13TANDEM

T I P S

Tandem: learning and teaching

The tandem method asks you to double your intellectualactivity. On the one hand you ‘learn’ a foreign language andon the other hand you have to ‘teach’ your own language,therefore challenging you both as a learner and as ateacher.This double role is of major importance since anysuccess in your tandem work depends on it.Both of you decide on the learning procedure by choosingthe issues you want to talk about as well as the materials.Tandem is a very useful method for dealing with thefollowing:– vocabulary– comprehension– speaking fluently and losing your shyness– learning more about your tandem partner’s culture– improving the learning process.

There is one basic rule of thetandem method which shouldalways be respected eventhough it appears to hamperthe communication between

the two of you. Time wise atandem meeting should be split in

two equal parts. One language is spokenduring the first half of your meeting, the other during thesecond.A two-hour meeting could be split up like this:

60 minutes language A,

60 minutes language B.

Do not switch languages even though it might be harderfor you to stick to one language. One of the goals oftandem is the improvement of skills that have already beenlearnt.The reasons for switching to the other language are:• you are unsure about certain linguistic aspects or you

feel uneasy about specific topics.• you want to help your partner by using his or her

language when playing the ‘teacher’ role.

When you have switched languages once, you run the riskof one language becoming the dominant one.This will bethe language of the partner whose language skills are lessadvanced. The one that already has advanced languageskills will improve even more, whereas the other will not.

– 1 –You should consider the following hints when meeting

1 language + 1 language = 2 languages

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– 2 –Role switching

Tandem also means that two peoplesucceed at the same time. Switching theroles of ‘learner’ and ‘teacher’ ensuresthat neither of the two is always beingcorrected while the other is alwayscorrecting.It is particularly important that bothpartners contribute equally to the roleswitching. Otherwise one will always beplaying the role of the passive listenerwhile the other one will always be theinterpreter.The one playing the role of the ‘teacher’should try not to be too active. Anykind of skill the ‘learner’ has learnedthrough their own experience willstrengthen his or her knowledge muchmore than just passive repetition.

– 3 –Preparing the meeting

The less your language proficiency themore you have to prepare each tandemmeeting. Once you have met, start onthe following:

• the topics you want to talk about:think of how issues should developduring future meetings;

• the way of getting started on anissue and the materials you want touse with it.You can use a picture, anewspaper article, a radio or TVguide, a song etc. to start you off.There are no limits on learningmaterials. However, it is importantto use authentic materials;

• the place of meeting: in order tostart up a conversation it isrecommended that you go to a cafeor go for a walk. In order to read,listen to music, or watch movies,look for a quiet place with thenecessary equipment.

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– 4 –Talk about everything

First you have to get toknow your tandempartner.You can talkabout everydaythings, then themore you get toknow each other themore interesting your topicsshould become.Think about vocabularyyou do not yet know. After the firstmeetings you need to prepare thetopics and materials for future meetingsin advance.

The following topics might help you:• all kinds of personal

information you want to talkto your partner about: family,friends, work, education, hobbies,habits, personal preferences etc.

• stories from your past: vacations,your first job, your first love, the best orthe worst day of your life, childhooddreams etc.

• your future: where do you want tobe in ten years? What would yourbiographer write about you? Whatwould you want to become afterreincarnation?

• your opinions: the role ofmen/women in certain cultures,

immigration, technologicalprogress,protection of the

environment etc.• common interests:

talking about your interests might bethe best way to proceed with improvingyour language skills as both partners arewell prepared and highly motivated.Common interests like computers,movies, sports etc. make a foreignlanguage more accessible even if thetwo tandem partners are at differentlanguage levels.

It is important that your partner re-mains curious about you and isinterested in you. That is why youshould choose a variety of topics,learning methods and materials.

– 5 –Everything can be learned

When people communicate theybasically make use of two languageskills:• receptive (listening) and

• p r o d u c t i v e(speaking).Conversation with your tandem partnermakes you broaden your vocabulary,improve your listening comprehension,speak more fluently, overcome your

shyness and fear of making mistakes. In addition toconversation you might want to use authentic materialssuch as films and tape recordings.They can be watched orlistened to many times.As far as the written part of language isconcerned two additional language skills areinvolved:• reading (reading comprehension) and• writing (written production).

Tandem will help you with these, too. Use original sourceslike newspaper articles, advertisements, or the news. First,

practise your general understanding of thetext by answering questions such as‘What’s this about’, ‘Who was it writtenfor’, ‘What does it say’ etc. The secondstep would be a detailed analysis of thetext.You might also want to correct texts

you and your partner have written at home and discussthem at your meetings.

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– 6 –Choose your own language variety

Typical of tandem is its flexibility whichmakes it easy to meet your individualdemands.The partners not only decideon the specific language skills they wantto practise but also on the languagevariety they want to speak. Noteverybody wants to learn the standardlanguage. Some might want to learn a

dialect or the regional variety. Othersmight want to learn professionallanguage or language for specialpurposes, e.g. economy, gastronomy,administration etc.

– 7 –Communicating and

understanding

Try to be spontaneous and naturalwhen speaking. In order to improveyour listening skills the context needsto be authentic and real. Avoidcomplicated idioms or sentencestructures as well as exaggerated,simple words and structures or babytalk. It is essential to find the mostconvenient and appropriate registerand content so as not to become boredor discouraged when communication istoo difficult.

