What to Do During and After Your Language Exchange to Reinforce Learning
Engaging in a language exchange is a powerful way to improve your fluency; it can result in measurable gains in both speaking proficiency and confidence. However, to maximize these benefits, it’s crucial to actively reinforce what you learn during each exchange session and afterwards. Here, we’ll explore some research-backed strategies for making the most of your language exchange experience.
During Your Language Exchange
When you’re in the middle of a language exchange conversation, your focus is naturally on communicating. But there are a few simple habits you can adopt to maximize the benefits of language exchange, capture new knowledge, and enhance your learning:
1. Keep a notebook for recording new words and phrases
While it’s important to keep your focus on the conversation, trying to rely on memory alone isn’t recommended. If your language partner uses an unfamiliar word or expression, write it down so you can refer to it later. Keeping a small physical notebook to write down new phrases in real time will give you a tangible record to review later. Plus, cognitive research by Van der Meer and Vander der Weel (2024), “Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom,” shows that the very act of writing can reinforce learning: taking notes by hand forces you to actively process and prioritize information, which helps consolidate it in your memory.
In short, putting pen to paper during your conversation makes new language solidify more in your memory. So as you talk, scribble down new slang terms or useful sentences your language partner uses; this conscious effort will pay off later when you can actually remember the phrase.
2. Save new words and expressions in the app
If you’re using a language exchange app like Tandem, take advantage of any built-in tools for saving conversation snippets or vocabulary. Tandem lets you save words and expressions so you can easily find and review them later, giving you a sense of accomplishment that motivates further learning.
From a memory standpoint, creating your own personal phrase bank is much better than letting new words vanish into the chat history. We know that without review, people forget new information rapidly. In fact, memory research dating back to Ebbinghaus’s classic experiments in the 1880s showed that much of what we learn is forgotten within days or even hours if we make no effort to retain it (i.e., the forgetting curve).
By saving new expressions, you’re effectively building a to-do list for your memory: a set of items you intend to revisit and practice. This simple habit helps you avoid losing hard-earned new phrases.
3. Engage actively and ask questions
Staying active and curious during the exchange itself reinforces learning in less tangible, but still important ways. Don’t be a passive conversation partner; instead, ask questions about things you don’t understand and encourage your language partner to do the same. If they use a phrase that you don’t understand, ask them to explain or give another example. This not only clears up confusion immediately, but it also creates a memorable experience around that phrase, which can help anchor it to a real conversation.
Psychologically, information that we acquire in a meaningful context (like a two-way discussion) tends to stick better than rote memorization. Additionally, inviting your language partner to correct you or suggest a more natural way to say something can be immensely helpful. If they offer a correction or an alternative phrasing, take a second to write it down or even repeat it back to them to practice. Embracing corrections and clarifications during the session will save you from reinforcing mistakes.
4. Paraphrase to work around gaps, but ask for help when needed
During your language exchange, if you’re unsure of a word or how to express something, paraphrase the idea using simpler words or descriptions (a strategy known as circumlocution). This allows you to convey your meaning despite vocabulary gaps and often prompts your language partner to confirm your intent or supply the precise word, creating an immediate learning opportunity for new vocabulary or structures.
Additionally, don’t hesitate to ask your exchange partner for assistance when needed. For example, ask “How do I say that in your language?” or “Did I pronounce that correctly?”. Such direct strategies provide you with quick feedback and correct language input, allowing you to learn the proper usage in real time and continue the conversation without getting stuck.
After Your Language Exchange
What you do after your language exchange session is just as crucial as what you do during it. It’s a time for you to internalize the new words, phrases, and insights gained from the conversation. Without follow-up, it’s less likely that you’ll remember things moving forward. To help complement your language exchanges, here are a few strategies to integrate into your language learning schedule.
1. Review and consolidate new vocabulary with spaced repetition
Soon after your exchange, take time to review the notes and saved phrases you collected. Simply rereading them the same day is a good start, but to lock them into long-term memory, you’ll want to employ spaced repetition. In this technique, you review information at gradually expanding intervals (for example, the next day, then 3 days later, then a week later, etc.).
The science behind this is strong: reviewing material after initial learning combats the natural forgetting process and strengthens the memory traces each time. A study titled “Spaced learning: A review on the use of spaced learning in language teaching and learning,” by Noor, Yunus, Yusoff, Nasir, and Yaacob (2021) confirms this. They found that the practicality of spaced learning is proven in enhancing memory retention, which can contribute to positive performance and help maximize students' language performance.
One way to implement spaced repetition is by using flashcards or a flashcard app. After your exchange, create flashcards for each new expression you wrote down: one side in the target language, the other side with the meaning or a translation. Test yourself on these cards the next day. Then review them in a few days, then next week, and so on. Each successful recall pushes the interval further out. By scheduling these reviews, you efficiently turn short-term exposure into long-term knowledge.
