Steve's sandbox

Tag: France

  • Amy Clark, Montpellier, France – November 2014

    Amy Clark – La Plagne, Geneva, Nov 2014

    Cet mois a été plus tranquille pour moi, je n’ai fais pas beaucoup des choses outre que le travail. Le temps a commencé a changé comme c’est novembre maintenant et il a plu beaucoup récemment, ce qui est toujours un dommage. Je vais être honnête et dire que ils me manquent ma famille, mon fiancé, mes copains et en général être chez moi en Angleterre, c’est très difficile à vivre dans un autre pays et être des milliers miles de la. Je sais que cette occasion pouvoir vivre et travailler à l’étranger est incroyable et j’ai bien profité d’apprendre la langue ici et voir nouvelles choses, mais je suis impatient pour finir le travail et passer deux semaines en Angleterre pour les vacances noëls, avant revenir pour les derniers deux mois de mon stagiaire en France.

    Cependant, je voudrais parler du week-end dernier que j’ai passé en Genève. Mon copain a juste commencé un stage dans La Plagne, travailler dans une station de ski ce qui est situé a proximité, donc trois de mes amis et moi ont passés le week-end découvrir la belle ville de Genève. J’ai pris le train qui duré environ 4 heures mais le temps passé assez vite et je suis arrivée fin de vendredi soir. Nous avons fait beaucoup des choses ; nous avons visités le Lac Léman et le Jet d’Eau, nous avons fait un petit tour de la ville en train et nous sommes allées aux bars et restaurants traditionnels différents pendant les deux jours.  C’était assez cher, donc ce est une bonne chose que nous n’y sommes allés que pour le week-end, mais c’est une très jolie ville et nous avons bien profités.

    Plusieurs choses cet mois a me fait réaliser que mes compétences français ont améliorés; par exemple, j’ai encore plus confiance quand je parle aux clients au travail, je suis beaucoup plus vite quand j’écrire des emails en français et aussi j’ai eu a traiter des choses importantes en français, tels que appeler ma banque, ce qui a bien passé. En général je me sens que tout est devenir plus facile chaque semaine et j’espère que quand je revienne à l’université il sera perceptible par mes professeurs.

    Amy Clark – Nov14

     

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION

    This month has been much quieter for me; I haven’t done much apart from go to work. The weather has started to change as were in November now and it’s rained a lot recently which is always a shame. I am going to be honest and say that I miss my family, friends and fiancé and generally being at home. It’s really hard to live thousands of miles away. I know that this opportunity to be able to live and work abroad is amazing and I have really enjoyed learning the language here and seeing new things, but I’m looking forward to spending two weeks at home for Christmas before coming back for my last two months of my work placement in France.

    However, I would like to talk about last weekend that I spent in Geneva. My friends had just started a placement in La Plagne, working in a ski resort, which is, situated close by, so three of my friends and me spent the weekend discovering the beautiful city of Geneva.  I went by train, which took around 4 hours but time passed quite quickly and I arrived Friday in the late evening. We did lots of things; for example, we visited ‘Lac Leman’ and the ‘Jet d’Eau’, we went on a little tour of the city by train and we went to different traditional bars and restaurants during the 2 days there.  It was quite expensive so it’s a good thing that we only spent the weekend there, but it’s a really lovely city and we enjoyed it a lot.

    Several things this month have made me realise that my French skills have improved; for example I have even more confidence when talking to clients at work, I am much faster when writing emails in French, and also I have had to deal with important things in French such as calling my bank, which went well. In general I feel that everything is becoming easier each month and I hope that when I go back to university it will be noticeable by my teachers.

    Amy Clark – Nov14

  • Amy Clark – Montpelier, France

    Amy Clark, Montpelier, France – October 2014

    During my two months in France I have been immersed into the French culture and language, my language skills have vastly improved.  Each day, I have a little more confidence when I’m speaking to other French speakers and I feel that people are becoming friendlier, especially at work! ​

  • Frank Clayton – Case Study, 1949 (Tarn, France)

    Frank Clayton, France 1949

    “Thanks to the language skills I gained following my scholarship and my time in France, I was involved in the export trade for many years throughout my career”.

