Far from the political clamor of language debates, thousands of immigrants tackle the task of learning French every day in Quebec. Le Devoir was invited to a French class throughout the session. Today, fourth week of classes, and we’re diving a little deeper.
There are some who want to know the difference between bring And take away. For others, the distinction between to come back And return is already difficult enough to grasp for this afternoon.
In the francization room on Sainte-Catherine Street in Montreal, there are now around fifteen students forming a class. After the wavering of registrations for the first week of course, the composition of the group changed, a few countries were added to the already long list. Two students who had already sufficiently mastered the present and the basics of daily life also jumped levels.
During the first visit of the Duty, we were still at the presentations. The sentences were already getting longer, but the pitfalls were also emerging.
We are now on 4e week: “I can”, “I want”, “I must”, “I need” and “it must” should be acquired concepts. We therefore learned the possibilities and the prohibitions. Two questions are now essential for learners: “How do we say […] ? and “What does that mean?” “.
Even those who started with almost zero knowledge of the language can now string together 12 to 15 words. To draw syllables and meaning from nothing in an unknown linguistic music is to be reborn into the world; immigrate too, for many.
After traveling all over Asia, this woman of Chinese origin is now pretending to look for an apartment on the phone: “Yes, hello, I’m calling about the apartment,” she simulates with the friend in front of her .
Gaïssa, a mother of Syrian origin, who is taking the French course with her daughter Lial, meticulously transcribes the words in a lined notebook. Several pages include transcriptions in Arabic, in joyful calligraphy. Shane, a tall American guy who lives in the city center after spending several years in Thailand, helps him rephrase his question more clearly in French in this exercise: “Is the u-ni-ver-si -ty is close? » He invented a whole story about an apartment for the purposes of the exercise and he emphatically plays the role of someone who rents an apartment on the Plateau.
There are apartment seekers, and sellers. Everyone has an accent. Everyone wants to be understood and, above all, wants to believe that housing in a nice neighborhood is within their reach.
Everyone also makes their own compromise between speech rate, articulation and the limited pool of words at their disposal.
During the break, another student, Mehrnoush, unpacks some dolmas, vine leaves stuffed with rice, apologizing for not having brought some for everyone. “It’s cultural. We make food for others in Iran,” she tells the journalist, who goes out to get a coffee.
Far from the understanding ears of teacher Michel Usereau, a student tries to order a sandwich at the local café. The French-speaking attendant answers him first in French, then in English after hearing his accent. The order finally ends in French, and in a few words. “Thank you,” says the student, a little embarrassed.
Find time to learn
The exercise on the apartments resumes. Twana Ali, a young Kurdish man, is more precise than the others in his requests: “I want a 3 1/2 with 1 bedroom. » He also invents three children, to practice what they will need.
His personal dictionary in the Tremblay language is already more imposing than that of others and he allows himself to invoke verbs in the past tense to tell his story. “ I have arrived… No: I arrived in Canada in January 2017. I came from the United States. I have came here as a political refugee. Asylum seeker,” he describes.
He arrived from Iraqi Kurdistan, where he lived in Erbil. He landed first in the United States, before heading towards the Canadian border. After almost three years of waiting, he obtained his permanent residence. “I was looking for life with security. My life in my country was in danger. For this reason I came here. »
He arrived alone, without relatives or friends, and everything seemed “very complicated” to him the first weeks. His work permit was granted quickly and allowed him to start working after a few months, despite the shock of immigration.
When he arrived, “I didn’t have time to study, I worked all the time,” says Twana. Now 35 years old, Twana says he is “ashamed” of not speaking French. He also claims to have understood that “to progress”, French is an essential tool. “First, I need French to speak with my friends and for integration into Quebec society. Additionally, I need the language to find a job in my field, which is mechanical engineering. »
Seven hours a day, five days a week, for 11 weeks: completing even just Course 1 in French is a major commitment. The young man studies from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, then returns home, eats a bite in 30 minutes and gets to work until 11 p.m. “That’s a lot,” he said laconically.
At his side, a different profile, but just as motivated and busy. Carla Melo, 23, arrived from Brazil just six months ago, during the June heatwave. In the evening, she studies international business at Greystone College. “French is my four… fourth language that I speak. When I arrive, I speak zero,” she summarizes.
Having worked as a financial analyst, she wanted to add two strings to her bow: studies in Canada in her field, and the French language. Difficult learning? “It’s different between writing, listening and speaking. The words, we pronounce or we don’t pronounce the letters, it’s difficult to learn. But I think it’s easy for me because Portuguese, a lot of similar words. »
Immediately after these exchanges, Twana sighs and understands that he will “need a lot of words to talk to someone”. Freedom in speech comes more slowly, even when you master the exercises of “Monsieur Michel”.
The well-established complicity between the students compensates for what is needed in patience. The course becomes an opportunity not only to learn, but to support each other.
One of them has difficulty keeping up; he missed a morning of classes earlier this week and felt homesick afterward. Another student, Ibrahim, ends the class with his favorite word so far: “Nice to meet you!” »