Honest review · Classroom-tested

ITESLJ Questions Review: Free Conversation Questions for ESL Class

ITESLJ Questions is a free archive of ESL/EFL conversation questions organized by topic. Here's what teachers actually get, how to use it in class, and what to pair it with if the site is down.

#1 Pick for Free Topic-Based Discussion Questions

Ready to try ITESLJ Questions?

"100+ topic categories of discussion questions, all free, organized for quick reuse across semesters."

Best for

ESL teachers planning adult speaking classes who need ready-made discussion questions by topic — no signup, no paywall, just prompts.

Pricing

Free

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Pro tip — heads up before you bookmark it

A note on availability

ITESLJ Questions has been online since 1995 and the content is excellent, but HTTPS access has been unreliable in recent years. Have a backup resource ready (we list several below). The domain itself still resolves, so the archive remains accessible when reachable.

What is ITESLJ Questions?

ITESLJ Questions is a free archive of ESL/EFL conversation questions hosted by The Internet TESL Journal, an academic publication for English-language teachers that ran from 1995 to 2012.

The archive now lives at iteslj.org/questions/ and is divided into more than 100 topic categories — Accidents, Adoption, Advertising, Advice, Age, Airplanes, Amusement Parks, Anger, Animals, Art, Birthdays, Books, Cars, Celebrities, Change, Clothing, Colours, Computers, Countries, Crime, Death, Diet, Dreams, Education, Emotions, Ethics, Family, Fashion, Feelings, Food, Friends, Future, Gadgets, Gender, Generations, Habits, Happiness, Health, History, Hobbies, Holidays, Home, Humor, Identity, Internet, Jobs, Language, Law, Learning, Media, Memory, Money, Movies, Music, Nature, News, Office, Opinions, Parenting, Personality, Pets, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Reading, Religion, Restaurants, Romance, Routines, School, Science, Shopping, Sleep, Social Media, Sports, Success, Technology, Television, Time, Travel, Vacations, Weather, Weddings, Work, Writing, and many more.

Each topic page contains a list of discussion prompts — usually 20 to 50 questions per topic, sometimes more. There are no audio recordings, no interactive exercises, no progress tracking. The format is exactly what it has always been: clean HTML lists, dated interface, reliable content.

For teachers running adult or upper-intermediate speaking classes, the archive is a planning goldmine. Bookmarked properly, it covers months of conversation classes.

How teachers use it

ITESLJ Questions works best in these situations:

Weekly conversation classes: pick a topic per week, run a 10–15 minute small-group discussion. The questions stay engaging even when learners have seen similar topics before.
Warm-ups and icebreakers: a single question pulled from the list as a class opener — useful on Monday mornings or before a break.
Debate prep: many topics (Ethics, Politics, Technology, Privacy) include questions that work for two-sided debate formats.
Substitute teacher plans: hand the sub a topic URL. Students work in pairs for 30 minutes with no prep.
Speaking test prompts: the open-ended questions translate well to B1+ oral assessments, especially with a follow-up cue card.
One-on-one tutoring: when learners hit a plateau, switch from textbook to ITESLJ prompts for authentic, free-form speaking practice.

Is it worth your time?

Yes — with caveats. The Internet TESL Journal Questions archive has been online since the late 1990s and remains one of the most-respected free resources for adult ESL conversation practice. If you teach B1+ and need ready-made discussion prompts by topic, it is genuinely hard to beat for the price.

The downside is the surface: the design hasn't been updated in decades, HTTPS support is unreliable, and there is no audio, no interactive exercises, no progress data. It is what it has always been — a plain HTML archive.

Honest recommendation: bookmark ITESLJ Questions as a primary resource for adult speaking classes, but pair it with at least one modern alternative (ESL Discussions for structure, Crystal Clear ESL for ready-made lesson plans, Conversation Starters World for breadth). Don't depend on it exclusively if the domain is unstable on the day you need it.

The honest pros and cons

What works

Truly free No email, no account, no trial. Just an archive.
100+ topic categories Months of material without repeating prompts.
Open-ended questions Easy to extend or scaffold based on level.
No ads or tracking Safe for student device sharing.
Printable format Plain HTML prints cleanly for handouts.
Academic heritage Backed by a peer-reviewed journal — content has been reviewed.

What doesn't

Dated design Late-1990s interface, no responsive layout.
Unstable hosting Domain resolves but HTTPS often times out. Have a backup.
Text only No audio, video, images, or interactive exercises.
Limited scaffolding A2 learners may struggle with the question vocabulary.
No progress tracking Scores aren't saved. You track externally.
No skill building Discussion only — not a full curriculum.

Best alternatives

If ITESLJ Questions isn't a fit, these are the resources teachers actually switch to:

ESL Discussions

Topic-based ESL conversation lessons with vocabulary, discussion questions, and writing prompts.

Conversation Starters World

Hundreds of conversation starter cards and worksheets, printable and topic-tagged.

ESL Brains

Lesson plans built around TED talks and authentic videos. Ready-to-teach PDFs.

Teach-This.com

3,000+ printable ESL worksheets, CEFR-aligned, updated monthly.

Crystal Clear ESL

Ready-made ESL lesson plans mapped to coursebooks, with activities, vocab, and discussion prompts.

Frequently asked questions

What is ITESLJ Questions?

A free archive of ESL/EFL conversation questions organized by topic, hosted by The Internet TESL Journal. Topics include favorites, food, travel, hobbies, ethics, and many more. Each page lists ~20–50 discussion prompts.

Is ITESLJ Questions still online?

The site has had intermittent availability in recent years. The domain resolves but HTTPS access is unreliable and the design is dated (1990s). Have a backup resource ready in case it's down during class.

Is ITESLJ Questions good for speaking practice?

Yes — it's one of the strongest free resources for adult conversation classes. The questions are open-ended and topic-organized, which saves planning time. Best for B1 and above.

What level is ITESLJ Questions for?

B1 to C1 on the CEFR scale. The vocabulary and discussion topics assume learners who can sustain a conversation. A2 learners may need scaffolded questions.

Can students use ITESLJ Questions independently?

Not really. The questions are prompts for discussion, not self-grading exercises. They work best in teacher-led pair work, small groups, or whole-class discussion.

What are the best alternatives?

ESL Discussions (more structured, modern interface), Conversation Starters World (broader list), and ESL Brains (lesson plans built around TED talks). For structured paid content: Teach-This and Crystal Clear ESL.

Does ITESLJ Questions have audio or video?

No. The archive is text-only. You'll need to pair it with a listening resource or prompts if your class needs audio.

Ready to try ITESLJ Questions in your next conversation class?

Free, no signup, no ads. Bookmark a topic before Monday and you'll have a 15-minute discussion ready in under 30 seconds.

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