By Ceri Au
Two evenings a week classmates from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe congregate in a basement classroom at the Dalhousie Community Centre on Somerset Street.
The students are there not just to learn the basics of French grammar and pronunciation, but to join an open forum, share experiences and learn about life in their adopted country.
The first exercise of the evening is the construction of a paragraph on door-to-door sales.
Yuri, a native of Russia who arrived in Ottawa in 2000, explains in halting but accurate French, how he invited salespeople into his home for the sole purpose of practising his English. Like others in the class, he was reluctant to give his last name.
“At the beginning, my English was very poor and I couldn’t really understand what people were talking about, so I used every chance to speak English. I had no other opportunities to have long conversations,” he says. “I asked stupid questions if I didn’t understand something. I would ask them to rephrase and it was really good practice because they have different accents.”
Even for immigrants who do not face linguistic barriers, integrating into a new society is a challenge.
“I was educated in English so I assumed it wouldn’t be such a problem, but it turned out the only thing that I knew was the language, and nothing else,” says Thomas, who arrived in Canada from Hong Kong with his parents in 1991. “I’m still trying to adapt every single day. I see it as a process that may never end.”
The French program is subsidized by the immigration department and offered to immigrants by Education Permanente at five sites across the city.
Ywone, who emigrated from Poland with her husband in 1992, says language classes are an important point of integration for women who may feel cut off from Canadian society.
“For women who stay at home, they don’t speak the language, they don’t know what to do,” she says. “They don’t know the customs. They don’t know where to go.”
She praises the strong network of community centres for helping her and other immigrant women settle into Canadian life.
After eight years in the Canadian workforce, Thomas returned to university to complete a master’s degree.
He found his two years in Halifax to be an eye-opening experience.
“Going to a Canadian school (lets) you understand more about Canada,” he says. By observing students openly challenging professors, Thomas gained a better understanding of Canadian society. “Right or wrong, it doesn’t matter. You can voice your opinions.”
His first years of working in Canada taught him about the existence of the Canadian corporate mentality. “During a meeting, I didn’t say anything and my boss thought I didn’t know anything,” he says. “I realized that it didn’t matter if he liked what I said or not as long as I contributed ideas.”
Immigrant parents find they have to adjust to the cultural differences of the Canadian education system. Yuri describes the rigidity that defines the Russian system in stark contrast to the ethos of his children’s Canadian education. “If they learn something it’s okay. If they don’t learn something it’s okay,” he says. “In Russia there is more discipline.”
The strength of a Canadian education, says Ywone, is that it fosters self-confidence in students. “My children are outspoken. They believe in themselves, believe in their skills. Here you say, ‘Good try.’ In Poland you say, ‘Not good enough.’ ’’
A strict attitude towards education and success is hardly a surprise given their impressive academic credentials. A third of them have or are working towards a doctoral degree.
At a minimum, French is a third language, but for many it is a fifth or a sixth.
Although the students agree that French is useful for furthering careers in Ottawa, they say they are there for cultural enrichment before employment opportunities.
“If you come to a country with different cultures, you should at least try to learn them,” Yuri says, explaining his enrolment.
“There are special challenges immigrants face due to bilingualism,” Thomas says despite labelling Ottawa an immigrant-friendly city.,
He describes the internal process of immigration. “Coming to Ottawa (from Vancouver), to a bilingual society, it’s another stage of invention,” he says. “It’s like I had to reinvent myself again.”