YEAR ABROAD VLE FORUM DISCUSSION SHOWING HIGH LEVEL OF CRITICAL REFLECTION AND PEER
TEACHING
What the Year Abroad has meant to you.
by Catherine Hampton - Tuesday, 9 April 2013, 9:54 AM
A quick, one question questionnaire for you. I have my own theories about why the Year Abroad
is such an important year for you, but I'd like to hear yours. If you get a moment, could you
answer the question below:
o
For you, what has been the most important outcome of your Year Abroad:
o language improvements:
o confidence building;
o cultural awareness;
o stronger / clearer sense of self;
o other.
Please grade these 1 – 4, with 1 at the low end and 4 at the high end. Please add any comments
you think appropriate to explain your choices.
Many thanks!
Cathy
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Re: What the Year Abroad has meant to you.
- Thursday, 11 April 2013, 11:59 AM
4) Language improvements:
It’s very difficult to monitor your language progress over the course of the year. I found that it
used to vary from day to day depending on how much French I had actually spoken that day.
However, now that I’m coming to the end of my Erasmus year, I can definitely see significant
improvements. If I’m honest, I would say that I’ve learnt a lot more from making foreign friends
and socialising with them than I have in any of the lessons at my host university. Although, I
would also say that while my oral French has vastly improved, I’m not too sure if my grammar is
at the same level. My main concern at the moment is that if I spend my summer back in the UK it
may be detrimental to the progress I have made this year so I’m trying my best to find a summer
job here.
3) Confidence building:
My confidence has definitely improved over the course of the year. There are a lot of Erasmus
students here and because of that the temptation to speak English is always present. However,
YEAR ABROAD VLE FORUM DISCUSSION SHOWING HIGH LEVEL OF CRITICAL REFLECTION AND PEER
TEACHING
by taking a few classes where I am the only English speaker, I’ve been able to meet and
socialise with a few French speakers. Classes such as “Introduction to law”, Chinese, badminton
and football training, despite being daunting at first, have really forced me to come out of my
comfort zone. The hardest part I’ve found is keeping up in conversation amongst solely French
students due the speed of their conversations as well as the use of slang. However, at times I’ve
been able to manipulate conversation to subjects that I know enough about to keep myself
involved.
2) Cultural awareness:
Over the course of the year I’ve met a number of people from all over the world, coming from
completely different backgrounds. It has really been an enriching experience for me. Learning
more about French culture as well as other European countries has been both an enjoyable and
educational experience. I’ve found many social differences especially with regards to religion. For
example, I’ve made a few Muslim friends over my time here and I was surprised to find a few
differences between Muslim culture here in comparison to the UK.
1) Stronger/clearer sense of self:
This has been the aspect of my year abroad that I have doubted the most. There have been
many times over the year where I’ve been laden with apathy. I feel that when the year abroad
does not count towards your degree whatsoever it’s difficult to motivate yourself at times. Now
that the work load has actually built up, I find myself being able to concentrate and focus with
more clarity. The thing that worries me the most is how on earth I’m going to be able to make the
change from this year to next year, where everything I do will have so much more importance. I
think it might actually be better for this year to count towards your final degree, even if it’s only 5
or 10 percent. In that way, you’d be more determined to work and hopefully that would carry
through to final year.
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Re: What the Year Abroad has meant to you.
- Thursday, 11 April 2013, 1:56 PM
As much as I love you, I totally champion the French department’s decision NOT to make the
year abroad count towards our degrees. Apart from avoiding the difficulties that would (surely?)
arise from trying to fairly evaluate the progress made by Erasmus students, teaching assistants
and those who have spent the year working alike, I think the decision acknowledges the fact that
the year abroad is - and should be - about much more than just academic performance. As
Cathy’s questionnaire suggests, the year abroad gives us the time and the space to get to know
ourselves – our strengths, weaknesses, motivations and ambitions – and to make our own
decisions based on our own, individual interests. I don’t know. I think I’d just worry that as soon
as you make the year abroad count in the sort of narrow, academic sense, you’d have an
adverse effect on the potential of the year abroad to count in the broader, 'life-experience' sort of
way. Maybe...
