Catching up with last year’s graduates

One of the great things about this blog is that it gives us a means of keeping up, not only with what colleagues in French at Stirling are doing, but also with what our students and our graduates are up to. As we get closer and closer to this year’s graduations, we thought it’d be good to catch-up with some of our graduates from last year so, with no further ado…

Shannon studied for a BA Hons in French and Spanish at Stirling and as a 2022 graduate moved on to pursuing her PGDE in primary education: “I am now working full time in a nursery setting in Liverpool as the curriculum practitioner. And my languages have not been completely forgotten. My pre-schoolers enjoy having a Spanish lesson once a week and we may add French to their curriculum soon! Wishing this year’s graduates all the best in the future no matter how you do or what you do!” Sophie also graduated with a BA Hons in French and Spanish and, since graduating, has started another degree studying Theology and Christian Leadership: !I’ve loved using the skills I learnt at Stirling to help this degree and next year I have chosen to study New Testament Greek which makes me excited to be able to use my language skills again.”

Meanwhile David, who graduated with a BA Hons in French and History, spent time in the US after he graduated but has since returned to do an MSc in Heritage at Stirling, and is currently researching and writing his thesis: “You will also be happy to know I have been able to make use of my French skills I acquired at Stirling, in my capacity as a volunteer at the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum. As a guide, not only can I assist French tourists, but behind the scenes I have also been able to translate material into French to help the Museums accreditation and be more welcoming to foreign tourists.” Our other David, who joined us as a mature student, and graduated with a BA Hons in French, explains that “after 7 years of re-education which concluded with four unbelievable years of involvement with French at the University of Stirling, I promised my wife and my three grandchildren that I would devote more time to them which I have done but that has not stopped me for continuing to learn and practice French.” In the year since graduation, David has kept on reading French books (including re-reading some he’d studied with us!), revising French grammar, listening to podcasts and regular news bulletins and trying to speak as much as he can through websites such as Language Exchange: “My appetite for learning has not waivered or reduced in any way. I have always had the will and motivation to continue although, I do miss being a student on campus and the camaraderie of my peers and being able to have the skills of our tutors to hand for advice when required.”

Lara, who completed her BA Hons in French and Spanish last June, has just finished working for a year as an English Language Assistant in a secondary school in Madrid with the British Council: “It’s been a very enriching experience and I plan on returning for a second year.” Ceinwen, having graduated with a BA Hons in French last year, has stayed on at Stirling for postgraduate studies on our MRes Humanities programme carrying on the research she did during her undergraduate degree and “When I’m not doing that I’m making full use of the Institut Français’ cinema programme in Edinburgh.”

Valentina, who graduated with a BA Hons in International Management with European Languages and Society, she has spent the past year working for Global Voices, our local translation and interpreting company, as a credit controller: “I call and email every day in French as I look after the debt for the French and Swiss market, as well as the Italian one. So, naturally my languages skills have improved, I now feel comfortable to speak on the phone to a native speaker which is great! I’ve also learnt all about chorus pro which is the public administration invoicing system in France!” And Muirne, who completed her BA Hons in Business Studies and French last year, has been doing an International Business Master’s here at Stirling this past year and is starting work on her dissertation now: “I’ve really been enjoying this programme and it has opened up lots of different routes I can take to start my career journey. I was also one of the programme reps for the course as I wanted to have a bit more responsibility and show more leadership. I have still been keeping up with my French as I think that will be a useful tool in the future for me. I have also been able to keep in touch with a French pen pal I made in 3rd year which has been helpful for practicing French.”

Sofia, who graduated with a BA Hons in French and Spanish last year, has almost finished her MA in South Asian Area Studies and is currently working on my dissertation, which is focusing on the legacies of trauma stemming from Partition and how this has affected the diasporic descendants of the Partition. Sofia was also recently accepted into a summer programme for Our Shared Cultural Heritage which is a programme that experiments with ways for museums and heritage organisations to work better for young people. Their focus is on the South Asian diaspora in the UK and young people in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh: “I’m not quite sure yet what the programme will entail but it will be interesting to look at heritage, culture, and of course language and to look at the Scottish South Asian community.” Vasiliki, having graduated with a BA Hons in Business Studies and French, moved to Madrid after graduation to do a Master’s in International Trade and Business: “Classes are finishing at the end of July, then I have to submit my thesis by mid-September, so in the meantime I am looking for an internship in the field of marketing or HR mostly, and I am really just looking across Europe, as I don’t want to limit myself. I would also be very much interested in moving back to the UK.”

