Spain, Colombia, Sicily… and back to Stirling again

Yesterday’s blog catch-up came from Erin who graduated earlier this year with a BA Hons in French and is now at the end of the first semester her MSc in International Conflict and Cooperation with us. Today, another opportunity to catch-up with one of our graduates but this time someone who has been away from Stirling for much longer. David graduated in 2017, with a BA Hons in French and Spanish, and has been a regular blog contributor over the years (we’ll link to some of his previous posts in this update so you can read more about his adventures). From January, he’ll be back in Stirling, starting his PhD under the supervision of Fiona Barclay:

“Last time I posted something on here was at the start of the global Covid-19 pandemic, when I had to return to Paris from Glasgow, to finish up my PGDE and graduate online – a very strange reality in which I started teaching in August 2020. After three years of teaching full time, I decided to return to studying and complete a PhD at the University of Stirling, almost 10 years after having left! Let me just rewind a little.

Born and raised in Paris, I was always attracted to living in Scotland as I used to go there regularly as a child (I am getting old…) to visit family. Scotland was always, and still is, renowned for its innovative, modern and forward-looking approach to higher education. I chose to attend the University of Stirling from 2013 as I would have had the opportunity to become a dual-qualified language teacher in just four years. However, the course was under review (it is now very much still in existence!) and I ended up graduating with an honours degree in French and Spanish. During my second year at Stirling, I was asked if I would be interested in completing a PhD after graduating. While I was flattered that I had been asked, I was quite taken aback, as I did not feel that I had the skills or knowledge… I had imposter syndrome! Thus, I declined the offer and focused on my undergraduate studies (although I did sometimes think “what if..?”).

However, during my third year at university, I was able to live, study and work in Spain for a full academic year as part the Erasmus+ programme and this is where I found a renewed passion for language learning but also academia as I had the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects in Spanish: sociolinguistics, heritage conservation as well as mythology! From then on in, I was hooked.

Upon graduating, I decided to work abroad in Colombia as part of the British Council language assistantship programme. To optimise my chances of being selected, I ticked the “send me anywhere” box. I was chosen to teach at a university in the coffee region of Colombia and it was life-changing from an academic point of view: I was treated like a university lecturer although I was only 21 years old and had only graduated one month previously! I discovered the research side of teaching and was given the opportunity to research and improve my teaching through interdisciplinary academic discussions, collaboration and conferences. 

Nevertheless, I was still sceptical about my academic ability and wanted to see if I could perhaps gain more experience as a secondary school teacher to, not only challenge myself further from a teaching standpoint, but also apply the skills I had learnt in Colombia while simultaneously developing my own interpersonal skills through my own language learning. So I applied for a second year as a language assistant to work and live in Italy. Once again, I ticked the “send me anywhere” box and was sent to… Sicily! I taught in two local high schools there and, while I did not speak a word of Italian when I first arrived, after a few months my Spanish slowly turned into Italian (including a bit of Sicilian slang apparently, unbeknownst to me!). Having studied at the University of Catania to improve my grammar, I then came back to Scotland, confident that I was ready to teach at high school level (although higher education had been at the back of my mind since Colombia…). 

My PGDE year was interrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic which is when I first experienced the advantages and challenges of online teaching as both a student and a teacher! As a newly qualified teacher applying for my probationary year I could choose 5 different local authorities and as an international student I did not have a specific school in mind. I therefore ticked the “anywhere” box (does that sound familiar?), hoping to go somewhere new and ironically I was appointed to a school in the southside of Glasgow – I did not even have to change flat!

There were no permanent posts available at the end of my year teaching at St. Ninian’s and so I applied to several schools across Scotland. It was a very stressful time as I was in competition with my PGDE peers as well as teachers with a significant amount of experience. There are an incredible number of social codes and professional expectations which teacher training does not prepare you for! Indeed, interviewing is a skill in itself, regardless of one’s teaching ability. 

After a few awkward online interviews and Q&A sessions, I was offered a permanent position at Lomond School in Helensburgh. There, I was able to further develop my teaching while also completing my provisional registration in Italian by following an evening course at the University of Strathclyde. However, I missed academia and research. Thus, I decided to complete my Masters in Education while teaching full-time. After lots of coffee, complaining and maybe two (or three?) late nights, I submitted my thesis, expecting the worst! 