Proceed step by step whenexplaining something to yourpartner. Make sure they do notfall behind and give them thechance to check what theyhave understood.This is anexcellent wayof learningsuccessfully.

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– 8 –No translating

necessary

Since you are not allowed to switchlanguages, you have to explain unknownwords and idioms. Instead of justtranslating them you should try todescribe what you mean, give examples,use signs and gestures, or drawings. Ofcourse, this is an uncomfortable way ofexplaining, but it has been proved thatwords and idioms are more easilymemorized in this way.You do not needto hurry, take your time.Avoid translating unknown words.Instead, use:• synonyms: e.g. shout, yell• opposites: e.g. bitter, sweet• words of the same category: e.g.

orange, lemon• derivations: e.g. fly, flight• associations: e.g. ocean, vacation• connections: e.g. tooth(-)pick• comparisons and personal

characteristics: e.g. you haveblack hair.

Only use a dictionary if youfeel that it would taketoo much time toexplain a word.However, thisshould remain anexception to therule.

– 9 –How new words

can be memorized

There are just as many ways ofdescribing a word as of remembering it.Some hints:• Write down the

word and take agood look at it.

• Say the word loudly,sing it, shout it, orwhisper it.

• Discoversimilarities towords you already know.

• Discover similarities to words inyour native language.

• Learn the word in connection to itscounterpart.

• Transform the word into a drawingor connect it to some other drawing.

• Form a sentence containing theword.

• Connect the word to other wordsyou already know.

• Make groups or fields of the wordsyou want to learn.

• Think of the feelings you have whenhearing a word.

Role-playing also helps to rememberand use words appropriately.Think of acommon situation, e.g. an appointmentat the doctor’s, travel agency, or anargument about the quality of the thingsthey offer at a grocery store.

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– 10 –Learning from mistakes

Making mistakes is part of the language learning process,you do not learn by making no mistakes. Mistakes are notjust made by accident, even though they do not occurregularly.It is important that you both decide on the way of copingwith mistakes. Sometimes it is better not to correctmistakes, e.g. if it is more important that the partnerovercome his or her shyness or fear of making mistakes. Inother cases the mistake must be pointed out andcorrected because otherwise it might become a setphrase.

Beware of the following traps:• If one partner has acquired less language skills you tend

to not correct mistakes because there are just too manyof them.

• If the partner is very good you might not see thenecessity of correctingmistakes because com-munication works just aswell without.

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– 11 –Correcting mistakes

In order to have good command of alanguage it is not sufficient to be able toexpress oneself or to converse.You alsoneed some feeling for the language.

A good way ofcorrecting isto find yourpartner’s mostfrequentmistakes and tocorrect them atan appropriateopportunity. By

doing so spontaneity will not bedestroyed. It also helps to write downthe mistakes while speaking and tocorrect them afterwards. Or you canrecord your conversation and listen tothe mistakes which should then becorrected. In any case be careful withcorrecting mistakes while speaking. It isbetter to use the correct term the nexttime you are talking, so that the flow ofcommunication is not interrupted andthe mistake is not over-emphasized.Askyour partner to repeat the correctword or to write it down, but do notexpect your partner never to make thesame mistake again after you havecorrected them once.

– 12 –Between two cultures

Bear in mind that any kind ofinformation you give about yourself,your world, your culture, and your wayof life is of great value to your partner.In addition to the linguistic aspect,tandem is an interesting experiencewith regard to the inter-culturalperspective.

Working with tandem makes youreflect on your own clichéd ideas aboutthe other language group. Not only doyou get first hand information, but youcan also find out details of yet unknownaspects. Similarities as well asdifferences can be discovered.

Here are some ideas for your discoverytrip between two cultures:• your own problems with the other

language and culture,• festivities and tradition,• living, housing, family, education of

children, friendliness and hospitality etc.

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– 13 –Learning together how to learn

Do not worry if you are still confused after your second or third tandemmeeting.The time you need to get to know each other, to find a workingroutine, and develop confidence may vary and depends on the partners.

You will notice that empathy is highly dependent on the atmosphere thetwo of you create. In a comfortable atmosphere you will gain theconfidence which is needed in order to overcome the fear of askingquestions or asking for explanations. Apart from the normal tandemmeetings, why not go on trips or have dinner together - this will intensifythe relationship.

When learning via the tandem method you will also be asked to observeand improve your own method and style of learning.You have to learn howto discover anything that might seem useful. Look for the methods andtricks that might help you to cope with particular language problems.

Talk to your tandem partner about your learning experiences and discussyour comments and ideas. Make use of difficulties or boredom byimproving your way of working and by looking for new issues and tasks. Ifyou have a difference of opinion it is best to be open about it. In any casethere are consultants ready to help you with any questions, problems, anddifficulties you might have. They are interested in your remarks andreports on the experience you have had with tandem.

tandem diaryeditors: Jürgen Wolff,Tandem Foundation Donostia/SanSebastian and Claudia Biemelt, Sonia Insam, Aldo Mazza,alpha beta Bozen-Meran, based on the research‘Sprachenlernen im direkten Kontakt – Auto-nomes Tandem in Südtirol’ by M. Rost-Rothtranslation: Cirsten CarlsonÓ 2002 Edizioni alpha beta Verlag, Merangraphics: Blauhaus, Bozen

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