Off to School (again!)

January 6th - 10th

I started classes on Monday at Bouchereau Lingua International in Quebec.

There are 16 new students and a total of 23 students at BLI, most from Latin America (mainly Brazil). Because the introductions were in French, I didn't quite catch where everyone was from - but I also heard Columbia, Switzerland and the United States. I met two students from Canada (one from Vancouver and the other from Toronto).

We are divided into classes according to our ability. There are six different levels: I am in level zero - so the only place to go is up! In the morning there is a general French class and in the afternoon a skills class with attention given to pronunciation, reading, oral and written comprehension.

There are only two of us in each of my classes. Shirlei (pronounced kind of like Shirley) and I share the morning class. Genevieve is our instructor. Yasmin and I share the afternoon class. Sylvie is our instructor here. Both students are from Brazil. It is a real treat to have such a small class. It is one-on-one instruction for sure.

This is Shirlei - she is a nurse from Salvador. Our conversation are very (very) short (Bonjour - ca va?...)

The instruction is all in French. Our responses are all in French. The students speak to each other in French in the student lounge. I understand hardly a word, but sometimes catch the gist. The instructors are very patient and work with what we say.

Thursday night is pub night for the students. I didn't go to the first one but will go to some of the others. There are lots of things to do while in Quebec:

I plan on going back to the old city this weekend. The ice hotel just opened up and I will definitely take a trip there at some point. The weather is suppose to warm up a bit. (Or maybe not - I just checked the weather and they are anticipating more freezing rain on Saturday.) I love it that I thought to bring my Yaktrax (ice grips). Some of the students in class asked where I bought mine (PG). There happens to be a MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op) just down the street from here so Shirlei bought a set for herself.

The school is not very big. As I mentioned earlier, it is a set of rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor of an older building. The classes are small because most of the time there are only a few students in each level of studies. That is very good because you really get to match your ability with the instructor. There is a room for students to have lunch. It's not pretty but we aren't here very long:

 

I am only a 5 minute walk from the school, but I have my lunch here when I have an afternoon class. Each week a new schedule is posted. I expect I will be at the same level for the next while. Shirlei will be in Quebec for the next six months - me for the next four. 

So far this week we have covered: the weather (il fait froid), parts of the body, numbers, colours, general personal information (name, address, professions, family), masculine and feminine variations in spelling (canadien, canadienne), the verbs: to be (etre), to have (avoir), to go (aller). In the afternoon class we focused on things related to the restaurant (the menu, ordering, different food items...) I bought a white board so I can practice writing (it reinforces what I am learning) and speaking the words while I write.

I also took out a subscription to Netflix so I can watch French movies. I've seen three so far. All with English subtitles. What is interesting about watching the shows for the dialogue (which I do not understand for the most part, so the subtitles are great!) is seeing the settings in France and how people live. I know you can't judge everything from TV (we don't do that here, do we?) but it does give you a sense of the locale. I also found an internet site for Quebec TV and will catch a few shows there as well. I picked up a food show last night.

What I find the most difficult is understanding what people are saying - which is a normal part of the process. I have a better sense when I read something or see the word written down. I find that even when I am formulating a response, I'm saying in my head - "how would I write that." I'm a visual learner too, which makes the auditory more of a challenge.

I love Google translate! Although it isn't always the best translation, it gives the pronunciation as well. I have an app that does the same. There are so many different resources out there to help anyone learn a language...But as they say, nothing will do the work for you.

Back to studies!