A1 Level – Elementary
1. Do you like waiting in line?
2. What is the longest queue you remember?
3. What do you do when you are in a queue?
4. Do people usually stand close or far apart in a queue?
5. What is the difference between a fast line and a slow line?
6. What makes a person jump the queue?
7. Do you use your phone while waiting?
8. What is a common place to see a queue?
9. Do you think queues are necessary?
10. What makes a queue move quickly?
11. Do you get angry when the line is long?
12. What makes a queue orderly?
13. What is the opposite of a long wait?
14. What are some different types of entertainment while waiting?
15. Do you think the queue is fair?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What are the key differences between waiting in line in a store and waiting on hold on the phone?
2. Describe one experience where an exceptionally long queue ruined your plans.
3. What are the pros and cons of using a virtual queuing system (e.g., taking a number)?
4. What role does social pressure play in making people wait patiently in a queue?
5. Have you ever complained to staff about an unfair or slow queuing system?
6. What specific behaviors or actions annoy you most in a public queue?
7. What is the difference between an orderly queue and a disorganized crowd?
8. What are common solutions businesses use to make the waiting experience less frustrating?
9. How does technology (e.g., self-checkout) reduce the need for human-manned queues?
10. What are the biggest cultural differences in how people organize or react to queues?
11. What is the importance of having clear signage and stanchions for managing queues?
12. Do you think it is ever acceptable to ask someone to save your place in a queue?
13. What are the challenges of managing queues for very popular, limited-access events?
14. What are the best ways to mentally prepare yourself for a long waiting period?
15. What is the difference between physical waiting and productive waiting (e.g., studying)?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. Discuss the difficulty of assigning a monetary value to the time spent waiting in queues.
2. How can public services (e.g., hospitals, government offices) use better design to minimize patient waiting times?
3. What are the ethical issues surrounding “express lanes” or privileged queues that favor those willing to pay more?
4. Do you agree that the concept of “first come, first served” is the fairest way to allocate resources?
5. Describe a time when a well-managed queue turned a frustrating experience into a surprisingly pleasant one.
6. To what extent should people be expected to multitask (e.g., check email) while waiting in line?
7. What role does non-verbal communication (e.g., maintaining distance, avoiding eye contact) play in queue etiquette?
8. How do cultural norms about efficiency and personal space influence queue behavior?
9. Discuss the psychological phenomenon of “time perception”—why waiting time often feels longer than it actually is.
10. What are the challenges of predicting and managing queue length during periods of peak demand?
11. How does the architecture of waiting areas (e.g., comfortable seating, distracting visuals) influence patience?
12. Should mandatory queue etiquette be taught in schools to promote social order?
13. What is the difference between a linear queue (single line) and a multiple-server queue (many lines)?
14. Discuss the concept of “perceived fairness” in queues and why it matters more than actual speed.
15. What is the long-term impact of consistently inefficient queuing on consumer satisfaction and business reputation?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. How does the widespread public acceptance of queues reflect a society’s respect for collective order and fairness?
2. What are the ethical arguments about using automated systems to prioritize individuals in a queue based on need or status?
3. Should governments invest in advanced queuing technology (e.g., AI-driven scheduling) to reduce public waiting times?
4. What are the psychological reasons why the presence of an unknown empty space (a gap) in a queue causes anxiety?
5. How has the dominance of online booking and reservations reduced the need for physical queues in many services?
6. Discuss the idea that a high volume of queues for a particular service is a sign of high demand but low capacity.
7. What is the role of queue research and “waiting line theory” in industrial and service management?
8. How do our cultural narratives (e.g., about politeness) influence our internal emotional reaction to being cut in line?
9. What are the challenges of translating the concept of a fair queue to a virtual, digital environment?
10. Discuss the concept of “waiting utility”—the psychological value derived from a waiting experience (e.g., meeting people).
11. What is the difference between a queue that is *necessary* (e.g., security check) and one that is *avoidable* (e.g., poor staffing)?
12. Should businesses be legally required to provide a clear estimate of waiting time to customers in a queue?
13. What is the impact of public events and mass gatherings on local infrastructure’s ability to manage large crowds?
14. How does the history of industrial mass production relate to the need for efficient queuing and throughput?
15. Discuss the idea that a truly patient person views the queue as an opportunity for reflection, not an annoyance.
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Analyze the socioeconomic factors that correlate with the willingness or necessity to endure long queues for essential goods or services.
2. To what degree should the legal system restrict price gouging and market manipulation that artificially creates long queues?
3. Discuss the philosophical concept of “distributive justice” and the role of queuing in its implementation.
4. Evaluate the efficacy of using dynamic pricing models (e.g., higher prices during peak times) to manage queue demand.
5. How does the strategic use of visual displays (e.g., showing the time remaining) influence a person’s perceived quality of the wait?
6. Examine the legal challenges regarding liability when a queue is poorly managed and leads to a public safety incident.
7. What ethical guidelines should govern the use of personal data (e.g., purchase history) to offer preferential treatment in a queue?
8. Discuss the concept of “social exclusion” and how inefficient public service queues disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
9. How do different national policies on labor affect staffing levels, which in turn directly influence public queuing times?
10. Analyze the interplay between the increasing complexity of modern services and the resulting increase in required customer waiting time.
11. What ethical challenges arise when new medical technologies (e.g., organ transplants) require complex, multi-factor queuing systems?
12. Debate whether a system of perfect efficiency, eliminating all queues, would remove an essential component of human social interaction.
13. How does the architecture of major transportation hubs (airports, train stations) reflect the optimized management of massive queues?
14. Discuss the concept of “cognitive load” and how complex queue systems increase the mental effort required of customers.
15. To what extent does the emotional need for instantaneous service conflict with the practical limits of resource allocation?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. How do you analyze the idea that the physical queue is a fundamental metric of a society’s resource scarcity and social order?
2. Formulate a critique of organizational systems that systematically externalize the cost of waiting onto the consumer rather than optimizing internal processes.
3. Analyze the intersection of game theory, behavioral economics, and the design of incentive structures to encourage or punish certain queuing behaviors.
4. Discuss the philosophical distinction between “equality of opportunity” (everyone can enter the queue) and “equality of outcome” (everyone is served equally fast).
5. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of public policy interventions aimed at reducing waiting times in essential public services (e.g., education, justice).
6. Propose a system for managing scarce public resources (e.g., affordable housing) that utilizes a transparent, ethical queuing process.
7. Examine the psychological function of the “last-minute rush” in human behavior and how it contributes to peak-time queue formation.
8. How does the semiotics of physical queue barriers and markings communicate rules of hierarchy and acceptable social distance?
9. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of service providers to prioritize service based on vulnerability rather than simply order of arrival.
10. Analyze the historical relationship between cycles of economic scarcity and the proliferation of informal, often corrupt, non-systemic queues.
11. Articulate the inherent tension between the desire for spontaneous access and the efficiency gained through mandatory pre-booking or queuing.
12. Debate whether a system of total digital queuing (eliminating all physical lines) would create a new form of digital exclusion.
13. Assess the long-term societal effects of chronic, high-volume waiting on public patience, civility, and trust in institutions.
14. Discuss the philosophical definition of ‘patience’ and whether it is a virtue or a necessary coping mechanism for inefficiency.
15. How might the principles of queue theory be used to model processes of organizational workflow and task prioritization?