In addition to flashcards, consider rewriting or speaking the sentences in which you learned the words. If you discussed “ordering coffee” with your language partner and learned the phrase for “Can I please have…?” in your target language, practice that whole sentence again later. This strengthens the individual vocabulary, along with your recall of how to use it appropriately.
2. Focus on native expressions and natural phrasing
During your exchange, you may encounter ways of saying things that differ from how you initially thought to express them. Perhaps you said something that was grammatically correct, but your partner offered a more natural phrase that native speakers use. Pay attention to these corrections; they can be extremely helpful for your language development. The reason this matters is that language isn’t just about individual words and grammar rules; it’s very much about formulaic phrases and common expressions.
Linguistic research has found that a considerable portion of everyday speech consists of formulaic language, prefabricated chunks, or idioms that people use as single units. A study by Ellis, Simpson-Vlach, and Maynard (2008), titled, “Formulaic Language in Native and Second Language Speakers: Psycholinguistics, Corpus Linguistics, and TESOL,” estimated that about half of the words used by fluent English speakers are part of such routine phrases or “idioms,” and formulaic expressions are even more frequent in spoken language than in writing.
In other words, learning the phrases used by natives will make you sound far more natural and fluent than constructing every sentence based on grammatical correctness. You may even want to make a separate section in your notebook or flashcard deck for “Useful Phrases,” “Slang,” or “Idioms.”
3. Use speech-to-text tools to check pronunciation
Another strategic tactic is to leverage speech-to-text technology for pronunciation feedback when you’re not able to receive it from your language partner. Many smartphones and apps have voice dictation or translation features (for example, the voice typing in Google Docs or the speech input in translation apps). Speech-to-text (STT) essentially tries to transcribe what you say. Tandem also offers this: you can long-press on a message to have it repeated out loud to you.
Research suggests that such tools can be particularly beneficial for language learners. A 2024 study conducted by Hirai and Kovalyova, “Speech-to-text applications’ accuracy in English language learners’ speech transcription,” evaluated several STT applications (Google, Apple, Windows, etc.) with English learners and found them quite accurate at transcribing non-native speech, even identifying common pronunciation errors made by Japanese speakers.
If you’re unsure whether you pronounced a word correctly in the target language, try speaking it into an STT tool and see if it recognizes the word. If it transcribes accurately, that’s a good sign your pronunciation was clear; if not, you may need to adjust your pronunciation.
4. Apply what you’ve learned in real-life situations
One of the ultimate goals of language exchange is to be able to use the language spontaneously in real scenarios, beyond the screen. After you’ve gathered new vocabulary and practiced it, try to apply it in real life (if possible). Use it in an appropriate context on social media or with another friend who speaks the language. The sooner you integrate a new language into real interactions, the more it solidifies as an active skill (rather than passive knowledge).
Traveling to a country where the language is spoken is a fantastic way to reinforce everything you’ve learned. Immersion is essentially a high-intensity, real-life language exchange that runs 24/7. When you are surrounded by the language (on street signs, in menus, overhearing conversations), your brain is continually prompted to recall and use what you know.
According to a Cambridge article on language immersion programs and study abroad experiences titled “The benefit of immersive language-learning experiences and how to create them,” learners who spend time in a target-language environment tend to achieve higher levels of fluency. They also develop better pronunciation and listening comprehension, thanks to constant exposure. Learners in immersive environments also often have higher motivation “fostered by the desire to belong to or approximate the culture of the target language,” which in turn drives them to attain greater fluency.
However, this doesn’t mean you have to move abroad or spend three months in a place that speaks your target language. There may be local opportunities through language meetups or cultural events. Or you can try to find a local language exchange partner who would be interested in in-person exchanges.
5. Embrace the cultural exchange aspect
Every time you engage in a language exchange, there’s also an opportunity for a cultural exchange. These cultural discussions can actually enhance your language learning in profound ways.
First, they provide context. Words and expressions often have cultural or historical reasons for being the way they are. When you learn the cultural story behind a phrase or why certain things are expressed in a particular way, it makes them more memorable. Secondly, cultural exchange boosts motivation and personal connection to the language. As noted earlier, a strong motivator for learners is the desire to integrate into the culture of the target language.
Practically speaking, how can you reinforce learning through cultural exchange after your session?
One idea is to research something that came up during the session. If your language partner talked about a famous historical figure or a song from their culture that you didn’t know, go look it up afterwards (ideally in the target language). This not only teaches you new vocabulary in context, but it also deepens the cultural connection. Another idea: try cooking a dish from your partner’s culture and learn the cooking terms in that language, or watch a show from their country and note down any familiar phrases you hear (maybe ones you discussed). By weaving cultural exploration into your post-exchange routine, you make language learning an immersive, multi-sensory experience. It’s much more reinforcing than an isolated study because it engages your emotions and real-world curiosity.
Language exchange offers an opportunity for a rich learning session that can dramatically accelerate your progress. Every exchange is an opportunity during the conversation to absorb and participate, and after the discussion to reflect and strengthen. This learning loop acts as active reinforcement that leads to the best results in language acquisition.
