[J'adoreMaCachette]

I'm planning to study French up to honours and two of German, Gaelic and Spanish up until 2nd year

I really want to do language assistant work abroad too Hoping for maybe the Caribbean cause they speak French and Spanish but that's probably not gonna happen :P Looking at applying to Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews, Stirling, Aberdeen and Strathclyde; need some help deciding between strathclyde and stirling though... Any other Scot students on here?

I really wish there were more linguists out there... I love languages so much!

[SunshineAndSmiles]

(Original post by J'adoreMaCachette)
I really wish there were more linguists out there... I love languages so much!

Agreed!!!

[weirdlikeluna]

(Original post by BeccaCath94)
This thread is awesome!!! hahaha
Firstly, are you doing the extended project related to your degree choice? I am thinking of doing it but a) have no idea what topic to choose!!!! and b) whether unis will care if i've done it....if they wont then i might not bother and concerntrate on the academic subjects more....
Secondly, what kind of work experience have you got? I'd be interested but have no idea where to get it from!!!! :/
I only got 2A*s, 5As and 4Bs so dont get yourself down!!!

Yes I'm doing the project based on France. Universities will definitely take note of the fact that you have done the extended project because it shows that you have a lot of skills e.g. working independantly. However if you feel pressured enough with the academic subjects then stick with those as they are more important overall.
I have work experience as a teaching assistant in a French class and a spanish class. I only got it through contacts though sorry so i don't know what you could do. Just look around and send in CV's to places etc... Good luck!

[such_a_lady]

@BeccaCath - I've done two weeks work experience in a school in Germany, teaching classes both in English and German. I've also done other stuff like helping with a project to teach Y8 kids German through sport, being a language assistant for Y10 and Y11 speaking exams, etc. What literature are you reading? At school we're doing the ultra-crap "Ich fuehl mich so fifty-fifty" which I do NOT class as literature. I have a whole SHELF full of stuff: Brecht, Frisch, Der Vorleser, Der Besuch Der Alten Dame, Faust in translation, Die Weisse Rose, Schiller, Shakespeare in German, a few more modern books like Mieses Karma, which is hilarious, these books for teenagers about best friends falling in love with different guys (you know, the usual), Draussen Vor Der Tuer, Thomas Mann, and my favourite, a book of Goethe's poems. I adore it and carry it around with me so I can analyse them in my spare time. Right now I'm writing an essay comparing the attitudes in Prometheus with Grenzen Der Menschheit, and therefore did lots of research into the Sturm und Drang and the Weimarer Klassik movements, which was so interesting. If you're interested in 20th century German stuff rather than 18th century, though, try "Stasiland" or "Die Weisse Rose", as well as watching Das Leben Der Anderen

[lilGem]

@BeccaCath
I've done some work experience at my old secondary school teaching French and Spanish, I will be spending 3 weeks this summer working for a law firm in Madrid, Senior langauges prefect so have led projects in school encouraging year 7/8 students to get enthusiastic about languages instead of the standard French, Spanish and German as well as going to Southampton University for a taster session of degree level languages. I'm currently working on the NVQ Italian and tutoring students in Spanish and Japanese.
In regards to literature I'm reading una chronica de una muerte anunciada and como agua para chocolate

[such_a_lady]

(Original post by lilGem)
@BeccaCath
I've done some work experience at my old secondary school teaching French and Spanish, I will be spending 3 weeks this summer working for a law firm in Madrid, Senior langauges prefect so have led projects in school encouraging year 7/8 students to get enthusiastic about languages instead of the standard French, Spanish and German as well as going to Southampton University for a taster session of degree level languages. I'm currently working on the NVQ Italian and tutoring students in Spanish and Japanese.
In regards to literature I'm reading una chronica de una muerte anunciada and como agua para chocolate

I'm doing Como Agua too! Was rereading enero in bed this morning in fact

And I went to Soton for the taster days too! When did you go?

[lilGem]

(Original post by such_a_lady)
I'm doing Como Agua too! Was rereading enero in bed this morning in fact

And I went to Soton for the taster days too! When did you go?

I didn't go to the taster day, I don't really fancy applying for a university in my home town. It was arranged through the school in year 11

[BeccaCath94]

(Original post by weirdlikeluna)
Yes I'm doing the project based on France. Universities will definitely take note of the fact that you have done the extended project because it shows that you have a lot of skills e.g. working independantly. However if you feel pressured enough with the academic subjects then stick with those as they are more important overall.
I have work experience as a teaching assistant in a French class and a spanish class. I only got it through contacts though sorry so i don't know what you could do. Just look around and send in CV's to places etc... Good luck!

