Elementary level
Do you work or are you a student / a housewife / retired ? (see separate sections below)
For people who work
What work do you do?
Where do you work? How many people work in your company /organisation?
Where exactly is your office / factory located?
Do you enjoy your job? Why? Why not?
What is the best / worst thing about your job?
Do you like your boss? Why? Why not?
Is your boss male or female?
Do you prefer male or female bosses?
Do you get on well with your colleagues? Do you socialise together?
For students
What do you study? What do you like/dislike about the course? Which year are you in?
Why did you choose this degree course?
Where is your university/school located?
Do you have lessons every day? How many hours a day?
For housewives / retired people / unemployed people
Tell me about your typical day. What do you do in the morning? Afternoon? Evening?
Are you always busy?
Do you get bored?
Which people do you see during the day (i.e. friends, family, English teachers!)?
Intermediate level
For people who work
What exactly do you do? What are your responsibilities?
How long have you worked there? Always in the same role?
Do you think your role will change? Is there the possibility of being promoted? Or being moved to a different office?
Are you on a permanent or temporary contract?
Are you worried about losing your job?
For students
How many exams have you taken? When will you graduate?
What do you hope to do in the future?
Is your degree a popular one (are there many students in your faculty)?
Will it be easy for you to get a job when you finish?
For housewives / retired people / unemployed people
Why aren’t you working? When did you retire? When did you lose your job? When did you last work?
Why did you stop working?
Which part of the day do you enjoy most? Why?
Advanced level
For everyone
What other jobs have you done in your life?
Did you enjoy them? Why? Why not?
Have you ever resigned from a job? Or been sacked (fired) or made redundant?
Why? What happened?
Are you or will you be a member of a trades union? Which one?
If you had to do a completely different job (i.e. doctor, teacher, film director), what job would you like to do? Why? How do you think it would be different from your job?
When choosing a job, how important is the level of pay? Are there other things which are more important (i.e. job satisfaction, working hours, holidays)?