Université de Lausanne (UNIL)

It was frequently difficult to find situations where I could speak French since many people in Switzerland are already fluent in English and enjoy the opportunities to practise it with a native speaker. I found it quite off putting to be responded to in English when speaking French and actually found I spoke French most frequently with the many German-speakers who were also in Lausanne to learn French. (This may explain why I seemed to have picked up a German accent in my spoken French!)

Thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by the French language both socially and academically. My French skills improved rapidly. At first I was worried about the difficulty of the courses at University, but after a short period of time, the language difference is not a barrier at all.

It was difficult at first as I'd not really been immersed in French before, and especially the Suisse-Romande accent so communication with flatmates was difficult at the start! But it got so much easier and the language teaching at the university really helped a lot.

It was hard the two first months to express myself, but I was all day speaking in french, at work, at the university, at home with my roommates. When I've started doing jokes I realised I was doing well with french.

Despite initial nervousness, which sometimes hindered my ability to understand, I became more at ease and very comfortable with using the language in my surroundings, both formal and informal.

I learnt alot in Swtizerland and was able to use my skills that I learnt in the classroom in a variety of situations. It was very fulfilling to see the improvements over a short period of time