Interview with Corinne

Corinne originally moved to Devon in 1992 as part of her university degree to work as a language assistant at Kingsbridge school. Although she was meant to stay for only one academic year, she ended up never going back to her home in Montpellier, France. Corinne didn’t encounter any real difficulties settling in, she says this was largely down to the fact that she had no preconceptions or idea what to expect. Corinne had a basic English language knowledge prior to moving. When she arrived, she threw herself into it, making sure to ask for translations and keeping a book of vocabulary which, she updated regularly, making sure that she had a structure to help her learn. The main difficulty which Corinne encountered was understanding the various accents. In Kingsbridge, Corinne has always felt very welcome and never experienced any issues with being accepted into the community which is one of the reasons why she thinks she chose to stay. When she first moved to Kingsbridge, she was shocked at how friendly people were, always saying hello and smiling. In terms of meeting other French people, Corinne didn’t join any groups or communities as she wanted to make a conscious effort to learn English however, she has found that within her work she unintentionally formed a group of French friends. She enjoys this as it means she can have discussions about French food and topics which people living in Devon might not be as interested in. The main things which remind Corinne of her home in France is her passion for comics, which she was surprised to see is not such an important part of literature in the UK, and her photos of her family - the more personal objects.