And Morgan, who graduated with a BA Hons in International Politics and Languages, is currently in Belfast where she has just started writing her Master’s thesis exploring who is responsible for the deaths of displaced persons who drown while attempting to cross the Channel: “While I no longer directly study French, my knowledge of the language and the country have been particularly helpful when conducting research for my thesis. I work part-time as a hotel receptionist where I regularly get to talk with guests from French-speaking countries who always love to be able to chat in their native language.” Brendan, graduated with his BA Hons in French and Spanish last summer, and applied for a Masters in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) here at Stirling Uni and started that at the end of September. He hopes to complete that, including his final teaching portfolio/dissertation project by the end of August at the latest: “Afterwards, in September and October, my programme may offer an external placement in various countries, one of them being France, where I would be asked to observe and do some English teaching in a language school. However, it is not clear if that will materialise yet so right now I’m just taking each day at a time and focusing on what I have to do at present. If everything goes according to plan, I will officially graduate in November. My reasoning for doing this Masters was to prepare me to be able to teach English and get employment more easily when living in France and Spain in the future. If I’m to be completely honest with you all, this has been the most challenging year in my academic journey so far (even more so than third year of undergrad when everything was online due to covid, which says a lot!). However, I’m hopeful that it will bear some fruit in the not-too-distant future in my pursuit to become a languages teacher, which is my dream job.”

Pauline, who graduated with a BA Hons in International Politics and Languages, is just finishing up her Master’s degree in Applied European Governance and Policymaking: “I will have written and oral exams throughout June. I am doing last revisions for my master thesis on the economic impact of integration of migrants in Germany and I expect to graduate at the beginning of July. I am also applying for traineeships and jobs, mainly in Brussels, for EU policy positions, with hopes to not be unemployed in August. We shall see how that goes. I’ve also been involved with a new volunteer network (Generation Climate Europe) and have moved up to now being the Network and Outreach Lead, which I am quite excited about.”

And finally (for the moment… if you’re a 2022 French at Stirling graduate reading this and you haven’t been back in touch yet, there’s still time!) Fiammetta, who graduated in Modern Languages and Business Studies says that her life has completely changed since graduation in June 2022: “After graduating, I was unsure which path to follow for my career. I wasn’t happy with my life and I almost decided to go back to my home country. I started a job in Edinburgh as a customer service assistant in a travel agency. The team was great, however after only 3 months I realised that it wasn’t the job for me so I decided to apply for a job I thought I would never get.

In February I applied for Emirates cabin crew and a few days later I received an email asking me to go to one of the company’s assessment days. Being cabin crew for Emirates has always been on my mind but I always thought it would be really hard for me to get that job. The day after the interview I received the “golden call” and after less than a month I moved to Dubai. I have now been living in Dubai for more than 3 months. It was hard to leave my friends again (I had left my family and friends in my home country 6 years earlier) but it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Now I get to travel and visit so many countries and I get paid for it! I am in contact with so many cultures and during my flights I can use my language skills to interact with customers. The best advice I can give to the graduates of 2023 is to always pursue your dreams, even if it’s not easy or if you have to leave everything behind, it will always be worth it. Now I’m having the best time of my life!”

It’s always lovely to hear from our graduates and to learn where life has taken them after their time as undergraduates at Stirling. Thank you very, very much to all of our 2022 graduates who have been back in touch and who have contributed to this blog post (and to Joanna whose earlier post started off this particular catch-up) and do keep in touch and keep us posted on what you go on to do next. Bon été to you all!