One month later, I received a notification informing me that I had been awarded a first class in my thesis and the University of Glasgow asked me if I would be interested in publishing it. I think that publishing my masters was a key moment last year for me as it enabled me to shake off the imposter syndrome which I tend to carry around with me! 

Finally, I was invited this year to apply for a PhD at the University of Stirling, in collaboration with the language organisation SCILT, to investigate the effect of the 1+2 Initiative on language uptake. I was delighted when I was selected and while it is strange to think that I will be leaving teaching in December, I am looking forward to returning to the University of Stirling where I was first introduced to Higher Education and challenged academically.”

Many thanks to David for having found the time to send us this blog post – we’re looking forward to welcoming you back in the New Year!

2023 Finalists and their plans

This week our fabulous finalists become our fabulous graduates and, as well as congratulating them all on their achievements over the past few years, we also wanted to give you a sense of the range of plans they have for the months and years ahead. So, in no particular order, and with others to be added into the mix over the coming days …

Lauren, who’ll be graduating with a BA Hons in French with Spanish and Professional Education is about  to start her probation year teaching French and Spanish in secondary schools. She’s due to find out where she’ll be teaching in the next couple of weeks and, after 5 years at university (and being the student for 20+ years!), is excited to start! And Ewan, who is graduating with a BA Hons in French and Spanish, and who spent time in Quebec during his studies (merci pour les photos!), plans to take a year out of education, and then to go to Montreal next year to study a masters in translation from English to French. He is looking into deferring the offer he has received until next year in order to be able to work and save some money before he goes over there.

Emma, who has just completed her BA Hons in International Management with European Languages and Society has just found out that she has been accepted on the British Council English Language Assistantship scheme for a placement in Spain. When she comes back, she’s thinking of going on to do a postgrad course in secondary teaching for languages. And Nela, who’ll also be graduating with a BA Hons in International Management with European Languages and Society is off to undertake a 7-month residential programme at the Isha Yoga Centre in India. She’ll be doing daily sadhana and volunteering in exchange, hopefully translating some of the Sadhguru’s teachings into French. As for Eden, who is graduating with a BA Hons in French, she’ll be working as a waitress at Taymouth Marina Resort for the next year to save up money for some Marine qualifications and then plans to work as a deckhand on superyachts in the Mediterranean, hopefully based in France.

Jannie has just finished her BA Hons in Psychology and a European Language with us is planning to head to Strathclyde Uni on the master’s for organizational and work psychology. Before then, this summer, she will be travelling, visiting her friends across Europe, and working back home in Denmark. And Beth, who will be graduating with a BA Hons in French and Spanish, has been accepted for the MA Translation and Cultures at Warwick for the coming academic year. Beth is waiting to see if she has been successful in getting a scholarship and, if she has, then she’ll be Warwick-bound! Until then, she’ll be working in an inn on Mull to earn money before moving down south.

Many, many thanks to all our soon-to-be graduates for having got back to us with all this information about their plans. We wish you all the very best for the future and have thoroughly enjoyed teaching you all throughout your degree! Enjoy your graduation ceremony and do keep in touch. And, if you happen to be reading this as a finalist and haven’t had a chance to get back to us yet, please do drop us an email and we’ll very gladly add your plans into the mix. Mainly, though, félicitations à toutes et à tous!!

Saying goodbye to colleagues

Last Friday members of the French programme met to mark the end of Dr Ashley Harris‘s time at Stirling. Ashley arrived in Stirling in July 2022 to take up a role as Postdoctoral Research Fellow on Fiona Barclay‘s AHRC Follow-on Funding ‘Remembering Empire‘ project. She has previously worked at the University of Surrey, where she was a Teaching Fellow in French Studies, and at Queen’s University Belfast, where she lectured for three years following the completion of her PhD there.

At Belfast Ashley was the recruitment lead for French, including schools outreach and event organisation. That experience stood her in good stead on ‘Remembering Empire’, where the project team created and delivered two new courses to pupils of different ages across seven schools. Ashley also worked with our six wonderful student mentors and, with schools across Stirling and Glasgow, she did plenty of travelling!

