Guest Salkh Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Hi everyone, I went through french immersion until the 10th grade and could speak fluently, but I have lost most of my french-speaking and understanding abilities for lack of practice. I'd really like to immerse myself in a French culture somewhere (Quebec, France, Switzerland) for a month or so next summer in order to gain back some of what I've lost. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any good programs to sign up with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UTStudent03 Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Hi Salkh, Actually, Ian pointed me towards this site: SLBP Summer Language Bursary Program It's a government program for university students - they pay your tuition, accomodation, etc. You just have to pay for your transportation. As the name suggests, it's offered in the summer at various sites around the country (usually university campuses). I haven't experienced the program myself but I hope to sign up in the future - though I've heard, and others will tell you, that it's an awesome experience. Hope this helps, UT03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sparkle Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Hi Salkh, I have a few friends who did the Summer Language Bursary Program. I'm not sure if you heard of it but basically, all you have to be is registered as a student at a Canadian University, College, or high school. You have options as to where you would like to be placed for the summer - its usually a French-speaking community in Quebec or News Brunswick. Basically, you're grouped with other students across the country and in addition to taking French classes, you experience the culture, meet a lot of new people and do a lot of field trips/site-seeing etc. I never got a chance to do it myself but I heard people have a real fun time. Each program is different but the general rule is that you have to speak French at all times...so it'll definitely help you pick up the language again Furthermore, it is all free (free food, free accomodation, free French classes, etc) - well, technically, its funded by the government. All you have to pay for is the airfare. I don't know the exact web site address but if you do a Google search on "Summer Language Bursary Program," its the first link. You can also put in "OLP" and it'll take you to the home page that describes other such programs (i.e. if you're a francophone and you participate in this program, you actually get paid to go because they need people there to speak French around everyone else so that people can learn Hope this is what you're looking for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sparkle Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 oops..I guess utstudent03 posted the same thing as i was typing..hehe...anywho, there's the website sparkle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Salkh Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 thanks UTstudent03 and sparkle - that program is exactly what I'm looking for. I'll check it out and see if I can apply for next summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 if you do apply make sure you pick a site in rural quebec or something. I did 6 weeks at the U de M and although we were required to speak French at school, you could speak English pretty much elsewhere in the city. Thus, whenever my friends and I went out, it was English all the way. Not very practical for someone who wants to practice their French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hacker Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Hi Salkh, As mentioned above, the summer language bursary program is a perfect opportunity to improve your french or learn french from scratch for beginners. I went to Chicoutimi, Quebec last summer and had an absolute blast. They arrange so many activities such as hiking, canoeing and other outdoor stuff that will teach you new vocabulary in french and will also give you a chance to make friends from everywhere in the world. I remember we had ppl from Spain,US,Mexico..etc in our class. As sparkle mentioned, most of the schools that offer this program have a rule that you have to speak french at all times. You get 3 warnings I think before they can kick you out :| but it differs among schools. Also, along with this program, you can apply to work under a "Languages at work" program which takes place after your course ends. I worked in a motel in Chicoutimi for the rest of that summer and it was AMAZING. Helped me learn french and have so much fun at the same time. Good Luck, H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest skiboot Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 If you apply for the bursary program, definitely try to go rural. I applied with a friend of mine a few years back. I went to Trois Rivieres and she went to Montreal. Whenever I left the UQTR campus, French was REQUIRED to converse pretty much anywhere (Just trying to converse with the cashier while buying groceries was sometimes a challenge in itself). My friend in Montreal on the other hand, as soon as anyone picked up her 'english' accent, they would almost always revert to speaking english. It's a great program if you can get a good location. I highly reccommend it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tirisa Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 I went to Trois Pistoles, east of Quebec City, two times through the UWO program, and loved it both times. It's a great little town on the St. Lawrence, and I assure you there are not many people living there who speak English. So if you're going rural, then I highly highly recommend Trois Pistoles. Best of luck to you. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Salkh Posted July 22, 2004 Report Share Posted July 22, 2004 Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I definitely want to converse in french with the locals, so I will be going for a rural placement. It sounds like it will be a terrific experience! - Sally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest noncestvrai Posted July 25, 2004 Report Share Posted July 25, 2004 After that you guys could do an elective in rural french Canada! and work there for a while even... Awe, the dream of PET... noncestvrai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bananacreampie Posted July 25, 2004 Report Share Posted July 25, 2004 Hey, This program sounds great and my french has definitely gone downhill in the last few years. A friend of mine went to the program at the University of Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, I am starting at U of C next week, so I don't think I will ever have time to do a program like this. Is there anybody else faced with this problem? With no large summer holidays, we are very limited. I am not complaining, there are just so many things that I would like to try out in this lifetime. cheers, bcp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RageoftheDragon Posted July 25, 2004 Report Share Posted July 25, 2004 I decided to try relearn my French a bit by picking up some old texts from high school IB French and reading them in the breaks during the Tour de France... RotD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.