Tips for online tandem meetings

Before the first meeting:

- Agree on which communication channels you will use (email, Skype, other video conferences, WhatsApp, Threema, Telegram, etc.)

With pictures or only with sound?

- Think about a few sentences to greet each other. What topics would you like to communicate with your tandem partner about? Do you want to train mainly oral communication or also writing?

- Prepare sentences for when you don't understand something, how to ask for clarification, how to ask to speak more slowly or louder, when the transmission quality is poor, when you don't agree with a suggestion made by your partner - and remain polite, etc.

The first meeting:

- Take some time to get used to the communication medium of your choice.

- Take about an hour at first, half of it for each language (reciprocity principle!)

- Do not choose controversial topics at first and pay attention to your partner's reactions. Especially with online communication - written and oral - misunderstandings can happen even more easily than with face2face communication.

- Structuring the meeting: At the beginning of a meeting you can summarise the topics from the last time by repeating structures, formulations and expressions - this way you "warm up" and consolidate your knowledge at the same time.

- Agree on how you will give each other feedback. Try different formats. Important: Make the feedback a topic, this is the only way to find an effective format.

- Take notes while your partner is speaking and go through the terms and expressions with him/her afterwards. This way, you will increase your vocabulary step by step. With the notes you also have a document that you can use the next time, e.g. to look something up.

- Planning the next meeting: Agree on the activities for the next time with your partner. Sometimes you deliberately don't prepare for a meeting and after the meeting you think: what happened? Was it fun? Was communication easy and relaxed, or did you sometimes have difficulties? What was the reason for that? Try out different strategies - and discuss them with your partner

- After the meeting: Give yourself homework: Write a text and send it to your partner asking for feedback. At the next meeting, discuss the points that are unclear to you.

More tips: Teletandem Brasil

Language learning in Tandem

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