YEAR ABROAD VLE FORUM DISCUSSION SHOWING HIGH LEVEL OF CRITICAL REFLECTION AND PEER
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Re: What the Year Abroad has meant to you.
- Thursday, 11 April 2013, 4:45 PM
I definitely see where you’re coming from. It would be near impossible to evaluate all the
language students while differentiating between Erasmus students and the teaching assistants.
Maybe it would be possible if the Warwick essays were assessed? Saying that, I think that it’s
difficult for me to see it from the other side of the fence because of how I feel the year has gone
for me with regards to work. I’m sure I’d be complaining if I had assessed work to do for Warwick
during the year. In the past I’ve never really had too much trouble working, whereas this year I’ve
found myself struggling for motivation at times, which is quite unlike me. It’s only now that I’ve got
quite a few essays and exams to get through that I’ve got back into a focused, working mentality.
My concern was primarily based on whether I’d be able to make the transition between this year
and final year, where I feel I haven’t benefited greatly from the classes this year. I completely
agree that the year abroad should be more than just about academic merit.
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Re: What the Year Abroad has meant to you.
- Thursday, 11 April 2013, 7:07 PM
Not only would I like to reiterate everything Rose has said (in fact, this post will probably just reword everything she mentioned!), but I would also like to point out some other things. Apart from
it being difficult to assess everyone with regards to Erasmus placements, teaching assistantships
and work placements (I'd just like to point out that some people's working hours may be 8.3017:30 or even longer), I would also like to make a point of considering Joint Honours Languages
students who are spending the majority of their Year Abroad in a non-Francophone country. Of
course, the essays are a great way of ensuring we keep at least a bit of French up but if these
were to be assessed, I think that would be hugely unfair! Any other assessment would be equally
so. I think we should appreciate this year as a year off from intensely studying Balzac etc and
return with refreshed energy in October. Of course, I'm not saying getting back into Warwick after
a year off will be easy, however I'm fairly sure we will accustom ourselves to the hectic pace of
Final Year...simply because we'll have to! We have the chance of arranging our own studying
during our Year Abroad; how much we do or don't study is completely a personal choice. Whilst I
understand where you're coming from, Rahul, that it might be hard to motivate yourself for exams
that don't count, this could partly be to do with you wanting to take advantage of everything else
that the Year Abroad offers you, rather than doing an essay that doesn't count. As you pointed
out in your first post, Rahul, you have been able to improve your speaking ability by making
friends with French people. You've been travelling too, thus experiencing new things. If this year
counted towards your degree, I doubt you'd be so willing to do so. Therefore, I would like to say
that the Year Abroad should most definitely not just be about improving academically, it should
be about developing yourself in a variety of ways; predominately, of course, in terms of language
ability but I feel that this covers many skills, not just writing essays. I enjoy the fact that I now
YEAR ABROAD VLE FORUM DISCUSSION SHOWING HIGH LEVEL OF CRITICAL REFLECTION AND PEER
TEACHING
have enough time to read books in German at my own leisure, something I never have time for at
Warwick as there are so many other compulsory books to read. Additionally, for Erasmus
students, having the Year Abroad not count towards our degree gives us the freedom to take
advantage of the many different courses on offer at European universities; would you, Rahul, for
example, have been so keen to study such a difficult subject as Law in French if you know that
that module mark would somehow contribute to your degree? I would agree that Erasmus is all
about experience, not about stressing out over assessments.
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Re: What the Year Abroad has meant to you.
Friday, 12 April 2013, 12:07 PM
I completely understand where you guys are coming from. I was only expressing my view from
the experience of university that I’ve had this year. Obviously, many of you would’ve had different
experiences. Looking back on it, what kind of an idiot complains about not having assessed work
on a year abroad? I probably should’ve kept that thought to myself. It’s just with a number of my
friends graduating this year and the pressure to find a career path after university, I’m already
worrying about the importance of next year. I’ll amend my earlier post.
