?]
- What kind of clothes do you dislike? [Why?]
- How different are the clothes you wear now from those you wore 10 years ago?
- What do you think the clothes we wear say about us?
Fruits
- Do you eat fruits?
- How often do you eat fruits?
- Where do you buy your fruits from?
- Do you think it’s important for people to eat fruits? *Why/Why not?]
Books
- Do you like reading books?
- What kind of books do you like to read? [Why?]
- Where do you like to read? [Why?]
- Do others in your family read books too?
- Do you usually buy your books from a special place? [Where?]
Telephone calls
- How often are you on the phone?
- Do you like calling friends or family more often? [Why?]
- Did you call your friends a lot when you were a child?
- Do you think children should have to pay their own telephone bills? [Why/Why not?]
Technology at home/office
- How often do you use electric appliances at home/office?
- How do you think they help you with your chores?
- Are there any other advantages?
- Are there any drawbacks to using these appliances?
- Do you think pe0ople should use electric appliances more often or less often than they do now? [Why/Why not?]