Immigration

Immigration brings up personal stories, cultural perspectives, and strong opinions. These questions work well for discussing experiences, challenges, and the bigger debates around movement and integration.

Questions are organized by level from beginner to advanced. A printable PDF of all the questions is available at the bottom of the page.

Beginner (A1-A2)

1. What languages do you hear people speaking in your city? Where do you usually hear them?
2. Have you ever met someone from another country? What did you talk about?
3. What food from other countries can you find in your city? What’s a good one you’ve tried?
4. Do you know any words or phrases from other languages? Tell me some.
5. Have you ever been to a different country? What was it like?
6. If you moved to another country, what three things would you miss the most? (Food, family, friends, weather, etc.)
7. Have you ever had a friend or classmate who moved to another country? Do you still talk to them?
8. Do you know any holidays or traditions from other countries? What happens on that day?
9. Would you like to move to another country someday? Why or why not?
10. Are there people from many different countries in your city or town? Where are they from?

Elementary (A2)

1. What countries do most immigrants in your country come from? Why do you think they choose your country?
2. What are three things that are hard when you move to a new country?
3. Would you like to live in another country someday? Which one? What do you like about it?
4. Have you ever helped someone who didn’t speak your language? How did you help them?
5. What countries do people from your country often move to? Why?
6. What do immigrants usually do when they first arrive in a new country? Why do they do those things first?
7. Have you ever felt like a foreigner somewhere? What happened?
8. Have you ever met someone who moved to your country from far away? What was their story?
9. Have you ever tried to learn a new language? What was easy and what was hard about it?
10. What jobs do immigrants often do in your country? Why do you think they choose those jobs?
11. What new things have immigrants brought to your country? (Food, music, fashion, etc.)

Intermediate (B1)

1. Do you think your country needs more or fewer immigrants? Why or why not?
2. Does your country have strict immigration laws? Do you think the laws should be less strict or stricter? Why?
3. What should immigrants know before they can become citizens? Why are those things important?
4. Do you think immigrants to a country work harder than people born in that country? Why or why not?
5. Do you have any friends or family who are immigrants? How does knowing immigrants (or not knowing any) affect your view of immigration?
6. What is the hardest part about moving to a new country? Why is it so difficult?
7. Do you prefer to meet people from your own country or from other countries? Why?
8. Would it be easy or difficult for you to move to another country? Why?
9. Should immigrants be required to learn the local language? Why or why not?
10. Do you think immigration makes a country more interesting or more complicated? How so?
11. Do you think immigrants should keep their own customs or adopt local customs? Why or why not?
12. If you had to move to another country tomorrow, which one would you choose and why?
13. Do you think children of immigrants have advantages or disadvantages? Why do you think so?
14. Should immigrants be allowed to vote in local elections? Why or why not?
15. If you could make one rule for how your country handles immigration, what would it be? Why?

Upper-Intermediate (B2)

1. When is immigration helpful to a country and when is harmful?
2. What would happen if we erased all country borders and let people live wherever they wanted? Would it be a good or bad thing? Why?
3. What is the best method to slow or stop immigration? Can immigration ever be completely stopped? Why or why not?
4. How do immigrants help a country’s economy?
5. Do you think it is easier or harder to immigrate today compared to 50 years ago? What has changed?
6. What do you think is the biggest misunderstanding people have about immigrants? Why does that misunderstanding exist?
7. How does immigration change the culture of a country? What are some examples you’ve seen?
8. Compare the experience of legal immigrants versus undocumented immigrants. How are their situations different?
9. What responsibilities do immigrants have to their host country, and what responsibilities does the host country have to them?
10. How do media portrayals of immigrants influence public opinion? What do you think about that?
11. What factors determine whether immigrants successfully integrate into a new society? What are some personal and societal factors?
12. How is the immigrant experience different for high-skilled workers versus refugees? What accounts for these differences?
13. How do countries that accept many immigrants compare to countries that accept very few? What are the differences in their economies and cultures?
14. Some cities and neighborhoods become known for their immigrant communities — like Chinatowns or Little Italys. What are the upsides and downsides of these ethnic neighborhoods?
15. Some people believe immigration should be based on skills and education, while others think family connections should matter more. What are the good and bad sides of each approach?
16. How do governments balance national security concerns with welcoming immigrants? What tensions exist between these goals?
17. How might immigration both strengthen and threaten national identity? What factors determine which effect is stronger?
18. Social media lets immigrants stay deeply connected to their home country in a way that was impossible before. How does this constant connection change the immigration experience, and does it make integration easier or harder?

Advanced (C1)

1. What role does xenophobia play in immigration debates, and how can policy discussions address genuine concerns without legitimizing prejudice?
2. What tensions exist between individual rights to migrate and states’ rights to control borders? How are these competing claims justified?
3. Immigrants are often told to ‘integrate,’ but the host country’s culture also changes because of them. At what point does a country’s identity become something new, and is that something to celebrate or resist?
4. Some people who were once immigrants themselves later oppose new immigration. Why do you think this happens, and what does it reveal about how people think once they feel established in a place?
5. When a highly skilled doctor or engineer leaves a poor country to work in a wealthy one, is that person making a reasonable personal choice or contributing to a bigger problem? Where do you draw the line?
6. Some countries use a points system to decide who can immigrate, scoring people based on age, education, and skills. What values does this system reflect, and what kind of people does it leave behind?
7. Immigration has always been a powerful issue in elections around the world. Why does immigration stir up such strong emotions in people, and how do politicians use those emotions to win votes?
8. Many wealthy countries have aging populations and falling birth rates, so they need immigrants to keep the economy running. But many citizens in those countries want less immigration. How do you explain this contradiction, and what happens when a country needs people it doesn’t want to welcome?
9. Wealthier people can often move to another country easily — they buy property, get investment visas, and are welcomed. Poorer people face walls, detention, and years of paperwork. What does this tell us about who really has the freedom to move, and is that fair?
10. Some immigrants say that moving to a new country changed who they are as a person — not just their address, but the way they think and see the world. Why do you think living in a foreign place can change someone so deeply, and is that change something gained or something lost?

PDF: Download a PDF of all the questions