Cats are family members. Dogs are best friends. Or dinner. Or untouchables. Few topics cut to the heart of cultural differences quite like how people relate to animals. (And if you live with a cat, you already know you're not the owner. You're the staff.)

These 64 pet-themed conversation cards give intermediate to advanced adult ESL students something real to argue about, from the ethics of keeping exotic animals to whether a dog belongs on the couch or outside where it belongs.

WHAT'S INSIDE:

✅ 64 pet-themed conversation starters, each on its own card, covering pet ownership, animal welfare, cultural attitudes toward animals, and more

✅ Easel version with one prompt per slide for whole-class discussion

HOW TO USE THESE CARDS

Before class, flip through and pull the ones most likely to get a reaction from your particular pack. During class, divide students into small groups or pairs and hand each group a card. Let them loose. If things go quiet, toss in a follow-up question. After a set time, have groups share what they agreed and disagreed on.

These also work as writing prompts or impromptu speaking topics when you want to mix up the routine.

THIS WAS CREATED FOR YOUR ADULT ESL STUDENTS

Intermediate to advanced adult ESL students tend to have strong feelings about animals, even if they've never had to articulate them in English before. Some grew up with pets sleeping in the bed. Others grew up in cultures where that idea is genuinely baffling. That gap is exactly where the good conversations happen. The range of prompts lets you warm up with something light and ease into the more culturally charged questions as the class gets comfortable.

GRAB IT AND GO

Download, print, cut, and you're ready. Laminate if you want them to survive curious paws. Or skip it all and use the Easel version. Either way, you've got 64 conversation starters that will keep your pet unit from going quiet.

Questions? Drop them in the Q&A section.

If you teach conversation classes regularly, take a look at my Adult ESL Discussion Topics MEGA Bundle. It pulls together over two thousand discussion questions across 28 themes, so you'll always have something on hand when a conversation stalls or you need to fill time. 

For more topics, click here.

You may also be interested in Expressions for Opinions to ensure that your adult ESL students can use a good variety of expressions to ask for and give opinions.

How about some PET-themed role plays?