Student Handbook - Moodle Book

YEAR ABROAD AND YEAR ABROAD ASSESSMENT

The Year Abroad is compulsory for all students registered on French, Hispanic Studies and German degree programmes. These degree programmes are four years in length of which the third year is a compulsory Year Abroad spent in one or more relevant countries.

 

The following programme regulations apply to students registered on Russian degree programmes:

 

Russian Single Honours or Russian Joint Honours with a non-Language Subject – Ab Initio Level

Students who start studying Russian from ab initio level will be registered on 4-year degree programme without a Year Abroad as the first year is a preliminary year. Students may if they wish spend a Year Abroad in a Russian speaking country, but this will involve changing their degree programme to a 5-year degree. This is optional and not compulsory.

 

Russian Single Honours or Russian Joint Honours with a Non-Language Subject – Post A-Level & Native Speakers

Post A-Level and Native Speakers of Russian will be initially registered on a 4-year degree programme. However as the Year Abroad is not compulsory in Russian these students may complete their degree in three years. Students who opt not to go on a Year Abroad must complete a Change of Programme form (available from the School Office or the College website) to change their degree programme to a 3-year degree programme.

 

Russian Joint Honours with a Language Subject – Ab initio Level

These students will be registered on a 4-year degree programme without a Year Abroad as the first year is a preliminary year. These students are not required to spend a Year Abroad in either a Russian-speaking country or in a country where the other language is spoken. Students may if they wish opt to go on a Year Abroad but this will involve changing their degree programme to a 5-year degree. This is optional and not compulsory.

 

Russian Joint Honours with a Language Subject – Post A Level & Native Speakers

These students are registered on a 4-year degree programme and are required to spend a Year Abroad in either a Russian-speaking country or in a country where the other language is spoken or split between two countries.

 

Wherever possible, arrangements are made for students who are not native speakers of Russian and who do not on a Year Abroad to a Russian-speaking country to spend substantial periods in Russia; but these periods do not constitute a ‘year abroad’ (see also § 16.5 DEPARTMENT OF RUSSIAN).

 

The primary objective of the year abroad is to enable you to acquire the language fluency which can only come from being immersed in a particular language environment, developing passive and active language skills from hearing, reading, speaking and writing that language as the unique means of communication.

Other objectives are:

•     to provide you with the opportunity to learn about the general culture of the country or countries which you visit

•     for you to investigate aspects of that culture and engage in personal research

•     to help you develop confidence and resilience through exposure to other bureaucracies and other ways of life

•     to learn invaluable transferable skills

•     to give you an insight into different educational and working structures, whether as an assistant teacher, as a student in a university, or undertaking an internship, and to enable you to participate in and adapt to those structures

 

Students who study two languages are able to split their Year Abroad between two countries if they wish to.

 

Most of you will spend your year abroad either as a English Language assistant on placements arranged by the British Council, or as a university student, either under the EU-funded ERASMUS scheme which offers exchanges with other European Union universities, or as an independent student or on an independently arranged work placement. All students are bound by a contract signed before or on taking up their places or positions, and you must take care to honour it. The various certificates which students are required to produce on their return, the reports written by the institutions or companies in which they have spent their time, visits made by members of staff from Queen Mary to students abroad, and the close contact maintained by Queen Mary both with the institutions responsible for its students and with the students themselves, are all of great importance.

 

An initial meeting to inform you about your options is held at the end of your first year. This is followed by a series of briefing meetings throughout your second year and backed up by written year abroad handbooks. It is vital that you attend all of these meetings and take note of the guidelines. If you need more information, please seek it from the following: French – Dr Laetitia Calabrese; German – Dr Annja Neumann; Spanish – Dr Mar Encinas-Puente; Portuguese – TBC (Instituto Camões Instructor); Russian – Mrs Anna Pilkington. You may also refer to the Administrator responsible for the year abroad.

 

Exemption from Year Abroad

If, due to illness or unavoidable family issues, you feel unable to go abroad for a year, you can apply for exemption. The policy for this follows the Extenuating Circumstances policy and requires you to submit documentary evidence of your circumstances. If you are considering applying for exemption, you should speak to your departmental Year Abroad Coordinator, or the Student Experience Manager.  Applications for Exemption from Year Abroad are considered by the Year Abroad Committee, and should be submitted to its Chair.