1) Do any of these research findings surprise you?

Based on findings made by linguists as Noam Chomsky, developmental psychologists such as Piaget, one cannot be surprised with such findings as younger people find pronunciation more accessible than adults do. At the same time exposure to the target language, as efficient as it might be, is not the only factor playing a role in the acquisition of a language.

2) Why do you think accent seems to improve less than other aspects of communication? As mentioned in the previous answer, and as many linguists and developmental psychologist have studied, pronunciation is a feature of language that younger learners acquire easier than adults; this is mainly due to the Critical Period Hypothesis. 3) What benefits might you yourself get out of an exchange trip? Some years ago I went to Canada in an exchange trip myself, so I know first-hand the benefits of such an experience. To begin with, I remember, as time passed, gaining confidence regarding my pronunciation. This new confidence led me to speak more clearly and with a much more natural flow. What is more, due to being immersed in an English speaking country I learnt vocabulary items I wouldnt have learnt in any other ways. Several language items are never present in language books, but are crucial for communication, such items are only acquired, to my view, during an exchanged as the one described in the article. 4) What are the benefits of exchange trips? As mentioned above, the benefits of an exchange trip range from making ones pronunciation much more natural, and speed of delivery much more fluent, to a level of accuracy with a range of expressions and register impossible to acquire in a classroomlike environment.