ESL discussion topics
Ready-to-run discussion and debate lessons for English classes in Korea, each with a printable student handout and teacher notes. Free, no sign-up.
29 articles
- Adult
Korean Offices Are Calling Workers Back, and Your Adult Class Already Picked a Side
Since 2023, major Korean employers including Samsung and SK hynix have scaled back or ended pandemic-era remote work, ordering staff back to the office full time — and most working adults in your class have an opinion on whether that was the right call.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Adult
Korea's Push to Raise the Retirement Age to 65 Divides the Room
Korea is debating whether to raise the legal retirement age from 60 to 65 to match the rising national pension age, and the split between younger and older workers gives an adult class a debate they can argue from their own paycheck.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Adult
Banning After-Hours Work Messages: A Debate Your Adult Class Already Lives
South Korea's National Assembly has proposed a "right to disconnect" law banning bosses from texting staff after hours several times since 2016, most recently in 2023. None of the versions has passed yet, which is exactly why it's worth debating.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
The 'Graduation Gift' Plastic Surgery Trend Splits Korean High School Classrooms
Getting double-eyelid or nose surgery as a high school graduation present is common enough in Korea that most of your students know someone who has done it, or is planning to, and they genuinely disagree about whether that's fine.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Adult
Korea's Four-Day Workweek Pilots Give Your Adult Class a Debate They're Already Living
A handful of Korean companies, including Woowa Brothers and Kakao Games, have trialed four-day or 4.5-day workweeks since around 2019, and adult students bring real workplace stakes to the debate over whether it should spread nationwide.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Korea Cut High School Grades From Nine Levels to Five, and Your Students Have Feelings About It
Starting with students who entered high school in March 2025, Korea's internal grading system (내신 — naesin) moved from nine relative tiers to five, easing some of the ranking pressure but reopening arguments about fairness, effort, and whether it actually changes anything for college admissions.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Korea's Minimum Wage Crossed 10,000 Won, and Your High Schoolers Already Have a Job to Compare It To
South Korea's 2025 minimum wage rose to 10,030 won an hour, the first time it has passed 10,000, giving high schoolers with part-time jobs a real number to argue about instead of a hypothetical one.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Korea's Doctor Shortage Strike Gives High Schoolers a Debate They're Already Having at Home
In February 2024 the Korean government announced a plan to add roughly 2,000 medical school seats, and thousands of trainee doctors walked out in protest. This lesson turns that real standoff into a structured high school discussion.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Middle school
Lowering Korea's Juvenile Crime Age: A Discussion Lesson Middle Schoolers Actually Fight Over
Korea currently shields kids under 14 (called *chokbeopsonyeon*) from criminal punishment, and lawmakers have repeatedly proposed lowering that age to 13. Middle schoolers argue about it because the law is about people their own age.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Korea Pays Couples to Have Babies, and Your High Schoolers Have Strong Opinions
South Korea's national and local governments offer cash payments, housing points, and extended parental leave to encourage childbirth because the country's fertility rate has fallen to roughly 0.7 births per woman, the lowest ever recorded in a major country.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Korea's Dog Meat Ban: A Discussion Lesson Your High Schoolers Actually Have Opinions On
This lesson uses South Korea's law banning dog meat farming and sale, passed in January 2024 with a grace period running until February 2027, to run a balanced pro/con debate for high school students who've already heard the argument at home.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Korea Scrapped "Killer Questions" From the Suneung, and Your Students Are Split
In 2023, Korea's education ministry ordered the CSAT (Suneung) to drop ultra-hard "killer questions," aiming to cut reliance on private tutoring. High schoolers disagree on whether it worked, made the test fairer, or just moved the difficulty elsewhere.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Korea's Teacher Protection Law Gives Your High Schoolers Plenty to Argue About
In 2023, a teacher's death in Seoul led to new laws expanding teachers' authority to discipline students and protecting them from malicious parent complaints — and Korean high schoolers have strong, split opinions on whether the changes went far enough or too far.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
AI Digital Textbooks Just Got Demoted in Korea, and Your High Schoolers Have Opinions
In 2025 Korea rolled out AI digital textbooks in schools, then the National Assembly stripped them of official status months later. This 45-minute lesson lets high schoolers debate whether the technology helped them learn or just added another screen to class.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Middle school
