I imagine that's a pretty common thing. Back to your previous question, how's her English? Because if nothing else he could just talk to her about what life is like growing up where she's from. That'll also help him find other things they have in common and can talk about. Plus, everyone likes talking about themselves. The worst is when they actually can't really speak a language you know because then you can't really talk about anything
My son doesn't like to talk, even about himself.