Three students on the Bachelor of Education in Languages programme at University of Limerick have been awarded a prestigious scholarship jointly funded by the Embassy of France in Ireland and the UL Foundation.
The scholarships will allow the students to engage in a four-week immersive teaching and learning programme with CAVILAM - Alliance Française in Vichy (France) in conjunction with the University of Clermont-Auvergne.
The scholarships, valued at over €2,000 each, mark the culmination of a pioneering collaboration between UL Foundation and the Embassy of France in Ireland to support future French language teachers in the development of their professional competencies.
The three successful 2nd year student recipients; Ms. Eva Kelly (Co. Galway), Ms. Ellen Fitzgerald (Co. Kilkenny) and Ms. Rachel Wallace (Co. Limerick), will travel to Vichy, France this June to participate in a diverse range of interactive teaching and learning activities focusing on the development of pre-service teachers' language and pedagogical skills.
The award ceremony was held in Plassey House UL this Wednesday 17th of May and was attended by Laura Le Cleach, Cooperation Attaché for French Language at the French Embassy in Ireland, Dr Loïc Guyon, Honorary Consul of France in Limerick and Sarah Hartnett, Director of Development with UL Foundation, along with members of the School of Education and the School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics.
Speaking at the event, and drawing on his poem ‘The Gardener’, Dr Patrick Ryan, Associate Vice President for Student Engagement, highlighted the importance of words, cultures and connections and the ‘delight’ that can be found within them.
Thanking attendees at the ceremony, Course Director for the Bachelor of Education in Languages programme, Dr Jennifer Hennessy, noted “The impact of this pioneering scholarship will be felt, not only by the three pre-service teacher awardees, but by their own students also in the years to come as they move forward in their careers as language teachers”.
Congratulating the awardees on their success, Dr Marie-Thérèse Batardière, Lecturer of French at the School of MLAL, said: “This scholarship gives you a unique opportunity to join and collaborate with a team of French teachers in a very esteemed institution”.
