Language Exchange Topics: Questions by Level and Session

Most language exchanges don't end because people stop liking each other. They end because the second chat starts with "so... how are you?" and nobody knows what comes next. The first chat used up the easy stuff: name, country, job, why you're learning.

This guide is for that second chat and every one after it. It gives you topics and ready-to-send questions sorted by level, a plan for your first ten sessions, and activities that work in text. If you still need a partner, start with how to find a language exchange partner online. For first lines with someone new, see how to start a conversation with a stranger.

Why exchanges stall after the first chat

Three things usually go wrong:

• No topic. Open chat feels friendly, but with a small vocabulary it runs dry fast.
• The wrong level. A beginner asked "what do you think about remote work?" can't answer. An advanced learner asked "what's your favourite colour?" gets bored.
• Nobody plans the next one. Each chat starts from zero.

A topic list fixes all three. Pick a topic per session, pick questions that fit your level, and agree on the next topic before you sign off.

A 10-session plan

Use this as a starting order. Each session is one topic, in both languages. Skip anything you don't care about.

Session	Topic	Try this
1	Goals and rules	Agree the language split and how you want corrections
2	Your day	Describe yesterday, morning to night
3	Food	Swap a simple recipe in five steps
4	Where you live	Describe your street so they can picture it
5	Family and childhood	Share one memory from when you were ten
6	Work or study	Role-play a short job interview
7	Holidays and traditions	Explain one holiday to someone who's never seen it
8	Music, films and shows	Send a song and explain one line
9	The language itself	Swap three words that don't translate
10	Review	Each writes a short paragraph; the other corrects it

After session 10, go back through the list at a higher level, or move to the advanced topics below.

Beginner topics (A1 to A2)

At this level, ask questions with short, concrete answers in the present tense. Yes/no questions are fine here: they're easy to answer. Add "why?" or "and you?" to keep it going.

Your day

• What time do you get up?
• What do you eat for breakfast?
• How do you get to work or school?
• What do you do in the evening?

Food

• What did you eat today?
• Do you cook? What do you make?
• What's a cheap, normal lunch where you live?

Family and home

• Do you have brothers or sisters?
• Who lives in your house?
• Do you have a pet? What's its name?

Weather and seasons

• What's the weather like today?
• What's your favourite season? Why?
• What do you wear in winter?

Your city

• Is your city big or small?
• What's near your house?
• Where do you go on Saturday?

Intermediate topics (B1 to B2)

Now practise the past, the future and "would". Ask for stories, not facts.

Work and study

• What does a normal workday look like for you?
• What did you study? Would you choose it again?
• What's the hardest part of your job?

Travel

• What's the best trip you've taken? What made it good?
• Tell me about a trip where something went wrong.
• If money didn't matter, where would you go next?

Holidays and traditions

• Which holiday do you look forward to all year?
• What do people eat on that day?
• Is there a tradition you think is a bit strange?

Music and shows

• What are you watching right now? Would you recommend it?
• Send me a song in your language and tell me what the chorus means.

Childhood

• What games did kids play at your school?
• What did you want to be when you were ten?
• Which snack from your childhood can't you find any more?

Advanced topics (C1 and up)

At this level, the goal is nuance: opinions, humour, register and culture.

Untranslatable words

• Which word in your language has no good English version? When would you use it?

Slang (politely)

• What do teenagers say now that your parents wouldn't understand?
• Which words sound innocent to learners but are rude where you live?

News

• Share one headline from your country. Summarise it in three sentences, then say what people there think about it.

Cultural differences

• Is it rude to arrive ten minutes late where you live?
• How do people say no politely?
• What do people from my country usually get wrong about yours?

Opinions

• Should children start a second language at five?
• Big city or small town: which is better to grow up in?
• Is working from home good for people, or just convenient?

Questions about the language itself

These work at every level, and your partner is the only one who can answer them. Keep a few ready for when a chat slows down.

• How would you say this more naturally?
• Is this formal or casual? Would you text it to a friend?
• What mistakes do learners of your language make most?
• What's the difference between these two words?
• How do people your age write "haha" or "OK"?

A few in Spanish and French, with the meaning:

• ¿Cómo se dice "..." en español? (How do you say "..." in Spanish?)
• ¿Me corriges esta frase? (Will you correct this sentence for me?)
• Comment on dit "..." en français ? (How do you say "..." in French?)
• Tu peux corriger mes fautes ? (Can you correct my mistakes?)

Both-language prompts. Pick one question and both answer it in the language you're learning. "Describe your morning in three sentences" is a good one. Then you each correct the other's answer. You practise writing and teaching on the same topic, and you both learn the same words.

Activities that beat plain questions

When Q&A gets tired, switch to a task. All of these work in text.

1. Describe a photo without sending it. Pick a photo on your phone and describe it in five sentences. Your partner asks questions to guess where it was taken.
2. Role-play a café. One of you is the waiter, the other orders. Then swap. Try a hotel check-in or a job interview next.
3. Swap a recipe. Write a simple dish in five steps. You'll learn verbs like cut, mix and boil fast.
4. Correct a paragraph. Write five sentences about your week. Your partner rewrites them the way a native would. Compare the two.
5. Story chain. One sentence each, building a story. Add a rule, like "every sentence uses the past tense".
6. Two truths and a lie. Three facts about you; they guess the lie. Good for beginners.
7. Formal and casual. Take one message and write it two ways: to a friend, then to a boss. Ask which sounds right.

Topics to avoid with a new partner

Save these until you know each other, or wait for your partner to bring them up:

• Politics and religion
• Money and salary
• Comments on how someone looks
• Relationship status and private life
• Asking for their phone number or social media early

What counts as personal changes by culture. In some places people ask your age or your rent early, and it's friendly. In others it's rude. If a question feels too personal, it may be normal where they live. Answer what you're comfortable with, or say "I'd rather not say" and move on.

Making topics work in text chat

Text is slower than a call, and that's a strength. You have time to read, look up a word and try again. A few habits help:

• One question per message. Three questions at once get one answer.
• Write first, then check. Try the sentence yourself before you look anything up.
• Say how you want corrections. "Only fix mistakes that change the meaning" or "rewrite my last message the way you'd say it". Agree on it in session 1.
• Count messages, not minutes. Ten messages each way in each language is a good session.
• Keep a word list. Copy every correction into a notes file and reread it before the next chat.
• End with the next topic. "Tomorrow: food?" means the next chat starts with something to say.

Need a partner to try this with?

Olu has a Language learners planet. You set the language you're learning, and members who speak it and are learning your language are matched with you first. Every message is translated both ways, with the original visible. When you mark a language as the one you're practising, the original shows big and the translation small, so you read the real thing first. That makes the beginner topics above possible even at zero. For how that works, read language practice with native speakers.

Honest limits: it's text only, so there's no speaking practice. It's free, with no ads. The community is small, so some hours are quiet.

Want topics for one language? See the Spanish language exchange guide, which covers the Spanish you'll meet and openers that work.