When we built Conversations, we had to make a hard decision: which 40 topics? There are thousands of possible conversation scenarios in any language. We needed a set that would be genuinely useful to real learners, not a random selection of academic or hypothetical situations.
The guiding principle: real situations, real need
Every topic had to pass a single test: does a real language learner actually need this? Not in theory, in practice. Topics like "discussing philosophy" or "debating politics" might be interesting, but they're not where most learners need help first. Hotel check ins, restaurant orders, job interviews, doctor visits, these are the moments where language failure has real consequences.
Five categories, eight topics each
We organised the 40 topics into five categories: Daily Life, Travel, Work and Study, Social and Leisure, and Practical. Each category covers eight topics, giving balanced coverage across the situations learners encounter most.
Daily Life covers the routines that happen every week: weather, restaurants, shopping, cooking, health, pets, morning routines, and neighbours. These are the conversations learners have before they've even thought about "using the language."
Travel covers the moments where language matters most and failure is most stressful: airports, hotels, transport, car rental, sightseeing, and customs. A missed word at a hotel check-in or a misunderstood direction can ruin a trip.
Work and Study includes the professional situations that adult learners face: business meetings, job interviews, school, phone calls, banking, remote work, and networking. These topics matter particularly for integration learners and adult professionals.
Social and Leisure covers the conversations that build relationships: dating, friends, entertainment, sports, family, events, opinions, and gift-giving. These are the topics that make a language feel personal rather than functional.
Practical covers the everyday logistics that learners often find hardest: doctor visits, emergencies, moving, repairs, the post office, legal matters, technology, and insurance. These situations require precision and confidence.
Why 40 and not more?
Forty topics is enough to cover the full range of everyday situations without overwhelming learners. Each topic is practised at three difficulty levels, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, so a single topic provides weeks of material. More topics would have diluted the depth available at each one.
Why 5 languages?
English, Dutch, Spanish, French, and German together cover the first or second language of the vast majority of our users. These are also the languages with the highest demand in European education and integration contexts. We built each language from scratch with native-speaker review, rather than translating from English, to ensure the sentences sound natural.
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