War

ESL discussion questions about war.

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  1. Why do countries go to war?
  2. Would you fight for your country in a war? Why or why not?
  3. Does your country have a history of fighting wars? Has it been successful?
  4. Does your country have any great war heroes? Who are they?
  5. Do you worry that your country will go to war in the near future?
  6. Do you think the existence of nuclear weapons makes war less likely?
  7. How will wars be fought in the future? Will technology play a bigger role?
  8. Have human beings always fought wars? Is it part of our nature?
  9. Has the number of wars in the world increased or decreased over the past century?
  10. Do you think there will be a third world war this century?
  11. Do we need war to make progress?
  12. Are there any benefits to war?
  13. Will world peace ever be achieved?
  14. What can we do today to reduce the risk of war in the future?
  15. How important is it to remember wars fought in the past?
  16. Can fighting a war every be just?
  17. What should children learn about war at school?
  18. Do you think that young people should do national service?
  19. Should your government invest more or less money in its armed forces?
  20. What do you think about the life of a soldier? Would you enjoy it?
  21. Have you ever seen a great war movie? What was it called?
PDF (Individual)
General
PDF (Pairs)
General
PDF (Threes)
General
PDF (Cards)
General
How to use the war ESL discussion questions

It is recommended that you download the war 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 war 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 war 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 war 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 war 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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