Teletandem as a “third space” in the development of foreign language teachers

Abstract

Teletandem enables future teachers of foreign languages the intercultural contact with a foreigner. In this virtual synchronous space via webcam, a person teaches his/her own language, or learns the mother tongue or language of competence of his/her teletandem partner. In this article, we argue (a) that the teletandem can be considered as a third space or a hybrid technological context; and (b) that, in addition to developing oral competence in the target language, this context can provoke future teachers' reflections on the pedagogy of foreign languages. We argue that both characteristics facilitate the professional development of future language teachers. We aim to investigate: (a) how this online intercultural contact mobilizes the commitment of the future foreign language teacher with his/her own professional training, and (b) how mediation activities (that follow the teletandem interactions) function as triggers of reflective processes on teaching and on learning foreign languages. The study was based on a teletandem partnership between a Brazilian and a Mexican university. We adopted a critical qualitative approach to the analyses of audio-recordings of group mediation sessions in which future Portuguese/Spanish teachers participated. The results of the analyses describe the characteristics of the online intercultural contact via teletandem. Although well articulated by the teacher educator, they bring the potential of theorizing and of critical observation of the students' own actions as teachers of foreign languages who are engaged in the process of their professional development.