The Tandem Program: International accompaniment

This is how it works!

If two people with different mother tongues meet about once a week and then talk to each other for an hour in one language and an hour in the other, they form a tandem. This type of language exchange works best if both people already have a basic knowledge of the other language and if both people have roughly the same level of proficiency in the respective foreign language.

The big advantage
Compared to conventional language teaching methods, which are dominated by frontal and one-sided lessons with a textbook, tandem has many advantages: the partners can tailor the "lessons" precisely to their personal wishes and needs. They can choose the topics of their conversations themselves. All this makes Tandem a very authentic and therefore also very effective learning method - because with a Tandem partner, the foreign language is suddenly no longer just some abstract mass, but the means by which I have real conversations with a real person.

Getting to know the culture
All this makes Tandem much more than "just" an innovative language exchange. Above all, Tandem can contribute a great deal to the integration of migrants. Because Tandem is the essence of what integration should actually be: not one-sided assimilation of the minority into the majority, but a mutual and above all equal getting to know each other, a process in which neither language or culture is valued as more important or even better or occupies more space than the other.

Tandem worldwide
Since its beginnings in the late 1960s, the Tandem network has spread to 15 countries on three continents (Europe, South and North America). In 1994, TANDEM®Fundazioa, an umbrella organization based in San Sebastian in the Basque Country, was founded to provide an interface for language schools that organize tandems and to guarantee compliance with quality criteria for registered schools.

1. First meeting at a neutral location! The first few times you should meet in a neutral place (in a café, on campus, in the Leo) and get to know each other.
2. Your student will be your master.
   The brilliant thing about learning a foreign language in tandem is that the learner is also the teacher. So no one needs to feel under pressure, as the partner is also learning a foreign language in which you make mistakes. As with any teacher, patience is required!
3. Half for you, half for me!
   The tandem principle is based on MUTUALITY: it is important that both tandem partners can benefit just as much from the meetings together, albeit in different ways. The time of the meetings is divided so that half of the time is available for each language.
4. Long live autonomy!
   For tandem work to be successful, it is important that the tandem partners enjoy and have fun learning autonomously. This means that they know and recognize their own weaknesses and say which skills (listening, reading, writing, speaking) they want to improve in the respective foreign language. Each tandem partner is responsible for their own learning and decides what they want to learn in their "own" part of the tandem work. Set achievable goals!
5. Our topic - our path! Use great platforms to help
   Before each meeting, both tandem partners think about how they want to organize their own part of the session (what topic do we want to discuss, how and what should be corrected - see section: Correcting mistakes). Such a discussion avoids disappointment and improves the preparation of the tandem partners. Use the free seagull platform, which can structure your learning process and provide materials and tips: https://www.seagull-tandem.eu
6. The mother tongue is the key!
   It is best to explain difficult issues from your country in your mother tongue. Your partner also learns by listening.
7. Make notes for the future!
   If your partner speaks in their mother tongue, make a brief note of words, phrases and idioms that seem important and that you would like to learn because they are important for the topic in question or because they can be used easily and often in other contexts.
8. Mistakes! -We'll flatten you!
   After completing a meaningful topic section, you should include a joint follow-up phase in which mistakes are discussed and corrected and the noted expressions and idioms and their areas of application are explained again in more detail.
9. Other countries, other customs.
   If conflicts arise, they should be discussed openly and resolved as quickly as possible. Bear in mind that many problems arise from cultural differences in terms of behavior and expectations.
10. A healthy mix.
    Changing meeting places (pub, library, etc.), going to the movies together, visiting a museum or cooking together provide new stimuli and avoid monotony. Please also take note of the official Tandem events.

And now, after the 10 commandments, one more rule:
You have to find your own personal rhythm and learning style in pairs. Therefore, you can confidently overturn one or two of the commandments.

A "good" correction leads to improved performance.

Every tandem partner wants to improve their foreign language skills. This can only be achieved by noticing the mistakes that always occur when using the foreign language and making an effort to use the correct form. The tandem partner plays an important role in this.

Less is better!
Language corrections should be tailored to the language level, which means that it only makes sense to correct as many mistakes as possible at an advanced level.

Conscious selection
In many cases, it is advisable to correct selectively, i.e. to concentrate on one type of error (e.g. pronunciation, word order, word choice, etc.), as you cannot learn everything at the same time.

Keeping the goal in mind
Correction behavior can be designed depending on the topic or situation. This means that if an interesting topic is being discussed (i.e. the content is in the foreground), the tandem partner should only correct gross errors or clarify comprehension problems. For tasks or in situations where the correctness of the statement is important, on the other hand, more intensive correction may be appropriate.

Form before content
A correction should primarily consist of the correct formulation of the utterance (not detailed grammatical explanations).

One sign is often enough
It is not always necessary to signal verbally that the tandem partner has made a mistake. If a statement has already been made but the correct form is not yet "in place", a sign (e.g. raising a hand) is enough for the speaker to correct themselves. This way, the correction of errors is not so disruptive to the course of the conversation.

The patience of the paper
Another option is to write down the mistakes, which can be discussed together after the utterance or completed task.

Caution!
It makes most sense for the tandem partners to decide for themselves which errors should be corrected, how often and when. Mutual improvement should ultimately help and not disrupt. Constant correcting could have a negative impact on the morale and motivation of the tandem partner and also on their relationship with each other.