During my studies, I had been a language assistant in Austria, a period that was undoubtedly the highlight of my academic career. When I came to the end of my time at university, I decided to improve my French before getting a ‘proper’ job. France had been a frequent holiday destination throughout my childhood, so  Québec seemed like the perfect alternative. Distant, exotic and a little bit daunting, it offered the perfect challenge for a new graduate.

At my interview for the post in Québec, I was asked whether I would be willing to work with adults, thinking this would be college level students. Upon my appointment, I discovered that I would be working in an adult education centre. My students mostly consist of high school dropouts, people who have had family and emotional problems and people who are older and are trying for a career change and need to finish their education.  The ages of my students range from 16 to 55, which has been something I find extremely rewarding.

Teaching adults gives you a greater understanding of people, as they are often happy to talk about their lives, their experiences, their children, etc. Working with people who have had difficult lives, but are motivated to change their situation is the greatest gift in the world.

On a day-to-day basis, my job can be quite varied.  Mostly, my role is to take the students into my classroom in small groups to do small activities that reinforce what they have been learning in their books.  As the students work independently in the class, each at their own pace, this can be quite challenging. Planning activities that can be adapted to different levels so that nobody feels too lost was a skill I acquired very quickly. I am also responsible for organising whole group activities, which I do in the class with the teacher, as well as listening activities.To supplement this, I introduced a biweekly showing of Doctor Who, my own personal effort to spread British culture to Canada.  These activities have been very successful and I now often have students coming to me and asking when we can watch the next episode!

Extracurricular activities are also my responsibility, although, as this is an adult centre, there are not many opportunities to do things outside of class. I have organised a lunchtime tea party on Wednesdays, where the students can come and speak only in English while partaking of tea and biscuits. Upon arriving in Amqui, the first thing that struck me was the isolation of the town.  While assistants are warned about this before arriving, it is difficult for someone who has never visited Canada to conceive of the vastness of the country.  Arriving on my town by bus from Montréal took ten hours, a time which could conceivably allow someone to travel from the top of Scotland to the south of England. Habitation is sparse and most locations isolated, which means integrating into the community is much more important. Being in an isolated community, however, does wonders in terms of learning French. English is not widely spoken. In my town of 6000 people, there are only four Anglophones, myself included. Making an effort with the language and the locals is therefore essential. Once you get over your initial hesitation your French develops quickly. I was always shy about speaking in a different language, as I was conscious about making mistakes. However, I soon came to the realisation that people here are just happy for you to try. Due to historical differences and political conflicts Québec has with the rest of Canada, it doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make as long as you show them the respect of trying. People are happy to correct you if you ask and never laugh at your efforts.

Fortunately, when I first came to Amqui I was  cohabiting with a Canadian assistant from Winnipeg, who was very outgoing and keen for me to experience Canadian culture to the full.  Within a couple of weeks, I had eaten poutine, the local delicacy (chips, cheese and gravy), gone on a moose hunt and experienced my first hockey game. Hockey became a big passion for me. It is a way of life here and taking an interest and going to the local games is a sure way of making friends. Teachers at first tend not to know what to think of assistants. They’re unsure of our language abilities and can seem disinterested in getting to know someone who is only going to be there for one year. Going out with them for a ‘4 à 7’ after school on Thursdays, for example, breaks the ice. The key to making the most of your time in Québec is to accept every offer and opportunity.  If you turn people down at the beginning, they won’t ask again, and there are so many things to be experienced that often take a local’s assistance.  Going snowshoeing, dog sledding or hunting may seem like unusual activities, but to truly understand the culture it is necessary to try things that you have never tried before.

One thing to bear in mind when choosing Québec as a destination that the Québécois language is something completely different to anything that most people have heard before. The regional accents can be quite distinctive, with Montréal’s harsher sounds being offset with the soft Beauce lilt, or the Gaspésien chiak, a mix of French and English, confusing everybody but its native speakers. It takes a good month until your ear becomes tuned in to the accent and you start to pick up the vernacular andwords like ‘mon chum’ (boyfriend), ‘ma blonde’ (girlfriend), ‘un sandwich hot-chicken’ (self explanatory) and ‘mon char’ (France – chariot, Québec – car). Learning to recognise the local version of swearing, which can easily consist of up to 50% of any conversation, also helps. These words, usually taken from religious terminology as a rebellion against Catholicism, can seem quite tame at first. The most popular of these is‘Tabernak’ (usually spelled with a ‘-k’ rather than an ‘-le’) which can be turned into ‘tarbernoosh’ or‘taberouette’.

I would recommend becoming a language assistant to anyone. It gives you an opportunity to travel to parts of the world you might not normally go to within the bounds of a safe and supportive programme. Initially, I was intending to spend only one year in Québec to improve my French before starting a career. I am now in my third year here, in the same school, and am looking to move to Québec permanently in the future. The programme gives language students the chance to improve their language skills and confidence, but also offers people considering teaching as a career the opportunity to try it out, without all of the responsibility of a full teacher.

The biggest advice I could give future assistants is to choose your location carefully and make the most of your experience when you get there. Some places are not for everybody, especially the far-flung places like Québec. The isolation can get to you if you don’t make the effort to integrate and the long, cold winters can be tough. Being snowed in for five months with temperatures dropping below -40°C can be harsh for people not prepared for it. However, if you feel adventurous, then by all means, go for it. The programme has given me the chance to experience a culture both similar and completely different to my own and to meet people from all walks of life who have given me a greater understanding and appreciation of my own situation. For anyone wanting to make the most of their lives and have wonderful experiences to share with their grand-children, the English Language Assistant Programme is a good place to start.