The Tandem program is a ‘peer to peer’ language exchange program.
The program was launched in 2013 between Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan (UCSC) and Emmanuel College in Boston and is currently running.
Aims and objectives
The objective of the Tandem Project is to give UCSC International registered English language course students, and Emmanuel College Italian language students the opportunity to converse with peers in the language that they are studying with the aim of creating realistic situations whereby students may develop their language skills in areas which are useful to them.
How the Tandem works
1. The project is open to all UCSC International students preparing for international certification and Emmanuel students enrolled in Intermediate and advanced language courses.
2. Participating students are expected to have access to Skype to facilitate the Tandem.
3. During the first contact conversation, the tandem partners agree a timetable for regular language exchange, taking into account the time difference and the commitments of their partner.
5. Students agree to a minimum of 6 exchange sessions of 1 hours (at least 30 minutes of conversation in Italian and 30 minutes of conversation in English) Students may obviously contact each other as often as they wish over and above the minimum hours of language exchange.
6. The following is a guide to essential subject matter to be covered in the 6 conversations. (The topics are the themes of the six units of L’Italia sui giornali)
a. Vivere all’italiana – Living the American way
b. School and university in Italy / the USA
c. Changes in language and culture
d. The world of sport / young people and employment
e. Family and society
f. Emigration / immigration
This page on the website is designed to host comments of students on the tandem experience.
The links below are a sample of original texts written by students at Emmanuel College.
— Deanna e Elisa, resoconto degli incontri
— Vanessa e Giulia, primo incontro