“Work hard in French grammar classes and stay ahead with your reading.
Most of all, though, enjoy every minute!”
Martin Parsons
Course: BA English Studies and French (fourth year)
“Nottingham became my first choice because of the course and its rankings in the league tables. I’m very glad it was! It’s an incredibly rewarding course with an excellent range of modules that allows us to study aspects of other subjects such as politics and history.
Both the teaching and the facilities are of a very high
standard. What I find especially helpful is that so many of
the staff members have published work on the subjects we
cover. It’s very useful to have the author of the definitive
critical study on Ian McEwan in the School when it comes to
studying his novel Atonement! Aspects of both my subjects
cross over and it’s satisfying to see that the skills learned in
one subject can have a practical application in another.
I spent the third year of my course in Paris, where I worked for seven months as a language assistant and three as an intern for a major film and television website. It’s compulsory to spend seven months abroad but I enjoyed it so much I stayed a bit longer.
In my spare time I have contributed to the University’s creative writing magazine, Jabberwocky, and am currently a rep on the Staff-Student Feedback Committee.
I think English is one of the best degree subjects for improving communication, and obviously doing French as well helps to take this further by teaching us to communicate in a different language. French at Nottingham is also particularly good for developing presentation skills as we are often invited to take an active role in seminars.
My current plan is to do a Teaching English as a Foreign Language qualification and return to Paris to teach English for a year. After that, I hope to return to Nottingham to do a masters in French.
In terms of student experience and educational value, Nottingham is one of the best universities there is.”