Foreign exchange programs, whether as guest or as host, have several benefits. Obvious linguistic benefits for the guest include improving language accuracy and fluency. For the host, linguistic benefits are usually related to a greater consciousness of how they use their L1, and how it is perceived by non-L1 speakers. However, there are other types of benefits besides the merely linguistic. These include re-framing of cultural preconceptions of the guest and host cultures, increased intrinsic motivation to learn a language, reduction of inhibition to use an L2, and improved self-confidence in general situations. The presentation shares experiences and insights of exchange program participants to help facilitate both linguistic and non-linguistic effects of future exchange programs and also language classrooms. Data was collected from informal interviews with a variety of people who have experienced foreign exchanges, as a guest visiting another country, as a host of an exchange student, and in a few instances people who have done both. Their answers shed light on the various types of linguistic and non-linguistic benefits mentioned above, and also point to some drawbacks or problems experienced during the foreign exchange. The data provides insights that may help better prepare future exchange participants, and also ways that the exchange experience can be leveraged in the language classroom to improve engagement and performance.
