Language tandem
With a language tandem, you learn a language in a lively and practical way. You meet regularly with a person who speaks your target language as their mother tongue and who would like to practise your first language in return. You help each other to speak and write your target languages and to understand and discover each other's culture. It is therefore an exchange in which you not only practise a new language, but also sharpen your intercultural communication skills.
A language tandem is a mixture of foreign language learning through contact with native speakers and self-determined foreign language learning. It is based on reciprocity on the one hand and autonomy on the other. You learn together and both contribute to the success of the tandem, but each of you is responsible for your own progress. You set your own individual learning goals, but work towards them together. Shared work therefore means the greatest possible benefit for everyone!
Select your language(s) from the drop-down menu. This is/are the language(s) you bring to the tandem. You can always adjust this information about the languages you speak later. If you are multilingual and can offer more than one native language, you should also enter them all here. All the languages you speak will be taken into account during the matching process. Under "Country" and "Region" you can enter the variation of your mother tongue(s), but you don't have to. Don't forget to save!
Now select your desired target language (e.g. Japanese) and your level of competence. In the "Comments on your tandem request" field, you can enter relevant information about the organization, your motives or your desired destination for the language tandem. Once you have completed all the information, click on "Save".
If no matches are shown to you, your request will remain in the memory for 2 months and can therefore be found by interested language tandem students who enter a request after you. It is therefore possible that you will be contacted by other students at a later date. If you are looking for language tandem partners for several languages at the same time, you must add a separate request for each language to your profile.
There are various ways to design a tandem. You don't have to decide right away. It is often helpful to try out different models in the first few meetings and then decide together which one suits you best.
Constellation 1:
One option is for you to speak exclusively in the target languages that you want to learn, i.e. in the other person's native language. This means that if one of you is learning German and the other person is learning French, you speak in French and your tandem partner speaks German. This has the advantage that you have a lot of output and can therefore practise a lot. On the other hand, this model completely lacks input in the language you are learning.
Constellation 2:
The language constellation in which you concentrate on one language at a time is very common. This means that one language is spoken in the first half of the meeting and the other in the second half. This way, you can both focus on the respective language without having to constantly switch back and forth and have the opportunity to both speak the language (output) and listen to it (input).
Improve each other:
It is best to talk about how you want to deal with corrections before the tandem begins. Some people prefer not to be corrected as they are thrown off track. Others welcome direct feedback.
You can, for example, correct each other directly during the conversation, during short breaks that you have set aside for feedback or at the end of the meeting.
Targeted learning through reflection
Tandem also involves regularly reflecting on your own learning. Determine at the beginning what you want to achieve with the tandem and keep your learning goals in mind. After each meeting, you can look together or individually at what you have learned, whether there were any problems, what you could do differently next time and which goal makes sense for the next time. You don't always have to do this reflection in detail, but it generally makes a lot of sense to think about your meetings and what you have learned in order to keep an eye on your learning progress.
Especially at the beginning, it can be helpful for you to have specific topics with guiding questions. This makes it easier to start a conversation and ensures that you are both active. You can also adapt the questions to your language level by skipping questions or elaborating on them. Here are some example topics with possible questions to help you get started.
Topic 1: Getting to know each other
It is a good idea to get to know each other properly at the first meeting. You can not only exchange general information such as name, origin or field of study, but also personal interests, experiences with other cultures or favorite activities. This creates a relaxed atmosphere and makes it easier for you to find common ground.
- Name, age, origin
- Studies, vocational training or part-time job
- Experience with the other culture/country
- Interests: Music, movies/series, traveling, sports, food, ...
- Recommendations: Books, music, movies, series
- Family, friends, pets, living situation
- Future plans (studies, job, travel)
- Language skills
Topic 2: Stereotypes and culture
It is exciting to talk about stereotypes and prejudices. What ideas are there about the other country and how realistic are they? What cultural differences or similarities do you see in everyday life? You can also discuss which current social issues play a role in the countries and how you feel about them.
