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What can I do on my Year Abroad?

There are three placement options available for students who study a modern language at the University of Liverpool:

Study with a partner university

  • We have a number of study placements available with partner Universities across Europe and Latin America. We also have a partnership agreement with Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) for students studying Chinese.
  • Study placements can be taken for a full-year or just for one semester, so are suited to all students, whether you are spending the full year in one country or splitting the year.
  • You will study modules in your target language and will be assessed via exams or coursework taken at the host University. Take a look at our exchange partners.

British Council Language Teaching Assistantships (BCLA)

  • A British Council Language Teaching Assistantship gives you the opportunity to teach English overseas on a paid placement working as a language assistant in a primary or secondary school. These are usually in smaller towns or more rural areas.
  • The majority of BCLA placements are full-year placements so are most suited to students studying one language.
  • BCLA placements are usually available in the following countries (this is subject to change): Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and South America.

*Please note if you are unsuccessful in getting a place on the BCLA programme you will be allocated to a study placement.

Independent work placement

  • You can choose to spend your Year Abroad working for an overseas company on an independent work placement. Many companies offer full-year or half-year placements, so this option is suitable for most students.
  • We will assess the suitability of your work placement to ensure it allows you to use enough of your target language. i.e. we will not approve placements where the main language spoken is English.
  • We will also carry out a thorough risk assessment process. If a placement is not considered to be suitable or does not pass our risk assessment processes you will not be permitted to work for that company.

*Please note if you are unable to secure an approved work placement by the deadlines given you will be allocated to a study placement.

Please note: 

You must spend a minimum of seven months on your Year Abroad, although placements are often longer than this.

If you are studying one language you will spend the Year Abroad in one country on one placement.

If you study two or more languages you will split the Year Abroad between two placements in two countries. It is not possible to split the year between more than two countries/placements.

The Year Abroad counts for 10% of your overall degree (20%-10%-70%). If you are splitting the year each semester counts for 5%.