1)
Stronger/clearer sense of self:
My Erasmus year has definitely allowed me to reflect on several of my key strengths and
weaknesses, especially with regards to my attitude towards work. I’ve found that, whilst working
with pressure is difficult, I have found it even more difficult to work without pressure. It's only now
that i've got a number of exams and essays to get through that i've got myself back into the
working frame of mind. This is something I’ll clearly have to work on to ensure that I give myself
enough time for assignments next year at Warwick. However, I’m confident that I’ll be able to iron
out these weaknesses before the start of next term.
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Re: What the Year Abroad has meant to you.
Sunday, 14 April 2013, 8:47 PM
Hope this isn't too long. For me, thusly;
4: Cultural Awareness. The year abroad has really been a fantastic experience for me culturally.
Fundamentally, there's not a great deal of difference between French and English life. Beyond
encountering little nuances such as better bread, rudely cutting the cheese incorrectly at a dinner
party and trying to drink pastis without water the two collèges where I work have really exposed
me to two social milieus I have never experienced. One school is in a small rural village with a
couple of thousand residents about 40 kilometres from where I live in Le Mans. Small-town rural
YEAR ABROAD VLE FORUM DISCUSSION SHOWING HIGH LEVEL OF CRITICAL REFLECTION AND PEER
TEACHING
life is something I've never experienced. Personally, I'm glad I didn't take up their offer to live at
the school, but I have found it fascinating to see the way the many people who depend on
agriculture live. My other school is in a very poor quartier of Le Mans, which is itself not a
particularly prosperous city. It's very multicultural and at times has been very challenging (read
suicide, racism & violence), but has ultimately been rewarding and socio-culturally eye-opening. I
have also had the time and money to travel and have visited several countries and a decent
handful of French cities in my holidays which has been excellent.
3: Language Improvements. I agree with everyone else here who's stated how integral it is to live
with a native speaker. The first month or so I was here I lived in a foyer with several other
assistants, and, outside of work, rarely spoke French. In November I moved in with a French
philosophy teacher at a lycée where one of my British compatriots works and my language and
accent has come along well since then (I would like to think). Luckily he's been very patient with
me and seems to always the gist of what I'm trying to say, even first thing in the morning.
Whether that's my improvement or his ability to deconstruct my accidental riddles is anyone's
guess but I definitely feel more confident. However, the more I feel I improve the more I
recognize my many shortcomings. I have quite a gung-ho attitude towards assigning things
genders and sometimes think I can say things more complicated than I really can and end up
floundering hopelessly.
2: Sense of self. The sheer amount of spare time the average assistant has allows for a lot of
reflection. I definitely feel I know myself better after starting a new life abroad and I've also had
time to read for pleasure for the first time in a couple of years and think about what it is I want to
do with my life (not teach English to 11 year olds being one of my first realizations). I am glad this
year is unassessed as I've realized how much I actually enjoy independent study. The break was
perhaps necessary but I feel I can approach next year with a rejunevated attitude towards my
degree. I've also had time to work on my hobbies and socialize with some great people who have
helped me develop as a person.
1: Confidence building. I feel much more confident speaking to large groups of people and have
grown more confident speaking French to strangers/in front of other English people (something I
found initially slightly awkward). This is not something I was too concerned with before though,
so is therefore bottom.
Rob
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Re: What the Year Abroad has meant to you.
- Monday, 15 April 2013, 9:15 AM
Dear all,
I've just read several of your contributions and have found them really
interesting. […]
YEAR ABROAD VLE FORUM DISCUSSION SHOWING HIGH LEVEL OF CRITICAL REFLECTION AND PEER
TEACHING
When I first arrived in Germany with my family, it sounds stupid but I was
so nervous when we were at the ice cream parlour (standard) and my
parents wanted me to order for them. I was so nervous and actually just
spoke to the lady in very broken German i.e. I pointed at the pictures and
said "das, bitte". Now I've absolutely no problem with going up to
strangers in the street (yes, I am that annoying person) to ask for
directions or having a casual chat with an over-friendly person on the
train.
