Introducing...Léa!

Hi, my name is Léa, I am 22 years old, and I am a new intern at Peartree Languages.

Lea at Peartree Languages with the best macaroons that we have ever tried

Franche - Comte, a part of France, 

where Léa is from

I come from a small city in the North-East of France named Vaivre & Montoille, but I study in Besançon, where the author of the novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo, was born.

Vaivre & Montoille is Léa's hometown

I'm doing a master’s degree in English and Foreign Cultures after a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Civilisation with focus on French as a Foreign Language. I've been learning English since I was 9 years old, but now that I am in Cardiff, I realise that the English I learnt at school is completely different from the “real” English that I need here. That’s why I hope to improve my English over the next 5 months.

Besançon, town where Léa is doing her master's degree

I have also studied Spanish and Portuguese at school and I currently study (well, I try to study) Japanese and Korean, even though these are very difficult languages to learn. But I’ve always been very interested in Asian countries and cultures, so I wanted to try! Obviously, I would love to go to Asia one day. I think the differences between cultures are a wonderful thing and I would love to visit a lot of countries in order to learn as much as possible. Until now, I have been to Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, England, Greece, and Italy.

Even though I am fascinated with foreign languages and foreign cultures, I have to say that I am deeply in love with my country France, its traditions and its history. What I miss the most from France is food - especially cheese (so cliché!)

The speciality of the county I am from is cheese. Particularly the Comté (the name of the county is Franche-Comté) and the Cancoillotte are the cheeses I miss most. I miss cheese so much that I asked my parents to send me some.

Cancoillotte, the famous cheese
from  Léa's home town. 

What I’ll be missing too is not being in France on our national day. Bastille Day (or “Le 14 Juillet” in French) is - as the name suggests - on the 14th July. It celebrates the fall of the monarchy in 1789 in France (although technically it was not on this day…) and also the unity of French people against those who want to submit them. Nowadays, a military parade is organised on the morning of Bastille Day on the Champs-Élysées in front of the President, the government, and the foreign ambassadors. In the evening, parties and fireworks are organised everywhere in France, but the most beautiful ones are let off from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. All this is broadcast on TV and a lot of people watch it since Bastille Day is one of the numerous days-off in France (hahaha!!) and for us it’s the most important one.


I could spend hours talking about my country. That is the reason why I would like to teach French to non-French speakers, abroad or in France (I haven’t made up my mind yet). When I become a French teacher, I will try to not only teach grammar and conjugations because even though it is pretty important and essential to learn a language, I think that traditions, history and culture are much more interesting to learn and to teach (well that’s my opinion). In France, teachers only teach grammar and as a consequence bore students (that may be the reason why French people are poor at learning languages) and I absolutely do not want to teach like that!

I hope I will have a great time in Cardiff. I have only been here for three weeks and I already can tell you that people here are incredibly friendly; just like the people at Peartree. Well, I don’t really know what to say any more… If you are in Cardiff, I hope you’re having a great time and if you’re not, you absolutely need to come over one day soon!

Voilà ;)

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About Peartree Languages

Peartree Languages is a language school located in Cardiff.