Why Language Courses are a Good Option for Language Students on their Year Abroad
Tuesday, 10th February 2009
Anyone doing a languages degree who is approaching their year abroad will know that it is around this time of year when plans are put into place.
Whilst students hoping to spend their time at a foreign university, or doing an assistantship in a school have the main features of their placement arranged for them, there is normally little provision for swotting up on language skills prior to beginning. To anyone reading this who has not, or is not, completing a degree in languages, this might seem like a strange thing to say. Surely, if you are studying for a degree in a foreign language, you are competent enough to get by in the country where they speak that language?
In theory, yes, this is the case. Whilst degree-level students are well past the stage of basic introductions and vocabulary for ordering in a cafe though, they may well still be thrown by the bureaucratic terms encountered whilst securing a residents’ permit, or registering for the semester’s module quota. In addition, some students may have had a three-month break between finishing the academic year at university and starting their placement abroad - the equivalent of a semester in itself nearly.
For these reasons, starting your experience on foreign soil with a language course can be a great way to re-acquaint yourself with the language, learn some new vocabulary, and get used to living in the new country before the ‘real’ work begins.
They can be especially beneficial for anyone splitting their year between two, or even three different destinations. Spending the first half of the year in one country, and the next in another will mean that by the time you start your stint in your second place, it may have been over 6 months since you have had any real occasion to speak and practice the language!
Those splitting the year three ways may well find that with just a 10-12 week period left to dedicate to the third language, the only option is to do a long-term language course.
Although funding can sometimes be gained to help pay for language school tuition, anyone who has to find the money themselves will be relieved to know that affordable courses are available. There are a huge range of destinations to choose from too, which may well mean that you are fortunate enough to find a course in the exact place that you are due to study/work. Doing a language course where you are due to go as part of your year abroad will often give you a massive head-start in terms of meeting people, socialising and really getting to know the city.
Tags: university, abroad, placements, students, modern languages
Posted by Laura Harrison under Attitudes to Language Learning, Planning for a course,
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