Work is a topic every adult can talk about, and the first answers are usually short and safe: I'm a manager. I work in an office. These 30 work conversation questions are built to get past that line.
They come in five sets of six, ordered by how hard the conversation is, not how hard the English is. Students start by describing what they do and the people they do it with. Then they write the awkward email, ask for something, and say the difficult thing. The levels climb from A2 to C1, and each set takes 10 to 15 minutes.
Not everybody in an adult class has a job right now, and some would rather not talk about the one they have. So the free printable opens with Borrow a Job: eight role cards, from a night-shift nurse to a warehouse team leader. Hand them to the whole class, so nobody has to explain why they took one, and every set works for every student. Any card can also be passed without a reason.
The five sets at a glance | # | Set | Level | Activity | | 1 | Describing the Work | A2-B1 | No Job Titles | | 2 | Talking to the People There | A2-B1 | Work Word Explainer | | 3 | Putting It in Writing | B1-B2 | Direct / Polite | | 4 | Asking for Something | B2-C1 | First Sentence | | 5 | Saying the Difficult Thing | B2-C1 | Keep It Going |
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| Free · printable PDF · 7 pagesWork Conversation CardsPage 2 is Borrow a Job: eight role cards, so a student between jobs answers every set as a nurse, a café owner or a bus driver instead. Two of them:Nurse Job 1Where A children's hospital, mostly night shiftsWith Doctors, parents, two other nursesProblem The new booking system keeps losing patient notes.Café owner Job 4Where Your own small café, open seven daysWith Two baristas, suppliers, regular customersProblem Your best barista wants every Saturday off.Page 3 · Set 1, Describing the Work: No Job TitlesPage 4 · Set 2, Talking to the People There: Work Word ExplainerPage 5 · Set 3, Putting It in Writing: Direct / PolitePage 6 · Set 4, Asking for Something: First SentencePage 7 · Set 5, Saying the Difficult Thing: Keep It GoingDownload the free PDFUS Letter |
Set 1: Describing the Work
What the job actually involves, with one rule: the job title is banned. Easy questions, and the rule is what makes them work.
1of 5A2-B1Pairs10 minFree printable · page 3 Describing the Work Questions 1 to 6 · activity: No Job Titles - What is the first thing you do when you start work?
- What takes up more of your week than it should?
- What part of your job would surprise a person outside it?
- What do you do that nobody else sees?
- Which job would you like to try for one week, and what would you do on day one?
- What did you think the job was before you started it?
How it works- Pairs. The speaker answers the six cards without saying what their job is called. A student using a Borrow a Job card does the same.
- The partner logs every work verb they hear on the worksheet, with how often the speaker does it.
- At the end, the partner reads the verbs back as a list (chase, check, draft, approve) and the speaker circles the one that takes most of the week.
| What students practice Describing a job with verbs. Without the title, students have to explain what they really do, and the list of verbs read back to them is usually a surprise. Question 5 turns it around: the speaker describes a job they would like to try, and the partner guesses which one it is. |
| Watch for Students who answer with nouns (emails, meetings, reports) and no verb. The log only takes verbs, so the partner has to ask: What do you do with the reports? |
| Phrases to put on the boardTasksA big part of my job is ...-ingTasksI'm in charge of ...How oftenOnce a week I have to ...GuessingSo you're a kind of ...? |
| Free printable · page 3Set 1 Q5Which job would you like to try for one week, and what would you do on day one?Ask nextDon't name it yet. Can I guess it?The six cards for set 1, the No Job Titles verb log with a bank of fourteen work verbs, and phrases for describing tasks and guessing the job.Download the free PDFUS Letter |
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What Do You Do? (A1-A2) is this set done for your students first. A TV host, a hairdresser and a teacher describe their working day in a street interview, and the lesson builds the vocabulary for jobs and responsibilities. For a class that needs the job names themselves, Jobs and Occupations Vocabulary is a self-study worksheet with thirteen jobs, from nurse to accountant.
Set 2: Talking to the People There
The people at work and the words they use. Still A2 to B1, and the first set where students have to explain themselves.
2of 5A2-B1Pairs10 minFree printable · page 4 Talking to the People There Questions 7 to 12 · activity: Work Word Explainer - Who do you speak to most in a working day?
- What gets talked about before a meeting actually starts?
- Do you prefer to work next to people or from home, and why?
