100 ESL Debate Topics That Will Get Your Students Fired Up

A vault of modern-day topics guaranteed to spice up your lesson

Are you looking for ways to liven up the discussion in your ESL classroom without having to resort to old-fashioned debate topics?

If so, you’re in luck!

In this post, I’ve curated 100 controversial ESL debates that are guaranteed to get your students going.

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How to use these ESL Debate topics

In order to get the best out of these topics, there are a few things you should consider before presenting them to your class.

English level

If you think debating in your native language is tough, try doing it in a foreign language. These debates have been specifically chosen for English language learners who are at least intermediate level to advanced. If you’re looking for something to challenge your lower intermediate students, and want to give this a go, try coming up with a vocabulary list of words that would be helpful for your students to know in order to participate in the debate. Lacking vocabulary is the biggest sticking point when it comes to participation, or lack thereof, in ESL debates.

Subject

While making this list, I tried to think about topics that most students around the world have heard about and can offer his or her opinion on. However, this will not be the case for every topic. For your convenience, I have linked out to articles that discuss the issue, should you wish to introduce it to your students before they debate.

Structure

I have structured each of these questions to yield a yes/no answer. However, to make your debates more engaging, I’d suggest coming up with more detailed sides of the debate. Doing this will also help your students come up with more elaborate answers.

For example, if you have the question “Should terminally ill patients have a right to end their life?” you might want to pose two sides of the argument to your class. So one argument would be “Doctors should have the right to assist terminally ill patients in their death.” The other side of the argument would be “People should die naturally, without interference or help.”

Don’t have time to plan?

Let me do it for you! Browse my done-for-you, ESL debate lesson plans. They were written specifically for teachers with little to no experience. That means you get the lesson plan, printable worksheets AND notes on how best to teach the topic from beginning to end! As a bonus, every lesson plan also comes with extension activities if you want to spread the debate over several lessons. Plus they’re written with a student-centered perspective that keeps the lesson focused on getting the most out of your students and leaving you to facilitate.

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Ethical

• Should terminally ill patients have a right to end their life? (Euthanasia)

• Should suicidal patients have a right to die?

• Should we be allowed to design our unborn babies?

• Should athletes be allowed during games to silently protest against injustices? (like taking a knee, raising a fist, wearing a pin, etc).

• Should there be an age limit on driving?

• Should it be mandatory to take care of your aging parents?

• Should there be a restriction on how many children a family can have?

• Should hate groups be allowed to publicly protest?

• Should sites like GoFundMe allow fundraisers for hateful ideologies?

• Should news reports show or mention the identities of mass shooters or terrorists?

• Should stem cell research be publicly funded?

• Should there be an age limit on when children can have mobile phones?

• Should anorexic or morbidly obese women or men be featured on the covers of major magazines?

• Should we be allowed to do, sometimes tragic, testing on monkeys and rats?

• Should transgender women and men be allowed to use the restroom of the identity with which they claim rather than who they were born as?

• Should young teenagers who get pregnant keep their babies?

• Should there be shows on tv like “16 and pregnant?”

• Should there be a limit on how many pets you can own?

• Should homeless people be allowed to keep pets?

• Should beggars be fined or jailed if they’re caught lying about their situation to get money?

Health/Medicine

• Should medical marijuana be legalized?

• Should pharmaceutical companies or doctors be required to pay for treatment of those who get addicted to their medication?

• Should the U.S. ban the use of prescription opioids?

• Should condoms be free?

• Should birth control pills be free?

• Should “light” cosmetic alterations have an age restriction? (lip fillers, botox, etc.)

• Should universal health care be a human right?

• Should obese people be charged an ‘obesity’ tax?

• Should DNA ancestry registers like 23andMe be allowed to share your information with pharmaceutical companies?

• Should alternative medicine be covered under insurance plans?

• Should pharmaceutical companies be allowed to advertise their drugs to customers?

• Should we actually develop a way to live forever?

• Should parents be allowed to choose if they want their child to be vaccinated?

• Should governments be allowed to penalize people who don’t have health insurance?

Education

• Should we ban cell phones in the classroom?

• Should students be allowed to cheat?

• Should schools require teachers to wear uniforms?

• Should all public universities be free?

• Should schools ban student dating?

• Should universities be allowed to expel students who are racist, homophobic, sexist, etc.?

• Should corporal punishment be allowed in schools?

• Should primary and secondary schools ban the sale of junk food?

• Should schools be open as long as the regular workday?

• Should teachers be paid the same as doctors or lawyers?

• Should parents be certified before they can homeschool their children?

• Should homework be banned for primary school children?

• Should schools be required to provide online books for students?

• Should schools replace teachers with AI technology?

• Should schools be year-round?

Law

• Should the U.S. ban guns?

• Should convicted felons be allowed to vote?

• Should we have open borders?

• Should governments be allowed to dictate what you can do to or with your body?

• Should governments be allowed to censor websites?

• Should people who call the police and falsely report incidents be required to pay a fine?

• Should police officers who kill unarmed suspects still be allowed to work?

• Should governments provide a universal income?

• Should drug addicts be given a safe place to do drugs?

• Should prisoners be forced to do jobs for little or no money?

• Should prisons be allowed to go private?

• Should teenagers be tried as adults if they commit heinous crimes like murder? (13-16 year olds)

• Should 13-year-olds be allowed to work legally?

• Should governments be allowed to use a ‘citizen rating’ system to determine if you’re allowed to buy a house, travel, or even open a bank account?

• Should gay and lesbian couples be allowed to adopt?

• When you buy a house, should you automatically own the land that it’s on?

Tradition

• Should bridal kidnapping be banned?

• Should circumcision be banned?

• Should you be allowed to marry your cousin?

• Should polygamy be legalized in the West?

• Should women have to cover up?

• Should public stonings/executions be banned?

• Should men take the woman’s last name when married?

• Should men get as much paternity leave as women?

• Should tourists be allowed to document traditional ceremonies?

• Should religious groups be allowed to ‘treat’ serious medical traditions with ‘prayer?’

• Should mothers, instead of fathers, give permission for their daughters to get married?

Technology

• Should social media platforms be responsible for fake news that is posted on their site?

• Should cell phone apps be allowed to track your movements?

• Should internet service providers be forced to enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source?

• Should mobile devices sold globally by a company (e.g. Apple) be priced exactly the same worldwide?

• Should driverless vehicles be allowed on the same road as manual drivers?

• Should parents be allowed to ‘micro-chip’ their children?

• Should governments be allowed to spy on your internet activities in the name of counter-terrorism?

• Should you be forced to return money if an ATM gives you too much?

• Should every retailer accept a payment of bitcoin?

• Should there be an ‘Uber’ for planes?

Food

• Should alternative dairy products like almond or soy milk be allowed to use the word “milk” in their name?

• Should companies be forced to label products as GMO?

• Should governments promote plant-based diets over meat-based ones?

• Should sugary products be taxed at a higher rate?

• Should the U.S. ban the sale of “big” drinks (larger than 16 oz)?

• Should all restaurants be required to say how many calories are in their food?

• Should you be allowed to eat dogs and cats?

• Should companies be allowed to patent seeds?

Environment

• Should countries face sanctions if they continue to pollute the air using outdated technology such as coal?

• Should oil companies be allowed to frack if it causes frequent and unnatural earthquakes?

• Should companies pay medical bills for families affected by a pollutant that can be linked to its facilities?

• Should school be canceled when the air pollution rises to a level that is hazardous?

• Should the sale of palm oil be banned?

• Should more governments incentivize their citizens to use renewable energy resources in their homes like solar, wind, etc.?

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