Personal Statement

    • Personal Statement

      I'm applying for university veryyyyyy soon, and I was just wondered what you guys thought about my personal statement? Would you accept me? :evil: But yeah, honest opinions please ^^

      "I quickly fell in love with the Italian languageafter I started to study it in year 8, and a visit to the country later thatyear deepened my admiration. The Italian way of life fascinated me and itopened my eyes to a beautiful, yet in my opinion, underappreciated country, asschools in my area focus more on teaching French and German. I am eager to understandin greater detail how a foreign language works, the culture behind it and to gainan insight to its rich history, as well as more modern aspects of life. Thiscourse will provide me with the skills required to engage in a culturedifferent to my own, and the year abroad will give me the opportunity tofurther enhance my current skills by experiencing the lifestyle first-hand. Iwas unfortunately unable to continue studying Italian post-GCSE, but to buildmy skills back up again I have been spending time outside of school revisingthe basics of the language, including personal and possessive pronouns, andconjugating verbs.

      All of my A-Levels have developed a range ofskills that will help at university. Both the child language acquisition andlanguage change modules in English Language have laid the foundations to beable to analyse language and think about how specific social events createchange in language over time. My study of History has also provided me with theability to identify the effect key events have had on society, and studying Psychologyallowed me to improve my academic writing and presentation skills, as well asmy analytical and critical thinking abilities. My coursework-based assessmentin both History and English Language have given me an insight into the level ofresearch and critical analysis that is needed for a degree-level enquiry. Theseskills will help me to understand Italian and how it is similar/different tothe English language, along with giving me the capacity to analyse my studiesin the academic and professional manner required.
      Taking part in the National Citizen Serviceis unquestionably my most valuable experience. It improved my confidence aroundnew people, I gained important life skills such as teamwork and organisation,and most importantly, I stretched my limits and stepped out of my comfort zone,which I feel will definitely help me to adapt to the independent year abroad.

      My part time job as a waitress has boosted myconfidence and improved my listening and communication skills, which are bothhighly important when learning a foreign language. Waitressing has also taughtme to keep a level head under pressure and make efficient use of my time, whichwill help with the demands of university life. Voluntary work experience at alocal primary school and my school’s Learning Support department has given me auseful insight as to what is required when working with young children and/orchildren with special educational needs. This opportunity, along with thePaired Reading scheme I take part in twice a week, has made me aware of thequalities needed in this area, including responsibility, patience and positivethinking. My work experience in this sector has definitely influenced, and strengthened,my desire to work with children in Italy, helping them to learn English, and toprovide them with the beneficial and highly transferable skills of learning andknowing a second language.

      After all, ‘fai quello che ami e non lavorerai un solo giorno della tua vita’– ‘Do what you love and you will not work a single day of your life’."
    • chloereedy wrote:

      Mark wrote:

      Honestly it sounds good me! :thumbsup:
      Thank you ^^
      Since posting this, I did add a little more about university open days but you dont really need to read that....also I'm not entirely sure why some of the words have merged together? ?(

      I was confused when I first saw "asschool" and I thought you wrote "ass school" :lol: