Bilingualism?

[isix]

Ok, so I'm freaking out a little because for the life of me I can't remember if I checked the bilingual box on Ottawa's part of OMSAS. I mean, I can speak basic French (8 years of taking French in school), carry out simple conversations and read and all, but I'm not exactly proficient (as in, drop me in a city in Quebec w/o English, and unless the people speak slowly, I'll probably be absolutely lost).

 

So, my question is, to anyone who can answer, when UOttawa says they test your proficiency in French in a question on the interview, is it just to assess your French-speaking abilities, or is it to see if you're as fluent in French as you are in English (essentially, telling the truth about your bilingualism)?

 

And yes, I feel like an idiot.

 

Of course, none of this matters if I don't get an interview at all...

 

edit: it doesn't matter

[hkmedic]

Ok, so I'm freaking out a little because for the life of me I can't remember if I checked the bilingual box on Ottawa's part of OMSAS. I mean, I can speak basic French (8 years of taking French in school), carry out simple conversations and read and all, but I'm not exactly proficient (as in, drop me in a city in Quebec w/o English, and unless the people speak slowly, I'll probably be absolutely lost).

 

So, my question is, to anyone who can answer, when UOttawa says they test your proficiency in French in a question on the interview, is it just to assess your French-speaking abilities, or is it to see if you're as fluent in French as you are in English (essentially, telling the truth about your bilingualism)?

 

And yes, I feel like an idiot.

 

Of course, none of this matters if I don't get an interview at all...

 

edit: it doesn't matter

 

I think it varies. Like you, I also forgot that I had checked off the bilingualism box on my application, and so I was a little unprepared when they asked me the one question in French. However, they did give me the option to answer in English, and I did answer in English because my French was and is extremely rusty (despite 13 years of immersion, it's very sad). I don't know if that was a make or break, and if the option to answer in English was a 'trick' to see if I was faking my bilingualism.

 

I also heard other people getting more than one question in French.

 

So I think it depends on the interviewer, perhaps?

 

I don't think it would hurt to practice a few phrases here and there in French. Ottawa loves French and it wouldn't hurt if you can pull off a few French phrases and demonstrate your enthusiasm for bilingualism.