The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/135206
ONLINE LEARNING VIRTUAL CLASSROOM Students working online (left and below) is looming, and the OU also allows for holiday weeks at Easter and in the summer. Sometimes it was hard to remain motivated, but I enjoyed chatting to other students on the forums, and we supported each other when it got difficult. The eclectic mix of ages and backgrounds was fascinating. We also shared hints, tips, resources and study methods, and some have remained firm friends. It has been interesting to watch how the methods of communication have changed over the years: from telephone conversations and fledgling emails to Facebook conversations on our iPhones. Set on a career change, Di Russ turned to the Open University to qualify as a languages teacher fter breaking from my career as an engineer when I had my children, I realised that the OU could help me to realise my second ambition of being a teacher. I had already taken some general interest courses, and my husband had completed a degree with the OU. Their PGCE programme allowed me to stay at home and to carry out my teaching practice at local schools – and I could then add to my qualifications while working and raising a young family. For me, the OU is distance learning at its best. Depending on the course studied, students receive high-quality materials (both printed and audio-visual), have access by email and telephone to a well-qualified tutor, and develop contacts with other students via online tutorials, well run forums, and, when geographically possible, face-to-face tutorials. Support is also offered by the regional centres. A 20 The Linguist JUNE/JULY Students fit study into their lives in different ways. I mainly studied in the evenings, after the children had gone to bed, and sometimes at weekends, with tutorials on Saturdays. Units are generally four or five weeks long, and broken down into weekly sessions. Many people study them chronologically, but I found that working towards the next assignment and getting a holistic feel for the materials worked best for me, picking out grammar points, vocabulary, culture and pronunciation, as required. I still ended up studying most of the materials, but not necessarily in the designated week. Courses vary, but there are generally 4-6 assignments (which may be submitted electronically), with a combination of written exam, dissertation or online oral test at the end. The nature of OU study means that holidays, illness and family crises can be accommodated, to some extent. It is possible to get ahead if a planned event After I qualified as a teacher, I was asked to teach and coordinate French, on the basis of existing knowledge. I knew it would be useful to gain a qualification and turned again to the OU. I entered French at intermediate level, which included a week-long summer school – and so I found myself at the University of Caen in Normandy, speaking French continuously, reading Cyrano de Bergerac, giving presentations in French and listening to the French audio guide to the Bayeux tapestry. The OU leads you in some astonishing directions. I followed this with the third-level French course, which I was able to complete, despite some family problems, because of the long distance and student-led nature of study. As a result, I became a Leading Practitioner for Modern Foreign Languages for Suffolk, with a great set of colleagues. I also gained a BA: my change of career was complete. OU study worked for me because it is flexible, interesting, well presented, well supported, and can be done in your own time. There are many language courses, including French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Spanish and Welsh, delivered at various levels. No previous knowledge is required for the first-level courses; © ISTOCKPHOTO OU and out Career development