Abstract
I have always been attracted towards the English culture, that is the reason why I chose to go to the United Kingdom. I have never ever been in an English speaking country, my stay lasted two months. I chose to live with an English family in order to speak this language all day long. Since last November, I have been looking for a work placement, but as my search was not productive, I had to use the collaboration of an associate to get a job. In May, I eventually had a training period in a language school, the Torbay Language Centre, it was not exactly what I expected but I was pretty sure that such an experience would be very useful for my language and work skills. My stay was in two main towns; Torquay and Paignton, both located in South Devon (the English Riviera). I could define myself as a daily worker because I took up a job in an English firm and I also had to travel everyday from Torquay to Paignton. Moreover, I was an unpaid trainee, but I was considered a member of the staff. I worked as seriously and even efficiently as an employee. As a receptionist, my work consisted in answering phone calls and taking care of receptionist general tasks, so I was always the first intermediate of the company with the students or even customers. I met a lot of different nationalities such as Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and German and so on. Thereby I found out how English was a real tool of communication for every foreigner. Torbay Language Centre is a well-known company even within the language schools world; consequently its number of students is very high and keeps on increasing (roughly 650 students per week). This training period was compulsory but I did not think of it as a problem but rather an opportunity to take. During my report, I will present what I have learnt within the English culture and within the company culture, and also, the difficulties that I faced and overcame.
