Category Archives: Get to Know the IWLP

IWLP German: “It did so much more than teach me a new language.”

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Hallo, mein Name ist Bella. I began my German Stage 1 module a young woman stands in front of boats in a harbousin my final year of studies as a Film, Theatre and Television student. As someone who always struggled learning languages in school, I was determined to try again at learning a language before I completed my time at university. But deciding to learn a whole new language in my final year was a risk, knowing how much work third year demands of you. I was definitely nervous walking into my first IWLP lesson; however, after just a couple of weeks I began looking forward to my lessons as an enjoyable change from everything Film and Theatre.

It got my brain working in a different way, which I think really aided my entire studies. I would absolutely recommend taking an IWLP course as soon as you can, because after just one year, I wish I had more time to continue my studies in German… and I never thought I would be wishing for more time at uni!

The introduction of German TV and film was as a useful resource to practice listening skills, but as a film and TV student, it had a much bigger impact on me and my work as a student. This influence is something I did not think of when choosing to learn German alongside my main studies. As a result of taking my IWLP module, I selected a German documentary (Die Unsichtbaren: Wir wollen leben, 2017) to discuss in my final essay. Now my list of German TV and film is only growing, as I aim to one day be able to watch German speaking film without the aid of subtitles. I really feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to take this IWLP course because it did much more than solely teach me a new language. I am looking forward to travelling to Germany and Austria in a few weeks to be able to put my language skills to the test. Though I am not sure any beginner in German can be expected to use all the variations of the word ‘the’ correctly… 😉

If you are on this page and thinking of taking an IWLP course, do it! And choose German, you’ll have the most fun!

 

IWLP Arabic: “One of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done.”

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As-Salaam-Alaikum!

My name is Phoebe, and I am currently completing my Masters in the Theory and Practise of Clinical Psychology. I was part of the IWLP Arabic family during my first and second years of my undergraduate Psychology course here at the University. I am originally British but plot twist… I have lived most of my life in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When I came back to the UK to start university, I missed home so much, so I thought that studying the Arabic language would cure my homesickness – to fast forward, it really did.a young woman sits in a restaurant surrounded by palm trees

Although I did grow up in the Middle East, I couldn’t read or write in Arabic, so when I first started the module, I was pretty nervous since everything is so different in Arabic compared to English! But with time and practice, I eventually got the hang of it, and all of a sudden Arabic wasn’t as scary as I first thought it would be. What I loved about the module was that the Middle Eastern culture was intertwined into the classes, giving so much more meaning to the words we were learning.

I think one of my proudest moments was during one of our final year speaking exams, when we were given the opportunity to describe a full scenario in Arabic to our lecturer. I chose to talk about a travelling experience. I remember finishing what I had to say, and I couldn’t believe that I spoke fluently in Arabic, and just how far I had come!

If I had to say one thing to someone starting an IWLP module is: don’t be scared, and you can do it! It may seem near impossible, but I promise you that, with the support you are given and some hard work, you will go far, and learning a language is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done.

Ma Salama and good luck!

 

IWLP French: secret codes and Beauty and the Beast

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Business Management student Olga has taken IWLP French for three years: she started at Stage 2 as a post-beginner in her first year and is now finishing her degree at an intermediate level with Stage 4. In her photo, she is stood next to a magnolia tree in a French village near Strasbourg (Did you know that magnolia trees are named after a French botanist, Pierre Magnol?). Read all about Olga’s experience and advice for future IWLP learners:

Salut everyone!

My name is Olga and I am currently in my third year as a Business Management student. I started studying French when I was still in school but eventually had to stop due to being in my final year. I restarted French in my first year of university as my 6th module. Initially I chose it ba woman looks up at a tree in a French villageecause I knew the language and thought it would be interesting to be trilingual, but as time passed, I remembered that I enjoyed talking in another language… it’s a like a secret code. Between you and me, I speak French with my mum when I want to tell her a secret. Of course, like any foreign language, there were challenges – for example, speaking is the most difficult for me. From pronunciation to correct order of words, it needs time and effort to get used to. But we have projects that aide in exactly those areas. We could choose from a variety of cultural references and present our findings; I talked about the food and cuisine presented in Beauty and the Beast.

I think the most valuable advice I could give to someone who is considering taking the IWLP module is: go for it! It will be challenging and you will have to put effort in, but you get to learn about different civilizations and cultures. If you are worried about how much time you should spent in improving your chosen language, speak to your tutor, see a film, find friends that are native in that language…. not everything is about reading and memorising a book.

À bientôt everyone!

 

IWLP Chinese: Diversify your degree

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Hi there, myThe author of the post is a young man smiling in a white shirt name is Morgan, and I graduated with a Business degree in 2022. I did IWLP Chinese for two years and I really enjoyed it as my tutor helped me find a very difficult language very interesting. One thing learning with the IWLP has given me is massive inspiration to undertake an internship in Taiwan, which I will be doing for around three or four months. I will be working for a renewable energy company and practising my Chinese, which is a very cool opportunity. One of the other reasons I really enjoyed IWLP Chinese is because it gave me a bit of diversity from my degree and shifted me away from the standard marketing and accounting stuff. I feel that this opportunity to diversify is an incredibly invaluable part of the IWLP modules.