Requirements
Tandem Learning Programme is free of charge.The programme is aimed at all students/learners, aged above 16, who wish to develop their speaking proficiency in Portuguese or any other language.
Students must have been studying the target language for at least one year prior to participating in the TLP, even if they are not attending language lessons by the time they apply to the Tandem Learning Programme.
Technical requirements: Learners must have broadband Internet, computer with webcam and microphone and Flash Player installed.
How it works
Students will be paired by our staff after completion of the registration form here.The programme runs on FM EA-TEL, a free videoconferencing application, owned by The Open University, UK. Students meet-up for a 1-hour online session, twice a week. Each session is split in two halves: in the first half students speak in one of the target languages and in the second half they switch languages.
Each session is booked individually and the respective URL is sent to students by email with a suggested topic. The schedules are arranged between the two students, using Doodle, and then published on this page.
Students may drop out of the programme at any time, but if they attend at least 25 sessions they will receive a certificate of attendance. Read terms and conditions here
Security
All sessions are recorded. Only the convener and the participants of a session can replay the session by clicking on the URL provided. First sessions are attended by the convener (Ana Sousa Martins).What are the target languages?
A native speaker of Portuguese (European or Brazilian Portuguese) may choose any language he or she wishes. A non-native speaker of Portuguese must choose Portuguese as his or her target language.Why join in?
Learning a language requires a lot of effort and it is time-consuming. The moment you stop studying the language, you start losing it. Even if you are taking classes, your turn to speak, in a class context, is quite limited and it is mainly prompted by the teacher (indeed, as it should be!). However, if you were to add to your learning experience a chance to have a more extensive contact with a native speaker (or a highly proficient speaker), you would speed up your speaking-listening skills and increase your motivation.If you have any further questions please contact Ana Sousa Martins.