Am I doing the right thing???

Mukaki

I posted this in a different section but was told it should be posted here. This is what I had written:

As a student (and single parent) studying French, I won't be able to take advantage of the year abroad and so am trying to save as much as possible to spend at least a month in France to practice as much as possible before I progress to the 2nd year.

As I am only living on grants and loans, I am wondering if the money that I'm trying to save should be put aside to help pay off the absolutely huge debt i'll have at the end of my studies rather than practicing my French.

I'm thinking about going into teaching and want to get as good as possible otherwise I won't stand a chance!

So my question, should I go abroad for a month or save the money? What would you do??

Tallulah22

Me personally would save the money and go to France to help you progress in your studies. The debt will stil be there, but you only have one shot at this degree. And i would make sure i got the most out of it.

Best of luck in what you decide.x

sunflower_rainbow

I think i would have to agree with Tallulah on this one.

If you don't go, you might feel you do not progress as well as you feel you could if you took up the opportunity to study abroad. This might be detrimental, not only to your studies but also to your confidence (and we all know how improtant that is in succeeding in studying, getting jobs and life in general).

If you do go abroad, your french will almost undoubtedly improve, which could result in a better job - which you need to be able to pay off your debt.

You could get a part time job while in France - might not pay much but it's better than nothing and will help your communication skills. Also, your grant etc will probably increase to help you while over in France, but again, knowing the awards agencies, it might not be a hugely significant amount.

I know you probably wanted a clear and concise answer to your question and not a long rambling but i hope it all makes sense to you and helps atleast a little!

Good luck!

Savvy_Sue

If the absolutely huge debt is mostly student loan, DEFINITELY go for it. If it's not, I'd still probably go for it - if you don't do it now, it will only get harder to go later!

melancholly

a lot of universities have travel grants available for students for the summer holiday - they're often not over £200 which won't pay for the whole lot but will help!

Zziggi

i thought one month abroad at the end of each year for students who can't do the full year abroad was compulsory?

I would say that time abroad is ESSENTIAL. As much as I hated my own year abroad it improved my language skills phenomenally. There is just no substitute to being there, building up the fluency etc etc. When you start to dream in the foreign language then you are finally getting there!.

There was a part-time mature student on my course who did her degree over 6 years and spent 1 month every summer abroad and this was no way as good as a whole year but definitely needed.

Oompa_Loompa_2

You should definitely go abroad! I studied a language for years, but had never been to a country where the language was spoken. Until I went on my year abroad, I was doing badly in my work and had a few resits to do. When I came back from being abroad the improvement in my spoken language was immense. There is no substitute to spending time in the country - any amount of time will help!