Interactive and dynamic, these Web sites celebrate the cultural diversity of Canada, encouraging visitors to discover another part of the country to learn and share Canada’s official languages.

“Over 250,000 young Canadians have taken part in the official-languages programs since their inception in the 1970s,” said the Chair of CMEC, Diane McGifford, Minister of Advanced Education and Literacy and Minister responsible for International Education for Manitoba. “Using the new Web sites, Canadians can get concise information about these programs and learn how they can immerse themselves in the language and culture of another province or territory. Promoting official languages and cultural learning is one of the key priority areas of our joint ministerial declaration, Learn Canada 2020.”

Explore fosters the study of French or English as a second language, while Destination Clic fosters the study of French as a first language for francophone students who live outside of Quebec. Odyssey gives Canadians the opportunity to work as language assistants, sharing their language and culture with students while helping teachers at the elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level.

To visit our Web sites, go to:

• Explore: www.myexplore.ca
• Destination Clic: www.destinationclic.ca
• Odyssey: www.myodyssey.ca

CMEC is an intergovernmental body composed of the ministers responsible for elementary-secondary and advanced education from the provinces and territories. Through CMEC, ministers share information and undertake projects in areas of mutual interest and concern.

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Information

Jean-Gilles Pelletier
Director, Official Languages
Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC)
Tel.: 416-962-8100, ext. 272
E-mail: j.g.pelletier@cmec.ca

In my previous article ("Pas un mot d'anglais," Dalnews, May 8), I discussed how recent experiences at Dal made me realize—despite having fulfilled my language credit with a year of mind-expanding, brain-bending Chinese—that my French skills were seriously lacking. Casting around for a quick fix, I stumbled upon Explore, an immersion program run by Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) to help even the most certified of anglophones (read: me) delve into a second language.

Explore is offered at a number of Canadian universities and, while travel costs are the student’s responsibility, books, tuition, meals and residence are paid for. A sweet deal? Bien sur. My application was accepted, I was admitted to the École de Langues at the University of Laval. With considerable trepidation (and far too many socks), I road-tripped to Laval, where I would stay for five weeks of immersive French classes and cultural activities.

As a life-long Maritimer, my first few days in Quebec were an extended case of culture shock. How did I find friends? Once friends were found, how did we order pizza? How did I ask for a change room at the mall? How did I seek out classes in the labyrinthine Laval campus? (Also, the squirrels in Quebec are huge. This is the one thing I never got over. They’re dark grey, half the size of cats, and have a nasty glint in their eye.) But each new linguistic roadblock began to represent a challenge: an opportunity to utilise the French skills I spent three hours cramming in every morning. Soon, I was chatting en francais without a second thought.

Not that it was an easy journey. Despite nine years of compulsory French in public school, I had retained virtually nothing of the language: at Laval, I was placed in the ‘enriched elementary’ class. There, I joined a group of about 30 other students—not only from across Canada, but also the United States and even Europe and South America—to study the more neglected of our two national languages. The instruction was fast-paced, intense and extremely useful; not merely standard classes in grammar, but also in oral expression and phonetics, ensuring that students could not only speak French but also be understood. Classes were generally over by lunch, and in the afternoons, cultural activities were arranged—you could head to Old Quebec for a gelato, visit a museum or art gallery, or join in a round of basketball or ultimate Frisbee. In the evenings, a French movie might be screened (best of the bunch: Bon Cop, Bad Cop), or you could catch up with new friends at the university pub.

My last day of Explore consisted of two exams, a closing ceremony, and many tearful hugs with new friends. Next year, I’m planning to reapply; the applications of first-time students are favoured, but it’s possible to attend the program twice or more. In the meantime, I’ve been recommending the program to basically everyone I know. If you want to see the wonders of Quebec, meet people from around the world, and pick up a second language into the bargain, this is the program for you. Bonne chance!

Source: Brandon Sun — May 27, 2009

I started French classes in first grade and barely made it beyond “bonjour.” In junior high, I rationalized this by saying I’d never need French. Turns out I was wrong. During a post-high school tour of Europe, my best friend and I stayed with her family in France, where I was reduced to communicating with grunts and gestures, cavewoman-style. It wasn’t an especially social two weeks.

I thought taking English in university would protect me from beckoning bilingualism; again, not the case. I recently attended a lecture on Shakespeare in Enlightenment France. French quotes from early translations left other attendees in hysterical laughter, while I faked a grin, wishing I got the joke.

I’m no longer in denial; I need French skills, stat. But by this point, a couple of hours of language instruction each week won’t cut it. Then, rushing into the McCain one morning, I noticed a table promoting Explore — a bursary program to help non-francophone high-school and university students learn French. I grabbed an application from the table and hurried to class. Now my semester at Dalhousie is done, my bags are half-packed, and I leave for Université Laval, Quebec City, Friday morning.

CMEC (the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada) is responsible for Explore. Their Web site sums the program up: “Discover another region of Canada and use this opportunity to improve your knowledge of French. Explore offers you five weeks full of opportunities to make discoveries, meet new people, and exchange ideas in a stimulating setting for learning your second language.”