- What do people say where you work that would confuse an outsider?
- Who is easiest to work with, and what makes them easy?
- What did you once have to learn quickly in front of other people?
How it works- Pairs. The speaker answers the cards in any order.
- Every time the speaker uses a word or phrase from their job, the partner stops them: What does that mean?
- The partner writes three of those words on the worksheet with the speaker's explanation, and ticks Clear only when it needs no other work word.
| What students practice Explaining your own work words in simple English. It is one of the most useful things an adult student can do, and most courses skip it. Question 9 also brings in working from home, which almost every class has an opinion about. |
| Watch for Explanations that use another piece of jargon. A stand-up is a sync with the team is not clear yet. Send the partner back with Can you give me an example? |
| Phrases to put on the boardExplainingIt's when you ...ExplainingBasically, it means ...CheckingSo it's like ...?Heard at worktouch base, look into, sign off |
| Free printable · page 4Set 2 Q9Do you prefer to work next to people or from home, and why?Ask nextWhat do you miss when you work the other way?The six cards for set 2, the Work Word Explainer table and four workplace phrasal verbs with their meanings.Download the free PDFUS Letter |
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Most of the words this set brings up turn out to be phrasal verbs. Phrasal Verbs for Work (B1-B2) is free and teaches them through an ordinary working day: block out, get through, touch base on, look into, sign off. If question 9 turns into a conversation about video calls, You Are Breaking Up A Bit (B1-B2) is the hour that follows it: an online meeting with a bad connection, and the language for fixing one. Question 8 is small talk, and The Art of Small Talk (A2-B1) teaches how to keep it going with follow-up questions, which is exactly what the Ask next strip does.
Set 3: Putting It in Writing
The email nobody wants to write. From here the sets suit Business English groups and one-to-one lessons best.
3of 5B1-B2Pairs10 minFree printable · page 5 Putting It in Writing Questions 13 to 18 · activity: Direct / Polite - What would you write to a colleague who has ignored two of your messages?
- What would you write to ask for something you were already promised?
- What would you write to say a deadline is not possible?
- What would you write to ask for feedback you suspect will be bad?
- What would you write to say no to extra work?
- What would you write to correct a mistake that was yours?
How it works- Pairs. The speaker answers each card twice, out loud.
- First the direct version, with no softening at all. Then the polite version they would really send.
- On the worksheet, they write both versions for three cards. The partner reads them and ticks the one that would get a faster reply.
| What students practice Polite and direct language, side by side. Comparing the two versions is the point of the set. The direct one shows what the message is really asking for, and the polite one shows how much softening it needs. |
| Watch for Polite versions so soft that the request disappears. I was just wondering if maybe at some point... gets no reply either. Every polite version still needs a clear ask and, where it fits, a date. |
| Phrases to put on the boardSofteningCould you possibly ...?SofteningJust a quick reminder that ...Saying noI'd love to help, but ...Owning itI made a mistake in ... |
| Free printable · page 5Set 3 Q13What would you write to a colleague who has ignored two of your messages?Ask nextWhat subject line would you use?The six cards for set 3, the Direct / Polite draft table and phrase banks for softening, saying no and owning a mistake.Download the free PDFUS Letter |
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Follow-up Email (B1-B2) gives question 13 a full hour: when a follow-up is appropriate, how to structure it, and polite language that is not pushy. Question 17 has its own lesson too. Saying No (B1-B2) follows a project manager turning down a client's new requests, one strategy at a time. For the email students dread most, Feedback requests (B1-B2) works through question 16 with model emails.
Set 4: Asking for Something
Asking for money, time or help. The questions are about the first sentence, because that is the part students usually avoid.
4of 5B2-C1Pairs15 minFree printable · page 6 Asking for Something Questions 19 to 24 · activity: First Sentence - How would you open a conversation asking for more money?
- How would you ask for time off that is inconvenient for the team?
- How would you ask a manager to change the way they hand you work?
- How would you ask to leave at five when the team often stays late?
- How would you ask for help without appearing unable to cope?
- What have you never asked for at work, and what stopped you?
How it works- Pairs. The speaker says the exact words they would use, out loud. Not I would ask about money, but the sentence itself.
- On the worksheet, they build three first sentences from three parts: the context, the request, and the reason it makes sense for the other person.
