Case Study
Case Study: Dominic Marden: Mayo en Madrid, May 2023
Hola a todos! El año pasado tuve la gran oportunidad de trabajar y vivir en España, sumergiéndome por completo en su vibrante cultura. Me gustaría escribir este estudio de caso explorando la fiesta de San Isidro que tuvo lugar el fin de semana del 13 de mayo, y destacando la valiosa experiencia adquirida durante la…
Read MoreCase Study: Ella Williams – Morocco, 2022
Spending the past six months in Morocco has been an incredible experience, and I’d like to thank the John Speak Trust for supporting me in my journey with learning Tachelhit. When I first decided to seriously dedicate myself to learning Tachelhit back in 2020, it wasn’t clear to me how I’d realistically be able to…
Read MoreCase Study: Shakeel Rahman – Amman, Jordan 2022
The last three months of studying Arabic in Jordan have been incredible! It has truly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. Having the opportunity to practice Arabic with fellow students and Jordanians has been extremely invaluable. The progress that I have made in the space of a few months may have taken at least a…
Read MoreCase Study: Monae Bailey, Spain – 2021/22
During my year abroad, I spent the first semester studying in Alicante and the second semester doing an internship in Salamanca. Both of these experiences were incredible and allowed me to immerse myself in the Spanish lifestyle and meet a lot of different people while improving my knowledge of the language. It was also a…
Read MoreCase Study: Julia Freytag, Berlin, Germany – 2022
The John Speak Trust has provided with me with the opportunity to really improve my German. I have enjoyed living in Berlin so much, I have made wonderful friends and met people from all around the world (including this adorable little bear!) This is truly such a multicultural city, and I am so pleased that…
Read MoreCase Study: Lucy Cooper, Le Mans, France 2022
As part of my undergraduate degree in French and Spanish, I have spent the last six months working in Le Mans, France in order to improve my French language skills. During this time, I have taught English to ages 7-24, allowing me to gain a real insight into the French education system across all ages…
Read MoreCase study: Hana Lowry, Tokyo, Japan, 2021
Studying for my master’s degree in Tokyo has been a great opportunity for my academic and personal growth. Navigating Japanese academia and workplaces through internships and other opportunities offered me insights into different working environments and practices and gave me the chance to learn to leverage my own strengths in any given situation. A particular…
Read MoreCase Study: Sam King, Salamanca, Spain – 2021
As part of my Master’s degree I was lucky enough to spend my first semester in Salamanca, in Spain. My Master’s is in Latin American studies, with a focus on Latin American History, and I spent my term studying in the department of the Americas, with professors and students from around the world. It was…
Read MoreCase Study: Olivia Pettitt, Madrid, Spain – 2019-2020
In July 2019 I left the UK to begin my placement year at BT in Madrid as part of my Languages and International Business degree. Although briefly interrupted by the lockdown in March where I went back to the UK to work from home for a while, I was able to return to Madrid and…
Read MoreHannah Stewart: Case Study – Granada 2021
My time in Granada I was very fortunate to be able to spend last year working and studying in the beautiful city of Granada. As an undergraduate student of Politics and Spanish I had spent many years looking forward to my year abroad. Although it wasn’t exactly the most ‘normal’ experience, I would not change…
Read MoreHolly O'Mahony: Case Study – Geneva 2020-21
I have had the pleasure of spending the last year in Geneva, Switzerland, where I have been completing the first year of my Masters degree in International Affairs. Alongside my regular classes I took weekly French classes, and was pushed to improve my French through my interactions with French-speaking friends and the broader Geneva community.…
Read MoreCase Study: Harry Nellis, Stuttgart, Germany 2020-21
As part of my undergraduate degree in German & History, I spent the last 9 months of the past academic year in Stuttgart, Germany. During this time, I taught English in a Realschule, using my time to gain an insight into life at a German school and use my language skills in a job setting.…
Read MoreCase Study: Abigail Pidgeon – Vienna 2021
I have been living in Austria for the last 10 months, since I got the wonderful opportunity to study at the prestigious University of Vienna. I was very nervous to leave home back in September, as I had never been away from my family and friends for so long, but I was also incredibly excited.…
Read MoreCase Study: Olivia Sayers – Costa Rica, 2020 – 21
In October 2020 I left the UK to spend six months working as a Conservation Education Intern at Wild Sun Rescue Center in Costa Rica for my Year Abroad. My internship wasn’t paid, so I’d accepted that I would be living a frugal life and would just explore the area around where I was working.…
Read MoreCase Study: Jonathan Ferguson, Beijing, China –
As part of my undergraduate degree in Chinese Studies, I spent the last academic year abroad, initially in Beijing at Peking University. The course in Beijing covered a broad range of areas, from newspaper reading and 20th century literature, to more advanced speaking classes and classical Chinese. Upon the outbreak of COVID-19, my UK university…
Read MoreCase study: George Illingworth-Valencia,Spain 2019-2020.
