Cultural/ language exchange

[Azula]

Bonjour mes amis,
I realise this applies to only a select few people, but to those who have participated in an exchange to a French speaking country, how would one best take advantage of the opportunity and maximise their French improvement while on the programme?

I would really appreciate anyone's personal accounts of their exchange, in particular what they enjoyed and felt was beneficial and what they felt they could have done better.

Many thanks!! 

[Blues Fan]

Salut Azula!

I haven't personally been on exchange but have had friends who discussed this after their trip.
Most of my friends really wanted to improve on their French, the only way they did so was by always talking in French all the time. I know this is a bit self explanatory but it is surely the only way to do so! Reading Simple things like signs and maps helped with the overall awareness of the language around you, not just learnt stuff from books!

Bonne chance!