Ethics

Controversial ESL discussion questions about what is right and wrong.

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  1. Do you think the death penalty should be used to help reduce crime?
  2. Should every citizen have the right to own a gun?
  3. Should human cloning be legalised? What about to clone vital organs?
  4. What do you think about legalising drugs, including the most dangerous?
  5. How big a threat is climate change to our society? What should we do about it?
  6. Should social media companies ban users who use offensive language?
  7. Is it right to test drugs needed for medical purposes on animals?
  8. Should people be free to believe in any religion they want?
  9. Should religion be taught in schools?
  10. Are you in favour of prostitution being fully legalised?
  11. Should a minimum wage law be used to help the poorest workers?
  12. Do you think every young man should be made to do national service?
  13. Do you think violent video games should be banned?
  14. Would it be a good idea if we all became vegetarians?
  15. Should we abandon our national currencies and use a cryptocurrency instead?
  16. Do you think that euthanasia should be legal under certain circumstances?
  17. Do you believe in free university education?
  18. Should businesses be made to hire 50% male and 50% female employees?
  19. Do you believe that genetically modified foods are a good idea?
  20. Were governments around the world right to close businesses during COVID 19?
  21. Should gay marriage be legalised in every country?
PDF (Individual)
General
PDF (Pairs)
General
PDF (Threes)
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PDF (Cards)
General
How to use the ethics ESL discussion questions

It is recommended that you download the ethics ESL discussion questions in PDF format using one of the links above. The best way to encourage classroom interaction is to download and print the ethics discussion questions in the 'pairs' or 'threes' PDF format and then divide the questions by cutting along the dotted lines. This allows students to take turns asking and answering the ethics discussion questions in groups of two or three. Alternatively, you could use the 'cards' format to distribute the questions to any number of students to ask and share.

It is advisable to prepare students for using these discussion questions by first introducing them to the topic of ethics in an interesting and engaging way. An anecdote, quiz question or a related image or video could all be used to achieve this. Depending on the level, it may also be necessary to pre-teach any challenging vocabulary related to ethics contained in the discussion questions.

For more ESL discussion questions, see this site's main page. There are discussion questions on a range of topics including general, grammar and business English topics.

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