Ben McKendrick

“Živjo! My name is Ben, I study BA German and Russian with Slovene language in my 4th and final year at SSEES, and I am from Sunderland in North East England. I did German A Level, but hadn't tried any Russian before, so I started this from scratch. I chose Russian as I found its modern history and culture very interesting, and wanted to challenge myself with the language. Therefore, I managed to do a semester abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia (see the picture on the banks of the Neva River) in my 3rd year. It was an unbelievable experience, meeting many academics and locals which helped me improve my listening and speaking skills.

I also learn Slovene at UCL. This is a two hour a week class, which also counts to my final degree grade and classification. Although I did stumble across Slovenia and Slovene language, it is now a big part of my life and future career ambitions. I couldn't recommend enough looking into the 'smaller' languages that SSEES can offer - there are countless from Finnish to Hungarian to Ukrainian! Not only does a lesser-spoken language stand out brilliantly to employees after your degree, but it can also help you shape your understanding in other historical/linguistic/cultural modules that you will take in English.

Studying 3 languages is a challenge; I would have never believed doing this if you told me a few years ago. However, my biggest piece of advice to prospective and current students when looking at and applying to courses is to check the modules (compulsory and optional) that you will take. There is usually a wide range of modules you can take at SSEES, taught by an incredible team of staff with specialities in almost anything Eastern European you can think of!