It is always good to hear that our 6th form linguists have gone on to pursue language studies, career paths or gap years involving their languages and this year is no exception. Julie Cummings is currently working as an au-pair in Paris and has this to say about her experience so far:
“Actually living in France is very different from just studying French in the classroom; on my first day I heard “Dépêche-toi” about a million times at the school gates when collecting the children and it made me realize I would quickly have to get used to colloquial language spoken in context.
On the other hand, A Level really prepared me well for grammar, being the only English girl in my language class, it is clear that I have covered a lot more grammar topics than the German, Spanish or Flemish people, despite the fact we are all the same level and age.
One thing I’ve found really different about Paris is the way in which people behave on the Métro. There’s no such thing as ‘wait until people get off first’, which means that on more than one occasion I’ve missed my stop for being too polite (and perhaps naïve) in waiting for people to let me off first. I’m a little ashamed to say now I’ve adapted a more Parisian attitude and just join the masses who push on as soon as the doors open.
Being an au pair is a unique experience; it’s very odd because the family you live with play the role of both boss and family. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to take a gap year before studying languages at university; in the last 3 months my French has improved more than in 7 years in the classroom. I was counting out apples in the supermarket last week and I automatically started counting in French, I got to about 5 and realised but then was so excited I changed back to English. I’ve also noticed than I can now eavesdrop on conversations on the metro! Although these anecdotes probably sound silly, they feel like huge wins and are evidence for me that all my efforts are actually paying off. I’ve started regularly going to ‘Franglish’ events, which is a language exchange where you speak with a French person for 7 minutes in French and then change to English so you can learn from each other. It’s quite awkward at first but once you learn to not consciously conjugate verbs in your head and just speak it becomes relaxed and fun. They run events in Paris and London and I really recommend them to anyone doing A Level, it will help an incredible amount with your confidence; the oral was my biggest fear because I wanted everything I said to be exactly perfect, but I’ve realised if you just make the effort to address people in their native language, chances are they will appreciate it, regardless of how many errors you make. http://www.franglish.eu
In September 2014 I will be starting Bristol University to study French and Spanish, this year out has been absolutely priceless in helping me to prepare and if anyone has any more questions don’t hesitate to ask me! “ 