Sample cover letter for Internship position at Erasmus

Dear Erasmus committee,

My name is >>Name<< and I am currently in my second semester at >>Name of University<< majoring in English and minoring in French as part of >>Name of programme<<.

As a language student a semester/year abroad is of great value, since I believe that you cannot really learn a language to the fullest if you have not been in an environment where it is the primary language spoken.

It is a unique opportunity to combine my university studies with first-hand experience of life in a country speaking the language that is a part of my education. Along side improving my spoken and written English/French, I also hope to gain insight into the various aspects of the culture and history of the country.

I have an excellent command of the English and French language which would enable me to adjust and adapt easily to an English or French speaking country and university. This is partly due to my experience with work and travel both in/to France and the US, where I spent time at each site studying the English and French language. The stay in the US ended with a CAE test where I received the highest score, C2.

To grow up in an household where there were more than five languages spoken daily, have made me able to see language learning and development as more than only grammar and “right or wrong”. I see it as a way of communication, which may be, in a lot of ways, more relevant today than ever before, not only in a way of solving conflicts, but also to learn and understand other cultures and societies etc.

Both English and French literature is something that is close to my heart. You can probably throw any kind of classical literature my way and I will have read it. Personally literature, mostly the classic but also the modern, has shaped me a lot as a human and given me a great appreciation for language learning and how it is used.

I am a firm believer that through learning new languages, we learn to interpret literature from other countries and cultures in a better way. I have experienced that through knowing/understanding English and French I have been able to see for example, Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Tom Hardy’s Tess from the D’Urbervilles, Honoré Balzac’s La Comédie Humaine or Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables in a completely different way than when reading it in my native tongue.

Some reasons for choosing Erasmus:

• - Learning a foreign language even better and improving my skills in English and French.
• - To get practice and first-hand see how English and French studies work in each respective country, and to work in a different environment than at my university.
• - Enhance my chances to find a better employment, as I will get a truly multicultural experience, highly vaulted nowadays among employers.

I am in particular interested in courses in English/French cultural studies, English/ French linguistics and English/French literature.

I really hope that you will consider me as a student for your university, which would be a honor for me to attend as a part of my abroad studying.

Best regardes, 

>>Name<<