2022 Finalists and their plans

Our annual post about our fantastic finalists and their plans for life after graduation has become something of a blog tradition (see 2021 here, for example, or 2020 here) and this year is no different. As this year’s finalists prepare for their graduation ceremonies next week, it’s great to be able to share their thoughts and plans for what lies ahead so here goes…

Morgan, who’ll be graduating in International Politics with Languages, is spending her summer volunteering in Calais and working in the refugee camp there (keep an eye on the blog for Morgan’s own post about that). At the end of the Summer, she’ll be off to Belfast to start an MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice at Queen’s University. And Pauline, who is also graduating with a BA Hons in International Politics with Languages is spending her Summer working as an intern in the European Parliament, working for an independent MEP. From October, she will be doing a trilingual Master in Applied European governance and policymaking, based in Nice, Kent and Berlin. Sophie, who has just completed her BA Hons in French and Spanish, is also continuing with her studies and is starting a BA in Theology and Christian Leadership at Missio Dei college which has affiliation with the University of Chester. Sophie will also be working with her church in Stirling to manage their social media and communications. As she says, this is a bit different from her degree work but she will have the opportunity to use her French and Spanish on missions trips and will also get the opportunity to learn Hebrew and Greek.

Finn will be graduating in French and Marketing next week and has a part-time field sales role with Fuel10k, an up-and-coming breakfast/cereal brand who also do their fair share of charity and environmental work that has led them to become the first cereal B-Corp brand. Finn’s cycling career is also going well and we’re delighted to be able to report that he has been selected to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games this August in Birmingham. He’s also got some big races coming up on the continent, as well as throughout the UK, so we’ll all be keeping our fingers firmly crossed. Then there’s Brendan, who’s graduating in French and Spanish, and who we’re really pleased to say will be returning to Stirling in the Autumn for this to work on our Master’s programme in TESOL. Like Brendan, Ceinwen is also planning future postgraduate studies as she looks forward to a research Master’s, building on her BA Hons in French, and both Muirne and Vasiliki, who will be graduating in Business Studies and French, are also planning postgraduate studies. Muirne will be starting a Master’s in International Business in September and Vasiliki intends to undertake a Master’s in Business based in Madrid, as well as being interested in an internship or a future career that would involve translation further down the line. And Sofia, whose degree was in French and Spanish, is planning a Master’s in South Asian Area Studies at SOAS where she hopes to research the transmission of intergenerational trauma in Asian women in the UK.

As for Maria, who has also just completed her BA Hons in Business Studies and French, at the moment she is working for her family’s business and she hopes to secure a job in Human Resources by the end of September. Maria is currently looking for positions both using French and English and hopes to secure one where she will still be able to practise her French on a daily basis. As part of her degree, Maria spent a semester at our partner institution ESSEC Business School in Cergy-Pontoise and her tip for future languages graduates is to make the most of Study Abroad in job applications because it gives you a real advantage as a candidate. And then we have Jackie, who’ll be graduating with her BA Hons in English Studies and French, and who is currently back home in Chicago with a very busy schedule, working full-time at a hair salon, part-time as a gymnastics coach, and working on writing her seventh book in her spare time. Jackie has been independently publishing books since she was 18, and her goal is to one day become a full-time author. She would love to be able to write full-time and travel around Scotland, France, and more of Europe once she has the savings to do so. Her current plan is to work and save money for a year or two, and then hopefully spend some time in France to really get fluent. As if all that wasn’t enough, Jackie is also currently taking an online TEFL course so would love to build on that in France as well.

Valentina has just completed her BA Hons in International Management with European Languages and Society and is already in employment, working in the finance department of our local translation and interpreting agency Global Voices. Her role is as a credit controller for the Italian and French markets so plenty of scope to continuing using her language skills in a friendly environment where they’re looking to expand their multilingual workforce. And David, who will be graduating with a BA Hons in French and History, is currently in Minnesota working as a Division Director in a summer camp until the end of August. After that, he plans to return to Stirling either to work in the heritage sector or to undertake our own Master’s in Heritage. And Courtney, who is graduating with a BA Hons in French, is continuing her current career path with a job in a pharmacy. She’ll be starting her dispensary course soon which means she can become a dispenser and will be eventually undertaking a course to become a dispensary technician. 

