Interpreting at
the Rugby World Cup
I started my undergraduate degree in Modern Languages in September 2019. I chose advanced French and picked up German through the Languages For All scheme. Halfway through my first year, COVID struck and forced all in-person learning into the remote classroom. My third year was my year abroad and I chose to follow the language assistant route and got placed in a small town, Manosque. The role of a language assistant was to encourage the learning of English in your placement school – for me, this was a maternelle where I taught 4/5 year olds the basics of English language through the medium of games, songs, and interactive activities. I was the only language assistant in my town, however there were other assistants in the next town whom I would often visit.
As well as being a language assistant, I also became an au pair for a family; I would teach their daughter English and escort her to and from school in exchange for somewhere to live. I would make the most of having free weekends by visiting other cities, both in France and further afield: Marseille, Amsterdam, Berlin to name but a few. As well as these larger cities, I also visited nearby smaller towns such as Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Avignon, Menton etc. - towns known for their natural beauty and rich history.
I was also lucky enough to obtain my French residency on my year abroad, making it easy for me to move/ work in any European country in the future. Whilst on my year abroad I applied to work in the Rugby World Cup. Initially, I thought no more of this, choosing to volunteer in a nursery and dog shelter in South Africa where I met a lot of new people from all over the world and got to share our life experiences with, all of which I am still friends with now. Four months later however, whilst in the final year of my undergraduate course, I received an email to say that I had been accepted and that I would be placed in the Orange Vélodrome, Marseille. Fast forward nine months and I have now worked numerous matches held at this stadium amongst which England vs Argentina. I will also be working the two quarter finals on the 14th-15th October. Being one of five British volunteers, my consecutive interpreting skills have been frequently required for various problems encountered in the stadium.
Since graduating, I have enrolled on a master’s course in Swansea University in Sports Communication and Journalism. After graduating, I hope to either use this degree alongside my love and passion for Rugby to work for the WRU/ FFR, or follow a journalistic route by working with broadcasting companies like France24 or Euronews. Luckily, during my year abroad I met someone linked to Euronews and they have already offered me an internship with the company!
~ Amy Cule (BA Hons - Modern Languages)
