Meet the 2016/2017 REALIE Bloggers. They’ll be blogging throughout the year about their experiences abroad as well as the skills they are gaining there!
Emily Sims // English and French // Work Placement // Paris, France
“Spending time working abroad will certainly present some challenges to me; as someone who isn’t naturally confident in their language abilities, my biggest worry (and one that I think is shared by most linguists going abroad) is not being able to understand others and feeling intimidated. However, I’m determined to challenge myself at every opportunity and develop my confidence both professionally and personally.”
Lizzy Oliver // History // Study Placement // Potsdam, Germany
“During my Year abroad, I am hoping to develop my networking and language skills! As a non-languages students, my ability to speak German is pretty basic, and I am hoping to develop this during my time aboard through attending Careers’ events put on by the university and making friends with other international students studying in Germany.”
Charlie Merry // Spanish and History // British Council // Avilés, Asturias, Spain
“While I am in Spain I will be conducting interviews for a research project. Through this I am hoping to improve my research and communication skills. I will also be working as an English Assistant, where I hope to improve my team work skills by collaborating with the teachers I will be working with.”
Read Charlie’s blog posts here
Ed Dunn // History // Study Placement // Potsdam, Germany
“ Next year I am hoping to improve my German language skills, as this was my main reason to go to Potsdam, but I’m also hoping to further develop my ability to adapt to new environments and study a subject that’s not History, as I’m doing mainly Politics and English modules next year.”
Beth Port // English with Spanish // Study Placement // Barcelona, Spain
“My plan is to immerse myself in the Spanish culture in order to improve my ability to speak the language. Apart from studying, I’m looking forward to experiencing the laid-back beach culture first-hand and getting to know other students from all over the world! My only worry is being home-sick, but I’m confident that once my adventure begins, I’ll be too excited to think about it!”
Maya Patel // French and Spanish // Study Placement // Grenada, Spain
“ I’m hoping that my year abroad will not only improve my fluency but also my confidence when having conversations with native Spanish speakers. Although I will have to overcome the Andalusian accent to begin with, speaking the language will get easier with every day. I am looking forward to meeting new people and making Granada feel like home.”
Alice Tildsley // English and French // Work Placement // Paris, France
“I’m mostly looking forward to living in a huge and busy city with lots of culture and things to do! I’m looking forward to a moment when I can understand a film or conversation in French. And finally, making friends with colleagues and enjoying my internship (fingers crossed!).”
Rochâne Temple // History // Study Placement // Cyprus
“ There are two things I’m hoping to improve on my year abroad; the first would be my social and communication skills as I’ve often been told that I don’t make much sense when trying to explain things and the second is language, I am hoping that going to a non-English speaking country that I will develop a new language which may help me learn other languages as well.”
Read Rochâne’s blog posts here
Sean McDonnell // Film // Study Placement // Galway, Ireland
“I was born and raised in Cork but in 2004 I moved in England. As strange as it may seem to head back home for a year, especially considering other host universities included Sweden and South Korea, I believe I will make the most out of returning home through studying an interesting range of film modules alongside modules from subjects including history, philosophy and sociology. I am hoping to improve my skills in time management most of all since I sometimes struggle with keeping up with deadlines.”