Caitlin, who will be graduating with a BA Hons in French, has an offer for a place on the PGDE in Primary Teaching at the University of Strathclyde, a career that has always been her goal and her dream, so she’s really looking forward to starting on her teaching career. Like Caitlin, Eilidh is also heading for a career in teaching, as she reaches the end of her BA Hons in French and Spanish with Professional Education (Secondary) and is particularly pleased to have learned that her probation year will be spent teaching in her own former high school. Shannon, who has just obtained her BA Hons in French and Spanish at Stirling, is moving on to study for a PGDE in Early years and KS1 education at Liverpool John Moores University. She has always wanted to teach primary and her time teaching in Spain through the British Council helped her decide which age she’d like to teach. Shannon hopes to let her language work influence some lesson plans in the future. And our other Caitlin, who is graduating in French and Spanish with Professional Education (Secondary) will also be beginning her probationary year in August and is very much looking forward to getting the opportunity to inspire young people to learn languages. And Lara, who has just completed her BA Hons In French and Spanish, is also off to teach but, in her case, it’ll be through the British Council English Language Assistantship scheme. Next year, she’ll be working as an ELA in the Community of Madrid to experience full immersion in Spanish language and culture and to explore the opportunity of a future career in teaching Languages. Lara is planning on reapplying next year to do the same in a French-speaking country.

And Joanna, who’ll be graduating in French and Spanish, is planning to apply for a post working with PwC and intends to begin a Master’s in either Business or Translation later next year. First and foremost, though, Joanna’s getting married in two weeks’ time and, on behalf of everyone in French at Stirling, we wish her and her partner a very happy future together!

We’ll keep adding to this post as and when updates come in from more of this year’s finalists but, as ever, this is definitely one of the most fun posts to put together and we’re really grateful to all the finalists who have been in touch so far. On behalf of everyone in French at Stirling, we wish you a fantastic graduation and all the very best for the future, and we hope you’ll keep in touch with us over the months and years ahead.

French at Stirling: Confidence, Communication, Travel

We’re all getting ready to welcome our new students who’ll be joining us in just a few weeks, and to welcome back continuing students, but that also means saying goodbye to those who’ve just graduated and who are off to other things and other climes. It’s a busy time for them all but we’re delighted to be able to post this article by Emily, who just graduated in French and History and who has taken the time to reflect on her five years with us, before heading off to start a postgrad course in a couple of weeks:

‘It feels a wee bit strange writing this post for the French at Stirling blog, as it’s the last one I’ll write as a student at Stirling before I start a Masters at a different university. Honestly, I can’t quite believe it, it seems like last week that we were all lined up outside Pathfoot A96 for our first introductory lecture. I certainly don’t think that any of us then could have predicted how our studies would end up finishing this year with the pandemic!

Now that I’ve got the degree, I think I can admit that Stirling wasn’t initially my first choice, but in the end, it was definitely the right one. I remember coming to an open day way back in 2016 with my dad and loving the uni and its location straight away, and this only grew when I started my studies. First and second year seemed to go by in a flash, and although I maybe spent too much time going out and not enough studying, I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. During these first two years away from home, I met some of the best people who have gone on to become some of my closest friends, which I think is just as important as good grades, if not more.

That being said, after reaching the halfway mark, I decided that it would be a good idea to take a year out to work in France as an English Language Assistant to improve my French, but more importantly, to eat my body weight in cheese and croissants. I was placed in lycée in a wee village in Brittany, and even though I’m not planning on going into full-time teaching, this role taught me loads, and it really was one of the best things I’ve done in my life so far.

However, it wouldn’t be entirely honest if I painted it as all sunshine and roses. Moving to a completely new country, having to speak another language and adapt to new cultures and customs can be really hard at times, and I know I had my fair share of ups and downs along the way. Despite the difficulties however, I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it to any current French students who get the opportunity, because you get so much more out of it than just improving your French skills. I won’t use that gap-year cliché and say that I ‘found myself’ during my year abroad, but I feel that I did quite a bit of growing up while I was away, and that I came back a more independent and understanding person. Even if you learn nothing else while away, meeting new people that you wouldn’t have met otherwise and learning to understand their perspectives is always going to be worth it.

Taking a year out really helped my French skills, but after it I was really looking forward to getting back into uni. I think that a lot of people, myself included, feel the pressure being turned up in third year with results counting towards our final degree, but now when I look back on 2019, especially with everything that’s happened in the last year, I can’t help but see it as some sort of golden age when we could actually sit together in classrooms without social distancing, when in reality it was still quite difficult! In third year we also had the opportunity to participate in an Erasmus exchange, and so I spent that spring semester at the Université de Limoges in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It was nice to experience French education as a student instead of a teacher, and although it was cut short because of the pandemic, it was still a really fun experience.