- The partner answers as the manager or colleague and ticks Lands or Bounces.
| What students practice The first sentence of a request. It often decides how the whole conversation goes. Question 22 asks about leaving on time when the team stays late, which is the work-life balance conversation most students have had in their own language and never in English. |
| Watch for Students describing what they would say instead of saying it. Stop them at I would tell him that... and ask for the words. And watch for requests with no reason attached. The reason is what makes a manager say yes. |
| Phrases to put on the boardContextSince I took over ...RequestI was hoping we could ...RequestWould it be possible to ...?Reason..., given that ... |
| Free printable · page 6Set 4 Q19How would you open a conversation asking for more money?Ask nextWhat would you say if your manager said "not now"?The six cards for set 4, the First Sentence builder with a worked example for question 19, and phrase banks for each of the three parts.Download the free PDFUS Letter |
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Question 19 has a full hour behind it. Getting a raise (B2-C1) teaches the hedging that makes a salary request sound professional, highlights past achievements with the third conditional, and shows how to pivot to other benefits when a raise is not possible. For the give and take that follows the first sentence, Bargaining (B1-B2) is free: offers, flexibility, and the phrases for reaching agreement. If question 22 sets off a longer talk about workload, Swamped With Work (B1-B2) follows two days in a product manager's very full week.
Set 5: Saying the Difficult Thing
The hardest set: telling people what they don't want to hear. This is what often goes wrong in real meetings.
5of 5B2-C1Pairs15 minFree printable · page 7 Saying the Difficult Thing Questions 25 to 30 · activity: Keep It Going - How would you tell a colleague their work is holding up yours?
- How would you tell a manager their instructions were unclear?
- How would you respond to feedback you believe is unfair?
- How would you tell a team that a project is being stopped?
- How would you tell a person they did not get something they expected?
- What is the hardest thing you have had to say at work?
How it works- Pairs. The partner cuts out the six reaction slips and puts them face down.
- After the speaker's first answer, the partner takes a slip and reads it out, a little defensively: Nobody told me that.
- The speaker keeps the conversation going, without giving up or getting angry. On the worksheet, they write what they said next.
| What students practice Keeping a hard conversation going. A good first sentence is not enough when the other person pushes back, and the slips make students practice the second and third sentences. |
| Watch for Question 30 asks about the hardest thing a student has had to say at work, and for some adults that is a layoff or a loss. Let them answer as their Borrow a Job card or pass. Answering it yourself first, with something small, sets a safe tone. |
| Phrases to put on the boardTaking it inThat's fair, and ...Bringing it backWhat I'm asking is ...Bringing it backCan we focus on what happens next?ClosingSo we agree that ... |
| Free printable · page 7Set 5 Q25How would you tell a colleague their work is holding up yours?Ask nextWhat would you suggest to fix it?The six cards for set 5, six reaction slips to cut out, a table for what you said next, and phrases for taking it in, bringing it back and closing.Download the free PDFUS Letter |
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Defensive Colleague (B2-C1) is this set with the difficulty turned up: a one-to-one meeting where a colleague takes feedback personally, and the language for staying calm and moving the discussion forward. Teaching a Business English group? Our posts on how to teach Business English with three real-life scenarios and on what makes Business ESL different pick up where this set ends.
Work Conversation CardsThe cards, the Borrow a Job roles and the worksheets for all five sets in one free PDF, in the order of this post.Download the free PDF |
Mistakes your students will make
Teacher's reference Slips to listen for in work conversations | Students say | Better | | I work as manager. | I work as a manager. | | A job title after as or be takes a or an. The most common slip in set 1. | | I am working here since 2022. | I have worked here since 2022. | | A situation that started in the past and is still true takes the present perfect, not the present continuous. | | Nobody said me about the meeting. | Nobody told me about the meeting. | | Tell takes a person straight after it. Say needs to: Nobody said anything to me. Sets 2 and 5. | | Could you send it until Friday? | Could you send it by Friday? | | By is a deadline. Until means something continues up to that time. Set 3. | | Can you give me a feedback? | Can you give me some feedback? | | Feedback is uncountable, so no a and no plural. Question 16. | | I want more money. | I'd like to talk about my salary. | | Not a grammar mistake, but it usually bounces. I'd like to and a topic open the conversation without closing it. Set 4. |
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Work lessons by level
Looking for the same format on another topic? Our 30 food discussion questions and 30 daily routine conversation questions come with a free card deck too.