3) Cultural awareness: This was particularly important for me. Having
lived with a family since August, I have really experienced German family
life first hand and I've completely loved it. I've experienced real German
food, German beer (so cliché), German football (season ticket holder for
BVB), and German politics (have been on a couple of political anti-Neo
Nazi demonstrations). Working in a school also lets you see the variety of
people of different backgrounds in Germany, such as second generation
Turkish children, whose families now give different additions to German
culture. Admittedly having been quite ignorant before, I'm so much more
culturally unaware and it's all been thanks to my YA.
4) Language improvement: By far the most important aspect of my year
abroad, I could never have dreamt that my German would have become
so good! It's by no means perfect, but as my peers will know, I've always
been quite reluctant to speak in my oral classes for fear of making a
mistake, but now I've realised it doesn't matter if you do, you just have to
try! Having lived with my German family, with whom I believe I'll always
remain in contact, I have been exposed to little German words which I
never properly understood before having not seen them in context e.g.
"doch" and have learnt little expressions, colloquialisms and
conversational phrases which really make a difference. Listening has
always been my worst discipline but now I would say that it's my best,
and I'm so happy with how my language has developed. I would say that
it's all thanks to my German family. I would strongly recommend that any
Erasmus student, who is really willing to improve their language, live with
a family or a couple and speak often with them. I know some students
who chose to live with other Erasmus students and just speak English for
the majority of the time and I would have been one of them, had I not
forced myself to live with a family. (This is not to say that those who live
with English speaking Erasmus students haven't improved their
French/German!! I would just say that it's the best thing to do in order to
experience language first hand).
Thank you for reading, and I'll see you all in October!
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Saturday, 20 April 2013, 8:08 PM
I’d categorise them as follows:
1 – Cultural awareness. As a French and History student, I always feel naturally drawn to
analysing cultural differences, so actually being able to live on a day-to-day basis in France has
offered the perfect opportunity for an exercise in cultural observation. What I've found, and I'm
not sure whether anyone has had the same experience, is that living abroad throws into relief
both the positive aspects and the deficiencies of your 'native' culture and that of your 'host'
country.
Despite some initial culture shock, I’ve come to respect many parts of the French ‘ethic’ which I
believe goes well beyond the rather stunted view of ‘life, work and play’ we have in the AngloSaxon world. To take the most stereotypically ‘French’ example: yes, it is very annoying when no
one seems to have any common definition of what constitutes the ideal length of a lunch break
(my lycée has ninety minutes, the local tabac two hours and the boulangerie three hours), but I
would rather those ninety minutes to properly eat something (I'm convinced that I'm turning into a
food snob) and have a chat with colleagues/friends than the miserly fifty minutes I used to have
at school…
That said, on a more negative note, I find the way that the French treat their lycéens too babyish.
It’s quite depressing that sixth-form students are still called ‘pupils’ and don't have a common
room in which to relax between classes. Worse still, they are not encouraged to think critically for
themselves, instead of assembling rather prosaic responses and using the same, rigid essay and
presentation structures ordained from on high (both in English classes and the handful
of histoire-géo classes that the teachers in these subjects have kindly let me observe). This is all
the more so when the ‘notions’ studied for thebaccalauréat (‘myths and heroes’, ‘the idea of
progress’, ‘spaces and exchanges’) are open to original and individual interpretations.
2 – Language improvements. I’ve particularly enjoyed being able to pick up a more varied – and
perhaps more ‘informal’ – vocabulary; and in this respect, eavesdropping on the conversations of
your students is absolutely perfect. I’ve noticed quite a few mots parasites (such as ‘fin’, ‘ben’
and the untranslatable ‘quoi’ at the end of a sentence). I find these ‘untranslatable’ elements of
the language are both interesting and frustrating – there have even been moments when I’ve
been unable to express myself in English but have known exactly what I want to say in French.
3 – Confidence building.
4 – Clearer sense of self. It has certainly been rewarding to have students respond positively to
lessons that I prepare. However, I’m more certain now (than I was before) that secondary
teaching isn’t for me (see above).