- Have you visited the other person's country? What did you notice?
- What typical prejudices are there? Do they apply?
- What is considered "typical" for the respective country?
- What social issues are currently being discussed (e.g. environment, politics, feminism, racism)?
- Are stereotypes helpful or problematic?
Topic 3: Leisure time and hobbies
Talking about hobbies is also an easy conversation starter. Everyone has their own interests and stories about sports, music, cooking and traveling. Not only can you discover things you have in common, but you can also get new ideas and recommendations. And you'll also learn new words that will help you in everyday life.
- What hobbies did you have as a child? What sport did you do?
- What do you do in your free time today?
- What do you like to spend money on? Is there anything you would like to do in your free time if it didn't cost anything?
- Have you tried extreme sports?
- Describe your typical weekend.
- Is there a hobby you would like to try?
- Would you turn your hobby into a profession? Is it possible/recommendable?
- Do you make music? Do you play an instrument? What kind of music do you like to listen to?
- Do you like to cook? If yes, what?
- Have you been to a concert or festival? By whom? Would you like to go to a concert or festival?
Topic 4: Literature, films/series, music
Media are always part of our everyday lives and therefore offer many starting points for a discussion. Exchange ideas about books, films, series and music or give each other tips and recommendations. Simply use all of this as learning material and you will certainly discover some interesting cultural and linguistic peculiarities.
Literature/books:
- What is the last book you read?
- What is your favorite genre to read?
- Analog or digital?
- Do you prefer to read the book first and then the movie adaptation or vice versa?
- Recommendations
Movies and series:
- Favorite film/series
- Do you prefer to watch films/series in the original version (possibly with subtitles) or with dubbing? Why?
- Where do you watch films/series (cinema, Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, ...)? Why do you do this?
- Are there any films/series that you have both watched? Are the titles of the two versions different?
- Recommendations
Music:
- When/how often do you listen to music?
- Is there a type of music you don't like at all?
- Do you listen to music in the target language? Does it help you learn it?
- Recommendations
Topic 5: School and university
A comparison of educational paths and systems in different countries also offers many opportunities for discussion. Tell each other about your own school days and studies and think about differences in the education systems and your professional future. In this way, you can not only share personal experiences, but also explore the similarities and differences in your educational biographies.
School:
- Favorite subjects
- Break activities
- Lesson times
- Afternoon activities (leisure activities, homework/studying, AGs, ...)
University:
- Current studies
- Reasons for choosing the subject
- Structure of the degree course
- Differences and similarities between the countries
- Experience with stays abroad/planned stays abroad (e.g. Erasmus)
- Future career plans
There is a collection of worksheets on the Franco-German tandem. There you can find a list of other possible conversation topics that you can also apply to your tandem: https://www.ofaj.org/ressources/lapprentissage-linguistique-en-tandem
There are also more topics, tips and other materials, including on autonomous foreign language learning in general, at https://www.seagull-tandem.eu/
Literature:
- Bechtel, Mark (2003): Intercultural learning in language learning in tandem. A discourse-analytical study. Tübingen: Narr.
- Bechtel, Mark (2016): "Language learning in tandem". In: Eva Burwitz-Melzer, Grit Mehlhorn, Claudia Riemer, Karl-Richard Bausch, Hans-Jürgen Krumm (eds.): Handbuch Fremdsprachenunterricht. Tübingen: Francke, 376-381.
- Herfurth, Hans-Erich (1993): Possibilities and limits of foreign language learning in encounter situations. Towards a didactics of foreign language learning in tandem. Munich: iudicium.
- Kleppin, Karin (1997): "Comparative language and culture learning - self-directed and without a teacher?" In: Wolfgang Börner, Klaus Vogel (eds.): Kulturkontraste im universitären Fremdsprachenunterricht. Bochum: AKS-Verlag, 80-95.