Beyond the classroom: How international exchange brings BC’s curriculum to life
By Rolf Hirschkorn (he/him), teacher, Vernon
When we think about the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care’s vision of developing thoughtful, engaged and global citizens, it can sometimes feel abstract. These goals are rooted in the core competencies and big ideas, yet the challenge for educators is making them meaningful for students. However, international exchange programs offer a powerful way to bridge this gap by transforming curriculum into lived experiences and real-life applications. In this setting, communication, critical thinking, and identity are not theoretical, but they are applied daily in the real world.
As an educator, I have been involved with the BC/Germany Exchange program since the mid-1990s. I started off promoting the exchange to my students and in the last few years became more active in the running of this program. With a group of dedicated current and former teachers from the Okanagan, Prince George, and Lower Mainland, this program has provided several hundreds of BC students with a life-changing experience. Established in the mid-1980s this program originally began as an agreement between the ministries of education in BC and Mainz, Germany. Today it continues under the umbrella of the non-profit BC Heritage Language Association and the ministry of education in Mainz.
As German programs have declined in BC, the exchange program has morphed into a cultural exchange where prior knowledge of German is not required. Students can also now choose between a 6- or 10-week cultural exchange. The program’s main goal, however, remains unchanged: to develop globally minded, adaptable students and prepare them for an interconnected world.
Curriculum comes to life
At its essence, an exchange is a living example of BC’s core competencies. Students must communicate across languages and cultures, often having to step outside of their comfort zone to build new relationships and navigate daily life. Activities that are given little thought at home, like ordering food, forming friendships, and participating in everyday discussions, now require purposeful thought, listening skills, and engagement.
Two of the students who participated last year, Ella Trumpower and Kai van Dun, agree. “It is much easier to learn and pick up a language when you are surrounded by it,” noted Kai. His statement emphasizes the value of an immersion exchange experience, when learning becomes authentic and the need to communicate is crucial. Ella agreed and added that over the course of the 10-week exchange, she began to build confidence in her willingness to take risks. “I realized that it really is not a big deal to go up to people with questions or even just chatting,” she said.
These reflections highlight how communication competency extends beyond vocabulary. Students develop confidence, resilience, and the ability to adapt in unfamiliar situations, skills that are difficult to teach in a regular classroom setting alone.
Transformation through cultural immersion
Aside from acquiring another language, cultural immersion accelerates personal development. Living in another country requires students to solve problems independently, work through uncertainty, and develop self-awareness. “I am now much more confident, and I am able to talk to others much easier than before the exchange,” said Ella. And when she started to miss home, she helped alleviate that by turning to journaling, talking to her exchange partner, or calling her parents to update them on her experiences. For Kai, coming from a smaller community where the public transit system is not well-established in his rural area, he found more confidence and independence through using the German public transit system on his own. Such experiences align strongly with BC’s personal and social competency. Students are not only gaining knowledge, but every day abroad they are learning about themselves, building resilience, and developing skills that will carry forward into adulthood.
Building global citizens
Building global citizens is one of the most significant outcomes of an exchange experience, as students develop global awareness and intercultural under-standing by recognizing that their own worldview is shaped by culture and that there are many valid ways of living. For example, Germany’s education system is quite different from BC’s. The German system streams their students, and at the highest academic level (Gymnasium) the system is very structured and academically driven. Students receive more homework and have more frequent oral and written assessments with a strong emphasis on participation in class discussions. In some classes, oral participation makes up half of the class mark. On the contrary, BC classrooms emphasize flexibility, variety of choice, and diverse demonstrations of learning. By experiencing the German school system, the BC students learn to see both the strengths and limitations of each approach. In the end, this reflective process helps students appreciate both their own culture and others, by teaching them to thoughtfully and respectfully look at different ways of doing things in our interconnected world.
However, the benefits of the exchange begin even before students leave Canada. Hosting a German student in their home, school, and community encourages BC students and their families to view their own lives through a different lens. As they introduce their guest to local traditions, landscapes, schools, and customs, students often develop a greater appreciation for what they have and a deeper sense of gratitude for their community and country. Hosting also fosters leadership, responsibility, and pride, as students become cultural ambassadors who help others understand life in British Columbia and Canada.
Why students say exchanges matter
Perhaps the strongest argument for exchange programs comes directly from the participants, and Ella and Kai recognize the broader importance of the program itself. When asked why others should take part, past participants consistently emphasize growth, perspective, and opportunity. During his time in Germany, Kai had the opportunity to build new life-skills, learn about another country’s way of life, and became more open-minded and independent. Ella echoes Kai’s sentiment, adding, “It’s a great way to immerse yourself in another culture…and challenge yourself.” Ella believes that this exchange gave her an opportunity to experience something completely different from her life at home, learn about the world, and apply her learning in real-life situations. Her experience in Germany made her realize that there is so much to discover about other cultures and that to fully understand other cultures “it is important to interact with locals and try talking to them to learn about their lives and the environment around them.”
Looking ahead
While BC has done a great job of providing international students with an educational and cultural experience here, the BC/Germany Exchange program is a true exchange that offers BC students a cultural experience abroad at a fraction of the cost.
Sustaining programs like the BC/Germany Exchange program depends on dedicated educators and schools that recognize the value of these programs and actively promote them to students. Schools in the Okanagan Valley, Prince George, and the Lower Mainland have inspired hundreds of BC students to participate, demonstrating the lasting impact of consistent support and advocacy. By becoming “exchange champions,” teachers and schools can help preserve and strengthen this unique opportunity by encouraging students to apply, and guiding students through the application process. Even small efforts can make a significant difference in ensuring the program expands and thrives for future generations.
As education continues to evolve, global learning opportunities like the BC/Germany Exchange are more important than ever. These experiences connect classroom learning to the real world, helping students build essential skills such as communication, critical thinking, and intercultural understanding. For schools, involvement means bringing the BC curriculum to life, and for students, it provides a transformative experience that shapes their perspectives and their future pathways.
