The Language Show Live 2011 (Thursday 17 November 2011)
The Language Show Live is a brilliant place for language lovers to share their thoughts, inspirations and passions. This was the Language Show’s largest event to date; there were over 160 exhibitors, from the British Council to the EU to GCHQ, and more than 20 different languages being taught in taster classes (ranging from French to Arabic to Sign Language), and additionally a TEFL forum which not only gave seminars but provided the opportunity for networking and finding potential jobs. Read full report by Caitlin Cronin.
How to boost your job opportunities and increase your job prospects (Monday 9 May 2011)
The MFL Department held a presentation for potential students. Dr Karine Deslandes, Lecturer in French at Buckingham, highlighted the necessity for students to have a language on their CV in order to multiply their chances to find a job in many industries. The talk was followed by a presentation by Ms Sandrine Zambaux, Lecturer in French and Spanish at Buckingham, entitled “You could make the most of your stay at the UOB by taking a language Minor”. Ms Zambaux demonstrated that taking a language Minor was the best way to maximise the students’ time at Buckingham. Mr Andrew Aw, committee member of the Language Society concluded the talks with an enthusiastic presentation of the Language Society’s aims and achievements. Finally, Ms Carmen Rivera-Galicia, Senior Lecturer in Spanish and Head of the MFL Department, was pleased to give Ms Claudia Di Loreto and Mr Daniel Thompson their MFL prizes for the year 2010 for the best continuing students.
Publication of the Week: Dr Karine Deslandes (Monday 7 March 2011)
Deslandes, K., “Les années noires en Irlande du Nord : la mémoire collective française des « Troubles » (1968-1998) à travers le reportage des journalistes français”, in S. Mikowski (ed.), Histoire et mémoire en France et en Irlande / History and Memory in France and Ireland (Reims: ÉPURE, 2011), 210-236. Read more.
Publication of the Week: Dr Karine Deslandes (Monday 24 January 2011)
Deslandes, K., “L’Humanité et Libération: porte-parole français de la rébellion irlandaise?”, in Y. Bévant, A. Goarzin & G. Neville (eds), France, Ireland and Rebellion. Volume 2: Proceedings of the 5th AFIS Conference (Rennes: Tir, 2011), 115-132. Dr Karine Deslandes’ article has been published in the proceedings of the 5th Association of Franco-Irish Studies Conference, in the section on “Making sense of rebellion in France and Ireland”. The conference was held at University College Cork in 2009. Read more.
Friends of the University essay prize for Modern Foreign Languages – We have a winner! (Monday 22 November 2010)
The Department of Modern Foreign Languages is happy to announce Zhenlong Aw as the winner of the first Friends of the University essay prize for Modern Foreign Languages. Zhenlong presented an essay of outstanding quality entitled “The importance of learning a language”. Zhenlong was awarded his prize – a £50 Amazon voucher – and a certificate in a ceremony that took place on Wednesday 17 November in the Chandos Road Building, home of the Department of Modern Foreign Languages.
MFL students’ visit to the Language Show / Careers Fair 2010 (Monday 1 November 2010)
A group of students from the Department attended the Language Show / Careers Fair 2010 at Earls Court, London. The annual event boasted numerous cultural demonstrations and contained more than 150 exhibitors including EU institutions, organisations representing various languages, recruiting agencies and multi-national companies.
The Chorus (Les Choristes) (Wednesday 20 October 2010)
The Department showed this French film with English subtitles on 20 October. The publicity for the film reads: “They were the orphans of World War II, forgotten by society. He was a composer who had given up on music. They had no future until he found a way to reach them. The movie that has captivated audiences the world over.” It stars Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand and Jean-Baptiste Maunier. Everyone enjoyed the music and people studying French were able to practise their language skills. (See trailer - external link)
Publication of the week: Dr Karine Deslandes (Monday 4 October 2010)
Karine Deslandes, “Immixtion du conflit nord-irlandais dans la vie politique française: le reportage des grèves de la faim en 1981 dans L’Humanité et Libération”, Études Irlandaises 35.1 (2010), 55-67.
Dr Deslandes’ article studies the French media and Northern Ireland, specifically the coverage by left-wing newspapers of the 1981 Hunger Strike and Bobby Sands’ death.
Pan’s Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) (Wednesday 18 August 2010)
Pan’s Labyrinth is a Mexican / Spanish film written, directed and produced by Guillermo Del Toro. It looks at the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of a young girl who takes refuge in an imaginary world. The action is set in Spain during 1944 and takes place after the Spanish Civil War, during Franco’s dictatorship. The Department showed the film in Spanish with English sub-titles. Students were provided with a viewing guide in English and worksheets for language practice in Spanish. (See trailer - external link)
Modern Foreign Languages and Employability (Thursday 29 April 2010)
The Department held a presentation on “How to boost your job opportunities: Add a language on your CV”. Following the attendance of Dr Karine Deslandes, Lecturer in French at Buckingham, at the Language Show where she met numerous recruiting organisations, institutions and companies from all over Europe, the presentation highlighted the necessity for students in the current difficult economic climate to have a language on their CV in order to multiply their chances of finding a job in any field (law, economics, business, accounting, finance, sciences, etc.).
Modern Foreign Languages Department quiz (Monday 1 February 2010)
A number of enthusiastic students of French and Spanish came together in the foyer of the Chandos Road Building to participate in a language quiz. The questions varied from easy ones such as “Where does the Tango dance and music come from?” to more difficult questions such as “English material on the Web has fallen from 51% in 2000 to 29% in 2009: True or false?” (True!) and “Research suggests the UK is missing out on contracts worth up to £21 billion a year because of the lack of language skills in the workforce: True or false?” (True!).