First of all, I would like to say thank you to the John Speak Trust for sponsoring my adventure and alleviating a lot of the financial stress that came along with it. With the help of the Grant, I was truly able to enjoy my experience to the fullest extent and really immerse myself in…
Read MoreCase Study: Jonny Ferguson – Beijing/ Taipei 2019-20
As part of my undergraduate degree in Chinese Studies, I spent the last academic year abroad, initially in Beijing at Peking University. The course in Beijing covered a broad range of areas, from newspaper reading and 20th century literature, to more advanced speaking classes and classical Chinese. Upon the outbreak of COVID-19, my UK university…
Read MoreCase Study: Jack Marshall Oldfield, Leipzig, Germany – 1934
In February 1934, at the ripe old age of 19, I left the UK to begin a German language scholarship in Leipzig, Germany. My Scholarship was awarded by the John Speak Language to study German from February to October. My journey began by boat from the UK to Bremerhaven During my stay in Germany, I…
Read MoreCase Study: Charlotte Grundy – Paris, France 2019
Case Study: Charlotte Grundy – Paris, France 2019 Over the past 6 months I have been completing an internship in Paris as part of my university degree. Ever since I started at university and was aware that I would be spending 18 months abroad, I knew that I wanted to spend some of my time…
Read MoreCase Study: Patrick Longmate, Colombia 2019
From July to December 2019, I had the privilege of studying at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, as part of my modern languages degree year abroad. My Spanish improved immensely whilst in Colombia, partly through daily exposure to the language in my university classes (which included Salsa – a cultural, if not academic…
Read MoreCase Study: Eileen Maguire – Chile, 2019 – 20
Case Study Eileen Maguire As part of my Year Abroad during my degree in Spanish and French, I spent the last six months in Santiago, Chile, working for the British Council as a communications and marketing intern. The scholarship from the John Speak Trust allowed me to take on this unpaid internship, which wouldn’t have…
Read MoreCase Study: Joshua Binfor – Lisbon, Portugal 2019-20
As part of my year abroad, I spent 7 months in Lisbon working as a translation and communication intern. My initial and main goal was to immerse myself in Portuguese as much as possible. Although I arrived in Lisbon already having an intermediate level of Portuguese (B2), my understanding of Portuguese was tested to a…
Read MoreCase Study: Joseph Brazier – Amman, Jordan 2018-19
As a compulsory part of my undergraduate degree in Arabic and Hebrew, I have spent my time this year between Amman and Jerusalem, learning both languages during my time abroad. Coming off the plane into Amman, I was so scared and worried. I had never been to a country with such a different culture, and…
Read MoreCase Study: Oliver Sale, Beijing, China – 2019
In September 2018 I came to study at Tsinghua University in Beijing, to improve my Mandarin and understanding of China more generally. The intensive nature of the course has meant that my language ability has steadily increased throughout the year. Of course, the real test of ability has come when out and about in the…
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