    At my school it had been compulsory for ‘A stream’ students to study French and Latin.  Ideally, I would have preferred to study French and German but this was only available at ‘B stream’ level.  I do, however, now speak basic German and Italian after studying both languages later in life at night school and on my travels.

    After leaving school, I began working for a local Wool Merchants.

    To enhance my employment opportunities, in 1949 at the ripe old age of eighteen, I applied for and was lucky enough to receive a John Speak Scholarship (I had to wait until I was eighteen before I could apply as stipulated in the Terms and Conditions).  My family were very supportive of my decision to travel and study French abroad in order to further my career opportunities.  My journey began with a train journey to London, train to Dover, ferry to Calais, train to Paris, train to Toulouse and finally a Michelin rail bus to Mazamet in Tarn, France.

    I spent six wonderful months in Tarn, France living in ‘digs’ with full board.  I was lucky to have my own room with a wash basis but no hot running water.  The room was very basic with no television, radio or telephone.  The toilet was located at the very end of the garden!  Although the amenities were very basic to say the least, I loved it, I really did!

    As well as studying the language I worked full time (unpaid) to help improve my French.

    In 1949 there had been restrictions in place which only allowed those leaving the United Kingdom with a maximum amount of £25 in their pocket.  The Scholarship (approximately £30 per month) provided enough income to pay for my ‘digs’ and food but during my stay the Government devalued the Pound Sterling to the French Franc meaning my monthly allowance was reduced to £25 per month!

    Thanks to the language skills I gained following my scholarship and my time in France, I was involved in the export trade for many years throughout my career.  French proved to be an essential language for negotiating with Countries such as Algeria in my work.  My French also came into its’ own many years later when spending time holidaying in France with my wife and family.  Very useful when booking caravan sites and negotiating a fair price!

    I will always be grateful to the John Speak Trust for the Scholarship I received all those years ago.  My career would have definitely taken a different path had it not been for the opportunities it provided.

    I am very pleased that the Trust continues to live on after all this time.  The Scholarships have assisted many language students such as myself pursue a career in helping the export trade of the United Kingdom and may it continue to do so for many more years to come!

     

    Frank Clayton

     

    Tarn, France

    Tarn is a department in the Midi-Pyrenees region in the southwest of France, named after the Tarn River.  It was formed in 1790 of the three dioceses of Albi, Castres and Lavaur, belonging to the province of Languedoc

    st. chely-du-tarn, france

  • Alexander Arch, France – October 2014

    Alex Arch – rugby team

    Ce mois a été très agréable, je suis allé au match de football, j’ai joué mon premier match de rugby en

    France et je suis allé à Disneyland! J’ai commencé le mois au match de foot, entre Paris Saint Germain et

    Barcelone en Ligue de Champions. L’ambiance était fantastique et c’était agréable d’aller à un match parce

    que je manque vraiment le football anglais! Aussi, j’ai finalement joué mon premier match de rugby en

    France, il a fallu plus d’un mois pour valider ma license, mais maintenant il est arrivé, je suis permis à jouer.

    Il était très similaire au rugby à la maison car il pleuvait tout le match, mais je l’ai bien aimé et je suis

    impatient de mon prochain match le dimanche! Oh, et nous avons gagné (ce qui est la chose la plus

    importante)! Enfin, le week­end dernier était l’anniversaire de mon amie et nous sommes allés à

    Disneyland! C’était une bonne, mais il y avait trop du monde, heureusement, il y avait du soleil donc ce

    n’était pas trop mal quand nous avons dû attendre environ une heure pour les manèges. Ce mois­ci nous

    allons voir le prochain match du PSG en Ligue des Champions, j’ai quelques matchs de rugby, ma sœur

    vient me voir et je crois que nous avons un week­end férié de 4 jours!!

    Alex Arch – Disneyland Paris

     

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    This month has been really enjoyable, amongst other things I have been to a football match, played my first

    rugby match in France and even went to Disneyland! I started the month off by going to the Paris Saint

    Germain match versus Barcelona in the Champions League, the match was really good and Paris won 3­

    The atmosphere was great and it was nice to go to a game as I am really missing English football. I

    eventually played my first rugby game in France, it took over a month to process my registration but now it

    has arrived, I am free to play. It was very similar to playing rugby at home as it was pouring with rain but I

    enjoyed myself and am looking forward to my next game on sunday! Oh, and we won (which is the most

    important thing)! Finally, last weekend it was my friend’s birthday so we went to disneyland! We had a good

    time but it was really busy, luckily the sun was out so it wasn’t too bad when we had to wait about an hour

    for the rides. This coming month we are going to see the next PSG match in the Champions league, I have

    a few rugby games, my sister is coming to see me and I believe that we have a 4 day bank holiday

    weekend so, fortunately, I have a lot to look forward to as the dark nights draw in and it gets very cold!

  • Alexander Arch, France – September 2014

    Alex Arch rugby training in France

    Je suis devenu plus stable en France ce mois, je me suis inscrit une salle de gym et joint une équipe de rugby, donc j’ai une routine maintenant, je fait quelque chose tous les jours. J’ai eu la chance d’acheter le billets pour les matchs de PSG dans le Ligue des Champions, il m’excite parce que je n’ai jamais été à un match du Ligue de Champions. Je pense que mon discours s’améliore, je suis timide quand je parle à des inconnus mais je parle avec plus de confiance avec mes amis, mon entraîneur de rugby, a dit que je m’améliore aussi. J’ai remarqué quelques similitudes et les différences entre l’Angleterre et la France. Les similitudes sont les files d’attente du médecin et le prix des transports publics. J’avais besoin d’un certificat de santé de jouer au rugby et à ma grande surprise, j’ai dû attendre 2 heures!! En outre, les coûts de transport publics sont élevés ce qui est similaire au Royaume-Uni (à l’exception 80p autobus à Sheffield), cela me coûte environ 4 euros pour un billet de retour au travail sur le RER (3 minutes dans chaque direction) heureusement, je vais au vélo normalement. Les différences que j’ai remarquées sont; la vitesse de la parole et la gentillesse des gens dans la rue. Je trouve la vitesse que certains parlent est phénoménal et difficile à comprendre, mais ce n’est pas un problème que je dois apprendre à comprendre la languen’importe comment elle est parlée. Aussi dans les rues les gens ne sourient jamais ou dire bonjour qui me manque de vivre à Sheffield!

     

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION

    I have become more settled in France this month. I have joined a rugby team, joined a gym and basically got into a routine where I am doing something all day, every day. I have also been lucky enough to get my hands on tickets to go and see PSG in the Champions League, which I am really excited about it as I’ve never been to a game in this competition before. I feel as though my language is progressing well, I am still quite shy when speaking to strangers but I feel as though my conversations with friends are flowing much better, my rugby coach has also said that my language has improved quite a lot in a month. I have experienced many differences and similarities between the UK and France recently. The most significant similarities which I encountered were the queues in the doctors and the price of public transport; I needed a medical certificate from the doctor which enabled to play rugby and to my surprise I was waiting for 2 hours to see him! Also, public transport costs are high which is like the UK (except 80p buses in Sheffield), it costs me around 4 euros for a return ticket to work on the RER (3 minutes each way), fortunately I normally bike!! The differences that I’ve noticed are; the speed at which the French talk and the friendliness of people on the street. I find the speed at which some people speak phenomenal and hard to understand, but this is good as I need to learn how to understand the language no matter how it is spoken. Also, in the streets the people rarely smile and say hello which I miss from living in Sheffield!

