Sunday 26 September marks the European Day of Languages which regular blog readers will know we take as an excellent excuse to take a snapshot of the wide range of languages spoken by students and staff across our French modules at Stirling. Once again this year’s responses so far give a fantastic idea of just how diverse and multilingual our students (and colleagues!) are. More languages will be added, I’ve no doubt, but in the first instance we have speakers of: Greek, Norwegian, English, French, Latin, German, Farsi, Italian, Czech, Spanish, (Scots) Gaelic, Hungarian, Napoletano, Turkish, Arabic, Korean, Polish, Ladino, Kiswahili, Franconian, Bulgarian, Welsh, Russian, Valencian, Serbian…
To everyone who has replied so far, many thanks or: Ευχαριστώ, Takk skal du ha, thanks, merci, gratias tibi, danke schön, Motschakeram, grazie, Děkuji, gracias, Tapadh Leibh, Köszönöm, teşekkürler, شكرًا, 감사합니다, Dziękuję, de gra, asante sana, Dangschee, мерси, Diolch yn fawr, cпасибо, Gràcies, Hvala…
Ordinarily, at this point in the semester, we take the opportunity to welcome back our finalists, most of whom would usually have spent the previous semester on Study Abroad. We’re still really pleased to be welcoming them back, of course, but this year fewer of them are returning from time abroad. That said, as you’ll have gathered from posts over the past few weeks, they have, nevertheless, been undertaking Semesters Abroad online (in most cases). Every now and then, as restrictions have eased, some of them have found ways to visit our partner institutions in real life, as has been the case for Clemens who is entering Year 4 of our International Management and Intercultural Studies programme:
‘Last semester, I was very fortunate to attend Sciences Po in Paris for my semester abroad. However, it wasn’t quite as straightforward as that, as the semester abroad took place online, which meant I wasn’t in Paris, but instead sitting in front of my laptop in Stirling (something that was difficult to explain when I told people I was on my semester abroad – yes, I’m in Stirling, but not in Stirling).
Even though it was online, I was very lucky to choose any seminars I wanted, without fearing that I would miss out on something, as Sciences Po opted for online learning for the whole semester. The first seminars were a bit of a shock. I was sitting in front of my laptop and could not understand a word the tutor was saying, such was the speed of the conversation. I had to concentrate to be able to follow the class – or to at least understand roughly what was going on and after the first week, I had never felt this exhausted after a week of university seminars.
Luckily, my fear of not having the opportunity to speak the language and thus not being able to improve my language skills, did not materialize. All seminars included group work and a presentation, which meant that I was more or less forced to speak and present in front of the class, something that improved my speaking skills immensely. As the weeks went by, I noticed I was able to follow the class more easily and towards the end of the semester, I could even do other things whilst listening to the tutor. That for me, was a sign that the semester abroad was successful.
I also enjoyed the seminars very much. As a Politics geek, Sciences Po was the right place for me, as it is THE political university in France (the last four French Presidents attended Sciences Po). My seminars focused on political communication, elections, the European Union, and French newspapers, all of which I very much enjoyed and were right up my street. The seminars were also an inspiration for my independent research project, which I had to hand in at Stirling. My research focused on the depiction of the French commune by editorials of French newspapers of the time. I was able to put my French skills and the knowledge I had acquired over the course of the semester to good use for that project, which made me really happy.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed my semester abroad, some things obviously were missing. It was not the same as being in-person in Paris, which meant I missed out on all the things that come with a semester abroad beyond the academic side. In the grand scheme of things, this is a small nuisance and didn’t really worsen my experience of the semester abroad.
As I originally come from Stuttgart in Germany, I was actually able to visit Sciences Po this July to get a look and feel for the campus (and to stock up on Sciences Po branded stationery). Despite the circumstances it was a great semester abroad, as I learned a lot and was able to improve my French which I hope will come to good use now in my fourth year.’
Many, many thanks to Clemens for having sent through this great post and pictures, and we’re really pleased you managed to make it to Paris, even if it was after the actual Semester Abroad bit of the Spring. And welcome back!
We’re back! On est de retour ! Semester started up again on Monday 13 September at Stirling and all of us, in French at Stirling, are delighted to be welcoming our students back to campus and to be welcoming all the new students who are starting out with us, with around 130 students across our Beginners’ and Advanced Semester 1 modules. We’re back in the classrooms of Cottrell and Pathfoot for much of our teaching, getting used to some of the new technology (for those of us doing the teaching… many thanks to our very patient students!) and getting back into the swing of in-person learning and teaching.
It really is great to see our students again and we’re particularly pleased to also be welcoming students who are here on exchange, either for the semester or for the year, after an academic year where that was so complicated. We’re looking forward to getting to know them more as the semester progresses.
As ever, we’ll be trying to keep the blog updated on a reasonably regular basis, with news about all things French and Francophone at Stirling! If you’re a student (new or continuing) reading this and have ideas for possible articles, please do get in touch. We’re always happy to hear from new blog contributors.
In the meantime, though, welcome back and we’ll be back in touch again soon with more news!
Although, as you’ll have gathered from recent posts, experiences of Study Abroad have been very different for many students over the past 18 months or so, Study Abroad has still been happening. It’s just been taking different forms and not always involving physical travel abroad. However, we have been really pleased at Stirling to see our students finding ways of benefitting as much as possible from the opportunities that presented themselves. And it’s very much with that in mind that we’re delighted to be able to add the following article by Muirne, a Business Studies and French student who is about to enter her final year:
‘At the start of the summer, I participated in a summer school programme hosted by the EM Strasbourg Business School within the Université de Strasbourg. The course itself was very insightful and educational. Undeniably, it would have been more beneficial if the course had taken place in person and I had been able to visit the beautiful city of Strasbourg rather than solely complete the course online. Nevertheless, I was delighted to have the opportunity to take part in the course.
