There's an art to small talk. A language barrier makes it a challenge.
And that's what it seems your mom is looking for as the foundation of conversation on your end. But, I suspect she's more wanting you to listen than necessarily talk. If you start by asking about her, I suspect that it'll go smoother because you'll input what topics she's thinking of the most and be able to adapt better.
And yes, that does seem a bit narcissistic. But sometimes parents just want us to show we care, in ways that they can grasp easily. I can't call it narcissism in terms of it being bad though. It's just part of the human condition. Parents often want updates on their grown kids, but they've also spent decades worrying about and focused on the kids, so there's an assumption that the degree of interest will point back at some point.
And, up to a point, it should. As we age up, there should come a point when we start looking at our parents as full people, taking an interest in them as more than our support network.
So keep it simple. Ask more questions about what she's doing. See if that helps. If it doesn't, then there's other stuff you can try
Mark my territory