Speaking of being a good citizen (and also of being skeptical), I think I will soon quit the “green/beige bins” daily worshiping although I was willing to participate in the Ottawa Green Program!… Last weekend I lost patience and I wrote to the City of Ottawa… and, believe it or not, I was given a case number! My initial complaint was about the brown paper bags that do not fit properly into the beige bin… to quote my significant other, it takes four hands to keep the bag open and, then, we should probably borrow one of our neighbours’ kid to give us a hand in order to throw kitchen waste in the bag!… Man! What a time consuming and useless ritual!!!…

I guess our concerns were taken seriously since we got replies from two people… one suggested to use old newspapers (who reads papers in 2010?) as lining in the bottom of our designer beige bin and, then throw everything in the green bin… well, I am sorry but I will not spend one single minute trying to wash those bins that would become filthy in no time! Or… even better, we could use a cardboard box instead of the beige bin!… Wait a minute, I do not want a box filled with kitchen waste standing in the middle of my kitchen!… Bottom line, I think this program is defeating its purpose and, unless the City sits down with the companies designing the brown paper bags so that their products fit the beige bin, I will do what I did for years: I will use a kitchen garbage can and plastic bags! And… I will sell the beige bin on E-bay!!!… Des preneurs?…

I train people in a state-of-the-art virtual classroom and there is nothing one cannot do with high technology… and some gurus want to take me back to the Dark Age with green programs that, obviously, were not studied from a logistical point of view?… No thank you!… I cannot wait for the day my butcher will wrap my ground meat in some old newspapers!… This non sense circle would be then complete!…

When looking at this, I can see analogies with the whole SLE testing within the PSC… Both intent and purpose are great yet the process is absurd!… I will skip my opinion on the tests themselves since, by now, my readers know where I stand. For the past several weeks, I have been contacted by many civil servants who systematically failed at one or two of the language tests after months of either full-time or part-time FSL training through the regular channel… i.e. through the numerous boot camps contracting with the PSC across the country. Disappointed and fed-up, they were looking for some efficient training that will allow them to get the levels they need to meet their jobs language requirements as quickly as possible.

I heard a couple of horrific stories… for instance, take Shannon… she has been enrolled in a full-time training program for the past ten months. Useless to say that I am working on de-programming her so that she will be able to get her C when she will be tested orally again next week… Of course, she lost confidence in her skills: she now has to undo everything she was told to do for the past ten months!… It is even more discouraging since she sees her regular teacher during the day and me at night or on weekends. As a trainer, if I had students failing at the tests, I would seriously reconsider my approach and correct what is wrong… but it appears that teachers (who have no background in either pedagogy or andragogy) in private language schools are stubborn and will not budge, stating that there are no other ways…  Shannon, for months, wanted to use past tenses when summarizing the tapes in Part 2 of the oral interaction test because she thought it sounded weird to do it in a present context (by the way, she was right!)… her teacher refused to let her do it saying that Part 1 and Part 2 of the exam were assessing A and B levels!… First of all, no one is tested for an A because it is no longer in the equation for imperative bilingual positions. Anyone who have to get a C must demonstrate their skills right from the beginning of the interview!… According to this teacher, using “baby talk” (yet with the «sacro-saints mots liens») during the first half of the test and, then, moving to some elaborate ways of speaking for the second half will guarantee a C?… In your dreams!!!…

Of course people like Shannon, Deborah, Raymond, Morris and several others ask more questions concerning my method and approach… And I do not blame them! It is normal that they have trust issues given what they went/go through without positive results. On the other hand, it does not take them long to realize that this time they will be better equipped in order to achieve their required levels.

What I really do not understand is, why the PSC has not yet investigated those language schools programs, their methods and their teachers’ credentials… Billions of dollars have been/are/will be invested in second language training… Such inertia is beyond common sense… and, in the meantime, thousands of people are paying the price for something they do not have control on… Yet I see more and more  of them taking their destiny into their own hands and invest time and money so that they will be able to return to their jobs as soon as possible! I would not be surprised that, with younger generations now working within the PSC, drastic change could occur sooner than expected… Only because these people do not have the patience of the baby boomers and they are not as obedient either!

But, in spite of all this, there are success stories… Danny achieved ECB (and he only needed BBB) a couple of weeks ago…

Congratulations Danny!

Chrissie got a comfortable B in both reading comprehension and written expression… she is now working on preparing for her oral interaction test…

Congratulations Chrissie!

Sharon got an E in reading comprehension and her required B in written expression… we will start preparing her for the oral when she will return from her ten day trip in Europe…

Congratulations Sharon!

“Un beau désordre vaut mieux qu’une inerte ordonnance”

Eugène Savitzkaïa

When I got back from my trip, I had very good news!… Though unexpected, Sam had been called in for his oral interaction interview just a few days before Christmas and he thought that he would not get his C since he felt that he needed more preparation time… Well, he got an E and he was thrilled!

Congratulations Sam!

And Kelly, who had missed her appointment in late September, finally went for her oral interaction test in Victoria and she also got an E… Back in the summer of 2009, her examiner had given her a mere B… At the time, I could not believe it since, in my book, this young woman was bilingual!… I believe that people who take this exam without knowing what it is really about perform poorly because of the nature of the questions… In Kelly’s case, all it took was a few hours of good preparation to polish her speech and adopt useful strategies…

Congratulations Kelly!

