Why did you choose the University of Bristol and your subject?

I chose one of the rarer language combinations, mainly because I thought that university would be the last chance to dedicate time to learning a new language, and I wanted to take advantage of that opportunity.

Having studied French and Italian at A-level, I decided to continue with Italian as I had done French for seven years at that point, and then, of the new languages that were available to me, Portuguese made the most sense. It’s widely spoken and is a Romance language, so I already had a good foundation.

Once I had chosen the subject, I was quite restricted, as only five universities in the country were prepared to offer the specific combination, and of those, Bristol offered what seemed to be a great course, and I was keen on the idea of living in the city.

What are the best things about studying Modern Languages here?

The School of Modern Languages is a great place to study. There’s a good rapport between staff and students, some very good facilities and an active student community in terms of societies and events.

Also, there’s a very wide variety of cultural units that we can study: this year in Italian, for example, I’m studying both Dante and gangster films.

What have you gained from your work placement or year abroad?

I spent half of the year in Trieste, in Northern Italy, and the other half in Salvador, in Brazil. I decided to work in both places, rather than study. I’m pleased that I did this, because it gave me the chance to try something new, and a feeling of what life beyond university might be like.

I was slightly worried that it might be harder socially, given that I wouldn’t be studying, but I still met lots of students, and if anything it just meant that I met lots of people I wouldn’t have met had I just been at university. 

Why did you choose the University of Bristol and your subject?

I chose one of the rarer language combinations, mainly because I thought that university would be the last chance to dedicate time to learning a new language, and I wanted to take advantage of that opportunity.

Having studied French and Italian at A-level, I decided to continue with Italian as I had done French for seven years at that point, and then, of the new languages that were available to me, Portuguese made the most sense. It’s widely spoken and is a Romance language, so I already had a good foundation.

Once I had chosen the subject, I was quite restricted, as only five universities in the country were prepared to offer the specific combination, and of those, Bristol offered what seemed to be a great course, and I was keen on the idea of living in the city.

What are the best things about studying Modern Languages here?

The School of Modern Languages is a great place to study. There’s a good rapport between staff and students, some very good facilities and an active student community in terms of societies and events.

Also, there’s a very wide variety of cultural units that we can study: this year in Italian, for example, I’m studying both Dante and gangster films.

What have you gained from your work placement or year abroad?

I spent half of the year in Trieste, in Northern Italy, and the other half in Salvador, in Brazil. I decided to work in both places, rather than study. I’m pleased that I did this, because it gave me the chance to try something new, and a feeling of what life beyond university might be like.

I was slightly worried that it might be harder socially, given that I wouldn’t be studying, but I still met lots of students, and if anything it just meant that I met lots of people I wouldn’t have met had I just been at university.