My Year Abroad

Bonjour! Je m'appelle Chris et je viens d'Ecosse! J'étudie dans la belle ville d'Edinbourg et je fais les langues étrangères et la communication interculturelle à  Napier.

Je m’intéresse vraiment pour la culture française et toute l’actualité des pays francophones et donc quoi qu’il en soit, je pense que je suis tout à fait prêt à aller en France et que cette immersion sera décisive dans mes progrès et m‘aidera à passer le dernier palier. 

---

So, it is now official! I will be spending my 3rd year abroad in Aix en Provence studying Univeristé Aix-Marseille. My intentions for my year abroad are outlined below and I'm now very excited as the reality has begun to set in!

Having looked at available programmes of study, Université Aix-Marseille offers very intense language programmes that allow students to embody themselves in the language and culture. The contact hours for learning are more than double of what I currently have for French and German at Napier. This will provide me with an incredible chance to focus on both of my current languages and drive towards a higher level of fluency, allowing me to gain a substantial head start in the business world as a bilingual, but native English speaker.  

Furthermore, the wide variety of languages on offer would allow me to study other new, perhaps more obscure, languages in the second semester, opening up another avenue of possibilities. Being able to translate from French into Bulgarian is something I’m sure not many people can do. However, this could be possible following an intensive year abroad in Aix-en-Provence

Aix-Marseille would not only provide me with a chance to develop academically but also culturally. The university is situated in an area of France abundant with culture and from this well connected part of the country, Italy and Switzerland are all accessible by train within 5 hours. This gives me the opportunity to travel and further embrace the authentic French or European cultures as well as develop out with a class room environment.

In summary, the modules and teaching available to me at Aix-Marseille will allow me to strengthen and continue to develop my language skills as well as experience French culture first hand for an extended period of time. This will not only stand me in good stead for my dissertation year but also for a bright future career in languages in a global business context.