I really do not know what is happening because, usually, there is less language testing in the PSC during the summer… yet, this year, there is not respite. If I had to guess, I would say it is probably due to baby boomers’ massive departure from the work force. Therefore there is an urgent need to replace them! Whatever the reasons are, it is real and I am busier than ever… Many of my trainees were tested these past two months and they all got the  levels they needed to comply with their job position requirements (or even higher). It would be too long to name them individually in this post, therefore I will congratulate them all in one sentence:

Congratulations to everyone!

It has been a rumor for many months but, now, it is official: there will be a new version of the reading comprehension test as soon as July 30… Instead of 65 questions, there will be 60 but the time (90 minutes) will be reduced to 80 minutes… consequently I do not describe this as a bonus! Apparently there will be five more questions at the end (which will not count) and candidates’ answers will be used for statistics purpose!?!

The first question that comes to mind is: will the new test be more or less the same or will it be more difficult. Well… it will be much more difficult. From what I heard (former students who voluntarily participated in the pilot project), it is not a piece of cake!… I agree that the current test may be a bit too easy, and it is precisely for that reason that the PPC made the decision to change it. I am not against designing a new version of the test… but I do not understand why the gap between the former test and the new one is so huge! 

When the written expression test was changed in October 2007,  it passed from 55 rather easy questions to 80 very difficult questions. The rate of failure was very high and the PSC decided to standardize the scores (which was helping people with low raw scores, but punishing the ones with high raw scores)… Finally, in June 2008, the 65 question version of the test was introduced: did it really help people to pass?… It is hard to tell… since they cut in the time as well and kept the same amount of long questions, I would be tempted to say that it did not really make a noticeable difference… and the difficulty level remained the same.

I would not be surprised that, in a few months, the reading comprehension test would go through the same process.  For sure, the difficulty level of the new test is higher… there will no longer be questions in English and, in many cases, candidates will have to fill in the blanks or finish a sentence/paragraph with the correct syntax, grammar and accurate vocabulary… It sounds more like a grammar test than a reading test as a matter of fact.

Right now, I can only anticipate what it will be… I am sure I will know more in a couple of weeks when my trainees will start taking the new reading comprehension test. Then I will be able to talk more about it… I am sure of one thing though, it will be difficult and I doubt we will see many candidates get an E like it has been for several years now. Therefore, in a week from now, all of the three SLE tests will be a pain in the neck!

In the maze of all this testing, Le Club français manages to meet once a month for some activities in French. Last Friday we went to «Le Théâtre de l’Île» in Hull where we had dinner on the patio and attended a play… As usual, we all had a great time though many players were missing due to summer vacation… Judge by yourself:

Happy Alice, Mark and Seema

Mark, La Dame dragon and Corey having a great time

Two big smiles...

Having a great time here!

Great food, excellent play and a friendly environment

And we will do it again soon… with more participants hopefully! In spite of the painful process of preparing for the PSC SLE tests, many of us became real good friends in real life… and it is one of the reasons why I do love my job!… I would not do anything else…

«On ne se lasse pas de changer les institutions, ne pouvant changer les hommes.»

Jean-Lucien Arréat

Both March and April are always hectic months for me… I guess it is due to the end of fiscal in the PSC, as well as the beginning of another fiscal year… yet, I do not really see the link between so many people being tested for their second language and fiscal years!… Actually, maybe there is none and it is only coincidental… Who knows?

All I can say is that there are no breaks in the SLE testing… I believe it is because most of the entry level job positions now require a minimum of BBB and more and more of them require CBC… Also, it appears that many Departments cut into their language training budgets, leaving many civil servants in a limbo… they need to be either tested or re-tested, but they are not offered any paid training to prepare… I now work with many of them, which was quite unusual a few months ago… If there is a hiring freeze within the government at this point, there is no testing freeze!

In the news department, Mitch got back to me a couple of weeks ago: he finally got his B in written expression and we are currently working on his upcoming oral test preparation. He had a hard time with grammar because he never really took any formal French courses… on the other hand, he is from Montreal and he is more at ease speaking… therefore it should be easier for him to get his B (and possibly a C) in oral interaction.

Congratulations Mitch!

Chrissie went for her oral interaction test this morning… I am impatient to hear from her… I am convinced she will get her B… Sally, in Vancouver, finally went for her oral interview as well and she got her B!…

Congratulations Sally!