Previously known as the Summer Language Bursary Program, Explore has been offered since 1971. Spring and summer sessions are available; applicants pick the more convenient season, as well as which Canadian universities they’d like to study at. The Web site states that “the educational institutions were chosen for their high-quality programs. The cities were chosen because they offer excellent French-speaking environments.”

Students may stay with a host family or in a university dorm; I’m opting for the latter since, as a day student, I’ve never had the “residence experience.” Room, board, and classes are completely covered — a value of $2,000. There’s just one catch: for the five weeks students spend in Explore, nary a word of English may pass their lips. Not all Explore students will be speaking French at the same level — a proficiency test is conducted to place students appropriately — but they will all be speaking French.

It sounds daunting, but Explore alumni give a glowing report of their experiences.

“Explore was probably one of the best experiences for me,” says Shannon Stoodley, who recently completed the bursary program. “I met people from all over Canada, which was cool. Also, I learned how to speak French in different situations… There were always tons of activities to do, and plenty of people to hang out with.”

But would she recommend it? “The program is just tons of fun… If you ever get the chance to go, do it... don’t hesitate.”

So now I’m sitting by my half-filled suitcase, wondering which tee-shirts to pack (does it count as speaking English if your shirt says “GORILLAZ?”). I’m excited, intrigued, and a little terrified. But for Dal students who know French was never their strong suit — or, alternately, students who love Dalhousie’s French program, or some other language, and want to do more — Explore constitutes the perfect summer vacation.

Second-time applicants are also considered.

I’m nervous, but acquiring French will be invaluable to my grad work, my experiences as a Canadian, and my personal education. Who knows? Post-Explore, maybe I can celebrate my next vacation in France through the ability to finally order a sandwich.

Places and people

What is the Explore program? No, it doesn’t involve space travel — Explore is a Canada-wide language-exchange program that helps thousands of students to improve their fluency in French or in English while discovering a region of our vast country. It’s a different kind of exploration, one that involves places and people, geography and culture.

Explore runs in Laure Frappier’s family. Following in her two sons’ footsteps (they’re now 21 and 25, and have both participated in Explore), she took part in the spring session of the program at Dalhousie University, in Halifax. She had no one to practice her English with in her hometown of Varennes, Quebec, where she is pursuing a certificate in women’s studies. For Jessica Iezzoni, who’s studying for a bachelor’s degree in administration, the problem was confidence. But since completing her session at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, she says, “I’ve developed a confidence that I never had before.” For Éric Buisson, who runs Explore at UQAM and is coordinator of non-credit courses at the language school, “Immersion is the best way to learn a language because you are surrounded around the clock by the language environment you’re looking for, as well as by the culture that goes with it.”

How Explore works

Explore is an equal-opportunity program: a computer draws each province’s and territory’s quota of bursary recipients at random. The bursary covers tuition, accommodation, and meals, and is paid directly to the host institution. Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident who has been at school full-time for at least one semester of the current school year can apply. Participants pay only their airfare and any personal expenses. It’s a great deal — so good, in fact, that some astute students come back for a second or even a third year!

The course content is the same across Canada: Monday through Friday, over five weeks in June and July, participants spend mornings in the classroom and afternoons enjoying conversation workshops or cultural outings, such as trips to the museum or the market. Each group — beginner, intermediate, or advanced — rarely exceeds 15 students. According to Mr. Buisson, those are ideal conditions to learn a language.

The program, not surprisingly, is sponsored by the Department of Canadian Heritage and coordinated by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). Explains Mr. Buisson, “Explore’s main mission is not only to encourage people to learn both official languages, it is also to bring individuals and even whole communities closer.” Laure Frappier would certainly agree: she has invited about 20 Quebecers who were at Dalhousie with her in the spring to her home this fall “to compare notes and catch up!”

Being visually handicapped, Ms. Frappier says that she got more out of her session than just a chance to improve her English. She discovered a lot of things about herself, too: “I realized that I could be on my own, leave Montreal, get on a plane to an unfamiliar place, and fit in!” she says proudly. She also emphasizes the great work of everyone involved in the program in organizing her session and running it smoothly.

Residence is freedom

Ms. Frappier chose Halifax “for the seaside,” while Jessica Iezzoni went to Victoria because, as she says with a smile, “It was the farthest city away from home!” Both chose to live in residence, even though Explore offers the possibility of staying with a host family. In fact, says Mr. Buisson, “Ninety per cent of students want to be on campus because they’re still living at home, so to them, a university residence means freedom!”

Other students prefer to live with a host family. Carole Breton, a graphic designer in UQAM’s communications department, hosted an Explore student from Toronto. “It was her third stay in Quebec and she was very comfortable in French. I took her to the Jean-Talon Market, to my son’s soccer matches, and even to the little town where I was born in the Chaudière-Appalaches region.” The experience inspired Ms. Breton’s 12-year-old son, but she is in no rush for him to go out and explore the world just yet!

Pierre-Etienne Caza - / L’UQAM / September 18, 2006