Just france in general?? wow thats vague - but v good for a degree in french
Yeah im just wondering if it'll be too much with 4 subjects as well.. How many A2 subjects are you doing alonsige the EPQ?
Yeah ive helped out in a german class before at school so
Thank you

[BeccaCath94]

(Original post by such_a_lady)
@BeccaCath - I've done two weeks work experience in a school in Germany, teaching classes both in English and German. I've also done other stuff like helping with a project to teach Y8 kids German through sport, being a language assistant for Y10 and Y11 speaking exams, etc. What literature are you reading? At school we're doing the ultra-crap "Ich fuehl mich so fifty-fifty" which I do NOT class as literature. I have a whole SHELF full of stuff: Brecht, Frisch, Der Vorleser, Der Besuch Der Alten Dame, Faust in translation, Die Weisse Rose, Schiller, Shakespeare in German, a few more modern books like Mieses Karma, which is hilarious, these books for teenagers about best friends falling in love with different guys (you know, the usual), Draussen Vor Der Tuer, Thomas Mann, and my favourite, a book of Goethe's poems. I adore it and carry it around with me so I can analyse them in my spare time. Right now I'm writing an essay comparing the attitudes in Prometheus with Grenzen Der Menschheit, and therefore did lots of research into the Sturm und Drang and the Weimarer Klassik movements, which was so interesting. If you're interested in 20th century German stuff rather than 18th century, though, try "Stasiland" or "Die Weisse Rose", as well as watching Das Leben Der Anderen

Wow!!! I take it you want to do german at uni?? haha :P
Ive been a classroom assisstant at my school so....
Yeah we're reading that book too :/ The teacher seems to rate it but all reviews hate it!!!! We've only read chapter 1 so far though so....
Thank you for all the suggestions i'll have a look

[BeccaCath94]

(Original post by -Illmatic-)
I'm not exactly a language applicant but I'll be pursuing a minor in german

Economics with German

I want to do maths with/and german so...
Are you doing a level economics?

[BeccaCath94]

(Original post by lilGem)
@BeccaCath
I've done some work experience at my old secondary school teaching French and Spanish, I will be spending 3 weeks this summer working for a law firm in Madrid, Senior langauges prefect so have led projects in school encouraging year 7/8 students to get enthusiastic about languages instead of the standard French, Spanish and German as well as going to Southampton University for a taster session of degree level languages. I'm currently working on the NVQ Italian and tutoring students in Spanish and Japanese.
In regards to literature I'm reading una chronica de una muerte anunciada and como agua para chocolate

Wow!! Work experience abroad will look v good on UCAS/CVs but its so expensive!! :/
You seem to have done lots of stuff so im sure you'll get lots of offers

[such_a_lady]

(Original post by BeccaCath94)
Wow!!! I take it you want to do german at uni?? haha :P
Ive been a classroom assisstant at my school so....
Yeah we're reading that book too :/ The teacher seems to rate it but all reviews hate it!!!! We've only read chapter 1 so far though so....
Thank you for all the suggestions i'll have a look

You're doing Ich fuehl mich so scheisse scheisse? It's more badly written than Twilight. I can't stand books written in the present tense: it just sounds simplistic and the author is so patronising. Plus she's West German and therefore stereotypes EVERYONE: all the West Germans are horrible, all the foreigners are nice, etc. The main character is so deathly boring: all she does is moan, and I swear the most common sentence is "Traenen schiess ihr in die Augen"- every page! All the characters are one-dimensional and no one behaves like a real teenager in this book, I swear. Everyone's a cliche or a stereotype, and the book is nothing more than a condescending little history lesson. I railed against it to my teacher, but we're only doing it because it's easy and therefore gets us good marks, and because we can answer either the literature or the history question in the exam, because we're doing all the history to go with it. I think you can understand why I'm avoiding uni courses with either 20th century literature or an emphasis on 20th century history LIKE THE PLAGUE. And if you mention that book as "literature" in your PS they'll just laugh at you. That's how bad it is.

[Dusty12]

I don't do the EPQ, but my Welsh Bacc. investigation is comparing official bilingualism in Canada to bilingualism here in Wales. I'll mention it if I have space in my PS, but it would take sooo much room explaining.

(Original post by BeccaCath94)
Wow!! Work experience abroad will look v good on UCAS/CVs but its so expensive!! :/
You seem to have done lots of stuff so im sure you'll get lots of offers

Don't worry too much about W.E. abroad. Obviously it's a great experience on a personal level, but while I was at Bristol a few weeks ago, the languages faculty member I spoke to said it wasn't very important. He said they recognize that often it's just a case of someone having relatives/contacts in a specific country or a school that can organize such things.
I think tutoring younger students here in the UK, language clubs, books you've read etc etc are probably higher-regarded. I suppose it depends on the admission tutor's opinions too.

