Health

• Speech topics for ESL students about health care can include patient care, healthy living and the possible U.S. government funding of health care. Topics about patient care include physician-assisted suicide, long-term care for a loved one and choices in pediatric care. In topics about healthy living, you can center on starting an exercise plan, choosing organic foods and cooking health recipes. Feel free to explore topics related to your first-language culture, as well, in order to make your speech more interesting and engaging. In speeches about a possible government health-care plan, for example, you can choose to speak on how immigrants would be affected in an expanded government role or on how adding immigrants could place a strain on the system.
  
  

Education

• In topics about education, choose from such options as alternative forms of education and funding. ESL students can address homeschooling, online education and charter schools, especially as they relate to learning ESL. List the advantages and disadvantages of each, as well as well accomplishments and failures of each, as they relate to students learning ESL. Your possible topics also include funding ESL programs in areas of the country to serve a growing need of students who need to learn English and alternatives to paying for educational needs such as computers, books and supplies.
  
  

Social Issues

• Social issues speech topics include the war on drugs; poverty; and capital punishment. In topics about the war on drugs, you can focus your speech on areas such as funding of programs, police officers and counselors to combat the problem. In topics about poverty, you can talk about programs and nonprofit groups that help people get out of poverty and homelessness and into a job. A capital punishment speech can cover the opinions of those for and against it and ethical and religious topics as well as legal issues. Consider focusing on a particular culture or demographic using government research and statistics. You can also choose to speak about a problem you overcame to become a successful ESL student.
  
  

The Economy

• Topics about the economy can include buying habits, world markets and unemployment figures. In a speech about buying habits, compare and contrast the cultures of your class as they relate to what and how people buy products such as consumer electronics, food and clothing. Compare and contrast different banking systems, or different economies, around the world. When speaking about unemployment, focus on jobless numbers by state, culture, age, race or even occupation.