This academic year, DAAD Lektorin Sandra Beer has organised a Modern Languages year abroad photo competition. The wonderful pictures of our students can be found on the departmental Facebook site and on Twitter. Three pictures were voted to be the best ones and this is what the winners tell us about their experience on their year abroad:
1st place Zara Al Naimi (French and English Literature)
Hello, my name is Zara Alnaimi and I spent my year abroad in Angoulême, SW France, working as an English assistant in two primary schools. The town of Angoulême is relatively small although it is famous for La Bande Dessinée (BD) and is home to the celebrated BD festival which takes place every year. During my year abroad, I was living in accommodation with other assistants from all over the world. Although English was our common language, we tried to speak French as much as we could and regularly went to restaurants and the cinema to watch French films. We also enjoyed experiencing French life and eating as much cheese and bread as we could! On the weekends, we usually traveled around South West France to places such as Bordeaux, La Rochelle and Poitiers. The photograph I submitted for the year abroad competition was from a lovely day on the beach at La Rochelle. A particular highlight for me was hiring a car in France so we could all visit Bordeaux, and driving on the French motorway which was scary but enjoyable! As expected, I met many French people whilst I was abroad and this really improved my language skills.
In terms of working as a language assistant, this was a very interesting experience: it really was a change from essays and assignments at university! Standing up in front of thirty children and teaching can be a very daunting experience, but once you get into the swing of things it is very rewarding. I really appreciated the children’s enthusiasm for learning English and it was enjoyable to create lesson plans for all the classes. Both of my schools have kept in touch since and it is so nice to hear how the children and teachers are getting on. Working as an assistant also gave me a sense of independence, adaptability and greatly improved my linguistic capabilities. I absolutely loved being part of the French culture and tried to make the most of my time abroad! Finally, I do miss France very much and my year abroad will always have a special place in my heart.