photo: Remie Geoffroi

COPS to the rescue.

Canadian Oppressed Public Servants, a non-profit organization run by a group of public service volunteers with support from Language Fairness National, recently infiltrated the e-mail lists of various public service employees in different branches of government to whine that bilingualism is a barrier to career advancement for unilingual Canadians. Their spam-mail also informed the public sector of a complaint CLF has filed with the Commissioner of Official Languages, which is currently under review.

Who are these guys kidding? Ottawa is a bilingual city. French is not going anywhere, and if you want to work here it's time to suck it up and learn to speak both languages.

The easiest and cheapest way to do this is to just submerge yourself in French culture and don't come out, ever. Or at least not until you can get by all right in most situations.

For those who tread the paved roads of officialdom, it gets a lot tougher - time and money are pretty big obstacles.

"Generally speaking, it takes about three to four months of full-time training to reach an intermediate level," says Sharon Craig, director at the National School of Languages in Ottawa. That's around 40 hours of language instruction.

Now, most schools charge around $40 per hour - for $1,600 total - and that's to get a basic level of French. Senior government positions require around 300 to 400 hours of instruction, or $12,000 worth.

Kind of lends some weight to the COPS argument, doesn't it?

"It's an investment, no doubt," Craig says, "but put that into perspective. How much do people spend a year on fitness or recreation? People don't understand the value of learning another language and they don't want to put the money out."

Why should we have to in the first place? The Ontario public school system provides eight years of French. Shouldn't we all be fluent?

Craig says the public school method is too heavy on vocabulary, grammar and memorization.

"I think that's a crazy way to teach a language. The first thing you want to give a person at the end of the lesson is something useful. You want the student to be able to say something, to communicate, not just simply say, 'a chair' or 'a table.'"

Some might think the universities are a cheaper way to go, which they are. University of Ottawa's Second Language Institute has a 12-week course for $600, but you'd be learning grammar and communication with 20 to 27 other people.

Then there's the French K.I.S.S. way (mind out of the gutter). K.I.S.S. stands for "Keep it simple s'il vous plait." Local Robert Fontaine has spent 20 years building the program that focuses on a simple and fun approach to learning. It includes a half-day session, textbook, lessons on CD and unlimited e-mail support for $75 a month. Visit www.french-kiss.ca for more details.

For the Internet savvy, check out sites that offer chat rooms where you can practise French with other native speakers for free, such as www.mylanguageexchange.com. There's even an iPod download for the Rosetta Stone French program for $295 (U.S.).

Word of warning: At any school you go to, ask lots of questions about their methods, their textbooks, and teaching material.

Oh, and learn French when you're young. You'll save yourself a world of pain and cash. Just ask the cranky COPS people.
 
 

		Write your comment on this article!

