Learning a language on campus - no longer lost in translation with the university’s worldwide language programme

Feeling less like a realistic goal and more like a very distant dream, learning a language at A-level was possibly a whole new level of stress. I’m not bilingual, I don’t have family or a house or villa to stay at in the south of France, nor did I have a French tutor; it seemed to me that with raised grade boundaries and little knowledge on the language I was très screwed. French became less a language of love and leaning more towards a language of panic and peril.

After having spent the next two years surrounding myself in the language, it seemed a shame not to take it further and continue. That’s when I found the Wider Language Programme in first year. Taking it in second term truly helped me continue it.

From the two-hour language lessons to access to the entire language library, language speech groups, the buddy programme; learning a language has never been so easy. After A-levels, I actively avoided the language, finding little inspiration to continue with it as it wasn’t apart of my daily routine anymore, I was no longer emersed in it therefore it did not exist. ‘Je ne regrette rien’, however I did regret the lack of French I chose to entertain after.

Since I’ve joined the wider language programme, I find French apart of my daily routine, any means necessary to immerse myself I take that opportunity. French Moreover, the change in grading and examination style from A-level to the Wider Langue Programme was far less stressful. Instead of monotonous, panic-provoking continuous listening, reading and speaking’s, you are given one exam, in which you can complete at home in your own pace, with access to unlimited resources beforehand to make sure you are efficiently prepared.

Ultimately, the Wider Language Programme has allowed me to rediscover a subject I feared was I would leave behind forever. For those studying a language and worried about loosing it, this programme proves that developing a language doesn’t have to stop when exams do.