Not your typical day at the beach

Oi gente! I’m Dan “Salvador” and I’m the new Portuguese Editor from September. I’m a second year Spanish and Portuguese student, meaning I’ll be spending the next 12 months dreaming of my upcoming year abroad from my cramped little bedroom in an 8-bedroom student house in Selly. Beautiful in its own way. For this article,…

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Travelling Around Tuscany – The Beauty of Spontaneity

I’m Emily, the Chair and the Italian Editor of the Linguist this year. I have spent the last 10 months studying at the University of Padova in the north-east part of Italy.  My friend and I decided to travel around Italy as a way to celebrate finishing our winter exams. Given that you can take…

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Navigating Najac: A Day in a Fairytale Town

Hi! My name is Lucy, I’m going into my fourth year at Birmingham studying French, Spanish and German. This year I will be taking on the roles of Secretary and Spanish Editor at the Linguist. I am really looking forward to being a part of the team especially after enjoying reading the Linguist throughout my…

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My first solo trip to Seville

My name is Tori, and I am the new German Editor for the Linguist. I’m a final year Modern Languages student and spent the last year studying abroad in France and Germany. So many people swear that solo travel is the best thing you could ever do. You get out of your comfort zone, explore…

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Is a ‘staycation’ all that’s needed to beat lockdown blues?

Hello, my name is Megan, and I am going to be this year’s French Language Editor and the Food and Drink Editor. I study Advanced French and Intermediate Italian and have just finished second year so I will be working remotely on The Linguist from Bologna, Italy during my year abroad throughout the 22-23 year. …

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The Best Purchase of my Year Abroad

My name is Eleanor Smith, and I’m the Creative designer for the Linguist Magazine 2020/21. I’m a fourth year French and German student, and I had the pleasure of working in Germany as an English Language Assistant on my Year Abroad. When people find out you’re going to live abroad, you’re naturally met with a…

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The Hotel on Wheels – The Night Train Experience

I’m Harvey, I’m a Final Year German student, and I’m also the Publicity Officer and German Editor! This time last year, I was en route to the wonderful little town of Tübingen, around 40 minutes away from Stuttgart, to start my year abroad. I decided to take the easy option and fly out in September,…

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Dealing with the crisis as a culture vulture

Megan Nicholls I guess you probably don’t want to read another article about Coronavirus, death rates, lockdown restrictions or upcoming uncertainty. We all know these are “unprecedented times” and there is not much we can do apart from stay at home and support key workers. So, if you have a spare moment in between home…

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Per Ardua Ad Alta – Through Difficulties to Glory

By Cornelia Sennewald (Originally published in Culture, Issue 17 May 2016) Before I came to Birmingham, I was not the person I am now. I had started studying English and Art at the University of Cologne in order to become a teacher. In September 2015, I was granted the opportunity to continue my studies at…

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Appy Travels: How Apps Can Help You on Your Holidays

By Lily King When most people think about the apps they will use on holiday, the first thing that springs to mind is Instagram or Facebook to share their holiday snaps. But this only scratches the surface of how you can use apps to make the most of your holiday. Find food blogs It can…

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Welcome to The Linguist Blog

Welcome to The Linguist Blog! A place for contributors to write about all things language and culture, without the pressure of print. Whether you’re on your year abroad and wanting to document your travels, or you’re an avid photographer wanting to share pictures from your latest holiday, we want to hear from you! We’re accepting…

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Three top tips for your year abroad in Paris

by Tiana Phillips I’m sure most students planning a year abroad will be familiar with the slightly daunting feeling of uncertainty leading up to their departure. For me, it’s almost a year on from those initial few months of stress and paperwork, and now I’m a mere three weeks away from the end of my…

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Paris – The Cité of Love

As a French student, going to Paris is almost a rite of passage, and there’s a good reason for it. Back in Year 12, my French class and I (around 12 people in total, sadly) were lucky enough to spend around 5 days in the capital and I cherished every minute of it.  It started…

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Memories of Morocco

My name’s Jess and I am the current editor for the Life & Style section of The Linguist. I am about to start my final year as a Modern Languages student studying French and Spanish, having just come back from a year studying at the University of Huelva in Andalucía, Spain.  During my year abroad,…

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Street Dogs and Whitney Houston: A memorable month in Tbilisi, Georgia

My name’s Sophie and I’m the Russian editor for this year’s edition. I’m about to start my final year studying Spanish and Russian and have just finished my year abroad, coming back from Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to study in Tbilisi, Georgia for a month which…

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Barcelona: The Joy that Comes from the Unknown

Hello, I’m Grace and I am a third-year student of Spanish and Mandarin, currently embarking on my year abroad. I will be the Mandarin editor this year. Having very limited experience of writing more than ‘the library is west of the classroom’ in Mandarin, I am excited to explore a new space of journalism within…

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My Monkey Temple Experience

I’m Sophie – the Catalan editor of The Linguist this year. I’m about to go into my third year studying Spanish, French and Catalan. For as long as I can remember, travelling has been somewhat daunting to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love experiencing new cultures and testing out my ropey new language skills…

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Magical Moments in Charming Croatia

My name is Emma and I am about to start my fourth and final year of studying Modern Languages (French and Spanish). I have just returned from a year abroad studying in Grenoble, France. I am really looking forward to getting involved in the Linguist and reading all of your wonderful articles! When I waited…

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My Year Abroad Highlights

Hi, my name is Isabella and I am learning both Spanish and Italian here at UoB. I have just come back from my year abroad so when Emily told us that the theme for this article would be about memorable travel experiences, I knew it would be an unbelievably difficult task to choose just one…

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