2^nd place Elliot Reeman (Italian and French)

Hello my name is Elliot, and I spent my year abroad in two parts: the first half in France and the second in Italy. These were two very different experiences, but both extremely enjoyable. In France, I was in Grenoble, in the south east of France close to the Alps. This is a beautiful region of the country with amazing mountainous scenery, very cold winters and gorgeous hot summers. I arrived at the start of September for my study placement at the university of Grenoble, but the weather still somehow reached 20+ degrees into November! The university campus is large and green much like reading, but with a team network running through it and Into the town. This was incredibly handy. We spend our weekends hiking, exploring the region and watching local rugby matches. The Christmas markets in Grenoble were Great, too! 

I was in Siena from February to mid July. I cannot speak highly enough of my time here. Like my time in France before, this was a study placement – at the university of Siena. After some initial administrative confusion with lecture buildings and paperwork, the classes were very interesting (and quite informal!) As for accommodation, I was living in delightfully Tuscan apartment with one other Italian guy my age (who was coincidently the son of the building’s landlady. Friends of mine from Reading also studying in Siena were living just 2 floors above me in the same apartment building. This combination of the usefulness of an Italian housemate and the comfort of my English friends so close was so perfect. As my picture shows, much of our free time was spent taking full advantage of the food and wine Tuscany has to offer. We explored Tuscany thoroughly and took trips to the closest coastal beaches. The weather from the start of May onwards was beautiful. This medieval town is the most charming place I could imagine studying on your year abroad, and it’s culture goes hand in hand with its beauty. 

This is a photo which I am both proud and also slightly embarrassed to say, was a VERY typical scene during my 6 months aboard in Siena.  Between our lectures we had signed up for during the semester, we would walk home, but on our way was the iconic Piazza Del Campo – the focal point of the town. With high quality bars, restaurants and cafes running the whole way around this central square, it was not hard to find yourself a seat outside, on the periphery of the Piazza with a cool class of Pinot Grigio and your choice of delicious aperitivo dishes.  This particular day, my close friend Sam was visiting from Genova, where he was studying.  After a spot of shopping, we rewarded ourselves with a drink in the warm sun whilst watching the world go by, appreciating the fortune of our opportunity to be living in such a beautiful country during our studies. Naturally, wanting to cause jealousy amongst my friends and family (and it being 2015), I took out my phone to send a photo of the sun hitting my glistening glass of wine. It was then that I noticed a perfectly clear reflection of the main clock tower of the Piazza in my wine glass. It didn’t even take two attempts to capture the beauty of my second home town in a way which also accurately represented the slow and indulgent lifestyle of its people.

3^rd  place – Jessica Kravetz (Italian and Management Studies)

I spent my third year abroad in Venice. During my year abroad I was able to fully immerse myself in Italian culture, history and art. I travelled to many different cities including Milan, Florence, Siena, Bergamo and Rome. Venice however was so unique and events such as Carnival and the frequent flooding of Aqua Alta (High Water)made it a truly inimitable experience. There with endless opportunities to explore the city’s calle, museums and galleries and I made new international friendships. I really enjoyed the endless opportunities to immerse myself in Italian art and architecture, it was a truly enriching experience.

“As well as the very important academic side of University, there is so much more on offer to enhance your social life and your CV!”

As well as the very important academic side of University, there is so much more on offer to enhance your social life and your CV! Reading has one of the largest Student Unions in the country!  The list of societies is endless, sport societies ranging from Hockey to Quidditch, and the general societies ranging from the lock picking society to the Circus Arts Society! There is most definitely something for everyone. Welcome Week is jam packed with opportunities to find out about all the different societies, and you can trial however many societies you want and then become a member! Societies organise nights out, day trips and even trips abroad! I’m currently the President of the Italian Society this year and it’s already given me so many opportunities to improve my planning skills, leadership skills and it’s also loads of fun! (Of course there is lots of pizza involved…)

Reading is also really big on volunteering! There’s a whole Facebook page and group of people who organise all sorts of fun volunteering activities! Another thing you can get involved with (and any volunteering you do will count towards this) is the Red Award! RED stands for Reading Experience and Development.  The RED Award is the University of Reading’s employability skills certificate and is awarded alongside your degree, so it’s a pretty good thing to have on your CV when you’re trying to stand out to employers! You just need to do 50 hours of extra-curricular activities outside of academic studies and then you can apply for the award. I’ve been to a few talks run by the University that count towards it, one was held by the founder of Green & Black’s chocolate! Red Award is a really simple thing to take part in and definitely worth it.

Reading also has its own ‘JobShop’ for students who are looking for part time jobs during their studies. The RUSU website is packed full of different vacancies, ranging from bar staff or shop floor staff to tutoring and babysitting positions. Whatever you’re looking for, I’m pretty certain you’ll find the type of job for you. Most of the jobs are term time only, which is also great as you are able to go home for Christmas and Easter without having to worry!

Being a Student Ambassador for the Modern Languages Department has also really enhanced my time at Reading. It means I help run Open Days, run private tours for prospective students and is even the reason I’m writing this article! I’ve only been doing this for a few months but have already grown in confidence and my organisation skills have improved, and it will look impressive on my CV too!

Essentially, the University of Reading is one of the most vibrant and active Universities! There is always something going on and everyone is so friendly and helpful that you never feel lost or scared. In my experience, the best thing to do is throw yourself into as much as possible throughout your time here and once you’ve graduated you will be able to look back on the best years of your life!

