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!

From a Paris living room to the ‘anywhere box’

As lockdown measures and confinement and a range of different restrictions continue to be implemented across the globe, it’s particularly welcome to receive news and updates from former students (current students are also very welcome to get in touch!) who find themselves dotted across the world. Like everyone else, they are adapting to the current circumstances and thinking about the impact on their plans (professional and personal) and we’re very grateful to them for sharing their thoughts with us and for finding the time to send through new blog posts.

Today, it’s the turn of David, whose travels in Colombia and Sicily regular readers will have followed over the past couple of years, and who has sent the article below with some photos of an empty but sunny day in the Parisian suburbs:

‘If you had asked me where I would be, at this point in time, seven months ago after my last blog update, my living room in Paris would definitely not have been at the top of my list! Before I tell you how I ended up here, however, I thought I could perhaps tell you about the joys of teaching!

As mentioned in my previous piece, I decided that I was finally ready to start my teaching qualification after a couple of years of experience. My course at the University of Glasgow consists of teaching theory as well as teaching practice as a language teacher. My first placement was in a school in Paisley where I saw first-hand how much work teachers have to deal with on a daily basis. As one of my colleagues said, you aren’t only teaching them a language, but also teaching them how to learn it. I hadn’t realised how much planning was involved in order to stay on top of the workload. Some teachers’ capacity to juggle classes made up of pupils with completely different levels is mind-blowing!

My second placement was in a school in Clydebank where I learnt to become more independent as a teacher and create my own resources for my lessons. Located to the west of Glasgow, an area that includes some of the most deprived parts of Scotland where many pupils live in very challenging conditions. However, the school showed me how being part of a community of teachers and parents could create more opportunities for underprivileged pupils by working together. Overall, the course at Glasgow has been challenging but ultimately rewarding as I have learnt to adapt to difficult situations inside, and outside, the classroom.

Looking back at my undergrad years, I am grateful for the flexibility of the courses offered at the University of Stirling as well as the range of topics that we had the opportunity to study, from French Canadian cinema to Latin American literature. The exchange programme was also one of the reasons I decided to travel and work abroad… How time flies!

Now, to come back to my living room in Paris, it turns out that, due to the unprecedented measures taken by the Scottish government, both face-to-face classes and my third and final placement have been cancelled. This means I will go straight into teaching as a probationer in August! I have opted for the lucky dip option by ticking the “anywhere box” to quote the General Teaching Council, so will be sent wherever I am needed in Scotland. As a result of the pandemic, I decided to return home since I wanted to be with family over Easter.

There were only about 30 people on the plane as most people had cancelled their trips and the French government announced yesterday that there would be a further two weeks of “confinement” during which we are only allowed to leave our homes for an hour a day in order to buy essentials such as food and medicine or for daily light exercise within a 1 km radius. It is quite an odd experience having to fill out a form before leaving the house as the police may stop people to check that they are sticking to the rules but then desperate times call for desperate measures! It seems that the U.K. is not at that stage yet. However, having been in touch (not literally of course!) with friends from Sicily and Colombia, everyone is following WHO guidelines and staying at home to avoid any risk of transmission.

So that’s it for now and remember: lavez-vous les mains!’

Many, many thanks to David for sending this update – good luck with the remainder of the course and we look forward to finding out where the GTC send you next year! Keep in touch and stay safe.

Colombia, Sicily, Glasgow: Keeping your options open

Another ‘life after graduation’ update today from one of our recent graduates, David, who completed his BA Hons in French and Spanish with us two years ago:

‘After graduating in 2017, I decided to go off to Latin America to not only discover a new culture but also try to gain some professional experience. Having lived in León, Spain for a full year during my Erasmus+ exchange, I’d met people from all over the world including quite a few who were from Mexico and Colombia. The Latin American Studies focus at the University of Stirling had also sparked my interest (shout out to Guillermo!) and so I took part in the language assistantship programme through the British Council. I was appointed to the Universidad Católica de Pereira in Colombia and I absolutely loved it! I taught English at the university but also organised many extra-curricular activities such as a weekly Conversation Club where students and teachers who were interested in learning more about Scottish and British culture could do so in a less formal setting. I even had my own podcast at the university’s radio station which was something I’d never expected to be doing! In addition, I had the opportunity to translate academic journals in collaboration with the psychology department at the university. Apart from these professional opportunities, I was able to travel to breath-taking places around Latin America and even met up with friends from Mexico, Peru and Ecuador I had met during my year abroad.

