The course in general
How many contact hours do you have in the average week?
12

Ideally, what 3/4 subjects would you recommend doing in order to be in the best position for your course?
Ideally I would recommend French, History and Politics as well as another language.

Why did you decide to study your degree programme?
I decided to study this degree because I am interested in languages and the culture, history and politics of France.

Explain the things you wish you'd known about your degree before you applied:
I feel I was well informed about the content of the course before I went to university but it would have been nice to know that the course would require so much reading outside of the classroom so I could have been better prepared.

Describing your average day
Explain how your day is made up. For example, do you have labs/seminars/tutorials/lectures?
My course is made up of mainly 2 hour seminar slots in which the first hour is more like a lecture where material is analysed, then the second hour is used for discussion of the analysed texts and other materials. My language classes are again in two hour slots but are more like a school class where we work in groups and discuss articles or grammar points.

How much extra work/reading are you required to do out of lectures?
I am expected to do around 28 hours a week of reading outside of the classroom.

The best and worst parts of the course
What do you like best about your degree programme?
My favourite units are those that involve studying French history or politics as the lecturers are very interesting and provide interesting material for analysis.

What do you like least about your degree programme?
My least favourite part are the language and oral classes because the material is fairly boring. Also, the oral classes are taught by language assistants from France who often don't really know how to direct a university class.

Academics and course content
What do you think of your university's academics and facilities?
The facilities at University of Southampton are very good. There are extensive library resources as well as a language lab where we can watch French media.

Explain how you expected your course to be and how it compares to how it actually is. Give an outline of the content of the course.
The content of the degree programme consists of analysis of French culture, history and politics with particular focus on controversial topics such as immigration. There is also a compulsory language course each week where we study areas such as grammar. As for teaching methods, we are usually given a text or book to read outside of the classroom, then we analyse the text and the issues it raises in the class through group discussion and presentations.

ERASMUS scheme, study abroad and work placements
Have you studied on an ERASMUS or study abroad programme? Where did you go and what experience have you gained from your placement?
I spent last year at Lyon University 2 as part of the ERASMUS programme. I feel this programme really helped my level of spoken French and helped develop skills such as translation and confidence in using the language. It also taught language skills that you don't learn in the classroom, such as how French people actually speak to one another. The downside of studying in France was the strikes. My university was on strike for the entire second semester so I didn't have much time in classrooms. The standard of teaching and the facilities are also of an inferior quality.