The UPatras Buddies’ Role
The buddies’ role in the Greek in Greece (GinG) program is double. They act both as personal tutors and as local students who will facilitate international students during their stay.
On the one hand, as far as their role as personal tutors is concerned, the buddies are required to work closely with small groups of international students to facilitate the language learning process under the supervision of the course instructor. In particular, they are expected to attend the Modern Greek Course daily so as to assist both as native speakers and graduate philologists the international students with the intensive language acquisition process. They will help foreign students to better deal with in classroom assigned group activities concerning reading, speaking, listening and writing skills following the instructor’s advice. Each buddy-tutor will be responsible for helping 2 to 3 international students and explaining lexical, grammatical or syntactical phenomena at an interpersonal level during the 2nd class hour following the analysis of phenomena /texts by the instructor during the 1st class hour.
The buddies’ role as personal tutors will also extend beyond classroom as they are required to help with linguistic issues for an extra two hours per week. In this respect, they are expected to help 2 to 3 foreign students by answering questions concerning Modern Greek that may arise after revisions or as the level of linguistic engagement progressively develops every week. They will also accompany students at weekend excursions so as to facilitate and enjoy the in situ experiencing of the continuity of Greek language.
On the other hand, buddies will act as local students with small administrative skills as they will help international students to better deal with everyday life in Patras. They know the city, they know how the university works and they know the best places to go for fun. They will help students settle in and join all the fun activities offered.
In particular, they will introduce students to the neighbourhood and the facilities around Castelo hotel, they will get students acquainted with public transportation suggesting the best alternatives for each itinerary. They will also introduce the international students to the UPatras campus life and activities (gym, library, cultural center). They will inform students about nice places to hang out in Patras (e.g. different types of beaches, restaurants where they can eat at lower prices at the display of their student card/cafes where they can read with friends/ nightlife spots). Buddies will be the Ohio Students’ first friends at Greece helping them to get in touch with the Greek culture from the perspective of the local resident.