CLER Conversation Series: The unexpected turns of a Year Abroad in Italy in the Era of Covid-19: a nightmare or a dream?

Presenter: Giorgia Faraoni

PhD Researcher in the School of Education

This presentation will guide the audience through the journey of one UK student of Italian during her Year Abroad and present some of the changes and unexpected turns that occurred over the nine months of her time in Italy. We will look at the student's challenges and her coping strategies, especially in the light of the outbreak of Covid-19, highlighting how this affected her experiences in unprecedented and unforeseeable ways. Notwithstanding the negative sides of this pandemic, it has indeed turned her Year Abroad into an even more "once-in-a-lifetime experience", as well as one of extraordinary importance for research. In this visual journey through her Year Abroad, I will share my preliminary interpretation of the data collected in the first months of my longitudinal study, and my intentions for the next steps.

Discussants:
Xiaowen Liu, Gary Chambers and Martin Lamb

CLER Conversation 17 June Poster