As well as working on ‘Remembering Empire’, Ashley supported the French team at Stirling, teaching our first and second year language and culture modules, as well as supervising research projects and examining in oral language assessments. In April we had the chance to hear about her research on the ‘media author’, when she talked about her work on French authors Virginie Despentes, Michel Houellebecq and Frédéric Beigbeder at one of the Division of Literature and Language’s research seminars.

Ashley is leaving us to work on completing a book based on her research. We’re sorry to see her go but can’t wait to read it!

Come and do a PhD with us!

We’re delighted to announce that Fiona Barclay has been successful in securing funding for a PhD student to carry out the first evaluation of the Scottish Government’s 1+2 languages policy. Fully funded through the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities‘ Collaborative Doctoral Award scheme, the successful student will be supervised by Fiona and colleagues at Glasgow University’s School of Education, in collaboration with SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages. 

This is an exceptional opportunity for a strong PhD student to make an important contribution to knowledge about Scotland’s evolving languages landscape and we warmly encourage applications from candidates with a grounding in areas related to languages and education.

The award is available on a full-time basis for a period of 3 years and 6 months, from 1^st October 2023 until 31^st March 2027. It includes an annual stipend of £18,622, plus a CDA allowance of £600 towards travel costs to the partner organisation. The successful applicant may also apply for additional funding directly from SGSAH to attend conferences and undertake additional skills development.

If this sounds like you, please see the advert for full details. And get your applications in quickly – the deadline is 5 June 2023!

Language Learning: Logical or Ludicrous?

As we reach the mid-semester point at Stirling, it seems like a good time for a new series of profiles of our students. As regular blog readers will know, we have students who start with us as Beginners and others who come to us with a secondary school qualification and who join our Advanced stream. We have students on our Single Honours programme and others doing French alongside another subject or subjects, everything from English to Psychology via Business Studies, Education and Law. And we have others who study French with us for a few semesters, not as part of their core degree focus but to develop their language skills and cultural awareness. And, as you’ll see through the profile posts that’ll go up over the coming couple of weeks, our students are a fascinating, diverse, international and enthusiastic group of individuals!

We’re really pleased to start this series of posts with an article by Kirstin who is studying Law at Stirling and has picked up French modules in her 2^nd year:

“Initially, I thought picking up a language that I had never studied before was an absolutely terrible idea. I had no prior knowledge of French, its origins, its culture, nothing. The only French I had ever spoken was an occasional sarcastic “au revoir!” on the phone to my friends. It was something that I hadn’t considered incorporating into my degree, until the option came up the day I had to pick my modules.

The selection was vast, but my interest was limited. A lot of the modules focused on business or mathematics, topics which I was more than happy to put behind me in high school. I looked at the content and method of assessment and, whilst being slightly traumatised by the thought of taking another speaking exam, decided to investigate further.

As a law student, I figured that I had enough on my plate as it was. I didn’t have the time to sit down and learn a completely new language and conjugate verbs whilst trying to understand and apply Scots law in my other studies. Despite this, the more I researched careers in the law profession, the more apparent it became that a language was a vital component in order to practise internationally. I didn’t and still don’t know which field of law I want to practise in, but being able to speak more than one language significantly increased my chances of being considered for commendable roles in the international sector of law.

For French, most companies required a minimum B1 qualification in the language. As certified by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, this ultimately means that the language can be spoken without too much strain for the learner or native speaker. They are able to communicate spontaneously about a range of topics and participate in everyday conversation. Seems easier said than done! This was daunting to read at the time. Nevertheless, it was something to work towards, and whilst I knew that I wouldn’t achieve this straightaway, the opportunity to try was there and I knew I would be disappointed if I didn’t. So, after much deliberation I concluded that I would, in fact, try. I reinstalled Duolingo (we all know how that ends), ordered my textbooks and prepared for my first seminar.

