A twist on the classic French, German and Spanish exchange, a language exchange holiday provides a host of benefits for single travellers and families alike. Providing the ultimate form of language immersion, our international community connects those who are passionate about language to make the modern day language swap a reality. Our exchange programs see two families offer hospitality to both reap the rewards of authentic language training in a setting that makes practice outside of the classroom possible to ensure perfect results.
Here we take a closer look at why choosing a language exchange holiday is the best thing you’ll ever do.
Learn from the best
Learning from native speakers is one of the main reasons why exchange holidays help the individuals participating grasp a language more quickly and fluently. British Council describes living with a native speaker as a must for learning a foreign language overseas:
“They don’t have to be your new best friends, so whether you’re looking for a family with a spare room or a student house share, having a native speaker living under the same roof does wonders for your fluency, as you’ll easily spend a minimum of half an hour a day using your language skills. This is especially effective if they don’t speak any English because if you need something, you’ll learn pretty quickly how to ask for it, and it’s a great way to practise speaking a language even when you don’t feel like it. This sounds scary but you’ll soon find that the benefits of living with locals hugely outweigh any doubts you might have had.”
Take learning outside of the classroom
We all have our own experiences of learning a foreign language at school. Whilst some of us were able to pick things up pretty quickly, many may have struggled in the confines of the classroom. An exchange holiday offers the ideal opportunity to master a new language outside of the classroom environment, putting your skills to the test not just with your host family but in its country of origin.
Perfect your skills through everyday activities
In traditional language learning there’s often so much focus on achieving perfection in terms of vocabulary. As a result, many can be fluent in a language yet lack the speaking skills to get by when faced with the day-to-day activities and interactions encountered in the real world. A language exchange holiday puts your skills to the test across a variety of scenarios with activities and games forming an essential part of learning.
Immerse yourself in more than just the language
Selecting a new language to learn isn’t easy. According to recent research, there are 6,909 living languages to choose from. Deciding which is right for you comes down to a number of factors, but it’s often the culture of the target country that offers the biggest form of inspiration. Thanks to your language exchange holiday, you can immerse yourself in more than just your target language to experience all that inspired you to learn in the first place. Experiencing a new culture is exciting but can be daunting, read our blog post on dealing with culture shock for further advice.
As well as exposing yourself to your host country’s culture, you can develop a greater understanding of your target language by taking in different accents. Developing your listening skills in this way will help you speak in a more authentic and conversational manner.
Make lifelong conversation partners
Having someone to call on to keep practising is the key to improving your skills long after your exchange holiday is over. It’s important to remember that learning a new language is like building your muscles. The more you exercise it, the stronger it will become. As well as having your host family to converse with regularly, making friends within your host community will see you make lifelong conversation partners.
A Cost Effective Approach
A homestay exchange holiday offers a convenient and extremely affordable way of learning a new language, particularly when compared to the cost of privately delivered foreign language lessons. Instead of paying a fee for a set amount of lessons, each family exchanges hospitality. A language exchange holiday gives you all you need to learn a new language from your native speaking host family and gain an insight into a different culture, as well as a chance to return the favour at a later date.
Ready to embrace the benefits of a language exchange holiday for yourself? Join our online language homestay club today and become one step closer to organising your exchange holiday.
