Languages in Real Life

By Elaine Kelly | Posted: Thursday February 19, 2026

A cornucopia of enriching experiences.

One of the main challenges for any language teacher is bringing the language to life and giving students real opportunities to put their learning into practice. In the past few months, several students of Languages have had the opportunity to really find out what it means to be French or German.  

The NZ-German Exchange programme is a New Zealand-wide initiative that runs every year, and applications for the 2026/27 exchange are currently open. The OBHS-Columba College French Language and Culture Immersion Tour had it’s highly successful inaugural year in January 2026.  It is hoped that this tour will run again either at the end of 2027 or 2028. here.  We are optimistic that these exchanges will continue for many years to come and will provide future OBHS boys with the chance to experience Languages in real life. 

French Language and Culture Immersion Tour

Oliver Morgan, Year 12 - Over the summer holidays, ten lucky boys who are studying French were fortunate enough to travel to France on the French Language and Culture Immersion Tour organised jointly with Columba College. Whilst over there, we spent four days visiting Paris, where we saw all the major tourist sites and attractions such as the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Versailles Palace and lots of other secret spots. There was so much to see and it was amazing to practice our everyday conversational skills with French people on the street. We tried all the traditional French food, such as escargot and frog legs, which was quite the experience. We even learned how to make our own macarons at a French cookery school!

On the fifth day, we took a TGV train ride to Lyon, where we met our homestays at the Edouard Herriot Lycée, a French High School. We took part in actual French classes such as Calculus and Geography, which were often tricky to keep up with, but great for developing our language skills. We all stayed with boys our age for a week and a half, where we continued our insight into French culture. 

Overall, during the French trip, we experienced eleven half days of cultural and educational sightseeing visits, eighteen hours of private lessons at a French Language school, five half days at the French lycée, and twelve days in a real French family. The French trip is going to help us a lot with NCEA this year, and it was an incredible way to spend the holidays, even though we had to attend school on some days!

Here’s what the other year 11 and 12’s had to say about the trip.

Guy Orchiston, Year 11- Staying with the French family in Lyon and experiencing the French culture and living in a French home was an amazing experience as I got a real look and feel into what true French culture was like. From having cheese after every dinner to eating a baguette while walking home, I got a deeper understanding of everyday French life. Being part of a family’s routine helped me appreciate the small habits and traditions that you don’t see as a tourist, making me briefly feel like a Lyon local.

Victor Rivollet, Year 11-  The food in France was one of my favourite things about going on the trip to France because it was really good food. It was good to see what French cuisine was like as it is very different to New Zealand's. It was a really good experience to try the food in France because it gave you an idea of what the culture in France is like.

Nate Latta, Year 11- During our time at the lycée in Lyon, I experienced a more formal style of school life. Lessons were longer and more structured, with students staying in one classroom while teachers moved between classes. Lunch breaks were also longer and treated as an important part of the day. Overall, it was interesting to see how daily school routines in Lyon differed from those at home.

Rhys Hendry, Year 11- Going to montmartre in the snow

Visiting Montmartre in the snow was really cool because you could see the Sacre Coeur covered in snow. After we went to the Sacre Cour we went to a little market square called Place du Tetre and it was really cold. When it started to snow it felt exactly like a classic movie.

Matt Sinott, Year 11 - Experiencing the different norms that the other students in Lyon have, spending time with them, and just living the French teenage lifestyle were my favourite parts of the trip. I found their ways of life very interesting as they differed from our ways in NZ in several ways. For example, their free time on weekdays was very limited, as they finished school very late, which meant after school, we would take our time going back home, snacking on fresh baguettes from a local bakery. This was just one of many differences between France and New Zealand that I found interesting.

Ian Ratigan, Year 12 - Visiting the Louvre : Le Musée du Louvre was my favorite place during the visit to France. We experienced ancient French culture and saw iconic paintings such as the Mona Lisa, Liberty Leading The People and the statue, Winged Victory of Samothrace. We also were able to experience the French Renaissance style of architecture throughout the one time palace which was originally built by King Phillipe Auguste.

Mathew Campbell, Year 12 - Historic monuments and places: Visiting monuments and places that have such a deep history gave us a really enriching experience. These included the Arc de Triumphe, Opéra Garnier, Palace of Versailles, Louvre and Notre Dame de Paris, as well as the old part of Lyon. With New Zealand being a newer country, it was interesting to learn about the development of one of the oldest nations on earth and experience it’s culture. France showed us how events in history shape the culture and direction of how cities develop, and that the people have a real pride for these monuments and buildings as it represents who they are and what they've overcome. 

Cole Churchman Year 11- Weekends with our french family were my favourite! While in France we got the opportunity to have a weekend just with our homestays. My homestay took me from Lyon to Grenoble and I got to go snowboarding on a huge mountain. We also went ice climbing in a big cave in the Alps. This was a very memorable experience for me and it is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

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