And so, that brings me onto my final year at Stirling. I think everyone had their highs and lows during this year: not having to commute and being able to wear PJs to class was nice, but not seeing any classmates or lecturers and being stuck inside for a whole year? Not so good. Despite all of our classes and lectures being online, the staff in the language department did a really good job at trying to make the year as normal as they could for us. Hopefully we’ll eventually get an in-person graduation ceremony so we can actually see each other in real life instead of through a screen, and celebrate the fact that we made it through the toughest year of uni – during a global pandemic no less.

Over the last 5 years, the question I’ve probably been asked the most in regards to my degree is ‘what are you going to do with that?’, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s heard this. Still, I never get tired of explaining to people that actually there are so many options with a language degree, and you get a lot more from it than just a second language. It teaches you how to be confident, how to communicate effectively, and it also teaches you that making mistakes is okay!

So, what am I going to do with it? Well, the next step for me will be in September, when I’m due to start a master’s degree in publishing at Edinburgh Napier. I’ve decided to go down this route because I feel that I’ll be able to put a lot of the skills that I’ve learned through my degree into use in a career in publishing, potentially in international rights or marketing. But before all that, I’ll be working over the summer as an optical consultant and a French and History tutor!

Before I finish, I would like to take the time to thank all of the amazing lecturers that have taught and helped me over the last 5 years: Cristina Johnston, Elizabeth Ezra, Mathilde Mazau, Brigitte Depret, Jean-Michel DesJacques, Fiona Barclay, Bill Marshall, David Murphy, Fanny Lacôte, and everyone else in the Language Department who I’ve come across whether it be in an exam or just in the corridor! THANK YOU!’

Many, many thanks to Emily for such a great article and for the kind words, and we all wish you all the best for the postgrad course this coming year and for life beyond that. Keep in touch and best wishes!

From the Eiffel Tower to Cherry Blossom: Perspectives from the end of second year

We’re going to round the week off with another couple of views of life as an undergraduate taking French at Stirling. In a moment, we’ll hear from Louise who has just finished her first year but first up is Daisy who has just finished Year 2 of a BA Hons in French and History with us:

‘“Excusez-moi d’être en retard.” Despite never usually being late, this is what I’d have to say almost every day of my first year of high school. I absolutely hated studying French at first. All the words sounded the same, the conjugations were impossible to remember, and my teacher was incredibly strict (and evidently followed a different time schedule to the rest of the world). I only started to enjoy the subject after I visited Paris on a school trip. Although I completely wasted this opportunity by making the smart decision to only speak in English, seeing the view of Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower, wandering around the markets eating crêpes and floating down the Seine in a little boat inspired in me a desire to learn French fluently. I wanted to be able to communicate with the people at the market stalls and in the restaurants. I wanted to be able to hold a conversation with my pen-pal and her friends. And most of all, I wanted to be able to live in one of the cute little apartments that we kept passing in the school coach.

This new interest later inspired me to apply to Stirling to study French and Spanish. The thought of studying something I love for four years and being able to spend time abroad sounded like a dream. In First Year though, I found French incredibly intimidating. I suddenly found myself faced with texts intended for native French speakers rather than the short extracts written for Higher French students that I was used to. I genuinely didn’t think I’d be able to make it through the course. I remember sitting up late at night before a seminar searching up every other word from a text in an online dictionary. Reading texts in a foreign language is certainly a difficult skill to master and it took me a while to get used to it. I can now see, however, that almost every improvement I have made in French over the past two years has been as a result of persevering through these texts. One day I remember sitting down to practise writing and I noticed that verb conjugations, grammar structures and noun genders were suddenly becoming intuitive to me. I am convinced this is because I had been reading all those texts I once hated so much.

