For students learning French as a second language, the main benefit is to interact with francophones who come from Quebec or elsewhere. It’s also an opportunity to discover the richly diverse francophone culture and to learn more about Quebec or other francophone societies.

Twinning allows learners to practice their French, either orally or through writing, with a twinning partner. Orally, dialogue with francophones allows learners to practice listening, speaking and interacting in an authentic and productive environment. In the context of a written twinning (on Facebook for example), twinned partners read and write texts, or chat with their partners.

Twinning encourages authentic interaction with speakers of French. Such interactions can be both fun and occasionally stressful for a second language learner. Fortunately, twinning takes place in a safe academic environment. Teachers, twins and even fellow classmates are there for support. Before, during or after an exchange, the language learner can ask any questions or voice any concerns to specialists (teachers) or to peers who are experiencing their own twinning exchange.

Intercultural twinnings are exchange activities that provide a rich, complex experience - they are more than mere linguistic twinnings, they promote the coming together of people from diverse cultures. Discover the distinct character of intercultural twinnings.

Twinning activities cannot be improvised: they must be skillfully prepared and implemented to ensure that learning and intercultural exchange happens. Provided here is the list of steps recommended for successfully completing a twinning project.

Intercultural exchanges don’t just happen by themselves. People from diverse cultures can meet without ever really communicating or understanding each other. To prevent, as much as possible, such unfulfilling experiences, put in place the following "winning" conditions.