The project is designed as a 24-hour language and culture exchange between pairs, involving an Italian native speaker and a person with another native language.

12 hours of conversation will be conducted in Italian + 12 hours in a foreign language.

During the project application phase:

• Italian native speakers are invited to specify the foreign language they wish to practice with a native speaker of that language.
• Italian non-native speakers are invited to specify their native language or the languages they speak fluently (minimum C1 CEFR level) for the exchange with an Italian native speaker.

The key elements of the tandem project are autonomy and flexibility.

Participants:

• can autonomously and flexibly arrange how often to meet and whether to meet in person or online (to complete the 24-hour exchange required by the project, we recommend organizing regular 2-hour meetings per week, dedicating half the time to one native language and the other half to the other native language);
• can autonomously and flexibly set learning objectives and the topics of the conversations;
• need to track their goals and activities, as well as the topics of the conversations, recording them in an online diary at the end of each meeting;
• take an online quiz at the beginning and at the end of the Project as a self-assessment exercise of the participant's progress.

The tandem project is scheduled for the first and second semesters of each academic year.

Participants have five months to complete the 24-hour exchange:

• First semester, academic year 2023/24 – from October 17, 2023, to February 17, 2024 (registration from September 18, 2023, to October 6, 2023)
• Second semester, academic year 2023/24 – from March 19, 2024, to July 19, 2024 (registration from February 19, 2024, to March 8, 2024)

Upon completing all 24 hours, the 12 diaries of the meetings, and the 2 quizzes you can apply for an Open Digital Badge (ODB) certifying the success of the Tandem project.

ODBs are digital credentials consisting of a graphical part and metadata, indicating the acquired competence, the verification method used, the issuer, and the recipient's identity. They can be easily exported to social platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and websites, allowing the bearer to showcase their skills more prominently.

The project is open to everybody: currently enrolled students in degree, master's, and doctoral programs, students participating in international exchange programs, and University staff. Students of Italian Language not affiliated with the University of Trento can also participate in the project.

For effective language exchange, participants should have at least a basic understanding of the language they intend to practice and learn (we recommend an A2 CEFR level). In general, a language proficiency level that enables simple communication and comprehension of basic conversations is a good starting point.