Fish come in all manner of shapes, colors, and sizes. There are said to be over 30 000 different species in the planet’s waters. Most people like to eat them, keep them as pets, or simply just admire their beauty.
Use these fish conversation questions to see what your students and friends think about fish and how much they know about them.
The most challenging words for ESL learners in this speaking activity include – aquarium, wild, freshwater, diet, culture, myths, legends, feed, species, raw, extinct, breathe, and communicate.
The fish discussion questions are –
1 – What is the first word you think of when you hear the word fish?
2 – Have you ever kept pet fish in an aquarium or fish bowl? How long did they live?
3 – How often do you eat fish? What is your favorite fish to eat? Where do you buy it?
4 – Are there any dangerous or poisonous fish in your country? What do they look like?
5 – Where is the closest place to your home that has wild fish? Do people go fishing there?
6 – Do you prefer to eat freshwater fish from rivers and lakes, or fish from the ocean?
7 – What is the biggest fish that you have ever seen? Where did you see it?
8 – Which country eats a lot of fish in its diet? Why do they eat a lot of fish?
9 – If you had a big pet fish, what would you feed it? How often would you feed it?
10 – What kinds of fish live in the lakes and rivers in and around your hometown?
11 – How many different species of fish can you name in one minute?
12 – Have you ever caught a fish or been fishing? How and where did you catch a fish?
13 – Does your culture have any myths, legends, or stories about fish? Can you tell one?
14 – Which food and drinks go well with cooked fish? Have you ever eaten raw seafood?
15 – Are there any fish farms in your country? Where are they? What fish are farmed?
16 – Which fish do you think is the most interesting? What does it look like?
17 – Do you think that all fish have feelings? What would a fish think about?
18 – Is fish expensive or cheap where you live? How much do fresh salmon and tuna cost?
19 – Do you believe that one day most fish will become extinct? What could cause this?
20 – Do you know how fish are able to breathe underwater? Can you explain how?
21 – What do you think is the biggest fish in the world? To what age does it live?
22 – If you could be a fish, what kind of fish would you be and where would you live?
23 – Besides sharks, what kinds of animals eat fish? How are they able to catch them?
24 – Have you ever been sick because you ate some bad fish? Who cooked the fish you ate?
25 – How do fish communicate with each other? What would you ask a fish if it could talk?
For reference, the biggest fish on the planet is the whale shark. They can grow to a whopping 40 feet in length and can live to 100 years of age.