The class went okay, I was relieved that we were all on the same level in that we were all starting from the bottom of the ladder. I am aware that it was an introductory module I had signed up for, but even so, the thought of being the one who knew the least was a prevalent one. They were easy to follow and steady paced, a lot of revision took place of the previous weeks’ content, which I was very thankful for! The classes themselves are certainly far better than those I had in school, due to their independent nature. As valuable as the teachers are, I found it a lot easier to ask questions about my own study as opposed to the entire group’s, a common trait found in secondary classroom learning. There is definitely a difference in attitude towards language learning at university, the teacher is an asset, a tool to your own independent study. They are not relied on for spoon-feeding purposes. While they are beneficial in providing support, much of the learning is individual. It is up to yourself to choose to learn the grammar, practise pronunciation and generally do the work.

As the weeks proceeded, I found learning French was more of a hobby than necessity to my degree. It was an enjoyable process which I used as a wind-down from other study. I wanted to learn more and work harder, not because I was told to, but because I enjoyed the problem solving and challenging nature of the course. The best way to explain it is that it felt like I was working a different part of my brain, I didn’t have to worry about the legality of irregular verbs, just learn them. It must be noted that an accelerated course is not something that can be achieved easily, there is a certain level of commitment that must be sustained. But, in keeping up with the classes and staying on top of the work, it is rewarding. 

It is easier to say all of these things than demonstrate them of course, everyone has moments where they don’t understand and want to quit. I think overall learning a language is something to keep chipping away at. It will be frustrating and some things will be forgotten now and again, I myself am terrible at pronouncing consonants, but it is something that I want to work at and improve. If nothing else, it is important to keep an open mind and take it easy on yourself when mistakes are made, and learn from them. If all of that fails, the image of myself strolling through the streets of Marseille and ordering coffee like a pro is a pretty good incentive to keep at it.

So, to answer the question in the title, logical or ludicrous? Both! It will get me where I need to be, it is a life skill and a potential asset to my future career. It is also a lot of work, extra stress and ultimately, effort. But! It is invaluable professionally and socially, and I couldn’t be gladder that I started.”

Many, many thanks to Kirstin for taking the time to write this post and we hope you enjoy the rest of your time studying French with us, and are able to put your language skills to good use in your future career!

Thoughts of a future teacher: “Le français, l’éducation et moi”

Following on from Emma’s tales of life as an English Language Assistant in Rouen yesterday, we’re really pleased to be able to post more language teaching-related thoughts, this time from Michael who is in Year 3 of a degree in Primary Education and Modern Languages at Stirling:

“With my fourth and final year drawing ever closer, I’m grateful for this unexpected opportunity to reflect on my time at the University of Stirling and the time I have spent on my French studies.

As per the demands of my particular degree combination (Primary Education with a specialism in French as a modern language), I have already completed my last French module and will no longer be actively studying Francophone topics at the university. Yet it would not be an overstatement to say that, over the course of three years, I have learned an awful lot more than I had maybe expected in 2018!

From the very early days of the first République française and the values that went on to shape modern French society… to France’s position in the turbulent Twentieth Century and its global influence on people and politics… and on to discussions of memory and remembering in the present day – especially regarding the ongoing impact of European colonialism. And not to mention learning how to speak and write in fluent French!

(Sometimes I still get tied up in knots when it comes to grammar.)

In this extended exploration of French language and culture, a few events have been particularly memorable. In 2019, during my second year, I attended a languages evening held by the French and Spanish departments, where I had the pleasure of being introduced to the then-Senegalese Ambassador to the UK, Cheikh Ahmadou Dieng and his wife, Nabou. The Ambassador spoke of his time in the UK and abroad, and the importance of language in his official capacity and to him, personally. While we all had the opportunity to speak a bit ourselves, they were most definitely the guests of honour!

I was also part of a group of Stirling’s Language Ambassadors who visited third years at Williamwood High School in Glasgow to talk about studying languages at Stirling and the pathways languages graduates can follow. This stands out in my memory given its continuing relevance to me as a student teacher.

In 2020, despite the obstacles posed by the coronavirus, I had the amazing opportunity to spend six months working as a language assistant in a primary school in a town called Saint Quentin in the Picardy region of northern France. Due to the wave of new cases at the time, there were unfortunately strict limitations on how much I could do and how far I could travel – I only left the town four times in the whole six months! On the other hand, I was able to get a real taste of the culture and heritage of the town and its environs. It was a uniquely unforgettable experience and, looking back, I think I grew up a lot. I also gained six months of invaluable classroom experience and my French came on by leaps and bounds as well!

