LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (CONVERSATION QUESTIONS)

What is your mother tongue?

How many languages do you speak?

How did you learn your second language?

What's the best way to learn a foreign language?

What methods do you use to remember vocabulary better?

Is it necessary to write words down?

Is it possible to understand and write well but not be able to have a conversation?

What is value of learning languages?

Why do some people have more difficulty than others when learning a language?

To what extent do you agree that it's better to learn language as a child? Why or why not?

To speak its language well, how important is it to know something about the culture of a country?

Are there some words that are similar in different languages?

As a beginner, what are the first things that you need to be able to say?

What are the problem areas that an intermediate learner may have?

What are the problem areas that an advanced learner may have?

When you travel to a foreign country, is it always easy to use your foreign language?

How can the Internet be a helpful tool when learning a foreign language?

Some people say that if you can teach something about your foreign language, then it you to understand it better. Do you agree?

Have you ever tried learning a new language from a textbook with audio tapes?

Is it good to sit an exam that shows your level in English?

What do you know about IELTS and TOEFL?

Can you learn a language by watching television?

Do you use free language-learning exercises on the Internet?

Have you ever paid for 1:1 lessons?

Would you like to be a translator? Why? / Why not?

Is the classroom the best place to learn?

Can a good teacher influence how well you enjoy learning a language?

Is it possible to teach yourself a language?

What careers are possible if you speak a foreign language?

What languages would you like to learn in future?

What different techniques do you have for learning vocabulary?

Do you need to write in a foreign language?

Do you need to use your foreign languages at work?

Do you think that knowing a foreign language might encourage you to live abroad in future?

Is it a good idea to learn a language from a non-native speaker of that language?

• Are there any disadvantages?

Do you know how large your vocabulary is in your foreign language?

Could you teach your mother tongue to someone else?

What personal qualities do you need to be an effective language learner?

What tools can help you learn a foreign language?

Have you ever made a telephone call in a foreign language?

• If yes, how did it go?

Do you ever read websites in a foreign language?

Is it possible to learn a language without studying grammar?

Is knowing grammar more important than knowing vocabulary?

Have teaching methods for language learning changed over the last 50 years?

To speak a language well, why is it important to have an understanding of idioms?

How did your best language teacher help you?

Have you had any particularly poor language learning experiences?

How old should a child be when a school introduces the first foreign language?

Are teenage language exchange programs useful? Why? / Why not?

Some people say "I'm no good at learning languages".

• Is this just a question of attitude (because of a previous bad experience) or were some people born lacking the ability to learn a new language?

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If you can think of another good question for this list, please add it.

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