Speaking practice: Information for Buddies

Of the current buddies we surveyed, all who responded would recommend joining the scheme as a buddy! The speaking practice scheme is an enjoyable way to meet new people and speak to students from different backgrounds from all around the world and share your language and culture with them. You will learn new skills (both from our training and by offering your speaking practice sessions) and it is satisfying to help others learn and develop their skills and confidence in speaking a foreign language. There is the added benefit of being able to add this to your CV and we provide buddies certificates both confirming the hours of the sessions you delivered and for your participation in our training session.

The role of a speaking practice buddy is to participate in 30min sessions with language learners to allow them the beneficial practice of speaking with a native speaker. You role is to listen, gently correct and encourage students to practice their spoken language skills and expose them to the way native speakers use language. The language learner is asked to bring content to practice and you will be given training on ideas to get/keep conversation going. Your role is not to teach, so you won't be expected to teach grammatical structures which are often difficult for native speakers to explain!

You need to be a native speaker of the language(s) you are offering and be able to commit to offering a regular time slot each week to participate in the scheme and current King's student or member of staff. The scheme runs either on campus (in the LRC) or online via MS Teams. Please consider how much time you are willing to offer - anything from 30mins per week is great and your participation is appreciated however many hours you are able to commit. For students, your studies should always take priority so just let us know if you need to change or reduce your availability.

We run a compulsory training with input from our experienced teaching team to ensure you have everything you need to run the sessions. LRC staff are on hand via email or MS Teams during working hours to answer any queries at language.resources@kcl.ac.uk.

Here are a few comments from a recent survey of our buddies: "[I enjoyed] teaching others my native language and meeting new people." "What I enjoyed most the opportunity to meet native peoples and learn about places in the world." And, importantly... "It was fun" :) Join them!

Have you read the above information? Becoming a Speaking Practice Buddy sounds interesting? If the answer is 'yes' to both questions then please register your interest using the link provided. The team will be in touch to invite you to the compulsory training once dates will be scheduled.

Register Your Interest form