MONOLOGUES INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

Introduce yourself briefly (name, age, occupation or studies)

1. EDUCATION
Private or state schools? Why?
Your experience at school (primary, secondary) or at University.
Do you have any regrets about your education?
Whose responsibility is to provide children and teenager with a good education?
What is your opinion about bilingual education?
What would you change about the present education system?
Education in the past and at present. Differences.
2. TRADITIONS
What traditions from your country you find interesting? Give details.
What local traditions or customs do you think a foreigner would find unusual?
Is there any tradition you would like to bring back? Explain.
What would you change about traditions in your country/area/family?
Imported traditions for or against? (e.g. Halloween, Santa Claus)
Local celebrations, family celebrations.
Bullfighting: pros and cons.
3. ROAD SAFETY.
Are Spanish people good or bad drivers? Why?
What do you think about the new traffic regulations? Talk about fines, losing points off
your driving license and police road checks?
Would you change anything about Spanish road safety? What? Are there cycle lanes? Do
man people use them?
Spanish people use public transport less than other European citizens. Why do you think this
is so?
How easy is it parking in the cities near you?
Mobile phones, alcohol and driving.
Have you ever been fined for speeding or parking illegally?

4. NEW TECHNOLOGIES.
Advantages and disadvantages of new technologies: mobile phones, PCs, i-pods, e-books,
mp3, mp4, etc.
Do you think new technologies are making our lives better?
Young people are addicted to new technologies. Do you agree?
What would you change about their use?

5. HOLIDAYS
Your holiday habits: frequency, preferred places, type of holiday, etc.
Your happiest holiday memory.
Where would you go on a dream holiday? Why? Who with?
Your opinion about new types of holiday: special interest holidays, work camps,
environmental tourism, volun tourism, home swaps, etc.?

6. THE ENVIRONMENT
The most crucial environmental issues at present (i.e. climate change and global warming,
loss of biodiversity, destruction of rainforest)
What could be to improve the situation?
Do you think new generations are doing better or worse than the previous generations?
Why? Has peoples attitude toward the environment improved?
Ways to improve the environment in your region/country.

7. IDOLS/ICONS
Your favourite famous person, dead or alive, why?
Do you read about famous people in popular magazines? What is your opinion about this
phenomenon?)
Describe someone you really respect.
If you cold go back in time, who would you like to meet?
If you were famous and powerful, what would you do to make the world a better place?

8. THE MEDIA
How important is it for you to keep up with the news?
Your preference: TV, the Internet, newspapers, radio.
Are they too powerful? Are they objective, reliable, sensationalist?
Your opinion on the programmes on Spanish TV/radio. Would you change anything about
them? What?
Advertising on TV. For or against.
Should there be more government control of advertising?

9. JOBS
Your job. A typical day. Responsibilities, working hours, salary.
A dream job. Qualities you need in order to do a job like that.
Overpaid jobs. Why?
If you could change anything about your present job/studies/qualifications, what would it
be?

10 PHYSICAL APPERANCE
Importance of physical appearance. Reasons. Are attractive people more successful?
Obsessing about diets and physical appearance. Influence of advertising.
Cosmetic surgery. Pros and cons.
Would you change anything about your physical appearance? Why/Why not?
11.A SELF-PORTRAIT
What were you like when you were a child? How have you changed physically and/or
character?
What would you change about your past?
What would you change abut your personality?
How do you see yourself in ten years time?
Would you prefer to be a member of the opposite sex? Why/ Why not?
12. FAMILY MATTERS

 Changes in the traditional family model. New types of families

Is family important to you? Why?
Your concept of the ideal family.
Children are too spoilt. They get too much attention and too many toys. Do you agree?
Work and family.
13. FAVOURITE PROGRAMMES
Your favourite TV programmes
The programmes you hate. Why?
Favourite TV presenter. Why?
You favourite programmes when you were a child. Why?
Time spent watching TV now/as a child.
14. SMOKING
The new regulations banning smoking in public places. Pros and cons.
Consequences for bars and restaurants.
Effects on smokers and non-smokers?
Do you have any anecdotes?
15. STRESS/RELAXING
Do you think stress is a problem in our current society? How does it affect our lives?
Is your lifestyle stressful? Why? Why not?
Describe what you do to relax. If you had more time/money, what would you change about
the ways you relax?
Do you know anyone who relaxes in a very strange/ uncommon way? What is it? Why?
If you could choose somewhere special, where would you go to relax? Explain your ideas.

16. FILMS

Favourite film. Why? What is it about? Who stars in it?

Cinema/DVD/TV. Downloading?
If you had the opportunity to interview a famous actor/actress, who would it be? What would
you ask him/her?
Describe the last film you saw or a film you have heard of and would like to watch.