No-Kids Zones Are Everywhere in Korea, and Your Middle Schoolers Have Opinions
No-kids zones (노키즈존 — no-kijeu-jon) are cafes, restaurants, and other businesses in Korea that legally ban children under a certain age, and middle schoolers can debate them fluently because most have been turned away from one themselves.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Replacing teachers with AI tutors: a discussion lesson for Korean high schoolers who've seen the apps their parents already bought
A 45-minute debate on AI replacing human English teachers, built for advanced high school classes in Korea where students are already using Ringle, Elsa Speak, and ChatGPT for homework. Includes argument cards, a voting structure, and follow-up questions.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Deepfake revenge porn laws: a discussion lesson for Korean high schoolers who've already seen the headlines
A 50-minute debate lesson on criminalising AI-generated explicit images, built for high school students in Korea where the 2024 Telegram scandal made this a lived issue, not an abstract one.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Screen time limits for teenagers: a discussion lesson that Korean high schoolers will actually argue about
A 45-minute debate lesson on government-enforced phone curfews for under-16s, built on South Korea's real Shutdown Law history and current European proposals. Includes warm-up, balanced argument cards, and a vote students care about.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Lowering the voting age to 16: a discussion lesson that Korean high schoolers will actually debate
A 50-minute ready-to-run debate lesson on voting at 16, built for Korean high school students who know they'll face military service before they can vote. Includes debate structure, argument prompts, and a printable handout.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Middle school
Cram schools after regular school: a discussion lesson for Korean middle schoolers who are living it
A ready-to-run 45-minute debate on private academies and student workload, built for intermediate middle school students in Korea who already attend hagwons and have strong opinions about whether the system helps or harms them.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Middle school
Pet classrooms in Korea: a discussion lesson on animals in schools, for middle schoolers who've already seen the hamster cage
A 45-minute debate lesson built on Korea's recent push to bring therapy animals and class pets into elementary and middle schools. Students argue real trade-offs: allergies, cleanup, learning responsibility, and whether a rabbit actually makes anyone study harder.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Middle school
Banning junk food in schools: a discussion lesson your Korean middle schoolers already have opinions about
A 45-minute debate plan on processed food in school cafeterias and vending machines, built for B1–B2 students who see it every day and will argue both sides hard.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Cutting military budgets to fund public services: a discussion lesson for Korean high schoolers who know exactly what's at stake
A 45-minute debate lesson built on the guns-versus-butter trade-off, designed for students in a country where defence spending and conscription are personal, not abstract. Includes argument prompts, a decision-making task, and a printable budget breakdown.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Mandatory military service at 18: a discussion lesson that lands differently in Korea
A 45-minute debate on lowering the conscription age to 18, designed for Korean high school boys who will serve and girls who won't—and the four discussion tasks that keep it from going silent.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Middle school
Can 14-year-olds work part-time? A discussion lesson your middle schoolers will have opinions about
South Korea recently lowered the part-time work age from 15 to 14, sparking debate about independence versus childhood. This forty-minute lesson gives your middle school class structured talking practice around a question that touches their lives directly.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Universal Basic Income: a ready-to-run discussion lesson for advanced high school classes
A complete 45-minute debate lesson on whether governments should pay every citizen a monthly stipend, with argument cards, vocabulary support, and extensions. Built for high school students who can hold a position and respond to counterarguments.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
AI in the classroom: a 45-minute debate lesson
A ready-to-run debate on whether students should be allowed to use AI writing tools for homework. Students take a side, argue it, then have to argue the opposite, which is where the real language work happens.
Student sheet + teacher notes - High school
Four-Day School Week: A Discussion Lesson Your Korean High Schoolers Will Actually Care About
Spain and Scotland are trialling shorter school weeks. This lesson gives Korean high school students vocabulary, structured debate roles, and a decision-making task built on a question that affects their lives.
Student sheet + teacher notes - Middle school
Should schools ban smartphones? A ready-to-run debate lesson
A 45-minute debate lesson for middle school students on banning phones in school, with a student handout, sentence frames and teacher notes. Students take a side, defend it, then argue the opposite.
Student sheet + teacher notes