Lydia studied A level Spanish at Tranby and then commenced a course in Spanish and ab initio Portuguese in September 2020 at the University of Leeds. Having spent a term in the beautiful city of Granada in southern Spain where she studied at the University, she is currently on a year abroad in Rio de Janeiro where she is continuing her studies at the University of Rio. Her various modules are all delivered in Brazilian Portuguese, and she is sharing an apartment with other Brazilian students - so truly immersing herself in Brazilian culture and daily life. Lydia’s twin sister, Hattie, started a course in Maths and a European language (Spanish) at the University of Liverpool and is currently on her year abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. All her classes in Maths are taught in Spanish but she is quickly adapting to the accent and in some cases different vocabulary. 

Both girls held a joint Teams session with our Year 11 and 12 pupils studying Spanish and explained how the study of their foreign languages had been a massively enriching experience. They were very keen to talk about their courses, life at HE, and their plans for the future. 

Lydia said "I chose to study a language at university as I enjoyed studying A level Spanish. Initially I looked at just studying Spanish, but a lot of university courses offered Spanish courses alongside beginners Portuguese. Studying languages opens lots of opportunities in the future but is also just such a fun and enjoyable degree to study.

I chose to study at the University of Leeds, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American at Leeds because of the study abroad options the course offered! To complete my studies, it is compulsory to spend 2 periods abroad studying/ working in a Spanish speaking country/Portuguese speaking country. Because I had already studied Spanish at a level, I had to choose to spend my term abroad in the second year (April 2022-July 2022) in Spain. My university offered the options of an intensive language course or an independent work placement. I chose the language course in Granada, Andalusia.

I spent 3 months in Granada, I lived on my own with 3 other Spanish students and travelled to other areas and improved my Spanish. I studied intense language grammar 9am-1:30pm every weekday and the rest of my free time was filled up exploring different parts of the city and making new friends. I am currently in Rio de Janeiro studying whatever modules I would like in Portuguese (this seems daunting, but it is manageable!) and living in a new apartment with other Brazilians my age. I have been here for 2 months, and I am staying in the country until July."

Hattie said "I decided to choose Spanish at A level as I loved studying it at GCSE. I really enjoyed learning more about Spanish history as I had never learnt anything about it before. I study a joint degree and the language is my minor. I study Mathematics with a European language, i.e. Spanish at the University of Liverpool. Basically, my course is 75% Maths 25% Spanish so 3 Maths modules 1 Spanish a term.

Although I did really want to study Spanish alone, I’m not very confident in my essay writing and never really enjoyed studying literature as much as I did maths. However, I still wanted to carry on learning and improving my Spanish. As I only do one module, I only study the grammar/vocabulary/ language side of Spanish, which is the part I wanted to study the most (I still do learn about culture when doing exercises in seminars etc). I have so many friends that study other subjects like Law, economics, film studies, history along with Spanish so there are so many options if you want to study one subject but also want to continue with a language.

Currently I am on my year abroad studying at a University in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have been here 2 months and I am loving it! I have chosen to study maths modules here (probably a mistake!) and all my classes are taught in Spanish, it’s not possible to speak English at all at my university! It was very hard at first, Spanish here in Argentina is very different, the accent and different meaning of words… so at the beginning I made a lot of mistakes. However, everyone is so patient and especially as I am so far away from home people are always surprised to hear you are from the UK and get very excited and are happy to help!!

I have also had time to travel a bit around the country since I have been here. In September I went to Iguazu falls (las cataratas de Iguazú) and this weekend I have been in Cordoba capital and the province. I’m glad I chose to come here as it’s really pushed my Spanish to improve as unlike Europe a lot of people can’t speak English, so you have to persevere! I’m staying here until August and hope to travel more and make more Argentinian friends. As for the future, I’m not sure however I 100% know that I would like to work in a job speaking Spanish or in a Spanish speaking country."