[such_a_lady]

(Original post by Dusty12)
:

Oh wow, what was Bristol like??

[Dusty12]

(Original post by such_a_lady)
Oh wow, what was Bristol like??

I was very impressed: you should def. check it out! They have a 'multimedia centre' thing specifically for modern languages. It has computer rooms(obviously), a library of foreign DVDs, a room with foreign language magazines and big flatscreen TVs connected to four sets of headphones so you can watch foreign TV with friends from your course. It also has a CINEMA just for the use of the language department. =O

The man that did the "Why study languages?" talk was from the Spanish department, and he was nice and personable. I didn't see much of the other staff because I was in a bit of a rush.

The one thing I didn't like too much was the MASSIVE proportion of prospective students that seemed to all go to private schools in the south of England. I know they're all probably lovely people really, but it's a bit of a culture shock considering I go to a comprehensive in Wales.

[BeccaCath94]

(Original post by such_a_lady)
You're doing Ich fuehl mich so scheisse scheisse? It's more badly written than Twilight. I can't stand books written in the present tense: it just sounds simplistic and the author is so patronising. Plus she's West German and therefore stereotypes EVERYONE: all the West Germans are horrible, all the foreigners are nice, etc. The main character is so deathly boring: all she does is moan, and I swear the most common sentence is "Traenen schiess ihr in die Augen"- every page! All the characters are one-dimensional and no one behaves like a real teenager in this book, I swear. Everyone's a cliche or a stereotype, and the book is nothing more than a condescending little history lesson. I railed against it to my teacher, but we're only doing it because it's easy and therefore gets us good marks, and because we can answer either the literature or the history question in the exam, because we're doing all the history to go with it. I think you can understand why I'm avoiding uni courses with either 20th century literature or an emphasis on 20th century history LIKE THE PLAGUE. And if you mention that book as "literature" in your PS they'll just laugh at you. That's how bad it is.

Awww im sorry you dont like it.
Like i said we've only read the first few pages so far and it seems ok, but all the reviews say its not!!
Yeah we're doing it for the simplicity but im still looking up 1/2 the words!!! :/
I know!! I dont want to do literature at uni at all!!!!!!

[BeccaCath94]

(Original post by Dusty12)
I was very impressed: you should def. check it out! They have a 'multimedia centre' thing specifically for modern languages. It has computer rooms(obviously), a library of foreign DVDs, a room with foreign language magazines and big flatscreen TVs connected to four sets of headphones so you can watch foreign TV with friends from your course. It also has a CINEMA just for the use of the language department. =O

The man that did the "Why study languages?" talk was from the Spanish department, and he was nice and personable. I didn't see much of the other staff because I was in a bit of a rush.

The one thing I didn't like too much was the MASSIVE proportion of prospective students that seemed to all go to private schools in the south of England. I know they're all probably lovely people really, but it's a bit of a culture shock considering I go to a comprehensive in Wales.

Wow!!! bristol sounds great!!
But yeah its a long way from my home in york and i dont think i'd fit in too well!!!

[such_a_lady]

(Original post by Dusty12)
I was very impressed: you should def. check it out! They have a 'multimedia centre' thing specifically for modern languages. It has computer rooms(obviously), a library of foreign DVDs, a room with foreign language magazines and big flatscreen TVs connected to four sets of headphones so you can watch foreign TV with friends from your course. It also has a CINEMA just for the use of the language department. =O

The man that did the "Why study languages?" talk was from the Spanish department, and he was nice and personable. I didn't see much of the other staff because I was in a bit of a rush.

The one thing I didn't like too much was the MASSIVE proportion of prospective students that seemed to all go to private schools in the south of England. I know they're all probably lovely people really, but it's a bit of a culture shock considering I go to a comprehensive in Wales.

Well after discarding Bath from my choices because there's a compulsory history module on Nazi Germany AND Divided Germany, and I think I'd rather pull my eyes out, I couldn't find a new fifth choice, and I checked my spreadsheet, saw the low offer, saw the high prettiness rating, the course looks good (apart from the fact that the Medieval German specialist is leaving, fml), and the email I got from them was so friendly, it is now my fifth choice

Thanks for the info And don't worry, I'm sure it won't matter once you're there...hopefully

[SimplyComplex]

Hello fellow linguists!

I'm applying to do French and I've so far decided on applying to Durham, ULIP, Birmingham and KCL. I can't decide on a 5th yet. :/

Best of luck to you all. [:

[BeccaCath94]

(Original post by -Illmatic-)
Wahey
I love maths and yeah i do economics

Yeah maths is gooood
I am also doing A level economics but am going to drop it for yr 13.... :/
Which unis are you interested in?