I recently returned from my year abroad where I spent four months studying in Toulouse and six months in Siena. The year abroad is perhaps the most important and exciting aspect of the modern languages degree for the students as is it an opportunity to gain independence, meet new people and really improve language skills.

“The year abroad for me was a real opportunity to develop as a person, independently, socially and with regards to my language too.”

There are so many options available to students at Reading with the year abroad and there is so much help at hand with choosing where to go, what to do and how to make the most of our time away. As I am a joint honours student, I was particularly lucky in that I was able to go to two places: France and Italy. This is the case for any joint honours student based on the languages they study. It was an incredibly daunting experience, choosing which two cities I would be spending half of my third year in, however we were very fortunate in that we had the fourth year students who were more than happy to advise us and discuss their experiences with us.

Before going on the year abroad I had to make the important decision as to whether I wanted to study at a university or work during my Erasmus period, and I chose to attend a university in both places as I was eager to see the differences to the university system in England. This choice was a positive one for me as I really enjoyed the experience of studying abroad, however a lot of people chose instead to work and also had an amazing time, and of course were earning money, which is always a bonus!

When I finally arrived in Toulouse in early September and again in Siena in February, it was safe to say I was terrified, however it did not take long to make myself at home because I quickly met many Erasmus students who were in the same position as me. It was definitely easier to adjust to life in Siena as I had already experienced a big move and was slightly more experienced. However, what I found so amazing about moving abroad was how friendly people are and how strong the friendships you form become because everyone is in the same boat and everyone wants to make the experience the best it can be.

Studying in French and Italian classes and going to lectures was definitely a challenge but a good one as I noticed quickly how well my language developed, and through the classes I met other students, both English and international and it definitely helped form friendships with local students too. I would strongly encourage anyone going on a year abroad to really try and socialise with students from the country in which you are living because it is so beneficial for your language and it also becomes an excellent excuse to go back and visit!

“There are so many options available to students at Reading with the year abroad and there is so much help at hand with choosing where to go.”

For me, one of the best aspects of the year abroad was getting to know the culture of the two countries. Having studied French and Italian for so long, it was really nice to be able to spend some time in both countries to really understand and experience everything they have to offer. I used the time very well in my opinion, making sure I tried all the cheeses I could get my hands on and drinking all the different wines the regions made! It is safe to say, I will never eat a ready meal again.

The year abroad for me was a real opportunity to develop as a person, independently, socially and with regards to my language too. It is quite incredible what you can do when you are thrown into something and have to sort things out for yourself, whether that be finding an apartment, opening a bank account or sitting an exam. The people I met abroad have become some of my closest friends and will continue to be for many years to come, so much so that I am already planning to go back and visit in the next few months. It was the most daunting endeavour I have had to face so far in my life however I can now say looking back that I do consider it the best year of my life!

Studying a language is undoubtedly one of the most enriching and useful challenges as a young person. Modern Languages open up a wide and exciting range of opportunities that extend far beyond just a summer holiday. However in my opinion, grammar, tenses and translation may not be enough. There’s so much more to study when it comes to Modern Languages at the University of Reading. As a final year student, I can safely say that my language skills have been immensely improved thanks to my understanding of Europe as a whole. By choosing to study European culture, politics and history modules within our department, I’ve been able to add a depth of context and understanding to my degree. The European Studies modules are available as options throughout your time as a Modern Languages student, and cover a variety of topics to suit all interests. The selection of European Studies modules on offer at Reading are among the most exciting and flexible in the UK.

In my first year of study I chose two European modules, which together covered the basic history of Europe. We looked at the formation of Europe, and the wars and battles for independence that have changed the make-up of the continent. This provided a brilliant starting point, and definitely appealed to my inner historian! These two European Studies modules ended up being my favourite across the whole first year, this was thanks to the excellent teaching and accessible design of the course. It was easy to follow, and I learnt a variety of quirky and interesting facts about traditions and daily life across Europe. As Modern Languages students, we have constant access to a range of resources in the department, available throughout the year for extra reading. The French, German and Spanish newspapers available to read in the resources room help to keep our knowledge of current affairs up-to-date. There is also an extensive collection of European history texts in the university library to assist us with essay writing and research.

European Studies modules are a brilliant way to challenge and test our abilities as Modern Language students, they contain concepts and topics that are often new and may not have been covered at A-Level. For example, I was slightly overwhelmed by the different institutions of the European Union, and the process used to implement laws. Despite this, the lecturers made the content accessible and interesting, it was really satisfying to get to grips with such engaging discussions! Not only do we have fun and varied seminars during our weekly schedules, I was lucky enough to visit the Natural History Museum with my EU modules during Enhancement week. Visiting the Darwin centre really helped to visualise some of the concepts we’d studied in European sociology, it was great to apply our knowledge in real-world scenarios.

I would definitely encourage any Modern Language student to consider the European Studies modules at Reading, it is an exciting and ever changing time to be studying all things Europe. Not only will this give you a solid context for your essays and background knowledge for presentations, it is engaging and fun! Lots of international and ERASMUS students choose to take EU modules, so it’s a great way to make friends from around the world, you can even perfect your language conversational skills. EU modules give you the opportunity and flexibility to personalise your language course, choosing courses from the participating departments. It’s a great way to study the subjects that appeal to you the most. I’ve gained a variety of skills including presenting, project management and analytical thinking. Most importantly, I now have a detailed knowledge of European countries, cultures and the institutions of the European Union. European modules at the University of Reading have been an excellent foundation for me, and as a final year student I feel well equipped to face a competitive job market both at home and across Europe.