Bonita went for her written expression test yesterday and, unfortunately, she missed her B by only two points. She was really disappointed because she had worked very hard… yet, she was pressured with time and she would have needed a couple of more training sessions… And, from what she said, she got one of the tough versions of the test… but, good news, she is not out of the competition!… Sharon got her B in oral although she did not really believe she could make it… well… she did!

Congratulations Sharon!

Finally, and not the least, Haiyan - who was really nervous during the whole excruciating hiring process (from interviews to tests/exams) – saw the end of it last Friday… and she got her B in oral as well!

Congratulations Haiyan!

Sometimes, I think my job is redundant… of course, there is not much variety when it comes to SLE tests… they have been the same forever… yet, when I see my trainees get their required levels, I am very proud of their achievement and I do forget the repetitive aspect of my work… And, with Le Club français, we can enjoy sporadic outings and forget about the SLE tests for a while…  Those provide people with the opportunity to use their French outside the fake box they have to enter when they are tested… and I am always amazed of how good they are at communicating their messages and thoughts… when often they struggle so much with the tests!

Last Friday, we went to the The Higlanders’ Pub where we celebrated three April Birthdays… We had a great time and it was fun to get out of our lairs after the long winter months…

Celebrating Seema, Mark and Corey's birthdays!

Alice, Seema and Mark shining!

Corey, Mark and La Dame dragon smiling!

Corey (who never stopped smiling that evening), La Dame dragon and Keely

At the end of the evening...

Happy Mark on his 30th Birthday!

“J’avance dans l’hiver à force de printemps”

Charles Joseph de Ligne

In the news department, I got a phone call from Corey in Montreal… after more than six weeks of painful waiting, he finally got his reading comprehension and written expression test results in the mail this morning and he made it!… He got a strong C in reading (and if he had had the time to complete the 65 questions, I am convinced he would have obtained an E) and he got his B in writing, missing the C by only one answer (that killed him actually!)… He wrote an email to his contact at the CRA to let him know that he had met the language requirements of the position he applied for and that he was expecting to be invited to take the oral interaction test some time in January!… Sometimes, these people need to be reminded of some basic stuff!

Congratulations Corey!

And I heard from Mikaela who finally took her oral interaction exam last week… Great news!… She got the C she needed to maintain her job position!…

Congratulations Mikaela!

Last Friday, «les Irréductibles du Club français» gathered at Leonardo’s Ristorante for a nice dinner before the Holidays… Everyone had a good time and, amazingly, there was not a single word of English spoken that evening!… Seema drastically improved her oral expression skills lately and even Corey’s French seemed to flow better than usual… and, of course, Alice was «aux anges»!… I was indeed impressed… and very proud of them!

Speaking of Alice... as usual, she did not want to be on any pics... yet she complied!

Mark, on the other hand, has no problems... he loves to appear on photos... I am not sure about Corey and myself though!

Mark and Seema are always smiling!

La Bande des Joyeux Lurons!...

On that note, I found quite an interesting quizz for you to play before 2009 ends…  Questions are not targeting any specific grammar rules in French… I took it and I got 50/50!… Give it a try and let me know how you did!

Click here to play!…

And… I want to take this opportunity to wish you all

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND AN AMAZING 2010!

In the news department, Kate went for her second attempt at the oral interaction test… she wrote me earlier today saying that she is confident she got her C this time… though she was concerned with the fact that the examiner had not asked more than two questions following the debate she had to listen to in the last part of the exam… well, the guy was probably not in a talkative mood and she probably had given him enough to chew on with her answers to the follow up questions in the third part of the test… who knows?… Trying and finding answers is a waste of time because, even if the test is supposed to be exactly the same for everyone, the assessors’ style and mood differ from one to another… we will have to wait for her results and not speculate!

