Exciting view from the outside

Learning with and from each other - that is the principle of a language tandem. Whether grammar, pronunciation or questions about culture - with their personal language coach, students Sarah Sorsch and Jeremy Turner get answers to almost all their questions.

He comes from a sparsely populated country where there are lots of kangaroos, platypuses and even more surfers. She, on the other hand, is tidy, punctual and loves sauerkraut. It's clear that these are all stereotypes. Nevertheless, the exchange student from Armidale in Australia and the biology student from Oldenburg have realised that cultural differences always play a role in language learning.

The two meet regularly to learn German and English. They chat about their studies or talk about their free time. "If I notice something strange in everyday life, I can just ask Sarah," explains Jeremy, who is studying German and history. For example, there are idioms in German that don't even exist in English.

"His often unusual questions also teach me a lot about my own culture," says Sarah. This view from the outside is very exciting and instructive. They record their experiences in a joint blog and exchange ideas with other language tandems at Language Centre workshops.

"We're mainly interested in active speaking," explains Sarah. This was often neglected at school and a sound knowledge of English is a prerequisite for university. When learning together, the two follow a very simple rule: first let the other person speak and only then correct them. "This has given me more language training than any language course I've attended before," says Jeremy.

He particularly likes the fact that he can ask questions at any time. Just recently, he realised that there is always pork in the canteen but almost never beef. "Why do Germans eat so much pork? We eat a lot more beef in Australia," he says. "Sometimes I just don't have the right answer," Sarah reveals and has to laugh. Eating pork is probably just typically German.