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Topic 38 of 60

Discussion picture Discussion questions Key words

Picture warm-up

1. What do you see in this picture?
2. Who are these people, and what are they doing?
3. Does this look like your life here, or in your home country? How is it the same or different?

Discussion questions

1. What are good manners in your culture?
2. What is considered rude in the U.S. but not in your country?
3. What is considered rude in your country but not in the U.S.?
4. Should you take off your shoes when you visit someone’s home?
5. Is it polite to ask someone how much money they make?
6. What table manners did your parents teach you?
7. How loudly is it OK to talk on your phone in public?
8. Is it rude to be ten minutes late? What about thirty minutes?
9. How do you politely say “no” to an invitation?
10. Should people give up their seat to older people on the bus?
11. What is proper email or text message etiquette at work?
12. Is it rude to eat on public transportation?
13. What do you do if someone cuts in line in front of you?
14. Do you think manners are getting worse? Why?
15. What gift is polite to bring when you visit someone’s home?

Key words

Say the word, then read the example sentence out loud.

• manners
  My grandmother taught me good manners.
• polite
  It’s polite to say “please” and “thank you.”
• rude
  It’s rude to interrupt someone.
• etiquette
  Wedding etiquette can be complicated.
• excuse me
  Excuse me, could you help me?
• interrupt
  Please don’t interrupt while I’m talking.
• cut in line
  That man cut in line at the store.
• considerate
  It’s considerate to keep your music quiet.
• offend
  I didn’t mean to offend you.
• appropriate
  Jeans are not appropriate for that event.
• apologize
  He apologized for arriving late.
• host
  Always thank your host after dinner.
• hold the door
  He held the door for the woman behind him.
• decline
  I politely declined the invitation.
• courtesy
  It’s a common courtesy to reply to messages.

Next topic: 39. Technology

Topic chosen by comparing popular ESL conversation resources (see How these topics were chosen). Questions and example sentences are original to this collection. Translations are a guide and should be reviewed by a fluent speaker.