As a 21^st-Century teacher in an increasingly globalised world, I have to foster a love of languages and learning languages in my pupils and encourage them to see the value that knowing multiple languages can have. The Scottish Government’s 1 + 2 Languages policy has now been implemented in all Scottish schools, emulating a similar policy in the EU. Through this scheme, all children have the opportunity to learn a modern language from Primary 1 onwards, and an additional modern language starting from P5, until the end of broad general education in S3. It is thus essential that teachers themselves – especially in primary schools – can confidently teach at least one modern language and motivate children to learn additional languages and to learn about other cultures.

As one such future teacher, I hope that I can draw on my own passion and experiences to inspire a love of French and language-learning in my pupils. Perhaps one day they will be part of the next generation of modern languages students at the University of Stirling!”

Many, many thanks to Michael for this brilliant post and for the fantastic accompanying illustrations! We wish you all the best for the rest of your degree and for your future as a 21st-century teacher promoting the value of languages for everyone, from primary school onwards.

2021 Finalists and their Plans

As we may have mentioned once or twice on the blog, this has been an incredibly challenging year in so many ways and for so many people. For our finalists, whose semesters abroad were interrupted by Covid, it has meant that they weren’t able to return to campus from those semesters to exchange tales of their travels with their friends and to settle into their final year of undergraduate studies. Instead, it has been a year of online classes, online assessments, online feedback sessions and so on.

In light of such difficult and strange circumstances, we have all been impressed by the commitment, engagement and good humour with which our finalists have approached this year. With all that in mind, it has been particularly lovely to hear back from so many of those finalists in response to our traditional request for info about plans for life after graduation. Regular blog readers will doubtless have followed these posts from year to year and it’s great to see the same diversity of plans and the same enthusiasm for the months and years ahead from this year’s graduating cohort. As ever, we wanted to share their plans with you (with their permission!) so, in no particular order, and with some longer individual posts to follow, here goes…

Victoria, who has just completed her BA Hons in International Politics and Languages, has accepted a conditional offer at the University of Edinburgh to continue her studies with an MSc in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. She also intends to continue learning Arabic and to do an internship in Morocco next summer to investigate the field of Gender Studies in North Africa more fully. Scott, whose BA Hons was in French and Spanish, is also building on his interests in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies and looking for a range of academic fields to investigate in preparation for a planned Master’s. If Covid and the Foreign Office allow it, he’s hoping to be in either Iran or Tajikistan this time next year conducting some kind of area research, much like what he was able to do during his semester abroad.

Like Victoria, Lochlann has also just completed his degree in International Politics and Languages and is planning to move to Edinburgh but is hoping to manage to spend some more time abroad as he thinks about possible postgraduate studies. Having done a Combined Honours programme, he’s interested in a Master’s in either Translation or International Relations further down the line. And postgraduate study is also on the horizon for Emily, who has completed her BA Hons in French and History, and who is planning a summer of part-time work and free-lance translation before starting her Master’s in Publishing at Edinburgh Napier in the Autumn.

As for Julia, who is graduating with a BA Hons in French, during her Semester Abroad at Université de Tours in the Val-de-Loire region in central France, she had the opportunity to take informal conversation classes with French students who were studying medicine. This really sparked her interest in teaching English abroad so she has accepted an offer to study an MSc TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) closer to home at the University of Glasgow. Teaching is also on the horizon for some of our other finalists and, as ever, those teaching plans take different forms. Callan, for example, who has just successfully completed his BA Hons in French with Spanish and Professional Education, is off to the Scottish Borders in the Autumn for his probationary year as a secondary school languages teacher. And Stuart, who has just finished his BA Hons in French and Spanish, is planning to spend a year as an English Language Assistant in Spain (he previously spent a year in Quebec as an ELA) before undertaking a postgraduate qualification in teaching, hopefully in France. Nathan, who has just finished his BA Hons in French with us, is taking a gap year in the first instance and then has his sights set on time in Strasbourg, CELTA qualifications and perhaps a career in teaching further down the line. And, Christina, who has completed her degree in Modern Languages and Business Studies, is also taking a year out before undertaking a postgraduate qualification in Education and TESOL, and hoping very much that travel will be possible again soon.

