School of Languages, Linguistics and Film

Debating victory for Queen Mary French students

The French department and the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film congratulate Chiara Scurati, Annabelle Vassel, Edoardo Fiora and María Fernandez Amado

19 March 2016

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The French department and the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film congratulate Chiara Scurati, Annabelle Vassel, Edoardo Fiora and María Fernandez Amado on their win in this year’s joutes oratoires, a national student debating competition organised by the Franco-British Connections in collaboration with the Institut français du Royaume-Uni. Having already eliminated the University of Edinburgh in a qualifying round, the Queen Mary students went on to beat Warwick University in the final held at the Institut français on Wednesday 16 March 2016.

Set up in November 2015 by two members of the French department, Julie Betancourt-Ricci and Anne Laure Galliano, with the support of a Santander grant awarded to Dr Elsa Petit, the French Department’s debating club gives first- and second-year students the opportunity to acquire skills to debate cultural and political topics in French.

Reflecting on the enriching experience, the students participating this year noted the following:

'I would say the most important thing I have learned from the debating club is the importance of team work: how working all together and in a nice atmosphere leads to success!' (María Fernandez Amado)

'Apart from giving me the opportunity to improve my knowledge of the French language, participating in the French debating club taught me how to formally and diplomatically address others in an official context, expanding my vocabulary and improving my syntax. As each debate is preceded by a phase of research and analysis, this extracurricular activity has specifically furthered my analytical skills, which I actively employ on a daily basis in and outside university.' (Edoardo Fiora)

May this be the beginning of many debating successes for students of French at Queen Mary.