It’s a ridiculous system and, I think, will discourage people taking MFL unless they/their parents can finance it. All students going abroad as a compulsory part of their degree should receive guaranteed funding via Turing and know, in advance, what they will receive so that they can plan.
My daughter’s University said they hadn’t ‘applied’ for Turing on her behalf and so she couldn’t have it, which was ridiculous. She’d been obliged to attend lectures about it and complete all the (very tedious) forms. Of course, they’d applied for every student going abroad as a compulsory part of their studies but were trying to fund students wanting to spend a (not compulsory) semester abroad.
Once challenged they miraculously ‘found’ the money, £3800-ish. My daughter’s friend had also been told ‘no’, so my daughter showed her how to challenge the University and she, too, received Turing in full.
However, and not the Universities’ fault, funding isn’t confirmed or released until after students have gone abroad, so they need to have some money for travel, rent, living costs up front.
The whole thing is a sh*tshow!
Our eldest was abroad last year and we had to pay for medical insurance (although apparently in some countries an EHIC is okay), a travelcard (was in a city), flights to/from the UK and, rent before any funding was received. She used Turing for living expenses and travel.
Obviously students can take out a maintenance loan with Student Finance in addition to Turing and, if they don’t get Turing, at least that means they have some funds. However, Turing is a grant and doesn’t need to be repaid, so it’s worth fighting for it.
Having spent a year abroad myself in the 80s, I know it’s invaluable for language acquisition. I ‘taught’ in a Lycee in the Parisien suburbs (bit like Richmond/Teddington), and advised my daughter not to do this and to go to University instead. Having said that, if finances are difficult and your child hasn’t been able to save from a holiday job, ‘teaching’ may be the more sensible option.
I also was a one-to-one tutor with adults and charged 10fr an hour (about €20 now) to earn enough to travel. It was pretty easy money as most people wanted to improve their conversational skills rather than pass exams.
It’s a bit scary to begin with (I think for parent and child alike) but it’s a fabulous thing to do and is so beneficial. I hope your daughter has a fabulous time!