Articles of the Month

An Anglophone in Québec

So maybe you've heard of the elusive "bursary program." It's where the Federal Government gives post-secondary students a fat (phat?) $1,625 to study French at various universities and CEGEPs in Canada (Francophones can receive the same grant to study English). Well it's not just a rumour - it's true. Over 7,000 students receive bursaries each summer - and this summer I was one of them.

Having not studied French since I left high school six years ago, I was a more than a little nervous on my way to Québec City. I had signed a contract saying I would do my best to communicate in nothing but French for 5 weeks - was I mad? In addition, I had chosen to live with a francophone family (many programs offer campus residence accommodation as well), and I had no idea how that would work out. As I pointed my car east along Autoroute Felix-Leclerc, I thought about how strange this idea is - I was about to arrive on the doorstep of a total stranger who would give me breakfast and a roof over my head for the next 5 weeks. And oh yeah, we don't speak the same language.

As it happens, the francophones I lived with were tremendous! They were patient with me as I scrambled my verb tenses, tripped over my own tongue and generally butchered an otherwise beautiful language. Each morning I attended classes at l'Université Laval, where I began to improve my accent, expand my vocabulary and conjugate verbs until my head spun. After classes, a team of "aminateurs" provided activities for us students to practice our French. On the weekends I went on excursions around the region, or wandered aimlessly through the old city of Québec - truly one of the most amazing places in Canada and the world.

The emersion experience was exhausting. As I placed my head on my pillow each night, my head filled with the new words I learned that day, what mistake I had made when speaking to the cashier at the grocery store, what situations might arise tomorrow and what words I would need in order to handle myself en français. But the funny thing about immersion is...it works! Once you stop caring about the fact that you might make a mistake, you begin think in French. I'm not bilingual yet, but I'm 10 times closer than I was before. J'aime ça!

Find out more on the Second Language Bursary web site