Natasha, who has just completed her BA Hons in International Management with European Languages and Society, has managed to spend some much-needed time traveling and exploring the Scottish Highlands before leaving the UK. She is currently spending a month in Andalucía (Spain) where she is putting her language skills to the test. In July, she will temporarily return to her family home in Germany where she plans to continue the job application process, get vaccinated, and consider returning to a summer option/opportunity in Switzerland. In terms of longer-term work plans, like others in our graduating cohort, she has TESOL on her mind but she is primarily focused on working in a Marketing or Communications role wherever the wind takes her. 

And then there’s Paige, who has just finished her BA Hons in English Studies and French: ‘I started studying English Studies and Secondary Education at Stirling University before changing to English and French after thoroughly enjoying studying French as an additional module in first year. I was particularly excited about the opportunities in France and French-speaking countries that studying French would give me, especially the opportunity to live and work in France as an English Language Assistant for a year with the British Council. As a future teacher I knew the classroom experience would be invaluable and this opportunity would even allow me to see if teaching is the right career path for me. Now that I’ve finished my degree, I’ll be studying to become a Secondary school English teacher. However, after my experience of French at Stirling and particularly due to my experience as an English Language Assistant, I plan to teach English as a foreign language in France in the future (instead of teaching English literature in Scotland/ an English-speaking country). Working as an English Language Assistant has given me the desire to teach English in other countries such as Japan, China, Vietnam… before returning to settle in France: my second home. I can’t wait to qualify as an English teacher and I’m excited for my next chapter!’

Cameron, who studied French with Spanish and Education at Stirling, really enjoyed his time abroad in third year, which he spent living and working in a small Spanish town and then travelling around French-speaking countries in Europe (including France, Monaco, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Belgium.) When the pandemic passes, he’d really love ‘to live and work abroad again as it was such an enriching experience.’ As he says: ‘I suppose that explains why my plans for next year include staying on at university to study a subject related to languages: I’ve applied for an MA in Translation and Conference Interpreting at the University of Leeds, as I really enjoyed studying translation in my last two years of university and I’d love to learn a lot more about interpreting. I’m not sure what the future holds after that, but I’ll be taking it step by step.’

And Adriana, whose degree is in Business Studies and French, is planning to work in Gibraltar, hopefully in an area related to event production or similar, but more generally in a post that will allow her to develop her professional experience in Business or Management. She’s planning to do that for the next year or so with a view to then doing a Master’s in Event Organisation – ideally in a country she hasn’t lived in before – to be able to work as part of an event company.

We’re looking forward to adding to this list of plans over the coming days and weeks and, above all, we wish all of our graduates the very best in all their endeavours and we look forward to hearing from them over the months and years ahead!

Reflecting and looking forward…

And following on from Nela’s post about her Stirling journey, as promised, an equally great post from Charlotte who graduated last June in French and Spanish and who reflects here on the year that has just gone by and the year that lies ahead:

‘Looking back on 2020, as a whole, it has been a rollercoaster! In January, I started my final semester of my French and Spanish degree, not quite knowing where it was going to take me yet. In my head at the time, I had been more focused on postgraduate applications, graduation, and grad ball.

Final semester was in full swing and as we know, the last few weeks weren’t as we thought they were going to be. The day after the University announced its closure, I packed up my things from my Stirling flat and went back up to Inverness to complete my first experience of ‘virtual learning’, which I think we can all agree isn’t the easiest thing to do! 

Nevertheless, Uni finished, I completely exceeded my expectations of myself with my degree award and I had accepted my place at The University of Highlands and Islands to complete my PGDE in Primary Education. I had always gone back to the idea of becoming a Primary Teacher, but when originally applying for university in 2014, it had never crossed my mind to go straight into it. In my head I wanted to go to University to study something non-career specific and something I felt passionate about which was French and Spanish. If I wanted to become a teacher by the end of it, I could do it as a postgraduate.  

I am so glad I took this route. Studying French and Spanish gave me so many tools and transferable skills that have been indispensable and so useful for my journey to becoming a teacher. The biggest learning curves definitely came during my year as an English Language Assistant in Spain through the way it helped me grow my confidence and my love for teaching.  

