The UoB Linguist Magazine

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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. …

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Le débat Pain au Chocolat

Tout le monde a entendu parler du pain au chocolat. Tout le monde en a essayé un. En fait, je suis sûr que vous en achetez un chaque lundi matin en route a votre lecture de 9 heure. Mais connaissez-vous la bonne façon de l’appeler dans les différentes régions de la France? Le pain au…

Empowering women through skateboarding

Whilst we are all too familiar with the toilet paper shortage of early lockdown last year, most of us are unaware of a more interesting one – a worldwide shortage of skateboards. One of the few sectors to avoid the economic slump which has hit many industries, shops have seen an unprecedented surge in demand…

Una relació sobtada

Fa quatre mesos que visc en un poble petit de Catalunya. Quan jo vaig arribar, no sabia parlar gens el català, no sabia quasi res de la llengua. Durant la meva primera setmana aquí ho trobava molt difícil d’entendre. Però, després de passar molt de temps rodejada per catalanoparlants, vaig començar a acostumar-m’hi: la pronunciació,…

A carne, a soja, e nosso impacto ecológico nos biomas brasileiros

O que vem à mente quando você entende a palavra ‘soja’? A soja faz-lhe pensar nos veganos, nas pessoas com intolerância à lactose, ou a uma nova moda ou tendência? De facto, a grande maioria da soja que os agricultores cultivam está alimentando a pecuária, especialmente as galinhas e os porcos, porque é uma das…

Come mi sto preparando per il mio anno all’estero in Italia

Molti studenti del secondo anno all’università di Birmingham hanno già confermato gli stage di studio e di lavoro che inizieranno quest’autunno. Tuttavia, oltre alla situazione precaria del Coronavirus, adesso ci troviamo a vivere in un’epoca post-Brexit, che rende ancora più difficile viaggiare in Europa. Ho in progetto di studiare all’università di Padova nell’autunno, e di…