After this professionally challenging but wonderful year being part of a completely different culture, I decided I wanted to be closer to home but still keep discovering different cultures and enhance my language skills. I also wanted to be sure that teaching was definitely for me and so, through the British Council once again, I embarked on my next adventure in Catania, Sicily where I taught English in a secondary school. Having never spoken Italian before, I realised just how lucky I was to have studied other modern languages at university as this helped me to pick it up quickly. Although I am not fluent, I am now able to communicate fairly clearly and understand Italian! On the work front, teaching was not always easy but I grew attached to my colleagues and students who were always interested in what I had to offer (although they weren’t fans of Irn Bru!). I felt part of the community and I now realise how lucky I am to have had the chance to live beside the biggest active volcano in Europe (risky, I know!) in a city built from lava stone full of history and deliciously cheap pizza!

I have now started to study for my PGDE at the University of Glasgow. Despite the cold, I am very happy to be back in Scotland, enjoying the comforts I longed for while I was abroad such as Greggs coffee and tatty scones – as well as the open-mindedness of the Scots who are always so welcoming to people from other cultures and backgrounds. After obtaining my Diploma, I hope to be posted somewhere up north and discover more of Scotland. Although I am currently quite focused on teaching, I think it is important to keep one’s options open and I might consider taking up postgraduate research or maybe even further explore the idea of academic translation.’

Many, many thanks to David for this great update and we wish you all the very best for the PGDE – looking forward to updates as the months go by, too.

From Stirling to Sicily: ‘Why Italy?… Why not?!’

There’s a bit of a theme emerging across recent posts in the shape of travel and the opportunities for travel that come with the study of languages, from current students on Study Abroad to those who’ve come back from Semesters Abroad singing their praises to school pupils or colleagues on teaching exchanges… And, for many of our graduates, the travelling continues. Last time we caught up with David, he was working as an English Language Assistant at a University in Colombia so we wanted to see how (and where!) we is now:

“Hello again! I was off to Scotland again last week for a good ceilidh and some Irn Bru and thought I would give you a little update. In case you haven’t read any of my previous posts, my name is David and I graduated from the University of Stirling with a Bachelor of Arts in French and Spanish in 2017.

I was in Colombia last year working for the British Council as an English Language Assistant at the Universidad Catolica de Pereira (in the coffee region). It was an amazing experience which enabled me to improve my language skills and gain professional experience. For instance, preparing and teaching my own classes gave me the chance to gain independence as well as build my self-confidence. I was also able to collaborate with other university departments, such as Industrial Design, Comparative Literature, International Relations, etc.

Before working with the British Council, I never imagined I would go from planning speaking activities, to translating psychology and economics theses or that I would end up having a regular podcast on the university radio station on intercultural dynamics between countries. I found out how useful languages really are…! Working 18 hours a week left me plenty of time to travel around a beautiful country and discover a fascinating culture I had not really thought about before. In fact, it is thanks to the programme at Stirling, which focuses as much on Latin American cultures as on Spain, that I was so keen to experience life in Latin America.

When I left Colombia in May last year, I was quite sad to leave a community of friends and colleagues with whom I had spent so much time. However, I didn’t want to miss the chance to travel around Latin America. I saw places, and met people, that I will never forget! As I wasn’t quite ready to go back to Scotland yet and wasn’t sure as to what I wanted to do professionally, I decided to apply for another year as a language assistant, but this time in Italy!

Why Italy, you may ask… Why not? Having worked in Colombia and lived and studied in Spain during my year abroad, I wanted to learn a new language in order to set myself a personal challenge and widen my professional opportunities. I was appointed to a state secondary school in Sicily and I am loving it! It is sunny, the food is delicious and the people are very welcoming. From a professional point of view, I have gained invaluable experience in organising cross-cultural talks and have also added a new language to my CV!

At the end of this academic year, I will go to Glasgow to study for a PGDE in French and Spanish, do my probationary year somewhere in Scotland and then see what happens! Whatever you may be studying, as long as you enjoy it and believe in what you are doing, then you will be able to find a way in which to use what you’ve learned to your advantage. Everything you learn while at university, whether it be how to cook or how to write an essay, will come in handy one way or another!

So, to anyone who is struggling with exams and essays in their final year of uni, don’t worry, you are almost done! And to those of you who are just starting out, remember that Stirling is exceptionally flexible when it comes to your degree, so take your time deciding what you really want to study!”

Many thanks to David for another fantastic post and we hope you continue to enjoy your time in Sicily, and look forward to further updates over the months ahead!