17. LIFESTYLES
What do you think about lifestyles at present? Do we live healthily? Why/Why not?
What sports facilities are near your home?
Changes in Spanish eating habits. Do people get enough exercise?
Do children have a different attitude towards physical activity nowadays?
What would you change about your lifestyle?
Are you a healthy person? Are you addicted to anything?
18. EATING HABITS
The eating habits of Spanish people have changed over last few years. Explain how.
Most experts agree that the Mediterranean diet is particularly beneficial. What are its main
characteristics?
Going on a diet: pros and cons.
Doctors are especially worried about what children and teenagers eat. What can be done to
solve this problem?
Do you eat out often? Do you think you have to pay a lot to eat well?
19. THE INTERNET
Has the Internet changed our lives? How?
What problems has the Internet created? What problems has it solved?
Should authorities be allowed to control peoples activity on the web?
Do you think it will be possible to put an end to Internet piracy?
The development of the Internet has been very fast. What do you think the next step will be?
20. SHOPPING
What can traditional or high street shops do to survive the competition of big shopping
malls?
Where do you do most of your shopping?
What products would you never buy on the Internet? Why?
Name some advantages of traditional markets, shopping centres and catalogue shopping.

21. THE ELDERLY IN OUR SOCIETY.

 People live longer nowadays and some think that retirement age should be 70 or even 75 in
some jobs. Do you agree?
Elderly people nowadays have a more interesting life than in the past. Do you agree with this
statement?
Some people prefer living on their own to living with their families or in old peoples homes.
What do you think? What would you like for yourself?
Some scientist predict that soon it will be normal to live up to 120 or even longer. Is this as
positive as it sounds? Can you think of any drawbacks?

22. HOBBIES.
What do you like doing in your free time?
Do you play any sports?
What do you watch on TV?
Do you have a computer? How do you use it?
Do you collect anything?
What do you usually do at the weekend? And during holidays?
Do you belong to any group or association?
Is there something you would like to do but have not done yet?
What do you think is the right amount of free time we should have? Explain.
23.SUPERSTITIONS.
Do you believe people can predict the future?
Do you ever touch wood to send bad luck away? Which are the most popular Spanish
superstitions? Do you believe any of them?
Can you think of occasions when people use a coin to make a decision?
Why do you think some people go to an astrologer or a fortune-teller to find out about the
future? Would you ever consider going? Why/Why not?
Do you read your horoscope? Does it influence your life?
Have you ever carried a lucky charm with you to an exam?
24. STEREOTYPES.
What do you think the Spanish people of today are like?
In what ways do you think Spanish people are different from people from other countries?
Which stereotypes about Spanish people do you think are true/untrue?

 How are young Spaniards today different from young Spaniards forty or fifty years ago?
Have you got any foreign friends? If so, are they like the stereotypes of their country?
Germans, Frenchmen, Britons, Italians what, in your opinion, are the stereotypes of these
people?
25. MONEY
Money makes the world go round. What do you think about this statement?
What do you usually spend your money on?
Do you like shopping? What kind of things do you buy? What kind of shops do you go to?
What things do you consider too expensive in society nowadays?
Do you give money to charity?
26. SPORTS
Do you do any sports? Which ones? How often? What do you like/not like about it?
What do you think about sports which make a lot of money? What do you think about
sportspeople who appear in adverts?
Have you ever practised a risk sport? Which one? Did you enjoy it? What do you think about
these kinds of sport?
High level sports are dangerous and unhealthy for the people who practise them. Do you
agree with this statement?
Whats the most popular sport in your country? And in other parts of the world?

27. FAME
Nowadays a lot of people want to become famous and they want it really quickly!
Big brother, La Voz people participate in these contests to become celebrities and to
get a lot of money, but they dont work, they dont make any effort.
Being famous is a positive value in our current society
I would love to be famous.
If I became a celebrity, I would
28. ANIMALS
Do you have any pets? If so, talk about it.
People sometimes abandon their pets. Talk about this.

 Some people keep exotic and wild animals as pets, in apartments. Whats your opinion?
Fur coats, ivory decorative furniture, using animals for the cosmetic industry How do
you feel about this?
Keeping animals in captivity for our entertainment: zoo, circuses Do we really need this?
Can animals help people in any way? How? Therapies with animals.

29. PARENTAL RELATIONSHIPS

Parents should be strict about what time their children come home.
Every child needs at least one brother or sister.
Children learn more from their parents than they do at school.
Everybody in the family should cooperate with the housework.
Children should work in their school holidays and earn money.
Children should leave the family house before 25.
30. MEMORIES
Do you usually remember appointments or birthdays? Do you forget where you have left
things? Are you are forgetful person or are you able to remember small details?
Have you ever used mnemonic techniques (strategies to remember things)? Which ones? Did
they work?
What is the oldest memory that you have? Do you have any special memories from your
childhood (goo or bad)?
Do/Did your parents tell you any memories from the times when they were children? What
are the ones which they tell/told you more often?
Do you think remembering things from the past is good/bad?