The transformational effects of a language exchange

By Stefan DuBois

As language instructors, we aim to build practical skills for real-world communication, and nothing helps students  realize the extent of the abilities they have developed like an authentic interaction with a native speaker. In spring  2025, the University of Denver’s (DU) first-year Spanish program organized a virtual language exchange for students  to do exactly that, and the outcomes for students were nothing short of fantastic. 

Logistics 

We implemented our language exchange in the final quarter of our first-year sequence, dividing students into two groups: one group completed conversations via the paid platform LinguaMeeting, which pairs students in small virtual sessions with native speaker “coaches.” Grant money provided these sessions to most of our sections free  of charge, but for those which we couldn’t cover, DU students paired with those studying English at the University  of the Balearic Islands (UIB) in Spain. 

Both groups followed the same format, completing three 30-minute conversations in small groups. Students  prepared questions regarding their exchange partners and culture, and then completed the conversations outside  of class at a time of each group’s choosing. After each conversation, students produced a short reflection on what they learned, and then informally debriefed in class. 

The LinguaMeeting conversations were entirely in Spanish. For the UIB conversations, our students led 15 minutes  of the conversations in Spanish, and the UIB students led the other half in English. 

Results 

Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Qualitatively, students primarily reported an initial nervousness  followed by a profound sense of accomplishment. This self-confidence was born out in the quantitative data: each year, students completing DU’s first-year Spanish program self-evaluate whether they have reached program targets across a variety of skills. In each of the previous 4 years, the number of students evaluating themselves as having reached our goals for speaking proficiency has not varied from 90% by more than 1%; this number leapt to 95% for the LinguaMeeting group and all the way to  100% for those completing the UIB conversations. 

As self-evaluation ratings, these numbers most accurately measure confidence rather than true proficiency  (although we have separately confirmed that our self-evaluation data aligns within 5% of instructor evaluations).  Even so, the leap in speaking ratings demonstrates that student confidence soared in both groups. The  amplification of this effect in the UIB group presumably resulted from increased authenticity of their  conversations: the LinguaMeeting coaches may still have been perceived as an instructor ‘going easy’ on students,  but the balanced dynamic of the UIB conversations (students of the same age learning each others’ languages)  made for truly realistic conversations.  

Interestingly, self-evaluation of Listening proficiency dropped in the UIB group, likely due to a similar effect of  hearing unadulterated speech from a native speaker. Writing and Reading were not directly involved in the conversations themselves, but the increase in the UIB group could be explained by the communication involved in organizing the conversations: where LinguaMeeting students simply selected a time in a calendar online, students in the UIB group had to negotiate a time via email or instant messaging services such as WhatsApp. Such written  nteraction may have had a similar effect on confidence as the spoken interaction discussed above. 

It should also be noted that there was a vast disparity in sample sizes (21 DU students completed conversations  with the UIB, and 177 with LinguaMeeting), but the results nevertheless should be considered directionally accurate in terms of the positive effect of authentic interactions with native speakers. 

Pros/cons of each approach

LinguaMeeting	UIB
+ Logistic practicality (students). Students  simply signed up for a session at the time of  their choosing.  + Logistic practicality (instructors). As a paid  service, there was no concern about not having  enough coaches for students.	+ Increased sense of authenticity due to  interacting with peers facing similar challenges  in learning a foreign language.  + Enduring relationships. Many students said  they would continue contact with their new  friends, and that they were excited to have a  contact for future visits to Spain.  + Cost (free).

− Cost ($25/student for 3 conversations). Quite  cheap for the value added, but nevertheless an  additional course expense.

− Logistics (students). Coordinating sessions  across time zones and multiple students’  schedules was far more challenging than LinguaMeeting’s calendar sign-ups.  − Logistics (instructors). Extensive cold-calling was necessary to find institutions abroad willing to participate. The scheduling issues facing students also necessitated instructor flexibility on assignment due dates.  − Scalability. The number of partners required to  pair with all students in a program of DU’s size requires substantial investment from partner institutions.

Future 

After the success of our first attempt, the UIB instructors have generously agreed to expand the program on their  end, which will expand this free option to more of our students. With luck, the initiative will snowball over  successive years to the point that we do not have to raise funds for the paid alternative. 

That said, that alternative was itself also incredibly successful at a very reasonable price of $25/student, which would not be unfair for students enrolled in university classes. This has prompted us to question whether we could  reduce student expenses in other areas. For example, the textbook we currently ask them to purchase costs  $150/year—equivalent to 18 LinguaMeeting conversations. Considering the transformational benefits from just 3 of  these conversations and the variety of free instructional materials available online, we wonder if replacing the  textbook with LinguaMeeting sessions spread throughout the whole sequence would bring a greater benefit to our students at the same cost. 

Conclusion 

Hopefully our experience has inspired you to try out something similar with your own students. Each language  program faces its own constraints: if yours is financial, try reaching out to partner institutions (faculty pages are a  great place to start!); if time and energy is a greater constraint, both we and our students were extremely satisfied  with the LinguaMeeting program; if both of those sound difficult, you could likely achieve similar benefits from an  internal ‘big brother’ program between beginner and advanced courses at your institution. Whatever your case,  increasing opportunities for authentic interaction is more than worthwhile, and DU’s Spanish program will  continue to do so in the future. 

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Stefan DuBois currently coordinates the first-year Spanish program at the University of  Denver. He enjoys keeping class fresh for both himself and his students by drawing inspiration  from videogames, board games, and podcasts to create fun, communicative activities, many  of which are available online at TPT.