Krystal, after months of agony, will finally take the very last exam of this long and overwhelming hiring process… her oral interaction test is scheduled on Wednesday morning… I am sure she will get her B… Besides that, it is business as usual: a regular flow of incoming students each week (if not each day lately!)…

Last Friday, Le Club français had dinner at Moxy’s after several months of inactivity… although everyone was eager to meet and speak French, only four of us ended up attending: Seema, Mark, Corey and me… maybe because it was cosier than usual, there was not much French spoken that evening!… It turned out to be a dinner among friends and French was quickly dismissed… Oh well… everyone was tired after a long busy week and why not?… Rules are there to be broken, are they not?  Yet maybe we should have used more French… Corey could have used the practice because, when he got back home, he had an email with his reading comprehension and written expression tests date: this Saturday!… Useless to mention that we will have a marathon this week so that he can be prepared as much as possible before the 24th!…

No big deal, it is the PSC process… candidates have little time between the day they are given a testing date and the tests!… So far, no bad surprises until you start reading the email carefully… the first thing you notice is that it will take longer than usal: candidates get there around 8:15 am… and they are out of there by lunch time…  here, the expected finishing time is 3:30 pm…

Then you learn that, prior to the tests, the candidates will have to fill in a form of consent so that the Department can proceed with the investigation regarding security clearance… So far, so good!… BUT, below the usual paragraph saying that candidates will need to show an ID card with a picture in order to access the room, there is a list of documents that they must take with them. For Canadian citizens, it is not too bad… yet, for immigrants like Corey (who has been in Canada only for the past two years), it is another story!…  Here goes the list for him:

• A proof of Permanent Resident Status
• A proof of address
• A proof that his post-secondary diplomas have a Canadian equivalency
• All his residential addresses (including postal codes) for the past five years
• A certificate of good conduct issued by local law enforcement authorities within Canada and/or by the countries he has resided (including fingerprints)

Corey applied for his university degrees equivalency last May… but he is still waiting for an answer… when he called this morning, he was told to call back on the 27th… as for fingerprints, although he would go to the RCMP this week, chances are he would not have the documents ready by Saturday… and getting a certificate of good conduct from the FBI will also take time…

Sometimes, I do wonder on which planet these people live!… How can they imagine for a second that people can gather all those documents in five days?… They live daily with useless and endless bureaucracy, without mentioning processes that never end… they should know better!… Are they  jaded to the point that they are brain dead? Obviously they have no clues about what this does emotionally and mentally to candidates. This morning I got a message from a panic striken and disgusted Corey… Of course, I am no expert, but I do know enough about their absurd hiring process so that my students often turn to me for answers… Yet, this morning, I was in total dismay… besides comforting him, I could not find any rational answers to his questions.

Then I thought of Mark who, not long ago, went through this ridiculous ordeal… I immediately forwarded him the email Corey had received asking him to clarify things for us… he replied right away explaining that the Department where Corey applied for a job position was probably in urgent need of new staff and, therefore, they wanted to accelerate the hiring process by starting the security clearance right away… he said it was not necessary to produce all the required documents on Saturday: filling in the form and providing the documents Corey already has will be enough for now… and when he will get the others, he will then forward them. Actually, security clearance and SLE testing are two different things and Corey should have received the usual email with his testing date and a separate email regarding the security clearance requirements. But, both being in the same email, it looked like if he ever showed up Saturday morning without all those documents, he would not be allowed to take the tests!… Maybe they wanted to save time, yet they should have explained what this is all about! Fortunately, most of my students know each other and… together… they provide a kind of support group for the newcomers… which is great!… I do believe this whole process makes us better and helps us to stay connected with reality… and appreciate life…

As Corey’s French trainer, I am quite angry right now… he needs to focus on the upcoming tests (and I know he will be called in for the oral interaction exam very soon!) and any extra stress might jeopardize his chances to get his Cs… he is human and, of course, he is affected by this last minute non sense… In what emotional and mental state will he be when I will get online with him tomorrow morning?… Krystal used to cry and, in some ways, it was good… but men do not cry!… Yet it does not mean that they are not overwhelmed and discouraged with this process… I know he will recover from that day in hell, but was it necessary to go through such a roller coaster?…

La Dame dragon and Corey... relaxed before the crisis!

Our dinner last Friday was a good timing after all… everyone enjoyed some quiet time, good food and wine… those moments, unfortunately, are rare during the hiring process… it is why we appreciate them when they are there… 

Mark and Seema... both smiling and happy!

“Le processus d’apaisement bien féminin : pleurer…”

Michelle Guérin

Congratulations Joyce!

March madness is still on around here… yesterday both Luna and Christie went for their written tests. From what I heard they think they did well… yet who can tell?… They should receive their results before the end of this week. I would not be surprised that, when I will see Christie for her oral interview simulation on Thursday, she will know… Alice will be tested on her oral skills tomorrow morning and, then, next Monday it will be Susan’s turn!

