# French Classes - FREE???!!!



## lonestar (Feb 8, 2009)

I read somewhere in this forum that there are French classes offered for free for the newly arrived in Canada. Is this true? Has anyone heard of French classes offered for free?
I searched online also and in the Canadian immigration website but I only found english classes ofered that were free but no french. 

Thank you


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You may be thinking of the French classes offered in France for those issued their first carte de séjour. Those classes are free of charge, and compulsory if you're planning on renewing that card at the end of the year.

If there are free French classes for Canadian immigrants, I'm betting they're only offered in Quebec.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

lonestar said:


> I read somewhere in this forum that there are French classes offered for free for the newly arrived in Canada. Is this true? Has anyone heard of French classes offered for free?
> I searched online also and in the Canadian immigration website but I only found english classes ofered that were free but no french.
> 
> Thank you



In general there are no free French classes for new immigrants to Canada. The only exception may be the Province of Quebec but even there it's probably on a limited basis.
There are French education classes available for small fee at many nightschools/colleges..


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## lonestar (Feb 8, 2009)

Auld Yin said:


> In general there are no free French classes for new immigrants to Canada. The only exception may be the Province of Quebec but even there it's probably on a limited basis.
> There are French education classes available for small fee at many nightschools/colleges..


Thank you Auild Yin and Bev for your quick responses. This Forum has proven to be very helpful for me. Hopefully I will be able to pass on the good karma once I get settled in Canada.


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## Punktlich2 (Apr 30, 2009)

lonestar said:


> Thank you Auild Yin and Bev for your quick responses. This Forum has proven to be very helpful for me. Hopefully I will be able to pass on the good karma once I get settled in Canada.


Others have correctly surmised that Québec might offer help in French language instruction. The answer is online. i'm not allowed to post the URL but you can Google "Immigration-Québec - Learning French in Québec" and the first hit will provide the answer -- there are free courses for immigrants paid for by the Québec government.

Unless you are an enrolled First Canadian or a tourist it's difficult to survive in Québec without understanding French. But you knew that already.

Good luck.


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## lonestar (Feb 8, 2009)

Punktlich2 said:


> Others have correctly surmised that Québec might offer help in French language instruction. The answer is online. i'm not allowed to post the URL but you can Google "Immigration-Québec - Learning French in Québec" and the first hit will provide the answer -- there are free courses for immigrants paid for by the Québec government.
> 
> Unless you are an enrolled First Canadian or a tourist it's difficult to survive in Québec without understanding French. But you knew that already.
> 
> Good luck.


Thank you Punktlich2. Yea I knew I had to know french in order to live in Quebec. I checked it out and I am very disapointed that it is offered only for people who live in Quebec. Too bad


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## Punktlich2 (Apr 30, 2009)

lonestar said:


> Thank you Punktlich2. Yea I knew I had to know french in order to live in Quebec. I checked it out and I am very disapointed that it is offered only for people who live in Quebec. Too bad


Actually there are elementary schools taught entirely or partly in French all over Canada, some operated by orders of nuns and some secular. But these of course won't help you.

That said, there may well be subsidised adult education classes for adults.

Language has been highly politicised in Canada, no surprise there. I once landed at Toronto airport and was dismayed that no immigration desk was marked "French spoken". The moment I complained somebody told me to "wait here" and rushed to get a French speaking officer. She turned out to be a diminutive Vietnamese Canadian who spoke perfect Parisian French and didn't bat an eyelash over my request to speak French even though it was obvious that I was bilingual.


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## lonestar (Feb 8, 2009)

Punktlich2 said:


> Actually there are elementary schools taught entirely or partly in French all over Canada, some operated by orders of nuns and some secular. But these of course won't help you.
> 
> That said, there may well be subsidised adult education classes for adults.
> 
> Language has been highly politicised in Canada, no surprise there. I once landed at Toronto airport and was dismayed that no immigration desk was marked "French spoken". The moment I complained somebody told me to "wait here" and rushed to get a French speaking officer. She turned out to be a diminutive Vietnamese Canadian who spoke perfect Parisian French and didn't bat an eyelash over my request to speak French even though it was obvious that I was bilingual.



I guess then that in Toronto they favor more the English language then. Thank you again for giving me great resources Punktlich2. I actually wrote to one French organization that I found in Toronto but that was on saturday so I don't expect an answer from them probably until Monday. Take care.


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## mljcbsn (May 5, 2009)

In Montreal, Quebec, there are many free French classes. You could definitely learn how to speak daily French.


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

lonestar said:


> I guess then that in Toronto they favor more the English language then. Thank you again for giving me great resources Punktlich2. I actually wrote to one French organization that I found in Toronto but that was on saturday so I don't expect an answer from them probably until Monday. Take care.


