The Berkeley Language Center
Cordially Invites You to the Upcoming Meeting of Its
Found in Translation (FIT) Working Group
Does the European Tandem Language Learning Model still Apply in our Global Age?
CLAIRE TARDIEU
Lecturer, Department of English, Sorbonne Nouvelle University
CÉLINE HORGUES
Senior Lecturer, Department of English, Sorbonne Nouvelle University
Friday, April 19, 2019
12-1 pm in B-4 Dwinelle Hall
The word “tandem” doesn’t only evoke “a two-seater bicycle on which two people pedal in partnership with one another headed in the same direction”, as Claire Kramsch and Zhu Hua recall in their preface to Claire Tardieu and Celine Horgues’s forthcoming book on Redefining Tandem Language and Culture Learning in Higher Education (Routledge). Indeed, to second language teachers and researchers, especially in Europe but also in other parts of the world, it also means a less institutionalized form of language and culture learning set by the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ) in the aftermath of the Second World War. Based on three main principles: autonomy, reciprocity, and nativeness, tandem learning entailed a commitment from a pair of learners to share their respective native language and culture with their partners. This talk will aim to elucidate the various ways those challenged by the increasingly complex issue of language learning can rely on a more flexible model and adapt it to the unique context of their higher education institutions.
ABOUT FIT:
We are a growing group of U.C. Berkeley community members interested in language, culture and cross-cultural communication. We invite you to join us!
Refreshments and discussion to follow. Questions: Contact Elyse Ritchey elyseanneritchey@berkeley.edu and Vesna Rodic vrodic@berkeley.edu