Hi, I’m Eleanor and I am a second year undergraduate at Cardiff University. Hopefully this blog post will give you an insight into what it is like to be an English Language student and also the wide range of extracurricular activities which you can (and should) get involved with here.

Firstly I should discuss the academic side of things. As an English Language undergraduate I have roughly nine contact hours a week. “What only nine?” is quite a common question, but really those hours are only the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the compulsory lectures and seminars there is a lot of reading which is necessary to complete to keep up with the course. I think that at first getting used to the independent learning style required of humanities (and all) undergraduates can be a little daunting, but you do get used to it.

Outside of my degree I am involved with three extracurricular activities: ballet, volunteering and The Cardiff Award. During my Fresher’s week I joined the Broadway Dance Society. This society is just one of the many student-run societies on offer at Cardiff. With Broadway I take part in weekly ballet lessons and also participate in yearly showcases, such as shown below. I would recommend that the opportunities to meet new people that are involved with joining societies is not to be missed by freshers as it is a great chance to start building ties that can help stave off homesickness.

Another thing I got involved with during my first year here was the Student Volunteering Cardiff “Primary School Tutoring” project. This entailed me volunteering on a weekly basis at a local primary school. While this is the sort of the experience which is incredibly useful for any students considering a career in education, it is also just a great chance to add more depth and experiences to your CV. Having participated with SVC in this way I successfully applied to become a Project Coordinator for the same project which means that this year I help to organise and the project and the volunteers. I would recommend it to anyone!

Finally, this year I am also taking part in the Cardiff Award. The Award is an employability award which you complete by accumulating 70 hours of extracurricular activities and attending compulsory workshops. These workshops are designed to develop skills such as commercial awareness and problem solving. As part of this Award I have had the opportunity to write blogs which is something I had never done before!

All in all, I am thoroughly enjoying my time at Cardiff, not only in terms of my academic study but also in relation to the extra curricular activities that I am involved with. I can’t quite believe I am almost half way through my degree already!

Hi, I’m Eleanor and I am a second year undergraduate at Cardiff University. Hopefully this blog post will give you an insight into what it is like to be an English Language student and also the wide range of extracurricular activities which you can (and should) get involved with here.

Firstly I should discuss the academic side of things. As an English Language undergraduate I have roughly nine contact hours a week. “What only nine?” is quite a common question, but really those hours are only the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the compulsory lectures and seminars there is a lot of reading which is necessary to complete to keep up with the course. I think that at first getting used to the independent learning style required of humanities (and all) undergraduates can be a little daunting, but you do get used to it.

Outside of my degree I am involved with three extracurricular activities: ballet, volunteering and The Cardiff Award. During my Fresher’s week I joined the Broadway Dance Society. This society is just one of the many student-run societies on offer at Cardiff. With Broadway I take part in weekly ballet lessons and also participate in yearly showcases, such as shown below. I would recommend that the opportunities to meet new people that are involved with joining societies is not to be missed by freshers as it is a great chance to start building ties that can help stave off homesickness.

Another thing I got involved with during my first year here was the Student Volunteering Cardiff “Primary School Tutoring” project. This entailed me volunteering on a weekly basis at a local primary school. While this is the sort of the experience which is incredibly useful for any students considering a career in education, it is also just a great chance to add more depth and experiences to your CV. Having participated with SVC in this way I successfully applied to become a Project Coordinator for the same project which means that this year I help to organise and the project and the volunteers. I would recommend it to anyone!

Finally, this year I am also taking part in the Cardiff Award. The Award is an employability award which you complete by accumulating 70 hours of extracurricular activities and attending compulsory workshops. These workshops are designed to develop skills such as commercial awareness and problem solving. As part of this Award I have had the opportunity to write blogs which is something I had never done before!

All in all, I am thoroughly enjoying my time at Cardiff, not only in terms of my academic study but also in relation to the extra curricular activities that I am involved with. I can’t quite believe I am almost half way through my degree already!