Because of all this turmoil and stress, last Friday Le Club français gathered together for dinner at Fratelli on Richmond Road in Wesboro (a very popular neighbourhood in Ottawa known for its boutiques, cafés, pubs and restaurants)… Almost everybody was there except for Dave and James who were outside of town (last week was March break in Ontario and many people were traveling with their kids): Alice, Seema, Susan, Frédéric, myself and even Jianlin joined in (she has been away in a boot camp since May 2008!).

I think there is no need for me telling you what was the main topic of the evening… Jianlin had taken her oral exam the day before, therefore she was not nervous… and if she were anxious to get her results, it did not show… actually Jianlin is someone who, I think, does not get easily excited with stuff like this… though I do not know her that well. Yet she does not give the impression that tests are overwhelming for her… she always looks relaxed! I do not believe she would be the kind of person being devastated if ever she did not get her required level. Personally I do think she has the right attitude… I have seen too many people get depressed over something that, in fact, is not so important! It is true that, at some point, they will have to meet their position language requirements… but if it does not happen this month, it might next month… and if not, the following one!… Why would anyone get sick over SLE tests?

Of course, last Friday, most of the conversation has been on either language training or upcoming tests! Three of the attendees are now in boot camps and they shared their views, experiences and stress… only Susan did not really engage in the topic, she rather discussed fishing and hunting with Frédéric. She will have her oral interview on March 30 and she is the kind of person who has to distantiate herself from this stressful event, otherwise she will be a bundle of nerves!… For instance, today, I took her out for breakfast chez Cora… she enjoyed a couple of hours in a relaxing atmosphere and she discussed in French as Molière would have!

It is always amazing to observe how people react to the same situation… Susan prefers to be oblivious of what is coming up… Seema tries and enjoys her training as much as she can without anticipating the tests (in her case, it will not happen soon anyways)… Jianlin is pretty much relaxed, I would say that she goes with the flow: what will be will be… On the other hand, Alice is focused on her upcoming test… actually I am glad that it will be over for her tomorrow because she really needs a break away from French! Hopefully she will enjoy her two week vacation biking in the States… and forget about the past months. Yet, knowing her, I am sure she will find some internet cafés everyday in order to check her incoming emails… I cannot imagine her not wanting to know about her results before her return to work! Well… she worked very hard (too hard indeed) and, if there is one person who deserves a C, it is Alice!…

Friday I realized I had only one student left from that bunch: Susan!… and in three days, her contract will also end. I will still see her though because she registered in my Intermediate French class series that will start on March 29… I think she will really enjoy being with peers from everywhere in the world and learning French only for fun. Since she is scheduled to attend a boot camp some time in May, I truly believe this class will help her cope with her predicament. Yet… she could actually get a C on the 30th because her French is now really good, in both comprehension and expression… I would not be surprised if she pulled out a C instead of her required B… In such case, she could avoid going to the Public Service School for further training.

Today she asked me if we would move on with Le Club français… why not?… Although I will no longer teach any of them, it does not mean we will not have outings once in a while.

For sure I will miss them… but I am ready to move on… I found a new niche where I really feel comfortable and where I know there is a need for my expertise… all these young people applying for jobs within the Public Service of Canada who need to meet the minimum language requirements (BBB) and do not know who to turn to in order to get help before their SLE tests… wherever they are located in Canada, I will help them to prepare and it makes me feel good. For years now I have been helping public servants, it is now time for me to help the newcomers who have a hard time finding resources and professional expertise… morevoer, I love working with young people!

Just a quick update as per March 25… A couple of minutes ago, I received an email from Christie who got her results: she got an E (exemption) in reading comprehension and a C in written expression!… Her new position language requirements are BBB… tomorrow we will start working on her upcoming oral interaction test and I am convinced she will be able to pull out a C quite easily! My students’ achievements keep me moving on with what I do (even if, sometimes, I am quite frustrated with these nonsense tests) because I firmly believe my help makes a difference… and more people I will help, happier I will be!

Congratulations Christie!

It is 1:45 pm, March 25… and I just got an email from Luna in Montreal: she made it too (she cleared her B in written expression)!!!… Useless to say that I am kind of overwhelmed right now… yet so happy!

Congratulations Luna!

A relaxing evening...

A joyful crowd!...

Yes! I love Italian food… wine… and…

 Cuties!…

“La liberté consiste à faire tout ce que permet la longueur de la chaîne”

François Cavanna