Since I had always been interested in languages and had succeeded at Spanish at GCSE level, studying French and Spanish seemed like an obvious choice. For the first few months I really enjoyed the course. I was learning about both French and Spanish history and culture, felt like I was quickly improving in my language abilities and was always enthusiastic to learn more but then, after a while, the disadvantages of studying two languages began to reveal themselves. I felt like all I was ever doing was memorising vocab, practicing conjugations and learning grammar. It began to feel repetitive and I wanted something more. That’s when I decided to switch from French and Spanish to French and History. History was another subject I’d always enjoyed at school and when I was younger, I’d seen myself persevering with that in the future rather than with languages. I was delighted to see how much my French and History courses intertwined with one another. I got the chance to study African History where many of the countries we studied are former French colonies. I felt that at the same time as learning about these African countries, I was also discovering more about France. Some of the sources we used for History were even written in French, presenting me with the opportunity to practice my reading skills too.

I made this decision during the pandemic which made the switch even more challenging than it would have been otherwise. Since I had decided to change my course after completing my first year, I was required to take the first year History modules and the second year modules simultaneously. This magnified the workload, pressure and deadlines and there were many times where I felt overwhelmed. This, in addition to the stress of the pandemic and learning from home, made me realise the importance of taking breaks. This year, I tried to spend as much time with friends and family as possible even if that just meant going for a walk in the park near my house to see the cherry blossom. I found that spending some time each day in a different environment really helped my mental health and I will definitely continue to use this technique throughout the remainder of my studies.

I think next year will be a lot different to how this one has been. I see us all being able to see each other again and attend classes in person rather than through a screen. This year has taught us a lot but I think we are all ready for everything to go back to normal. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. À bientôt !’

Many thanks to Daisy for finding the time to write this great post and for the honest reflections on the challenges and positives of this past year. We’re all hoping along the same lines for next year and, in the meantime, we wish you a restful Summer and we’ll look forward to welcoming you back in the Autumn.

A Year in Brittany

Following on from Stuart’s tales of life in sub-zero Quebec and Brett’s of life teaching English in Japan, it’s time for more travels, this time with thanks to Emily who is reaching the end of her year teaching English in France:

‘Salut encore! It feels like hardly any time has passed since I was writing my last post for the French at Stirling blog, where I spoke a bit about my first two years studying French and History. First and second year went by so quickly, but not as quickly as this year! Instead of carrying on into third year, I decided to take a year out from my studies to work in France as an English Language Assistant. In my last post I had just found out that I’d been accepted into the programme run by the British Council, and was waiting to hear where I would be posted. I ended up being placed in a lycée in a small town in Brittany, which I was really excited about because it would be an opportunity to explore a region of France that I’d never seen before.

The town I was posted in, Combourg, wasn’t much different to my hometown in Argyll; it was rural, the population was small (7,000 people roughly), and the lycée was a similar size to the high school I went to, with 600-odd pupils. The job itself consisted of me leading conversation classes in English with the older pupils, which was a bit daunting as there was only an age-gap of two years between me and most of my students! However, I thought back to my oral classes at Stirling University and what I liked most about them (the conversations on recent events, discussing our own interests, being encouraged to speak, even if we made mistakes or our pronunciation wasn’t the best) and I tried to apply these things when I was planning my own classes. It was also a great opportunity to talk about Scotland and our culture, as most of the students had only really associated the UK with England. They couldn’t believe what goes into some of our best loved dishes, like haggis!

Although I was working in Combourg, I actually ended up living in a house-share with four French people in St Malo, a wee coastal town in the north of Brittany. Living with native French-speakers was really fun as I was able to learn a bit about French culture, and they really helped me to improve my language skills. There was so much that I loved about living in France, but the thing I enjoyed the most had to be the food. There were markets in different neighbourhoods of St-Malo near enough every day, and it’s safe to say that most of my wages went on trying as much authentic French food as I could! When I wasn’t spending my money on food, I was using it to explore nearby towns with some other language assistants in the area. We were able to visit a lot of places, like Dinan and Rennes, by using public transport, which was amazing as it wasn’t expensive and it gave us the chance to see new parts of France.

Although I had a fantastic experience in France, I’m really looking forward to getting back into my studies at Stirling and putting everything I learned over the past seven months into practice. And I’ll be back in France in no time, because in third year we have the choice of studying abroad for a semester! I’m hoping that I can go to a different part of France for this, just because I think it’d be nice to experience a new region, but no matter where I end up, I’ll definitely be paying Brittany a wee visit!’

Many, many thanks to Emily for taking the time to send us this post and we’re looking forward to finding out where you’ll be spending Spring 2020, too!