A plus in one's life!     In my opinion, learning a second language is like learning to play an instrument, it all depends how devoted you are regarding practice. Some are, generally speaking, better than other. When I read stuff like 'it takes about three to four months of full-time training to reach an intermediate level', I think to myself: what is suppose to be an intermediate level?. Actually, I found this statement to be extremely relative. It's an investment, no doubt, like says Craig, but your best bet is to start when you are young (impose this on you children, they might be furious at first, but extremely happy by the time they reach thirty with a great job in their pocket!). The easiest and cheapest way to do this is not only to just submerge yourself in French culture, like living in Quebec (you know, across the bridge...) and force yourself to speak the language, but also by admitting that learning a new language is a plus in one's life!.
Valerie Augier	{15 votes}	January 7th, 2006
Cranking Out The Accents..........     Bryan, $2000 does not make a Federal Government employee bilingual. I agree that HRDC should consider Frnech courses a part of the EI Program. But, do you realize how many of these gov't folk have been merrily going on their way to French classes year after year and can't even speak the language yet? They start off in introductory French and move through the levels, sometimes slowly, sometimes stuck at the same level for quite a while. Guess who has to pick up the slack for the work they can't complete because they're gone to French class? You guessed it. The bilingual staff who were hired on the first day with the ability to communicate in both languages and who might snicker or guffaw at the idea that these French-language "trainees" may or may not ever give the government it's $2 grand worth of training dollars. Then, when the bilingual folks ask for training, say for career planning or for advancement, often the answer is a polite "Non", because the training dollars have all been used up to "try to" train the unilingual staff. At municipal levels of government, they don't even pay a bilingualism bonus to staff they hire, but instead foot the bill to train, at some considerable expense to taxpayers, an employee who seeks French language training. I know that Ottawa is considered a bilingual city, but once you've seen the inside the workplace, the bilingualism tag seems to be, sometimes a convenient way of dumping French flavoured work on the poor Joe/Joanne who came into the job with seemingly more employability with their functionality in both official languages. Workplaces need not be 100% bilingual, spread them around the city and stop making it hard for unilinguals to apply for jobs here. On the flip-side, compensate financially those of us who can speak more than one language from the day we are offered the job. If client service means anything, those with more than one language often save Manager's bacon by sorting out office language confusion.
Steve Landry	{8 votes}	January 6th, 2006
Some points of agreements on both ends     I am a multilingual Canadian, in that I can speak in more than 3 languages. Unfortunately, even though I had to learn French in Southern Ontario since grade 4 (and even received awards in French classes), French is not one of the languages I can fluently speak. Having said that, I do not think that it is a fair statement from either side (francophones or anglophones) to say that one group is at a disadvantage over the other. English speaking Canadians are certainly not discriminated in the labour market over French speaking Canadians, if you are not in predominantly French speaking communities (which are few). The discrimination against the Anglophones are in select parts of labour market and is few geographical areas (such as Quebec). Anglos have the rest of Canada to enjoy employment whilst only speaking English. Francophones unfortunately do not have that advantage and thus have to remain largely in the few French speaking communities in order to get by. Similarly, it cannot be argued that speaking French is an advantage (any more than being able to speak another language) and should be adopted by all Canadians. As we recall, the Anglos forced our Aboriginal communities to speak English, which resulted in the loss of their culture and languages. Today, it is recognized that such actions were superimposing and unethical. The only argument the Francophones have for demanding French as Canada's official language is to preserve the French culture. However, Aboriginals have that right over Anglophones and Francophones. Living in a French culture is certainly an advantage because it makes a person more aware of another group of people, increases tolerance for difference and so on. But by that standard, there are many other languages and cultures in Canada, all of which need equal representation, if at all. Lead by example, not by force.
Areesha Zubair		August 23rd, 2009
What is the point of this argument?     Why don't we learn to speak Native language? They are the ones here in Canada first. Are you sure that there are only two "official" language and culture in Canada? Who decided this? The boys with the guns hundreds of years ago?
Mike Duffe		April 16th, 2009
Easier said than done.     I understand the arguments. I wish that french immersion was available for me from a young age. The truth of the matter is that in Southern Ontario, particularly in rural areas this was not seen as necessary and was not offered while I was in school. I've taken French from grade 5 to grade 9 when I realized that after that many years all I could do was point to things and name them. I could read some simple sentences and that was all that was demanded of us. Meanwhile my little sisters because we moved to a city and the significant age gap between us went to an immersion school. The difference between the programs is incredibly mind boggling. How is it that we can run immersion programs so efficiently, yet the curriculum for regular schools does not teach the students the needed skills to learn the language. I have immersed myself in French culture and I can order food, beer, and even get my hair cut all in French. The problem is that the language that is often spoken in day to day Quebec French is not at all the type of French required to get a job. Nor do French Canadians always encourage people to try to speak the language and often make fun of efforts made. So.. just pay for French classes right? Oh yeah... that seems easy enough. Due to not being able to get jobs I am overqualified for I am underpaid and overworked, so the choice really is food or French. I have 5 years of University and 2 Degrees to pay back loans for. So, at the end of the day I am left with a desire to learn french and no time or money to do so. That's the problem. I'm not trying to whine about it, but seriously folks it is a very significant problem that employers are willing to hire someone with broken english and very few qualifications over someone who is overqualified for the job who obviously has the ability to communicate at a much higher level of English but does not speak French. It all seems counterintuitive.