    Alex Arch with family in Paris

     

     

  • Montpellier, France – Décembre 2013

    C’est ma dernière semaine à Paul Valéry et comme je commence à me préparer pour retourner en Angleterre, j’ai pensé qu’il serait bien de réfléchir un peu sur mon temps ici et aussi de parler des choses que j’ai apprises pendant mon semestre à Montpellier.

    Pour moi, c’était difficile pour m’habituer à mon emploi du temps universitaire, à la française. J’ai étudié sept cours ce semestre pour 30 crédits, j’ai eu 26 heures d’enseignement par semaine et j’ai commençais à 8h15 et finissais à 20h le lundi au jeudi. Au début, cela m’a vraiment choqué, car je n’avais pas l’habitude d’avoir beaucoup de cours qui commencé tôt et fini tard.  Alors je me suis rendue compte que j’avais besoin d’avoir un bon train-train quotidien et gérer mon temps afin d’équilibrer la charge de travail. Heureusement, j’ai réussi à le faire, et je crois que cette expérience va certainement m’aider dans mes études à l’Université de Parme le semestre prochain et aussi à Kent quand je reviendrai pour ma dernière année en Septembre 2014.

    À Paul Valéry, j’ai trouvé que les associations étudiantes ne sont pas aussi diverses que à Kent et même d’autres universités en Angleterre. Néanmoins, je rejoins la chorale gospel  de l’Université et j’avais également une partenaire d’échange linguistique (TANDEM), que j’ai rencontré chaque semaine pour avoir des conversations informelles et pour améliorer mon français tandis qu’elle améliorait son anglais. Ces activités extrascolaires m’a permis de devenir plus à l’aise en parlant le français en dehors de la classe et de faire de nouveaux amis. J’ai aussi profité de cours de français du soir, qui était disponible pour les étudiants ERASMUS (4 heures par semaine pendant 10 semaines). Cela a encore contribué à améliorer ma compétence d’écriture et de compréhension.

    En général, mon semestre en France a été une expérience très positive, et il va être difficile de dire au revoir à tous les gens adorables que j’ai rencontrés ici, parmi ma famille d’accueil! J’ai appris beaucoup sur moi-même, mes compétences et ma capacité de m’habituer à la vie dans un nouveau pays. Je suis bien préparée pour le genre de choses que je peux prévoir, quand je serais  à Parme l’année prochaine pour mon deuxième semestre à l’étranger.

     

    English translation

    This is my last week at Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III and as I start to prepare to return back to England, I thought that it would be a great to reflect on my time here and talk about some of the things that I have learnt during my semester.

    For me, the most difficult thing that I had to adjust to was the French University timetabling system. I took seven modules this semester for 30 credits, had 26 contacts hours per week and started my lessons at 8.15am and finished at 8pm Monday- Thursday. This definitely startled me at the beginning, as I was not used to having such long contact hours that started early and finished late. I realised then that I needed to get into good routine and manage my time well in order to stay on top of my workload. Fortunately I succeeded in doing so, and believe that this experience will definitely help me in my studies at Parma University next term and also at Kent when I return for my final year, next September.

    At Paul-Valery, I found that student clubs and societies are not as varied they are at Kent and even other UK universities. Nevertheless, I joined the popular University Gospel choir and also had a tandem language exchange partner, who I met on a weekly basis to have informal conversations and improve my French, whilst she improved her English. I found that getting involved in these extra-curricular activities allowed me to become more comfortable speaking French outside of the classroom and make new friends. I also took advantage of the French evening language course that was available to ERASMUS students for 4 hours per week over 10 weeks, which further helped with my written and comprehension skills.

    Overall this has been a very positive experience for me, so it is going to be hard to say goodbye to all of the lovely people that I have met here in Montpellier, including my host family! I’ve learnt a lot about myself, my skills and my ability to adapt to living in a new country and it has prepared me well for the kind of things that I can expect, when I move to Parma next year for my second semester abroad.