Dear friends,
Let me tell you about the Global Graduate Award in languages. Once you get an offer from the University of Surrey and accept it, you become a student with an astonishing amount of options, opportunities and extracurricular activities. As a Surrey student you have compulsory and optional modules, providing a great variety of topics, closely linked to your chosen subject, to be covered. However, if your course does not involve foreign languages, in general, you will not have optional modules, focusing on a new language. That is why the University of Surrey creates a great access to the opportunity to study foreign languages via the Global Gradute Award (GGA).
The GGA offers several different languages, namely, British Sign language, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic. As you can clearly see, the options are great, allowing students to choose from languages used in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, etc. There are multiple levels of difficulty offered for each language, nevertheless, for French, Spanish and German, the largest number of levels is present. This can be explained by the popularity of those languages, hence, the demand from students is bigger.
On the University of Surrey website, there is more information in respect to the content of the modules, the main topics and grammar points that will be discussed. Additionally, details regarding the types of exams are also available, helping students make more informed decision. Students can apply within particular deadlines to study a specific language. This is free for all students. In the application it is expected to state your preferences.The first preference is for the language that you want to study the most, the second preference is for another language, which you would be willing to accept, if your first choice is not possible. It is required to choose the level of difficulty when applying. If students get a place and then they feel that it is too easy or to difficult, changing your level would be hard because the most places for the other stages might be already taken, given the higher volume of applications each year. Thus, take your time, when applying for the GGA. Usually the application process is quite competitive because of the limited places for each course.
Another important point is to apply for the GGA only after finding out how your timetable will look like for the first semester. That is because if teh language classes clash with your lectures, that would be a problem. In regards to the second semester, if your timetable changes and in contrast to the first semester clashes emerge, an attempt will be made to find a place for a class that is organised in a different day. If that is impossible, you will need to withdraw because the lectures should be prioritised.
The GGA offers additional credits, which which can be included in your transcript, however, it is not part of your final mark. Hence, the results from the GGA exams will not be included in the calculation of the overall mark for your course because it is regarded as an extracurricular activity. Nonetheless, if you are not able to pass your GGA module, this will be included in your transcript. Thus, it is always better to perform welland to pass the assessment. The exams usually cover 4 different elements, reading, writing, speaking and listening.
You can apply every year if you want to continue with the higher stages of your preferred language or if you want to change and study a different language.
If you are eager to learn a new language, consider applying for the GGA, allowing you to meet new people and to find more about the various cultures that exist in the world.
Until next time,
Desi