Anna Ackworth		August 13th, 2008
My Experiences     Things I have been called: Trash (repeatedly) Uneducated (again repeatedly) Stupid English (which was actually a compliment seeing as how my mother tongue is not english) Multiple attacks on my looks ... hissed at ... had things thrown at me ... once even tripped. I have had people wait to talk to my boss to tell them they should only hire bilingual people and that I should not be working. I have been told not to speak the little French I do speak because it is an insult, and my accent is not good enough, or that I had conjugated a verb incorrectly. I have been lectured on how many opportunities I should have had to learn French going to high-school in rural South-Western Ontario, including completely fabricated statistics on access to French education. I can't imagine why after all of that I would want to learn French. Just FYI ... I am bilingual, English-German, have a Bachelors Degree, and am completely unemployable in Ottawa. I came here for my husband and since moving here even with a wide assortment of experience, including international experience. I have only been employed as a cashier and as a waitress. Which is fine, although after already investing so much into an education I would like to have a bit more. I have applied to literally 1000's of opportunities only to be rejected again and again ... I mean really how bilingual do you have to be to do Data Entry?? I was not born in Canada and thought when I came here that it was a place where people respected people of other cultures. Since being here I have come to realize that this is a bit of a farce and that discrimination clearly exists but Canadians are to sensitive to acknowledge how they discriminate against each other. It really is a tragedy that we choose to miss out on valuable people, insulting them, and making assumptions about their abilities, instead of assisting them in developing themselves.
h k		April 7th, 2008
Unilingual-Felt Like an Outcast     Just yesterday, this bilingual situation caused me embarrassment and made me feel like an outcast. I was recently hired by a company who accepted my Unilingualism, and sent me to an assignment which was to be a permanent employment position for me. I grew up in a strictly English environment in the Western Provinces, and because of a unique situation, did not have the opportunity to learn French as a second language.I've lived near Ottawa for the last 23 years, but again, was never exposed in my employment nor home environment to the French language. Because of a lack of communication on someone's part (I do not know who was at fault), I got sent to a location that demanded Bilingualism. The trouble is, no one found out I was Unilingual till I arrived at the location for my first training day, and had been there for a few hours, and happened to mention it in a conversation. When the superiors found out, they sent me home, and I lost an opportunity for permanent work, and am now sitting at home without pay, until my company can find me a Unilingual position. Needless to say, the majority of the positions that pay the best, and offer the best employment perks are the ones that are Bilingual. I am embarrassed, frustrated and angry because I am an English speaking Canadian with supposedly the same rights as everyone else, and yet I am treated by the government as someone with a disability because I cannot speak French. I was hired by this company because of my work experience and my ability to perform my duties, and am pretty much feeling like I was discriminated against because most of the people at this public, government facility are French Canadians, and although they can all speak English, prefer to communicate in French. It's not them I blame, and I would give anything to be Bilingual and be able to talk to them. The government, I feel is discriminating against English speaking Canadians, and making us feel like second class citizens.
Debbie Buckwalt		April 19th, 2007
Bilinguism     To be bilingual is a great asset for anyone, especially leaving in Canada's capital region, so close to the Quebec border, I find it important for people to at least learn the basics of either french or english as a second language, it's our heritage, let's be proud of it!!
Roxane Gibault		June 29th, 2006
Spoiled Rotten     Speaking of whining, there sure seems to be a lot of it! Learning another language is an honour and a privilege. This is something that is taken for granted in almost every other part of the world except--wait for it--the United States, where it seems to be the mentality that if you speak another language, you're "foreign". Guess what? This country was built around two solitudes and I hope it remains that way. Because while I'm sure it causes so many people so much grief (not), it also provides us with a richness of culture and experience that many of our Southern neighbors do not enjoy. I went to French emersion. It was not my parents ideal wish, neither of them being particularly fluent when I was a child, but they both felt that it would be an investment, and it was. I know this because I have watched my father struggle to become fluent (he has) and have had to translate at times for my mother. My biggest point of contention with all this whining is that there is absolutely, positively no excuse for any Canadian not to have a working knowlege of both official languages. It should be mandatory for all students to graduate highschool, from coast to coast. Don't think you'll need it? Who cares? I hope I never need to know CPR but damned if I"ll forgo learning it, just in case. Languages are an asset and a skill and I'll be damned if I can tolerate all these people crying about having to improve their skills. Spoiled rotten, that's what we Canadians are! And I certainly hope that we are never in the position where we have to look back to see how good we had it.
Christina DeCurtis		January 15th, 2006
