The Media

ESL discussion questions about the media.

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  1. How do you find out about what’s going on in the world?
  2. Is it important to know what is happening in the world? Why?
  3. Do you ever use social media sites like Twitter and Reddit? Are they a good idea?
  4. When was the last time you bought a newspaper? Do they have a future?
  5. How often do you watch the news on television? Which is the best channel for news?
  6. Do you have a favourite newsreader or journalist? Why do you like them?
  7. Do you ever read or watch news from other countries? Why do you do this?
  8. Do you think the media reports news better than it did 25 years ago or worse?
  9. What, in your opinion, is the most trustworthy source of news?
  10. What, in your view, makes a good journalist?
  11. Should newspapers be allowed to write anything they want?
  12. Do you think the media has the power to influence people? How so?
  13. Should the media focus more on domestic problems or on global problems?
  14. Do you think that journalists should try and be more positive about the world?
  15. Would you say that the media has helped to create a better society?
  16. On the whole, do you trust what journalists in your country say?
  17. Do you think that ‘fake news’ has become a problem? What can we do about it?
  18. Why is the media so interested in celebrities? Do you find celebrities interesting?
  19. Is it right when the newspapers report on a politician’s private life?
  20. Who would you say controls the media in your country?
  21. What can be done to improve the quality of the media?
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PDF (Pairs)
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PDF (Threes)
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PDF (Cards)
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Other topics you may be interested in...


General Topics

Air Travel, Animals, Appearance, Art, Childhood, Cinema, Crime, Eating Out, Education, Environment, Ethics, Fame, Family, Fashion, Food, Football (Soccer), Friendship, The Future, Globalisation, Health, History, Holidays (Vacations), House and Home, The Internet, Language, Language Learning, Life, Literature, Marriage, The Media, Money, Music, Personality, Politics, Religion, Romance, Science, Shopping, Smartphones, Sport, Technology, Time, Town and City, Transport, Travel, University, Video Games, War, Weather, Work.


Business Topics

Advertising, Brands, Building Relationships, Change, Communication, Competition, Consultants, Crisis Management, Cultures, Customer Service, Employment Trends, Ethics, First Impressions, Human Resources, International Marketing, International Markets, Job Satisfaction, Leadership, Management Styles, Marketing, Mergers and Acquisitions, Money, New Business, Online Business, Organisation, Project Management, Raising Finance, Risk, Strategy, Success, Team Building, Training, Travel.


Grammar Topics

Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Simple, Past Continuous, Used to, Have to, Going to / Pres. Continuous, Going to / Will, Comparatives, Superlatives, First Conditional, Second Conditional, Third Conditional, Mixed Conditionals, Should, Should have, Can, Could, Can / Could / Be able to, Is done / Was done, Being done / Been done.

How to use the media ESL discussion questions

It is recommended that you download the media 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 media 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 media 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 media 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 media 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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