Just because I can!

For all you folkies who are interested in exchange, here's my statement of objectives that got me through to the next round in my initial application :)

My main academic motivation for studying at Charles de Gaulle University in France is to significantly improve my French language skills. I've always perceived French as a beautiful language but an unattainable one. When I enrolled in Arts & Commerce at UWA and saw that Arts offered beginner-level French - I jumped at the opportunity to learn and was excited and awed that speaking French could become a reality for me. My enjoyment of learning French really surprised me. I found it incredibly satisfying that I was learning a language that I once thought was out of my reach and ability. Whilst the University of Western Australia provides a sound language course for French, by the first semester of second year, it was occuring to me that I wasn't fully utilising the language and optimising my learning. I felt the main deficiency in my education was my oral confidence. My inability to converse with confidence in French was something that deeply bothered me due to two reasons; firstly, I prided myself in studying French, so any gaps in my ability had to be rectified, and secondly, I had elected French as my Arts major and felt compelled to excel in it. I found myself in a dilemma after the commencement of semester one 2010. I wanted to be accomplished in French but I was finding it hard to allocate time and resources during the semester to maximise my performance. Studying French in Perth means studying in an artificial environment. The grammar was taught well but there were limited opportunities at university to practise speaking. I felt time-constraints like studying for other units and working casually were barriers to fully experiencing French. The incompatibility of wanting to excel in French and not having adequate time to study led to an overarching feeling of dejectedness and a disturbing sentiment that I was wasting my time studying university-level French. The general consensus I arrived at through discussing my concerns with other French students and my teachers was that language-learning was maximised by living in a country in which the language is spoken. In a university context Student Exchange was the ideal pathway for an enthusiastic student like me to take. Aligning with my academic motivation to study in France, the main challenge I hope to face and conquer on exchange will be effectively engaging in French conversation. I really hope to improve my skills in general expression and I want to expand my French vocabulary. I want to reach a level of language proficiency where I can live and interact with the French authorities and other French nationals.