Harry Potter, Spotify and Language Learning

This time last year, we posted an article by Emily who was just reaching the end of her 1^st year studying French and History so, as we catch up with the authors of some of those posts to see how things have gone this year, here is Emily’s update:

‘Bonjour à tous! In my last post for the French at Stirling blog I talked about my first year studying for a BA Hons degree in French and History, and what a great start it had been to my university career at Stirling. The structure of classes in first year has been the same this year, with weekly seminars on written language, francophone culture and French speaking classes. This year we have also had a new class added to our timetable; half-hour conversation sessions. These new speaking classes have been a great way to get practice in our French conversation skills, as it’s a very relaxed environment and the conversations are usually spontaneous and on recent topics.

Another exciting opportunity available to us in second year is the chance to work abroad as an English language assistant (ELA) through the British Council’s scheme, spending a whole year in a French-speaking country. Although the time spent abroad doesn’t contribute credits towards my actual degree I feel it is an invaluable opportunity to learn about contemporary French culture and improve my language skills. Having recently received the good news that my application has been shortlisted I can’t wait to find out whereabouts in France I will be placed!

However, until I move to France towards the end of this year, I have to try and maintain my current level of French, which I have been doing through various different methods. A great way one of my teachers suggested to keep French fresh in my mind is to listen to French music. Spotify is a lifesaver here, as there are loads of French music playlists already created, so if you’re like me and have no clue who any popular French musicians are, you can easily discover different solo artists and bands that suit your music tastes.

Reading French regularly is another great way to maintain language skills, but I find it can be quite daunting at times, so to make things easier for myself I decided to revisit one of my childhood favourites; Harry Potter. I have found that reading stories in French that you have already read in English is much easier as you don’t have to focus so much on the plot and instead can concentrate on grammar and new vocabulary. Hopefully by using these methods to try and incorporate french into my everyday life I won’t forget everything that the French department at Stirling taught me this year!

To sum things up, my first two years studying French at Stirling have been fantastic, my teachers have been more than helpful in preparing me for life as an English language assistant in France, and I can’t wait to see what next year has in store!’

Many, many thanks to Emily for this update. We look forward to finding out where you’re posted next year and wish you all the best for the assistantship!

‘The French department is simply fantastic’: French and History at Stirling

Time, once again, for one of our profiles of current students, this time from Emily who will be starting her second year with us in the Autumn and has taken the time to look back over the past year and the shift from school to University:

“Salut! My name’s Emily and I’ve just completed my first year at Stirling University studying for my BA Hons degree in French and History. My first year studying French at Stirling has been amazing. I come from a very small rural area and so was a little nervous at first about moving away from home and beginning my studies at a university level. However, all my worries and doubts disappeared on the first day of term. The French department is simply fantastic, the tutors are all friendly and approachable, and put my mind at ease about the transition from secondary school to university straight away.

The materials that we have covered in our first-year classes have been really interesting and challenging (in a good way!), and have opened my eyes to wider Francophone cultures that I had previously been oblivious of. French is taught in three different classes; writing and grammar, speaking, and culture, in addition to a weekly lecture. I’ve enjoyed all the classes this year, but in particular the weekly parlé class, as it gave me the opportunity to improve my speaking in a friendly atmosphere.

Stirling was my first-choice university alongside another Scottish university, so I had to make the tough decision between the two of them. However, after attending one of the open days at Stirling, I fell in love with the campus and my mind was set. It’s safe to say that I made the right decision, as Stirling now feels like a home away from home to me. I’m looking forward to continuing my studies in September and I’m hoping for another excellent year!”

Many thanks to Emily for this great post and we hope that second year (and beyond!) lives up to expectations.

Student Successes: Prizes and Graduating Students

On the day our finalists have received their degree results (félicitations à toutes et à tous!!), it seems particularly appropriate to post congratulations to all those French at Stirling students who have been awarded prizes for outstanding performances across our year groups.

In Semesters 1-3, we run both an Advanced stream (for all those with Higher or Advanced Higher French, or equivalent) and a Beginners’ stream (for those with no formal qualifications in French or whose previous studies are from years and years back) and we award prizes in both streams. This year, Prize for the Best Performance by a Year 1 Student in the A Stream goes to Jennifer who is studying Professional Education (Primary) with a Specialism in Modern Languages and the Prize for the Best Performance in Year 1 by a B Stream student goes to English and French student, Laura.

