"It’s not as easy as you make it out to be," Coco said. "Most of my French was geared toward written exams, so I rarely practiced speaking."

This was a common downside of learning French locally. Students here were only studying it for examinations, and they would soon forget everything without practical use.

“I can practice speaking French with you from now on. That way, you'll adapt faster," Lucas suggested. "Let’s do that for greetings and daily conversations."

Coco's eyes lit up. "That’s rig