Picture of a Quebec flag coming off the side of a building with another flapping in the wind beside it. Image from Pexels, taken by Anthony Rodriguez.

My parents put me and my brother in French Immersion when we were starting kindergarten. They always told us they did this because when they went to Europe in their 20s they were embarrassed by having to use translation dictionaries and not speaking or knowing enough of any language besides English to talk to people.

I love being able to speak, write and read in a second language. Not only can I talk to people who speak French and consume French media, growing up learning a second language has left me more able to learn about other languages more easily. I can vaguely understand Dutch, for example, partly because some of the words have the same spelling or sound the same as in French, partly because I had Dutch grandparents who told me and my brother very basic sentences. Not everyone loved French Immersion when we went through it, but I did. I knew that someday I would be able to use the French I was learning.

I did struggle when I was young. I missed some school in kindergarten because of my arthritis, so I was a bit behind in Grade 1. I was pulled in Grade 1 and 2 for extra help. By the time I was in Grade 12, I was being told I had a good accent when I spoke French. I tried my hardest to copy the accents of my teachers and the actors of the few TV shows and movies I watched in French. I always said it was to compensate that I cannot roll my Rs. Really, it was subconscious. Until it was told to me that my accent was good before my oral French Provincial in Grade 12, I never really realized it. Admittedly, I did love that I was told I had a good accent.

I tried to hold onto it in post-secondary, but it was hard to practice once I wasn’t surrounded by teachers and peers who spoke it. I have had moments, translating for a family on a tour in Chicago on a trip with my family, talking to a family who had just moved from Quebec while I was working my retail job. My brother and I would speak in French to each other occasionally with jokes.

When I became a TTUC, I got called to French Immersion schools and classes quite a bit because I can speak French. And I found a strength I never thought of. I sat in the seats of French Immersion students, and I got a great reception from those students when it came to language learning. I find I am always very aware of the moments when I struggled with French, and the times when I sometimes still look at a word and think “have I never seen this word before?” Usually I then have to open my translation app and figure out what word it is. Sometimes it comes when a student says “Madame, what does that word mean?” And I realize I’ve just been saying something I thought they knew about, and showing students with a translation website or app feels more concrete than just saying what it means.

One thing I notice I really took away from learning a second language was that I have an empathy for students who are trying to learn English. English can be pretty confusing, especially when you get thrown into a world where everyone speaks it and you never have or only have a very basic understanding. French Immersion was difficult at times, especially when I was in Grade 2 and still a bit behind the language understanding than those in my class, but it was nothing compared to what ELL students feel. I feel quite aware of it, and whenever I see a way to help ELL students int he classroom, I write it down for the future. I want to make sure I can help every student I teach to the best of my ability and in ways that will benefit them the most.