Impossible and Expensive!     Bilingualism to Mr Harrison means learn French or else. This attitude is one reason why a group of brave Civil servants have decided to launch a class-action suit against the Government. The have had enough of the Forced Bilingualism which has resulted in thousands of jobs being denied to mostly English speakers, who comprise the majority of Canadians.When your livelihood is at stake,Bryan,it is not whining to demand your right to a job with your own Government. Most Canadians and Ottawans don't live in a French environment which is what is neccessary to learn and to keep facility in another language: constant immersion, and the earlier in life, the better. Currently, 97% of the Federal Government employees on language training are English people forced to learn French or else lose their jobs! This is based on the lie that French people have had such a tremendous education that 97% of them can speak, read and write in BOTH English and French better than 97% of the obviously very poorly educated English people!! Now, given what we know of the quality of education in Quebec, I think we know that something is very wrong here. Bryan, are you aware that we Canadians have been fleeced to the tune of $700+Billion on the Bilingualism scheme since its inception under Mr Trudeau.This certainly isn't the easiest and cheapest way. Let's get real. It doesn't make any sense to spend Billions every year to force the majority of Canadians to learn the minority language. Since most French Canadians live in an English environment, it stands to reason that they will be more versed in English than the other way around. So, Mr Harrison has got it all backwards: Canada speaks English,and no amount of money or Official or Forced Bilingualism is going to change that. The French have rejected Official Bilingualism, so should we ASAP! ----------
John Workman	{6 votes}	January 9th, 2006
Whine and Fromage     It still amazes me to hear how so many people in this country have been brain washed to believe how much better off we are because of bilingualism. Can you believe we live in a country where politicians must give speeches in two languages because of political correctness? Can you also believe that we have to spend billions of dollars to have English speaking Canadians learn French, and have every document translated in two languages? The sad part about all this is that it will continue costing tax payers millions of dollars every year because there is no way to reverse it, unfortunately it is too late. The truth is, the only thing that Anglophones can do at this point is whine about it, the same way the French did years ago when they said their heritage was being threatened. Francophones have the inside track to landing any position in any government job, not necessarily because they are more qualified, it's because they can speak French better. Do you honestly think that anyone raised in a French family where the language is used everyday isn't going to have an advantage over an Anglophone? The reality is that the majority of Anglophone Canadians have lost representation in the government. Its reality folks, but most English speaking Canadians are either not very well informed, or too afraid of offending anybody to really speak what's on their mind. If you have a few minutes and want to have some fun, then follow the link below and click on the government departments beginning with 'Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency' and work your way down the list. See for yourself how many names of the directors and other heads of human resource departments have last names with French derivations. These are the people who have the final say on hiring. http://www.hrma-agrh.gc.ca/classification/Contact/Departments_e.asp?Dept
Karl Martin	{1 vote}	January 8th, 2006
DC...Try OC     Well, if this is to be the so called "Bilingual town" then we should make Ottawa an District rather then a city. From outside, you can here people's rambling's of "Ottawa this and Ottawa that"...well, maybe this should be separate from the rest of the province so they are not made to be guilty by association. Easier said then done about learning French. Why don't people on the street have jobs? Is it entirely because they don't have access to services or do they just refuse to live by the normal definition of society? Food for thought though. French will get you ahead here, but honestly if it isn't needed in a position here i don't see the reason behind it. Also, if you are in a bilingual position, why is the feds paying a measely $800 a year for such a task. If you use the language everyday as I have witnessed, I think a raise is in order....and therein lies the incentive to learn it. But we are just talking the government here now aren't we?
Ger Madden	{5 votes}	January 6th, 2006
Frencher Than Thou     I take great exception to both the title of this article and the statement, "if you want to work here it's time to suck it up and learn to speak both languages." I am bilingual. I am not one of the many civil servants--both Anglophone and Francophone--who six months after having been sent of very expensive language training have forgotten everything they learned, at public expense. I became bilingual by taking courses that I paid for out of my own pocket and by putting myself in situations where I had no choice other than to use French. I am able to live quite comfortably in both official languages. I am also an educated, white male of Anglo lineage. To the federal government, that combination of attributes puts me in the catagory of "need not apply." To put it very bluntly, I am not French enough and do not fit the demographics that have become the hiring norm for the government. Yes, it's true, I am guilty of being a male who belongs to a majority group! In this age of supposed political correctness I am not wanted because of my gender and ethnic background. I respectfully suggest that Mr. Harrison take his head out of the place where the sun doesn't shine and wake up to the true reality of life in Ottawa.
Tony Gibbs	{3 votes}	January 5th, 2006
French you Say     Most of our problems with bilingualism are a direct result of the Federal government. The government will pay for language training for it's current employees , but refuses , through EI to pay for lamguage training . I find it hard to believe that the government will pay around $2,000 an employee to convert them to bilingualism , but HRDC will not pay for French Lessons because they feel that the cost and result is not justified. This department feels that it would take years. not months of training to become fully billingual . Then why do Federal Departments send their employees to paid 4 month courses and give those employees billingualism bonuses? I think that if HRDC wants to spend many thousands of dollars to send workers for retraining , which can be an allright failure , then it could be spent just as well on French courses for those that are unemployed due to language barriers.
Bryan Murray	{3 votes}	January 5th, 2006

Write your comment! please follow these guidelines

Information requested in blue will remain confidential   [privacy policy] Please indicate your real first and last names.

First name :

Last name :

Your email :

Confirm your email :

Title of your comment (max. 150 characters)   Your comment (max. 2000 characters)  characters remaining       LIMIT PER PERSON : one comment per article per member. Thank you. Your comment will be read by our approval team and, if it is approved, will be posted on the website within 24 hours. It could also be published, along with your name, in the printed version of Xpress magazine and on any of our partner websites. In order to present the highest quality of comments, Xpress reserves the right to refuse certain submissions. Any plagiarism will entail the entire removal of the member’s profile. Xpress is not responsible for the opinions expressed by the members.