Lucy McLachlan is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in French Studies.

I chose to do a major in French Studies because I want, at some stage, to become a high school French teacher. I want to nurture the same passion for language and French that my teachers instilled in me in other young people at school.

Studying the Bachelor of Arts has opened up a whole new world for me. I love being able to study whatever I want, which in my case is languages. At high school, two languages were offered, but at university I could study three! Being able to study whatever takes your fancy gives you a sense of power in your life.

My favourite part of the Bachelor of Arts has been the cohorts from the languages that I have studied. You go through your whole degree with these people and have shared experiences. I am grateful for the friendships and bonds that were forged in French, Russian and Spanish tutorials.

Another great thing is that I now have the tools to communicate with hundreds of millions of people around the world. I believe that it is the unique gift of language students. My life is so much richer for studying languages, and I hope one day to share this gift with my own students.

Before I become a French teacher, I would like to teach English as a foreign language. People often ask you how learning languages is useful, to them I say that it gives you an understanding of English grammar that you would never have learnt in school. This I believe puts us in a good position to teach English to non-native speakers. Teaching people who have moved to our country to speak our language can change their lives: their job prospects, their ability to integrate into the community and their quality of life.

I believe that learning French has made me a better communicator and given me more confidence to speak up. In language classes you are forced to speak and share what you think. It shows you that what you say and believe has value.