In all of Canada, except Quebec and a few very small pockets in New Brunswick and Manitoba, English is the language of the masses. You would find it quite difficult to find someone in Toronto who speaks French on a day to day basis. You would have better luck finding someone to speak Mandarin/Cantonese, Punjabi, Spanish, Urdu etc, etc. Toronto is one of the world's great multi-cultural cities.


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## Punktlich2 (Apr 30, 2009)

Auld Yin said:


> In all of Canada, except Quebec and a few very small pockets in New Brunswick and Manitoba, English is the language of the masses. You would find it quite difficult to find someone in Toronto who speaks French on a day to day basis. You would have better luck finding someone to speak Mandarin/Cantonese, Punjabi, Spanish, Urdu etc, etc. Toronto is one of the world's great multi-cultural cities.


That is perfectly true except that tiny pockets exist all over Canada. More interesting (and the basis for my incident at Toronto's Pearson Int'l airport) is that one has the right to speak any of the official languages to civil authority. If you review the various provincial Web site portals you can see which offer French language interfaces. My understanding is that one may speak French in any federal court and several provincial ones.

The difference between French and, say, Urdu is that one may speak the former as a matter of right in a federal and several provincial public settings. Or in the armed forces.

I was recently in a government office in Sion, Valais, Switzerland. Valais is officially a bilingual canton, having a German-speaking minority. I asked whether every office had a German-speaking officer and was told that this was true. But the bilingualism is not to the extent of the Belgian practice of having a Flemish and a Walloon appointed to every position that might reasonably meet the public: featherbedding at the extreme.

None of that will help the OP however. What will help the OP is the politicisation of language in Canada. But unlike the Belgian model it does not seek to suppress the "other" language within a reserved territory and there is likelihood of subsidised adult education classes. 

Interestingly, the language of communication between Flemish and Walloons in Belgium, and between French and German speakers in Switzerland, is largely English. 
Faut-il encore apprendre l'allemand?
You see this too at important border towns in Quebec: Stanstead and Lacolle, for example.


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## Alminka (Jul 11, 2008)

*Yes, there are free French classes for new immigrants in all of Canada!*



Auld Yin said:


> In general there are no free French classes for new immigrants to Canada. The only exception may be the Province of Quebec but even there it's probably on a limited basis.
> There are French education classes available for small fee at many nightschools/colleges..


This is completely un-true. There are many very good French classes for new immigrants in ALL provinces of Canada, though probably only in major cities. And they are completely *FREE*. One only needs to pass language assessment to enroll in French class. 

E.g., if you come to Ottawa, French classes for immigrants are taught here in 2 very nice schools - La Cite Collegiale and Le Carrefour - within LINC/CLIC program. All you need to be eligible is your immigrant status proof (PRC, or certificate of landing, etc.) and be in Permanent Resident status, i.e. within your first 3-4 years in Canada until you get your passport. Canadian citizens are not eligible, so you better use this great chance while you can!

Here you will find more information:

ESL - LINC classes in Ottawa - general info

Language Assessment and Resource Centre - LARC center where you can get your language assessment – for FREE

La Cité collégiale - Le collège francophone à Ottawa - LINC - Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada - French classes for immigrants at La Cite Collegiale – FREE

http://www.carrefour.cepeo.on.ca/Clic/tabid/4108/Default.aspx- French classes for immigrants at L’Ecole le Carrefour – FREE

Bonne chance! Vous avez une bonne chance pour étudier le français


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## lonestar (Feb 8, 2009)

Alminka said:


> This is completely un-true. There are many very good French classes for new immigrants in ALL provinces of Canada, though probably only in major cities. And they are completely *FREE*. One only needs to pass language assessment to enroll in French class.
> 
> E.g., if you come to Ottawa, French classes for immigrants are taught here in 2 very nice schools - La Cite Collegiale and Le Carrefour - within LINC/CLIC program. All you need to be eligible is your immigrant status proof (PRC, or certificate of landing, etc.) and be in Permanent Resident status, i.e. within your first 3-4 years in Canada until you get your passport. Canadian citizens are not eligible, so you better use this great chance while you can!
> 
> ...



Thank you so much Alminka. You were very encouraging and have great information.


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## danielleduchesne (Oct 25, 2009)

Hey im an 18 year old kiwi girl who has moved to ottawa not long ago to study at the school of dance, and would love to meet some people ! and would like to know if there are any kiwis in ottawa 
I would also love to take french classes but I am a canadian citizen..?


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## quaziloko (Dec 3, 2009)

Bevdeforges said:


> You may be thinking of the French classes offered in France for those issued their first carte de séjour. Those classes are free of charge, and compulsory if you're planning on renewing that card at the end of the year.
> 
> If there are free French classes for Canadian immigrants, I'm betting they're only offered in Quebec.
> Cheers,
> Bev



only free if your work visa says in the top left corner class 27. Mine is class 20 so I am looking into paying for French classes but I dont want to break the bank as I cant afford to.


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