Exchange Classes: A Strategy for Enhancing Student Communicative Competence and Confidence

Motivating EFL students to improve their language ability is not an easy task. Many times, institutional requirements, classroom settings and students’ individual needs do not match, so students have difficulty in learning English and lose their motivation. This action research study examines how domesticinternational exchange classes can be used as an effective, interactive strategy which can contribute to improving student attitude and motivation to learn by personalizing the learning process and developing communicative competence. Findings show that students’ self-perceived communicative skills and confidence improved through regular conversation activities in exchange classes. The study concludes with suggestions for implementing a similar approach in a different environment and for further research.