French Language Residents

2025-2026 Academic Year: Leonard Schnakenbourg

Tell us when and how you started studying foreign languages and what you like about learning languages.

I’ve started to learn English in 6th grade and since then I've always aspired to perfect my English so that I can interact with as many people as possible. I’ve tried to consume as much English content as possible, which I think helped me to progress a lot throughout the years. I also learned Spanish from 7th grade to 12th grade and a bit of Japanese from 10th grade to 12th grade, but these are languages I've stopped studying ever since. I like studying languages because I think it’s one of the best way to discover the world around us and interact with people from all over the world.

Tell us about a favorite activity that you pursue when you have free time.

In my free time, I really enjoy playing sports such as basketball or soccer and, being collective sports, I think that it is a great way of bonding with other people around a common passion. I also enjoy a lot video editing which consists of assembling scenes from movies, moments of sporting events and add music on top. This process can results in a simple edit or, sometimes, something more complex but I know I’ll enjoy it either way. There’s so much content and so many resources to explore in this activity that I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.

Tell us what you studied at the university and what you might like to do one day.

I’ve just graduated from a law bachelor with a major in political science, and I'm thinking of continuing my studies with a master's in either political science or geopolitics, as these are fields that have always attracted me. Therefore, I think that this year abroad, in contact with people from another culture, can only be beneficial to me in the continuity of my studies. My law studies enabled me to discover many themes and subjects that I didn't necessarily know about, and also sharpened my critical thinking and general culture. As for what I'd like to do in the future, it's still a bit vague in my head, but I'd be very interested in working in the field of international relations.

Past French Language Residents