Best Performance by an A Stream student in Year 2 goes to International Politics and Languages student Stefano (who was also recently awarded a Stevenson Exchange Scholarship) while Charlene, who is studying French and History, has won the Prize for the Best Performance by a former B Stream student in Year 2 (Advanced and Beginners’ streams merge in Semester 4).

Our annual Simone de Beauvoir Prize for French which is awarded every year to a graduating student on a French programme for the best performance across their Honours modules has been won by David who has been studying French and Spanish with us, and Hannah, who has just completed her BA Hons in French, has been awarded the Translation Prize for French, thanks to excellent grades in translation assessments across her final year.

Many, many congratulations to all our prize-winners from all of French at Stirling!

French and History: ‘The best imaginable environment to study in’

As this year’s finalists nervously wait to get confirmation of their results, and look forward to graduation and life beyond, and our continuing students embark on Summers of work and travel and study, it seems a good time to resume our series of profiles of current French at Stirling students. To start us off again, we’re delighted to be able to post the following article by Charlene, who has just completed Year 2 of her BA Hons in French and History and who gives a sense of the range of journeys that have led students to Stirling:

“Bonjour! Hvordan går det? I’m Charlene and I’ve have decided to throw in some Danish and French to begin my explanation as to why I’m studying French & History at the University of Stirling!

I essentially moved to Scotland because I wanted to take an undergraduate degree taught in English. Previously, I lived in Denmark and studied the International Baccalaureate program for two years. Before that, I lived and grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, USA. My dad’s American, and I really spent most of my childhood-teenage years in the States. I was, however, born in Copenhagen, Denmark and spent some early childhood years growing up on the West Coast of Denmark as well.

My family decided to move us all back to Denmark when I was about 18, and after staying in Denmark for 2 years, I then travelled and worked for a while before settling down in Stirling. I taught Business English in Paris, France, where I fell even more in love with the culture and language! I had previously studied French in my American high school for 3 years.

I was accepted into both Strathclyde University and the University of Stirling, and when I moved to Stirling permanently after making my decision, I was both relieved and excited at my choice! The campus provides the best imaginable environment to study in. The lake, trees and giant hill in the distance make the views stunning across campus!

The French department has been super helpful- the tutors are always willing to help and take a genuine interest in their hundreds of students! I would recommend finding a French exchange student to practice speaking French with throughout the semesters- I found it really improved my confidence and helped me prepare for the oral exam.

All in all, Stirling is THE campus to be at if you’re interested in a healthy working environment and plenty of staff support- and, considering how international the campus is, you’ll be surrounded by various cultures! What could be better that that? Salut et bonne chance!”

Many, many thanks to Charlene (Tak!) for taking the time to send us this profile and we look forward to more profiles of continuing students over the weeks ahead.

AHRC Studentship Success

Congratulations to Fraser McQueen who graduated in French and History from Stirling two years ago and who, we have just learned, will be coming back to Stirling to undertake an AHRC funded PhD under the supervision of Fiona Barclay.

Fraser is currently working as a University lecteur in France. Here’s what he has to say about his project and his return to Stirling: “My project will involve a comparative analysis of literary, filmic, polemical and media texts representing immigration, integration, and Islam published in France since 2005. I’ll explore artistic texts’ capability to contribute to the debates over these subjects which have taken on an ever-increasing importance in French society over this period, and potentially to counteract discourses of exclusion diffused through the media.

I’m looking forward to coming back to Stirling for this project, as I thoroughly enjoyed my four years there as an undergraduate: it was at Stirling, and particularly in my fourth year, that I became interested in the legacies of French imperialism, which are vital to understanding the racial and religious tensions in modern-day France. The French programme at Stirling’s strategic focus on colonial and postcolonial studies makes it the perfect place to carry out this research: almost every member of staff has some interest in one of these themes, and I know from previous experience that they’re friendly and approachable. It’ll be a wrench to leave the sunny south of France to come back to Scotland, but I’m looking forward to getting started!”

It’s snowing as I write this particular blog piece, so apologies on the weather front but congratulations, Fraser, and we look forward to welcoming you back in the Autumn!