Phones & Smartphones

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Topic 40 of 60

Discussion picture Discussion questions Key words

Discussion picture

People on a bus or train all looking at their smartphones.

Find a free photo: Unsplash | Pexels

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. How many hours a day do you use your phone?
  2. What is the first thing you do with your phone in the morning?
  3. Which apps do you use the most?
  4. Do you prefer calling, texting, or video chatting? Why?
  5. Are you addicted to your phone? How do you know?
  6. Is it rude to look at your phone during a conversation?
  7. How do you feel when you forget your phone at home?
  8. How do you call family in your home country?
  9. Do you answer calls from unknown numbers? Why or why not?
  10. How much does your phone plan cost each month?
  11. Should phones be banned in schools?
  12. What did people do before smartphones?
  13. Do you think phones are making people lonelier?
  14. What rules do you have about phones at the dinner table?
  15. Would you try a “digital detox” for a weekend?

Key words

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

  • smartphone
    Almost everyone has a smartphone now.
  • text
    Text me when you get home.
  • voicemail
    I left you a voicemail.
  • charger
    Can I borrow your phone charger?
  • battery
    My battery is almost dead.
  • data plan
    My data plan includes unlimited texting.
  • notification
    I turned off notifications at night.
  • screen
    I cracked my phone screen.
  • video call
    We have a video call with my parents every Sunday.
  • addicted
    Some teens are addicted to their phones.
  • spam call
    I get spam calls every day.
  • silent mode
    Please put your phone on silent mode.
  • contacts
    Save my number in your contacts.
  • digital detox
    I did a digital detox on vacation.
  • hang up
    She hung up before I could answer.

Next topic: 41. Internet & Social Media

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.