A1 Level – Elementary
1. How many languages can you speak?
2. What is the most difficult language to learn?
3. Do you like using language apps?
4. What is a common word you know in another language?
5. What language do you speak at home?
6. Do you think English is important?
7. What makes a language sound beautiful?
8. What is the difference between speaking and writing?
9. Do you like watching movies in other languages?
10. What helps you remember new words?
11. What is the alphabet for your language?
12. What makes you nervous when speaking a foreign language?
13. Do you think animals have a language?
14. What are some easy ways to practice a new language?
15. What is the opposite of fluent?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What are the key differences between learning a language in a classroom and learning it through immersion?
2. Describe one experience where a language barrier caused a funny or embarrassing misunderstanding.
3. What are the pros and cons of using subtitles when watching foreign films?
4. What role does grammar play in achieving fluency in a language?
5. Have you ever tried to communicate using only body language or gestures?
6. What specific sounds or letters are hardest for you to pronounce in a new language?
7. What is the difference between a dialect and a separate language?
8. What are common challenges when translating humor or slang between languages?
9. How does technology (e.g., instant translation tools) change the way people learn languages?
10. What are the biggest cultural differences in how languages express politeness or formality?
11. What is the importance of learning about the culture alongside the language?
12. Do you think some languages are easier for certain nationalities to learn?
13. What are the challenges of learning a language with a completely different writing system?
14. What are the best ways to maintain a language you learned years ago but rarely use?
15. What is the difference between active vocabulary and passive vocabulary?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. Discuss the psychological challenge of thinking directly in a foreign language rather than translating in your head.
2. How can communities support the preservation of endangered or minority regional languages?
3. What are the ethical issues surrounding the dominance of English as the global language of business and science?
4. Do you agree that learning a new language fundamentally changes the way you think about the world?
5. Describe a time when being bilingual or multilingual provided a specific career advantage.
6. To what extent should governments mandate the teaching of multiple languages in primary school?
7. What role do international language certification exams (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS) play in global migration?
8. How do loanwords and foreign phrases enrich or dilute a native language?
9. Discuss the psychological phenomenon of losing fluency in your native language after long-term immersion elsewhere.
10. What are the challenges of translating complex legal, technical, or poetic texts accurately?
11. How does the concept of “language politics” influence which languages are taught and used in public life?
12. Should public funding prioritize translation services for immigrants or for promoting national literary works?
13. What is the difference between code-switching (moving between languages) and mixing languages?
14. Discuss the concept of “linguistic purism”—the attempt to keep a language free from foreign influence.
15. What is the long-term impact of artificial intelligence and translation tools on the profession of human translation?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. How does the unique structure of a language (e.g., grammar, tense system) affect the cultural priorities of its speakers?
2. What are the ethical arguments about the potential for language bias in AI translation systems?
3. Should international organizations adopt an artificial language (e.g., Esperanto) to ensure equal representation?
4. What are the psychological reasons why people develop a different personality or identity when speaking a foreign language?
5. How has the dominance of major tech companies (and their products) driven the spread of certain world languages?
6. Discuss the idea that a person never truly stops learning their first language, even as an adult.
7. What is the role of language in creating social barriers or facilitating cross-cultural understanding?
8. How do cultural norms around silence, volume, and interruption affect communication between speakers of different languages?
9. What are the challenges of maintaining multilingualism in families where the children are primarily taught the dominant local language?
10. Discuss the concept of “linguistic imperialism”—the historical dominance of powerful languages over weaker ones.
11. What is the difference between being functionally bilingual and being truly bicultural?
12. Should there be stricter rules about the quality and accuracy of simultaneous translation in high-stakes environments?
13. What is the impact of language loss on the collective historical and cultural knowledge of a community?
14. How does the history of colonialism continue to influence which languages are considered high-status today?
15. Discuss the idea that language is not just a tool for communication, but a complete window into a different worldview.
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Analyze the socioeconomic factors that influence which individuals have the luxury of becoming truly polyglot (knowing many languages).
2. To what degree should the legal system protect the linguistic rights of immigrant and indigenous communities within a nation?
3. Discuss the philosophical concept of “linguistic determinism”—the idea that language structure determines thought structure.
4. Evaluate the impact of automated translation services on the global demand for human translators and interpreters.
5. How does the strategic use of technical jargon and academic language create barriers to public understanding?
6. Examine the legal challenges of intellectual property and ownership when a language is used as a medium for creation (e.g., writing).
7. What ethical guidelines should govern the use of AI to create “synthetic voices” in different languages for commercial purposes?
8. Discuss the concept of “language ideology”—the belief systems that attach social values to different ways of speaking.
9. How do different national laws on education affect the curriculum and status of minority or regional languages?
10. Analyze the interplay between language evolution (changes in usage) and the stability required for legal and historical record-keeping.
11. What ethical challenges arise when people with significant political power intentionally use ambiguous language to mislead the public?
12. Debate whether the global dominance of English is a temporary, practical necessity or a permanent threat to linguistic diversity.
13. How does the architecture of major international organizations (e.g., the UN) reflect the political complexity of official working languages?
14. Discuss the concept of “language revitalization” and the success stories of bringing nearly extinct languages back to life.
15. To what extent does the mastery of rhetoric and persuasive language skills determine success in politics and law?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. How do you analyze the idea that language is fundamentally the boundary of human thought and consciousness?
2. Formulate a critique of international legal frameworks that fail to adequately address linguistic discrimination in labor or legal settings.
3. Analyze the intersection of digital technology, mass media, and the accelerated rate of language change and homogenization.
4. Discuss the philosophical distinction between “meaning” (internal concept) and “reference” (external object) in linguistic theory.
5. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of public policy interventions aimed at promoting multilingualism in highly monolingual countries.
6. Propose a system for global language education that provides every citizen with fluency in their native language plus two international languages.
7. Examine the psychological function of inner speech (talking to oneself) and how it is structured by one’s dominant language.
8. How does the semiotics of written typography and visual design communicate immediate emotional and cultural information about a text?
9. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of media outlets in ensuring accurate, unbiased translation of complex political discourse.
10. Analyze the historical relationship between the development of standardized national languages and the formation of modern state identities.
11. Articulate the inherent tension between the linguist’s desire to document language variation and the educator’s need to teach standardized forms.
12. Debate whether a future dominated by instant, accurate AI translation will remove the psychological benefit of learning a foreign language.
13. Assess the long-term societal effects of decreased funding for foreign language departments in universities globally.
14. Discuss the philosophical definition of ‘fluency’ and whether it is a measurable competence or a subjective social perception.
15. How might the principles of linguistic analysis be used to model processes of organizational communication breakdown and recovery?
