Two years ago, my French class were assigned pen pals: French students our age, who were learning English. We would send letters to each other in our respective target languages to help improve our fluency. Over the summer this year, my pen pal (along with a friend) visited England, and we had the chance to meet. Though initially awkward, we got on quite well. We learnt more of each other's cultures, taught each other slang and hastily corrected each other's grammatical mistakes. Admittedly, my pen pal and her friend are nearly fluent English speakers, which made communication much easier!

When they spoke to me in French, however, it was a different matter. Despite being armed with my GCSE, every time they spoke to each other, I was assaulted with a torrent of throaty noises and guttural Rs; trying to understand them was more akin to deciphering a code Turing himself would fear. After hours of being linguistically battered, I could understand 10% of what they said; however, that was 10% more than before! Though a small improvement, I felt a sense of accomplishment. As great as learning a language in class is, nothing beats the real thing.

Many thanks to Madame Mulcahy and the MFL department for arranging this great opportunity for cross-Channel cultural exchange!

Muhammad, Year Twelve