Franklin College

Classes were taught in English and was the predominantly spoken language when hanging out with other Franklin students. Italian is the most common language spoken in Lugano, but most locals speak at least some English or French (they prefer French, sometimes pretend to not understand English, and probably won't answer you if you try to speak German to them). During travel to some more remote areas of Switzerland where German was more common and less people spoke English it was more of a struggle - however nothing that couldn't be handled.

I went to Lugano because it is in the Italian part of Switzerland but since the school life is primarily english speakers I didn't practice as much as I could have. You can definitely practice Italian or French when you're there but don't count on doing it @ FC unless you take a language course.

I was able to learn lots of Italian. I tried to interact a lot with the local community, and this is probably the best way to learn the language. Also, try to take a class in the local language. Immersing yourself in the culture and leaning the language in class is a great way to become really good at speaking,