2011… And… The Wind kind of Shifted in Ottawa!…

Four months went by and I did not write one single post on my blog!… I would have loved to… yet I was way too busy and I did not want to write about just anything for the only sake of writing something.

Last year, especially starting around June, it seemed that no one could achieve a C at the TOP (Test of Oral Proficiency) in French. It was actually quite depressing for me because I knew that most of my trainees were strong enough to get this level. A couple of them even took the test up to three times with no other results than a mere B… To some extent, I had started to believe that there was a conspiracy in Ottawa, where the headquarters for SLE testing are located. Why only in Ottawa? Simply because people tested over the phone with examiners based in Montreal  – or in person with assessors from various Departments such as CRA, Health, etc. – were still getting their C when they deserved it!…

I admit that I was angry most of the time and, when I left for Jamaica in Mid-December, it was long due because I was totally drained… and, for a while, I  even thought of giving up and retiring!… Yet I felt that I could not let down people who really needed help so that they would have a chance at those stupid tests! This process is excruciating and they need all the support they can get in order to get through this ordeal. And… I thought of all these people who are not living in Ottawa and cannot find resources… they would have been left on their own… Finally I decided that I had still enough energy and courage to fight this absurd system. Therefore I rolled up my sleeves and dived into 2011 with the ferocity of a lioness!… Sometimes I truly believe that only someone like me is crazy enough to do this… well, I guess I am a true believer and I refuse to give up on people who need my support and expertise.

Then something happened… something unexpected… something I would call a miracle! Now, 50% of the candidates to the TOP  who go to Slater are tested over the phone with examiners from Montreal… of course, my students who were evaluated this way got their C with no problems…  consequently, there was nothing to throw me off my chair… It is when my students tested face-to-face started to get their C one after the other that I realized that the pattern had been finally broken!… Actually none of them who were seeking a C failed!… Not even a single one!!! They all passed!… I would say that, since the beginning of January, I had about 20 trainees who needed a C and all of them obtained it!… Incredible!!!

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Once and for All!…

I cannot believe my last post was in August!… It is probably a sign that I was way too busy to write… indeed I was! Fall brought several contracts with various Departments and, consequently, I am back on the road… I still have many online students but I have to share them with Angèle because I waste quite some time on the road every day!…

What is new in the SLE testing department?… Not much except that lots of people are being tested all the time. Since most entry level positions now require levels BBB, more candidates have to be tested at some point in the hiring processes. Of course, the new Reading Comprehension test led to a wave of panic… before, no one really cared about this test, which was relatively easy… today, it is a whole different tune… we also have to prepare our trainees to take that exam… as if working on the Written Expression and the Oral tests was not enough! Well… it keeps us busy I guess!

Before I start talking about something that has been bugging me for a while now, I would like to let everyone know that Seema finally got her C in oral after several attempts! I am very happy for her because she had lost her zest lately… she was craving to go back to work… after too much time spent into boot camps!

Congratulations Seema!!!

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No words can accurately describe such a stupid process!

Okay… I will try my best to soften my language here, though I am tempted to be blunt. Am I angry? Indeed… I am!… For the mere reason that I do care about my trainees’ fate. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the majority of language trainers/coaches out there! Hey! more often their students fail to get their required language levels, more work for them!… Yet, with all the cuts in the Departments’  language training budgets, I know that some schools are now starving… they always disdained part-time and short term contracts in favour of extensive contracts… well, now, they are less picky! Some of them even lowered their hourly rates by up to $10… but it does not bring them more contracts… I did not change anything to my own practice and contracts are pouring in… now, employers are making their choices based upon quality and prices are less of a concern. Lowering rates means lowering  teachers’ salary (which was never high to start with), therefore many language providers’ staff are probably less qualified than before.

But I am not here to discuss the fate of the numerous language schools in Ottawa. I am rather interested in the fate of all these people who need to meet the language requirements of their positions and who became the victims of a vicious system.

Of course, there was the introduction of the new reading comprehension test at the beginning of August… something that is now making people more miserable than ever… at least, before, they were able to concentrate their effort on preparing for the written expression and oral tests… now they also have to try and better their abilities to read (well… what am I saying here? it is anything but a reading test!) in French…  Seema who now needs CBC after having achieved her BBB took the test again a couple of weeks ago: she said it was a real nightmare and she did not have enough time to finish the 60 questions… of course she missed the C… And, now, even Francophones with an exemption in oral proficiency cannot get their levels in both reading comprehension and written expression in English… they are now looking for training and most of them write to me in English and their messages are flawless! So… what should I conclude???… and do I have to add that there are no samples of the new test to practice with on Campus Direct? Great!!!…

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