Swap-Swap: Language Exchanges

Swap-Swap is a new service for language exchanges between young people from French-speaking and Dutch-speaking families. Swap-Swap wants to make young people enthusiastic about the other national language and broaden their view of the world. Via swap-swap you arrange your exchange in an easy and safe way. Swap-Swap is supported by the Gezinsbond and the Dutch Language Union. Watch the demo on YouTube .

How can you motivate students to learn a language they don't use often? The new Swap-Swap language exchange service has the mission to make young people enthusiastic about the other national language. Swap-Swap does this by facilitating language exchanges between young people from French-speaking and Dutch-speaking families via an online platform.

Young people often lack practice to be able to use a second or third language fluently , exercise for which there is often insufficient time in the lessons. Staying for a few days with a peer who speaks the other language is the best way to quickly improve your language skills. Pupils who made friends during the exchange will also remain motivated afterwards to improve their skills in the other language.

Your students can also use Swap-Swap. Swap-Swap was developed with parents, teens and their teachers. This makes it an accessible and safe platform on which young people and their parents can make contact with other Swaps. It works like this: on Swap-Swap, parents and teenagers from one family create an account together. The teenagers create a personal profile and look for a partner family that suits them. They make contact via the website, make a first appointment and if it clicks, they prepare the exchange together.

The Gezinsbond and the Taalunie are also enthusiastic about the new service. Hellmuth Van Berlo of the Taalunie: 'The best way to learn a language is to be immersed in it for a few days. Except for the registration fee of €50, there are hardly any costs associated with Swap-Swap. A language camp can easily cost multiples. That is why we see Swap-Swap as an excellent solution for families and teachers who want to improve their teens' scores in the other national language. In addition, Swap-Swap offers a lot of tips to get the most out of the exchange.'

At best, families exchange in both directions, leaving the teens from both sides taking turns staying in a different language area for a while. The exchange is not only about language acquisition, but also about making new friends and going on fun trips together.