My Journey with Languages

Karolina in Paris whilst on placement

Written by Karolina Martauz

25.06.21

My name is Karolina Martauz and I am a final year student at Aston University waiting to graduate this year ! For my degree I studied ‘International Business with French’ which enabled me to go and spend a year abroad in Paris which was the best experience of my life and I don’t regret a single moment of it. Firstly, however let’s start with the beginning of my journey with languages.

THE BEGINNINGS

As you have probably guessed from the name, I am not British. I am Polish and I came to the UK with my parents in 2006 when I was 7 years old. Arriving in the UK, I did not know a single word in English, I was thrown in the deep end and having only been in the UK for 2 weeks, I had to start primary school. I can’t really remember how I got on and managed but I was very reluctant to learn English in the traditional way (learning grammar, writing etc…). I picked up the language by immersing myself with my English classmates, listening to their conversations, repeating sentences and in that way, somehow, I started to understand the meaning of things and started talking myself. It took me about a year and a half to learn the language and be able to make a conversation. From year on year, it just got easier and easier and I got better and better at it. This is just my background, my real journey and my passion for languages started in secondary school.

MY BEGINNINGS WITH FRENCH

Wonderfully crafted drink in a French café

My passion for languages began when I first started secondary school and had the opportunity to take French classes twice a week. Beforehand, I had never studied or thought about learning French. During my first French lesson, we were introduced with the basic terms such as «Bonjour » « Je m’appelle » « J’ai ….ans ». Basically, phrases to introduce oneself. Having heard my teacher pronounce these phrases, I was amazed how the language sounded and I wanted to learn more and more to sound like my teacher. As I had more and more lessons and as the years went past, I became more and more passionate about the language and decided to take it on to GCSE level and then onto A-levels. It’s at A level that my French skills really improved, we were taught complex and challenging structures and there were more conversations in French. Despite the fact that I was frustrated when I didn’t understand something or when I was mispronouncing words, I had desire to improve and improve to get better. I really enjoyed

the language, and I began to know that it is something that I want to continue to learn and do in the future.

UNIVERSITY

Deep down, I always kind of knew that university was the path for me. However, what degree I wanted to do wasn’t such an easy decision. Being passionate about languages, I knew I wanted to incorporate them in my degree however I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to do purely the French. I also really enjoyed business and especially the international part of it. I therefore started looking for courses that would allow me to combine French with business. Many universities offered the combination of French and general business studies however I was interested in international business in particular. Doing research, I came across Aston University and their IBML course which really intrigued me as it offered exactly what I wanted to study. Half of the degree being international business taught in the French language and the other half being in English. This was the perfect choice for me! Doing further research, I found out that the degree was 4 years with a year abroad placement in a French speaking country. I knew this would be a challenging adventure, but I was excited for it.

Another French café!

Let me talk to you a little about the French lectures at university. Firstly, at Aston, all language lectures are taught by native speakers - this means that the content of these lectures was in French. SHOCK!!!!! When I found this out, I have to admit that I was worried, worried that I wouldn’t understand and therefore I wouldn’t do as well. Secondly, there were many people in my French lectures that knew French really well, some were French, some have lived in France beforehand. Hearing them speak fluently in class put me off at first and really made me doubt my abilities however the lecturers were very supportive and did everything to encourage those who were not native to speak and participate in class. I also quickly found out those who were good at French were very helpful and prepared to help those who struggled. This made me feel more comfortable in class. Sooner than I thought, I got used to the lessons being in French and it just became normal. I became more confident in speaking and in my skills and my level really improved. In my first year of university, I also had the opportunity to study another language as a part of the ‘Languages for All’ program at Aston. I decided to pick Mandarin and I absolutely love learning it and did well in the exams, but I decided not to carry it on into the further years. However, I am now looking to pick it back up.

The first two years flew by and then came the third year…. The year abroad…

MY YEAR ABROAD IN PARIS

As Aston was close to my family home, I chose not to move out when starting university. Going on a year abroad marked the first time I moved out and straight away I was thrown in the deep end. I really feared moving to Paris because I just couldn’t imagine living alone, not mentioning in a completely different country. It was incredibly difficult at first, I cannot hide that. Moving to Paris, I was really home sick in the first few weeks and really missed my family and friends in the UK. I also felt overwhelmed with all the paperwork, setting up a bank account, applying for CAF (housing benefits in France) and dealing with the French administration overall. Believe me it’s a nightmare :D!!! I also didn’t have any friends in Paris, except my work mates but they were all generally older than me. I knew that in order to adapt to Paris and enjoy my time there, I had to be proactive and make friends.

Exploring famous spots in Paris

I joined various Facebook group for students in Paris and through these groups I have met many people who I became friends with. This is when I really started enjoying my time in Paris. I started going out for food with them, going to museums and exhibitions and on day trips. I’ve met people from all around the world, discovered new cultures, new ways of thinking, new food, styles and more… This has really transformed me as a person. I became more open minded, more aware of issues around me; I also became more confident. I have made friends for life in Paris, and I still keep in touch with some of them now even though we have parted our ways and moved back to our original countries. At the peak of my time in France, the pandemic hit, and I had to move back to the UK however I will never forget how great my time there was and I am planning to go back as soon as the situation gets better.

LIFE AFTER UNIVERSITY

I am still unsure what I want to do after finishing university, but I know that whatever I do I want to continue with French. I am currently looking at graduate jobs that would allow me to use my French language skills, but I am also considering doing a master’s degree.

One thing I know for sure is that no matter where life takes me and no matter what I decide to do in the future, I want the French language to be a part of it.

Lovely scenery in Paris, captured during Karolina's year abroad

Published 25.06.21

by Karolina Martauz for Routes into Languages West Midlands