I’m writing this in December 2020 and I have now completed about 15 weeks of the PGDE programme. I’d be lying if I said it has been easy. Online learning has been tough with lack of interaction, especially when you are becoming a teacher where your whole career involves socialising and communicating in person! However, I have been very, very lucky. Through the University I have made some great friends (virtually) from study groups and classes, and I have loved the practical side to things.  

Because of Covid-19, I have only completed 4 weeks of placement so far, but I have loved every second of being in the classroom. I have been really fortunate to have had a really welcoming and supportive school and the kids have been amazing. By the end of the 4 weeks, I really didn’t want to leave and go back to online classes and the kids were super sad about it. However, the light at the end of the tunnel is that for my second placement I get to return to the same class. I am already so excited and have been thinking non-stop about what I can do next with the kids. 

I am so excited to see what 2021 has in store for me in terms of completing the PGDE and seeing where it will take me. You never know, I might end up back in Stirling…’

Many, many thanks to Charlotte for having taken the time to send us through the post and we wish you all the very best for the second placement, and for the rest of your PGDE and beyond. Do keep in touch! And thanks also to Alfie (Charlotte’s cat) for reminding us of the unexpected side of the online learning environment…

Family life, Franco-Vietnamese authors and job hunt plans

The countdown to start of semester is well and truly underway for us, with students choosing their modules from today. As we look forward to welcoming new students and welcoming back our returning students, we’re also pleased to be able to continue our catch-ups with French at Stirling graduates. A great place to start this week is with this update from Julie, who graduated three years ago:

‘I graduated from the University of Stirling in 2017 with a Combined degree in English Studies and French. It is a place where I had some of the greatest experiences and met friends I know I’ll have for the rest of my life. I miss it a lot, and I have compared my current studies with my former ones countless of times; I had quite the culture shock when I had to get used to the Danish way of running things.

After a failed endeavour at Waseda University in Tokyo, where I was adamant to study my master’s degree, I ended up going back to Denmark and enrolling in Aarhus University to get a master’s degree in Intercultural Studies with French. I started in 2018, and as I’m currently on maternity leave (hello, brave new world) I’ll be writing my thesis in the spring semester of 2021. Once I had returned to Denmark, I very quickly realised that I wanted to continue with studies that had something to do with French language and culture. A lot of studies have been cut away from the Danish University system so the government can save money, and as such my options were quite limited. Luckily, Aarhus University offered the degree in Intercultural Studies, even though we are only 3 students on the French track. Humanities are sadly quite underfunded here in Denmark at the moment.

The degree is divided into an English part and a French part, with heavy focus on the French. I found this to be just my cup of tea, and I’m excited to begin my thesis. To give a very general description of what I will be writing about: I will be researching Franco-Vietnamese women writers, such as Kim Thuy, Bach Mai and Kim Doan, and the theme of trauma and identity in their works. My ‘parent-brain’ cannot wait to get started with something again!

As for after I finish my studies, I hope to teach. Here in Denmark you need a master’s degree to be able to teach at a High School level, and that is what I want to do. I am always hearing from professors and teachers alike that there will be a need for French teachers in the near future. So, I am crossing everything I can, and I will start my job hunt next spring and summer. I also have a keen interest in translation, so I might try to look at some job possibilities in that field as well.

This was my short update of where my life is at the moment. I had not imagined that this is where I would be; still not finished with my studies, but with a family and a future I hope is bright, despite the Global crisis we are all going through.

I want to thank French at Stirling for reaching out to me. I hope to visit Stirling again in the near future, and I hope the current students are enjoying it as much as I did.’

Many, many thanks to Julie for the great update. We wish you all the very best for the thesis and for the job hunt, and look forward to more updates down the line.

