How to Generate ESL Discussion Questions for Current Events Using AI

A student in my B2 class walked in last Tuesday asking about the new city bike lane proposal. Great -- they're engaged with local news. Terrible -- I had zero prepared discussion materials about it. Ten minutes later, I had eight leveled questions ready. Here's the process.

Why Current Events Work So Well for ESL

Current events give adult ESL students something they genuinely want to talk about. It's not a textbook scenario about fictional characters at a fictional restaurant. It's real. Their opinion matters. And for students living in an English-speaking country, understanding and discussing current events is a practical life skill -- they need it for work, for community participation, for citizenship classes.

The Challenge: Speed

News moves fast. By the time you find a current event, simplify the article, write discussion questions, and check vocabulary -- the story might be old news. You need to go from "interesting story" to "classroom-ready discussion" in minutes, not hours.

The AI Workflow

Step one: Find your article. I scan BBC Learning English, NPR, or local news sites in the morning. When something catches my eye, I grab the headline and a few key details.

Step two: Use Diffit to generate a leveled reading version of the story. Paste the article URL, select your level, and it produces a simplified version with key vocabulary highlighted.

Step three: Use ChalkLab to generate discussion questions about the topic. Specify the level and the angle. "B2 discussion questions about a city adding new bike lanes, focusing on urban planning and transportation."

Step four: Quick scan and print. The whole process takes about 10 minutes.

Topics That Work (and Topics to Avoid)

Good current event topics for ESL discussion:

• Local community changes (new parks, transit, zoning)
• Technology and social media trends
• Health and wellness studies
• Environmental stories
• Sports events (especially international ones)

Topics to handle carefully or avoid: anything politically polarizing in a way that could divide your classroom along ethnic or national lines. Immigration policy, for instance, needs extreme care in a class of immigrants. You know your students -- use judgment here.

Making It a Weekly Routine

I designate Friday as "News Discussion Day" for my advanced classes. Students know it's coming. Some bring their own articles. I generate the discussion questions Tuesday or Wednesday to stay current, then adjust if something bigger breaks before Friday.

The combination of Diffit for leveled readings and ChalkLab for discussion questions turns any news story into a full speaking lesson. My students stay engaged because the content feels real and immediate. For more question-generating approaches, see my ChatGPT discussion guide.