A1 Level – Elementary
1. Do you eat with a spoon?
2. What is a knife?
3. Do you talk while eating?
4. What is a loud chew?
5. Do you like dinner parties?
6. What is a clean plate?
7. Do you wait for everyone to sit?
8. What is a napkin?
9. Do you like new food?
10. What is a small fork?
11. Do you help clear the table?
12. What is a polite word?
13. Do you eat fast?
14. What are three good table manners?
15. Do you think table manners are important?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What is the difference between table manners and general manners?
2. Why are table manners different in various countries?
3. What are the good things and bad things about eating fast food?
4. How can a child learn good table manners?
5. Should restaurants have very strict rules for customer behavior?
6. Why is it important not to chew loudly?
7. Do you think formal dining is too difficult?
8. What is the purpose of placing a napkin on your lap?
9. How does technology (phones) affect behavior at the dinner table?
10. What is the difference between a formal and an informal meal?
11. Do you think it is impolite to leave food on your plate?
12. What are the problems when people talk about gross things while eating?
13. When is the best time to try food that looks strange to you?
14. What are two manners for using chopsticks and two for using a fork?
15. How does a lack of table manners affect a business dinner?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. What are the rules for politely signaling that you are finished eating?
2. How does the type of food (e.g., soup, spaghetti) change the required manners?
3. Should the government promote table manners in public eating areas?
4. What is the difference between table manners in a home and in a restaurant?
5. Do you believe that table manners are mostly about showing respect?
6. What are the challenges of learning table manners from a culture different from your own?
7. How does a lack of basic table manners affect a person’s job interview over lunch?
8. What is the idea of “wine tasting etiquette”?
9. Is it fair or unfair when children are constantly corrected about their table manners?
10. How does a lack of table manners affect the enjoyment of others at the table?
11. What are the steps for politely asking a server for something you need?
12. What is the value of teaching table manners in a highly casual society?
13. Should public cafeterias and schools teach table manners to students?
14. What are the reasons why some cultures find it polite to slurp soup or burp?
15. How does the absence of technology (no phones) change the atmosphere of a meal?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. What are the social pressures to know the complex rules of formal dining?
2. What are the moral problems when restaurants waste large amounts of food due to portion sizes?
3. How does constant work communication stop people from focusing on the shared meal?
4. Should restaurants be legally required to provide tables large enough for comfort?
5. Analyze the psychological effect of trying to follow strict rules while eating.
6. Who is responsible for ensuring that table manners do not exclude people from other cultures?
7. What is your view on the practice of photographing your food before eating?
8. Evaluate the role of table manners in high-stakes business or political dinners.
9. How does the casualization of dining affect the importance of traditional manners?
10. Discuss the concept of “food rituals” and how they reinforce cultural identity.
11. What are the problems with having very different expectations for children’s and adults’ table manners?
12. What are the legal differences between general rudeness and behavior that causes a public disturbance in a restaurant?
13. Do you agree that the purpose of table manners is mainly to show respect for the person who cooked the food?
14. What steps should be taken to ensure that people with disabilities can eat comfortably in public?
15. How does the historical idea of separating the common people from the elite affect modern formal dining?
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Is it fair that people who break table manners are often silently judged in professional settings?
2. What is the right way to think about a government’s moral duty to promote a healthy and shared meal culture?
3. How do the platform’s algorithms influence the type of cooking and dining content that becomes popular?
4. When should the government impose fines for very bad public dining behavior (e.g., constant phone use)?
5. What are the moral questions when we talk about forcing children to eat food they do not like?
6. How does the focus on quick, efficient meals affect the tradition of long, slow family dinners?
7. Discuss the impact of global food trends on changing local table manners.
8. How should leaders use the shared meal experience to promote cross-cultural understanding?
9. What is the idea of “gastronomic tourism” and its relationship to local food rules?
10. What are the long-term effects on society when the traditional family meal becomes rare?
11. What are the difficulties when courts try to decide if a restaurant is responsible for a customer’s allergic reaction?
12. How does the search for total convenience (eating alone, on the go) conflict with the need for communal dining?
13. Do you agree that the most important thing is the hygiene and safety of the food, not the manners?
14. What are the simple moral rules a person should follow when they are very critical of the food they are served?
15. Should the government set a legal minimum for the amount of time required for a school lunch period?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. What is the real difference between a person’s simple desire to eat and the complex ritual of table manners?
2. Debate the idea: Should we completely eliminate all formal table manners to promote a more natural way of eating?
3. How does the concept of “sharing” food change when people are constantly distracted by technology at the table?
4. What laws or rules are needed to control how much food waste is produced by restaurants?
5. How do historical views of scarcity and hunger affect modern emphasis on finishing all food on the plate?
6. How can communities maintain their traditional dining rituals when global fast-food chains are everywhere?
7. Argue the point that humans should stop all attempts to control how others eat and focus on personal pleasure.
8. What protection should laws give to restaurant workers who are mistreated by customers?
9. How can we stop the problem of using table manners to highlight class or cultural differences?
10. What did old thinkers say about eating, pleasure, and social order that is still important today?
11. What will happen to the need for human servers if AI and robots manage all aspects of dining?
12. How do people use the idea of “polite conversation” to avoid discussing serious or difficult issues at the table?
13. How does the experience of a long, shared meal improve a person’s ability to communicate complex ideas?
14. What is the power of a collective movement to change the food production system through ethical dining choices?
15. If scientists could create a perfect nutrient pill that removes the need for food, how would that fundamentally change human social life?