My Experience as a Language Assistant – Covid-19 Edition

As I’m sure we’ve mentioned before on the blog, it’s always fantastic to hear tales from current and former students about their experiences spending time abroad as part of their degree. This past year has been particularly challenging for our students on that front, with Semesters Abroad and British Council Language Assistantships coming to a premature end as lockdown kicked in, so it was especially uplifting to receive the following post from Sebastian who is about to go into his 3^rd year with us, studying French, Spanish and Professional Secondary Education:

‘As I prepare for my grand return to Stirling Uni to continue my French and Spanish studies, I can’t help but notice it has been a full year since I received my first email from my French school. Going back to April 2019, I vividly remember sitting in an education seminar with my fellow peers and tutor, discussing about what waits for us in France as English Language Assistants: “will people understand me, will my French improve”, so many thoughts and concerns went flying through our heads. We didn’t consider the possibility that our year abroad would be cut short due to a global pandemic…

Despite this hiccup, the time I had in France will always be memorable – the adventures, the friendships – it will be impossible to forget them. I wish I could say I was this ecstatic before going out to France, but it was quite the opposite. I was assigned to Lycée La Haie Griselle in Gérardmer. My nerves began after doing a Google search to realise this small town in the Grand Est region had no train station and to get to the nearest city, involved taking a 40-minute bus to the closest train station, then another hour to get to Nancy.

What I thought was a huge hindrance on my year abroad, turned out to be a perfect opportunity for my French. Of course, no one could speak English in this part of France (apart from the English teachers), so this forced me to speak French everywhere I went. Naturally, I was petrified to speak French. Making mistakes in front of locals, making a fool out of myself felt daunting. Very soon though, I overcame this fear and those thousand and one mistakes helped me improve my French drastically.

My time in the school was also a joy. Wanting to pursue a career in teaching languages, it was amazing to learn and improve my teaching skills whilst enhancing my French at the same time. I would work with seconde, première and terminale students for 30 or 60 minutes, 12 to 15 hours a week. It didn’t matter if I had to teach them about the Victorian Era, the Commonwealth, Interview skills – each lesson was great fun! I had a great rapport with students and teachers, and I truly felt I was part of superb teaching team.

Before moving to France, the British Council suggested, whilst in our host country, we should accept every invitation we receive, unless it would put us in danger. With this mindset, I accepted invites to many social events where I got the opportunity to experience French culture. “Want to join a Badminton Club and play every Monday”… of course, love to… “would you like to join us for a meal and go see a one man play”…sounds lovely… “we are having a retirement party for one of our teachers, care to join”…absolutely. To this day, I’m glad I accepted every invitation that came my way, even attending a town hall meeting on a Friday night…actually, still questioning that one.

Throughout the week, I was immersed in the language and the culture. So, having the weekend to spend time with the other language assistants was a great treat. We all met at our induction day in Nancy, and everyone instantly connected. We all had a laugh about our different ways of life as we had people coming from Scotland, England, Ireland, Spain, Australia and America. Our connections grew while travelling across France – visiting Lyon, Nice, Strasbourg, Metz – and touring Europe – Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Italy.

Everything was going so well! My level of French was improving as I ploughed through a couple of Harry Potter books in French (then moving onto recommendations from teachers such as Petit Pays by Gaël Faye), making a habit of going to the cinema once or twice a week (La Belle Époque, Un Vrai Bonhomme and Seules Les Bêtes are a must see) and making new friends at badminton. My desire to stay in Gérardmer was obvious as I was fortunate enough to extend my contract for another month…nothing could ruin my time abroad…right?

 

Fast-forward to the present, I’m back in Scotland after leaving France 4 months ago due to Coronavirus. I am still trying to get the rest of my belongings back such as my Kindle (yes, I’m aware that was a stupid mistake), some clothes and other souvenirs. At the beginning of the outbreak, everyone thought this lockdown would last just 2 weeks…oh how wrong we were. Ever since leaving, I have weekly 1-hour sessions with a French native, getting through the rest of the Harry Potter books and watching various films, shows on Netflix and YouTube in French. It can be a challenge to keep up with everything knowing that by simply pausing a video or ending a Zoom call, I leave the French-speaking world.

After having my year abroad cut in half, I’m left feeling nostalgic and yearning for other adventures in Europe. Although I remember a phrase from one of my favourite childhood authors: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened” – Dr. Seuss.’

Many, many thanks to Sebastian for this brilliantly honest and enthusiastic blog post. We hope you’ll get the chance to go back to Gérardmer in the not-too-distant future and wish you all the very best for your return to Stirling.