By Beth & Natalia One of the greatest joys I have had in my final year of university, has been sharing my experiences of the best year of my life – my study year abroad. It is no secret that the intercalated year abroad poses many highs and lows, mountains of paperwork, anxieties and some of the most treasured moments of your life.

By Belén Rodríguez Salvatierra and Camila Stipo This spring, Warwick had the privilege of hosting Daniela Catrileo, a multi-award-winning Indigenous (specifically Mapuche) writer, philosopher and activist based in Chile. Catrileo has published works in a variety of genres, including essays, poetry, chapbooks, short stories and a novel. She has also explored other artistic forms such as performance, video art and sound-visual poetry.

By Dr Katie Stone & Dr Pierre Botcherby The University of Warwick works with an organisation called Channel Talent who run interactive school webinars. In the spring term, both Katie and Pierre ran Zoom sessions with A-Level language students to give them a taste of the university classroom and get a broader perspective on the topics that they are studying for their exams.

By Ebony Guy As part of the SMLC’s Schools Languages Ambassador Scheme, I had the opportunity to visit Stoke Park School, where I spoke to Year 7 and Year 8 students about the importance of learning languages. On the 9th March 2026, I spent around 3 hours delivering an interactive session alongside another student volunteer to encourage younger students to reflect on the value of language learning both in school and in future careers.

By Zihao Yan On May 6th, the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC) at the University of Warwick brought Dr Xiaofan Amy Li, Associate Professor in Comparative Cultural Studies at University College London (UCL), to campus to talk about her new book. Chaired by Dr Qian Liu, this event was Dr Li’s first official book talk for her new work, making it a unique and valuable opportunity for our academic community to explore fresh ideas in world literature and translation.

By Harriet Pickering From 17 to 21 November 2025, we had the fantastic opportunity to take part in the EUTOPIA autumn school on Multilingualism at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. 80 students from 10 European universities gathered to hear from lecturers, exchange ideas and work together to explore the notion of multilingualism in contemporary society. There was no better city to do this in than Brussels!

The beginning of my PhD journey feels like an age away from the end of it. I’ve done so much during that time. But it was in fact only a few years ago that I was able to start my PhD in French Caribbean Literature. Officially, this was with the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies (YPPCCS) as they provided my scholarship.

Can AI do what humans can do? Or do humans and AI offer different things? As part of EUTOPIA Languages Week, we held a Human vs AI Translation Slam - find out more here....

Who wouldn't fancy Paris for the Year Abroad? Hear from Anaya, who has been spending hers split between a term at the Sorbonne and an internship with a documentary company!

As a PhD candidate, it's very important to present at conferences to get your work recognised and to meet colleagues in your field. It can also be a chance to travel. Read our latest post from PhD candidate, Xiaoyan Tan, who has recently presented in China and Oman.

As well as experiences of going physically abroad, there are also plenty of opportunities for SMLC students to have virtual exchanges, for instance our students of Russian who work with students from Kyrgyzstan.

Want to make a difference to the next generation of language learners? Hear from Megan, a 1st year Undergraduate and one of our wonderful Language Ambassadors, about her recent experiences of volunteering in local schools!

Stop the presses! Take a moment to find out about Hispanic Studies' radio news programme which allows students to keep up-to-date with the Hispanic World, whilst also giving them a chance to practice journalism and radio production.

A Year Abroad doesn't have to just be in one place: hear from our final year student, Katerina, about her experiences across three locations and three very different placements!

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"Overall my time in Guyane as an English assistant so far has been nothing short of the best time of my life, and I would definitely recommend going for it to anyone who is thinking about applying": thinking about trying somewhere a bit different for your YA? Look no further...

by Stephanie Welch Over the summer a group of five students including myself had the privilege of spending four weeks in one of Chinas ancient capitals Xi’an. During our stay we attended Mandarin classes, spent time at the Shaanxi History Museum and visited the cities popular cultural landmarks. After a day of travelling Onara and I landed in Xi’an where we were met by our driver.

21 likes, 0 comments - warwick_smlc on January 20, 2026: "It’s #graduation day for SMLC @uniofwarwick ! A huge congratulations 🏆🎈📣👑 to all of our students graduating today! Got graduation pics of you...

Our second blog of 2026 is a second look at one of the wonderful conferences hosted in SMLC last term. This time, the IPCITI 2025 translation/interpreting conference!

Our first blog of 2026 sees us catch up with one of the wonderful conferences we hosted last term: the Warwick-Tongji Postgraduate Symposium, focused on Translation, Discourse and Global Communication.

Come for the journey, stay for the photos: our final blog post of 2025 is a stunning pictorial account of Joe Guy's Year Abroad in China. As winter closes in on Warwick, let yourself drift through these breath-taking Chinese landscapes...

On the first day of Christmas (well, December) the SMLC gave to me... reflections on the Spanish influences on Christmas in Britain, by Kirsty Hooper. A piece likely to make readers rather peckish and thirsty...

Time for some more Year Abroad stories, this time taking us from China to Heidelberg via Montpellier...

Research seminars, workshops, conferences, reading groups and other events in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Warwick.

Вы говорите по-русски? Hear from our 2nd year BA Modern Languages student, Cerys, about her experience of the Language Centre's Russian Conversation Club!