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My name is Clodagh Brook and I'm Head of Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham.
My name is Charlotte Ross. I am a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages and
Cultures at the University of Birmingham and I'm also an admissions tutor for Italian Studies.
I am a student at the University of Birmingham. I am studying Italian and French.
I am studying Italian and Political Science.
I am studying Italian and French.
I think it's a radical choice to study the language and the culture of another nation.
What I've always felt about it is that it's not just learning a language, it's also that
and you learn the grammar and you learn how to speak and you learn to be fluent and we
teach you all of that here. But what it really is is that it opens not just doors, it opens
worlds.
I chose to study Italian because it very well complements my political studies.
You can study Italian with other languages. I think this is a huge advantage, especially
the fact that you can pick up Italian as a beginner.
I started studying Italian from ab initio level. I chose to Italian with French because
I have a keen interest in music and also theatre and art which Italian has a great rich culture
and history in.
The staff are so supportive and really helpful. Any problems you have you feel absolutely
welcomed in and you can go and talk to them at any point.
We have an excellent staff student ratio in Italian Studies which means that class sizes
are quite small. There's plenty of time for students to get experience making presentations,
contributing to oral classes and being active participants in the learning process.
As an international student, I felt very welcome from the very beginning. During the welcome
week there was a lot of help.
We, in Italian Studies, offer a wide range of modules that offer students different pathways
through the degree.
you can do lots of different modules on Italian culture, history and society. What I enjoyed
most is the language course itself.
I chose Birmingham because I thought there was a really good choice of modules on offer.
A variety of different subjects that you could do. And also, I was particularly swayed by
the places that you could go on the year abroad.
I spent a year in Ferrara University for 9 months, studying there at the University.
I absolutely loved the city. It's quite a small city but that meant that there were
only really Italians who ever spoke there.
I spent last year in Florence studying art history and history of renaissance.
On my year abroad, I went to Florence. This is a very old historical city full of art
and different entertainment, opportunities. I very much enjoyed my year abroad because
I got to see Italian culture. I went to different literary evenings where I met Italian contemporary
writers.
Our students have done some interesting things over the years. We have had people who work
now in the European Council, on translation; we have people who work obviously as teachers,
but also work in the city of London, who've gone to Italy and who have jobs there.
I would like to go into teaching and I would really love to go and teach abroad, teaching
English as a foreign language.
I'm hoping to be able to use my languages in business when I finish this year. I think
that all the opportunities that university has provided us with is really gonna help
me with that.
Our students face a number of challenges during their degree, often learning new languages,
learning about new cultures, going on the year abroad, where they have to develop a
whole range of new skills in terms of dealing with the unknown.
When I started learning Italian I became a lot more open and a lot more communicative.
the course really helped communication skills and presentation which is going to be a massive
asset in careers generally but particularly in business where you've got to communicate
with people and clients.
These skills really I think help to produce independent thinkers, critical thinkers, people
who can think on their feet and people who are able to see both sides of a question.
So there are very good job prospects for modern languages graduates in the current climate.