Hello my name is Sophie and I’m a 2nd year Modern Languages student at Newcastle University. I thought you might like to see an example of a typical day for me…
My timetable is the same every week but differs drastically from day to day, so sometimes I’ll have classes at 9:00, other days not until 15:00. On a day with a 9:00, I’ll be pushing my bike out of my back yard at around 8:50, the ten minute cycle from Jesmond to campus providing the chance to wake up and get a little fresh air.
I head to my 1 hour Spanish ‘Accuracy and Fluency class’. This is a group for those who did beginners Spanish in first year, which was a ‘complete beginner to A level standard’ in 1 year course, but naturally we are still a bit behind our peers in lectures who are first years with Spanish A level, and so this weekly group is meant as a bit of an extra help. Today we are going over prepositions, particularly the uses of ‘por’ and ‘para.’
I walk towards the Language Resource Centre, which is in the same building as my classes i.e. in The Old Library building – this is what the Modern Languages building is called, presumably because the library used to be here! The Language Resource Centre is a workspace popular with people on my course, and I usually go here in between classes to get some work done. In first year, I often used to go home in between classes to make lunch etc, but I’ve found that by bringing food with me and staying in uni, I’m able to make more out of my days. I finish off some homework prep for my two hour German seminar at 11:00.
After my seminar I meet up with a few of my housemates in Courtyard (the canteen in the Old Library Building) to eat lunch together. You get student discount here so the meals are pretty cheap, but today I’m organised and have brought a packed lunch with me.
My last class today is my hour long weekly French Grammar lecture. Afterwards, I head into town to Grainger Market, which is around 15 minutes by foot from uni, to pick up some fruit and vegetables.
After cycling home, I realise I need to do some clothes washing and a few other chores. Later, I catch up on some homework, and then chat with my housemates and prepare dinner
Having eaten, I head out of the house again to the climbing wall as I do once each week with the uni climbing club. There are three in Newcastle; two bouldering walls (The Valley and the Pool) as well as one roped climbing wall (Newcastle Climbing Centre.) I aim to go twice a week, but this doesn’t often happen, as sometimes you just need to relax in the evening!
Interested in finding out more about studying Modern Languages at Newcastle University? Discover the practicalities of our degrees, career prospects, and opportunities to study abroad in our Modern Languages subject page.