Language learning mobile app Tandem is embracing the FIFA World Cup 2018 with the launch of Fanzone, a new feature that allows football/soccer aficionados to show their support for their national team and discuss the sport’s most important event of the year, all while continuing onward with their favorite hobby – improving their foreign language skills. The Berlin, Germany-based company is describing Fanzone as a real-time in-app stream that anyone with any interest in the Russia-hosted World Cup is invited to join, pick their team, and be presented with a number of conversation starters meant to be shared with other users of the same service.
Fanzone is hence a thematically apt and natural extension of Tandem’s broader philosophy – helping people learn languages by connecting them with other like-minded individuals that can both help them and benefit from their own assistance. The mobile app is hence effectively a cultural exchange service, providing users with the opportunity to learn their language of choice with support from native or fluent speakers. Fanzone is also launching alongside a competitive component – a Standings tab where Tandem’s users will be able to see which team is enjoying the most support on the language-oriented social media network. The German firm is hoping the new functionality will encourage its four million users to engage in conversations with one another even more often, with the learning aspect of the app likely being all the more effective when people are asked to discuss things they’re passionate about.
The Fanzone will be available to Tandem users in all parts of the world for the duration of the World Cup which is running from June 14 through July 15. The mobile app can be installed on most contemporary Android devices via the Google Play Store banner below, with its only hard requirement being Android 4.1 Jelly Bean or a later build of Google’s operating system.