Subsidized French courses aim to open doors for immigrants

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This article was published 01/09/2010 (4998 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Betina Sevi was an English teacher in Argentina before she immigrated to Canada eight years ago.

Soon after arriving, the River Heights-based Sevi earned her teacher’s certificate at the University of Winnipeg — but couldn’t find a job.
“It was impossible,” said Sevi. “Perhaps because there are too many teachers already.”

After two years of taking teaching assistant positions, Sevi started thinking outside her comfort zone.

“I decided French could be an option,” she said, adding that there always seemed to be jobs advertised for francophone teachers.

One French class led to another, and eventually Sevi found herself at Le Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface — where she accessed a grant program for immigrants that subsidized her more advanced courses.

The grant program was started in 2007 by the college with funding from the provincial government as part of the Manitoba Immigration Integration Program.

To qualify, immigrants must provide proof of their status as a citizen, permanent resident or refugee, said Luciana Fernandez, budget co-ordinator for the immigrants program at CUSB.

The grants are also only applicable towards Beginner Level 4 classes or higher, meaning students need to have at least a basic understanding of French, she said.

The idea for the immigrant program was sparked about six years ago, she added.

“We have English programs here in Manitoba so, OK, why not French?” said Fernandez, who immigrated to Canada herself from Argentina four years ago.

The aim of the program is mainly to help immigrants improve their employment opportunities, Fernandez explained. With a solid understanding of French, newcomers can contribute to the French economy.

And while the immigrant program is proving popular, Fernandez said there is a concern not enough people are aware of the opportunity.
There were 110 subsidized spaces for immigrants last year, of which 96 were filled.

An additional complication, acknowledged Fernandez, is that students need to have a basic understanding of the language to apply for the grant.

In the program’s first year, lower levels of the courses were subsidized as well.

However, she said, some immigrants were even struggling with the more basic courses because — unlike the majority of Canadians — they had never been exposed to the language before.

“For some immigrants, they never ever heard any word in French,” she said. “So even Level 1 it was kind of tricky for them, so we didn’t want them to feel frustrated and just quit the course.”

She admits this does create a challenge for some who may want to study.

“Some people are willing to pay for a few courses, and then take the French free classes,” she said. “But some people can’t.”

Franklin Aguela, who came to Canada from Peru, paid for three classes before he reached the skill level to qualify for the subsidized courses.

The St. James resident said he feels fortunate to have been able to afford the investment.

“Some people find that challenging, especially when they have children and they can’t put that money aside.”

Aguela will be continuing with his French studies in September, and said he believes his new skills may open up employment doors for him as they did for Sevi — she is now employed at CUSB teaching English to other immigrants and refugees  — many of them who speak French —  while teaching Spanish to francophones.

Aguela said it is also appealing to learn how to access francophone culture, which Fernandez acknowledges is a secondary goal of the program.

“It’s not easy when you just talk to anglophone people, just because the life is completely different for francophones,” she said.

“My sense, being an immigrant, is when you start knowing francophone people here in Manitoba and then a few people from Quebec, you start understanding how people think here in Canada.”

arielle.godbout@canstarnews.com