After hearing the devastating news that I was not able to complete my semester abroad to Perpignan, I tried my best to find another opportunity to study abroad as I was hopeful by the time the summer school was going to start, the COVID restrictions would have eased enough to permit travelling. I was thrilled when we were offered this summer school program, it looked optimistic especially as they had one month where they specified it would be in person. Clearly, sadly, this was not the case in the end but the course seemed perfect for me, since my degree at Stirling is in Business and French and it was fascinating to be able to get a better insight into international business while using French.
The course overall lasted about a month and it was rather intense with multiple classes every day during that month all lasting between 2-3 hours. Of course we had weekends off, although there was always something to be done for the classes, be it French homework or prep work for the other classes. Due to intense style of this summer school we were able to cover a lot of topics and I feel I learnt a substantial amount in such a short period of time.
Along the way through the course, I was able to make lots of new connections with people from across the globe. It was intriguing to learn more about each individual’s culture and country. This was done during the French classes where each person had 10 minutes to discuss their country and after was questioned about it. This helped to promote more natural and spontaneous responses. This was a great experience to build intercultural awareness and develop the ability to work in teams with people form multiple different cultures.
Unsurprisingly, although it was clear a lot of thought and planning went into the course, there is always room for improvement. It was challenging for everyone as this year was the first year it was available online and it is important to acknowledge that this did have some benefits for some, because it was a lot more accessible to those who would have not been able to travel over to France.
It was an eye-opening experience which I will be able to take with me into the world of work as it is something I would like to continue with. I would fully recommend this course to others looking to pursue a career in international business or to anyone who fancies trying something new for the summer. It is a great course for broadening your horizons and meeting new interesting people. And hopefully next time the summer school will be in person!’
Many thanks to Muirne for sending through this post. We’re pleased you were able to take this opportunity, despite the challenges of the year, and that you’re so positive about it as a potential avenue for future students. And, of course, we’re looking forward to welcoming you back to Stirling for the new semester!
As well as having an impact on our Stirling students’ experiences of Study Abroad, Covid also meant that, at least for us in French, we didn’t have the usual intake of a few French and Francophone exchange students we’ve enjoyed welcoming in previous years. We’re hoping to be able to do this again in the coming year but, in the meantime, we were delighted to hear from a former Erasmus exchange student, Julie, from our partners at Sciences Po. Julie spent a year at Stirling in 2018-19 and loved her time in Scotland so much that she’s coming back this year in a different guise!
‘I just graduated from a Master of Research in History from Sciences Po in Paris. I spent my year abroad at Stirling University. Coming to Scotland, I expected to fulfil my passion for Scottish history and enjoy the mysterious landscapes surrounding the city. However, as I have since learned, this country had so much more to offer. You can imagine my surprise, for example, when I got the opportunity to lead French conversations at the French department. My teaching experience was limited to basic French lessons that I gave to political refugees in Paris with a wonderful association, but it was in Stirling that I really discovered my interest in teaching at university level. Despite being the teacher, I was probably the one who learned the most during that year. As a student in History, I always loved to study not only other countries but also my own and to share this knowledge to anyone interested in our culture. Our quirks, heritage, our diversity.
My aim was to make students speak spontaneously about every subject with informal conversations. However, encouraging natural conversations is not an easy task, especially in a foreign language. I was faced with two main challenges. The first one was the age difference among the students. I was amazed that the students’ ages could range from 17 to 60 years old. This inspired me to adapt my methods and address issues that everyone could relate to. The second challenge was tackling the shyness of the students and encouraging them to speak. To achieve this, I attempted to set up a tolerant environment and go beyond the formal framework of the class. In order to overcome these barriers to exchange with each other, I found games particularly useful. It was an effective tool to get everyone involved, regardless of age or level of the student. During these games, they were more relaxed and had casual conversations with each other. They were able to talk about their life using complex structure and vocabulary. Adapting my methods to each class, taught me how to become a better professor and to answer the needs of the students more adequately. One moment in particular made me realize that I would love to teach as a career. One day a student came to see me at the end of the class and told me that she had a really bad day. I offered to talk about it with her, but she answered that the class already cheered her up. I discovered that a tutor could have a real impact on a student life and could care deeply about their problems.
I returned to Paris after my year in Stirling and completed my Master’s with a specialization in Scottish history. During my year abroad in Stirling, I fell in love with the country, its people, its heritage. This year, I applied for a Phd in few Scottish cities, determined to settle in. Unfortunately, I did not get a scholarship but I was offered the chance to be language assistant at the University of St Andrews. The experience I built at Stirling University will be very useful for the position. I strongly intend to reapply my Stirling experience to this new adventure. Although I will teach French to advanced students, I already know they are quite passionate about food and French peculiarities. I will devote an important part of my lessons to these topics but I’ll also teach them the ‘right’ pronunciation of the words… with a Toulouse accent of course!
In this strange world, I feel very lucky to come back to Scotland. I’m grateful for my experience in Stirling and can only hope that my students at St Andrews will be as nice as the ones I encountered in Stirling.’
Many, many thanks to Julie for finding the time to send through this blog post. We’re delighted to hear that your time at Stirling made such an impact on you and that you’ve found a way to come back to Scotland. Your work on the informal conversation sessions was very much appreciated by staff and students and we’ve no doubt you’ll do an excellent job at St Andrews too. We look forward to hearing all about it!
French at Stirling 
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