Of course, such great news certainly lifted my spirits in order to tackle 2010 with optimism…  In spite of the numerous flaws in the SLE testing process, my students manage to meet the language requirements of government’s job positions…

Except for Corey, who still has not been invited to take the oral interaction test, there are no pending cases… Next week will be hectic for me with three people to train and comfort until they take their tests on January 18, 19 and 20… I am expecting to be quite stressed!…  Also, new requests came in while I was away… I would not be surprised if there were a flood of testing until the end of March 2010… It will be the end of fiscal year in the PSC and, from experience, all departments try to exhaust their budgets and finish their projects before April.

This month should also bring back at least three of my former trainees who need to get higher levels so that they will meet the language requirements of their new positions… But, almost three weeks away from work gave me the opportunity to refill my energy tank and I am now ready to face the music… Now I only have to get rid of that head cold and accept that I am back under our harsh Canadian climate!…

All I need is to picture this in my head until Spring comes back…

Happy 2010 to everyone!…

That being said, I will continue helping all those aspiring civil servants to prepare for their SLE tests… I will simply leave some room for relaxation and fun… Otherwise, I think I would not be of much use in a year from now… as for blogging, I do not see the necessity to write a post every three days… Therefore I will not use all my spare time writing a story… I believe that, if I write once a week, I will still be giving information people are looking for and following up with what is happening in my trainees’ SLE testing saga…

In the news department, I was thrilled to hear that Dara got an E in reading comprehension and a C in written expression… I remembered how worried she was regarding the written expression exam: she was convinced she had not obtained the required B of the position she applied for… Now she is the proud owner of a ECB language profile (all she needed was BBB)!…

Congratulations Dara!

The biggest surprise though came from Nelson… of course none of us was expecting him to get his B given he had started learning French from scratch with me part time only in April… We were both amazed that his examiner had led him in the fourth part of the oral interaction test. Well… he did make it somewhat because he received a B, which means he will not have to go on full time training in the Spring of 2010 since he now meets the language requirements of his position: BBB… I do not know if his Department’s managers are aware of the substantial amount of money we saved them in the long run?!?

Congratulations Nelson!

On a less positive note, Mitch missed his required B in writing by a couple of answers… Hopefully he will be able to re-do it later on… because I do know for a fact that he can make it! Born and raised in Montreal, he does understand and speaks French but he never learned it formally in school… consequently his knowledge of grammar is very basic and, in order to succeed at the SLE tests, one needs more than basics… and it is humanly impossible to learn everything at once in such a short period of time… but he is a bright cookie and I know he will eventually make it… I am not giving up on him!

I also heard from Amelia… her employer decided to offer her a promotion (would they be aware that she applied for a  job position within another Department or is it only a coincidence?) which, of course, means that she now needs CBC instead of BBB… she was offered to go in one of those wonderful bootcamps that offer full time training, but she said she wanted to move on with me part time… I already assessed her, but due to my accident, I did not have time to write her assessment report and a formal proposal… I intend to do it before the end of the week…

Today Mia, who lives in Windsor, was taking both her reading comprehension and written expression tests in London… the poor girl had to drive two hours this morning to get there… Friday we will start working on her oral: she needs CCC in order to meet her position language requirements… I also have a couple of students who will have their oral interaction test next week… It looks like the Departments are trying to test as many candidates as they can afford before the end of 2009!… Of course that trend is sending a flood of new requests my way…  So far, I was able to take them all…

Speaking of the devil, I just got an email from Mia: she was given her results right away and she got her C in both reading comprehension and written expression!… Woo hoo!…

Congratulations Mia!

On that note, I will turn off the computer and take a break before my evening shift starts… Although I had been advised by doctors to take a two week leave of absence from work, it is something I cannot do… but I am working wisely this week and it works just fine… I will survive that one!

“Le temps n’est pas une courbe lisse mais une série de cahots, de bonds et de pauses”

Niall Williams

Congratulations Seema!

I also heard from Kate… unfortunately, she did not get the C she was looking for, the examiner gave her a mere B… but, since her boss really wants her in that position and does know that Kate can communicate efficiently in French, the oral language requirement of her job position has been changed into a level B… Finally one person with judgment and common sense!… It would be great improvement if there were more… yet demain n’est pas la veille!… Therefore Kate joins Alicia and Christie on my list of this assessment process flaws! I would not be surprised to hear that the three of them had the same assessor…

This week will be another marathon of testing: Sun is taking her reading comprehension and written expression tests (she needs a C in both) this morning and Krystal will take hers tomorrow. Kelly, in Victoria, will be tested orally over the phone on Wednesday… she must obtain a level C… hopefully she will get it!… Based upon my trainees (located outside Ottawa)experience, examiners in Montreal are a bit more flexible (read less picky)… we shall see! And… I almost forgot!… Edna will go back to be tested for her written expression on Wednesday as well… hopefully she will not be given the test in English this time!

For those of you who do not know what the COFI (Centres d’orientation et de formation des immigrants) are, here is a brief explanation… When the province of Quebec made French its official language and introduced Bill 101 (Bill stipulating that immigrants’ kids have to attend French school unless one of the two parents had some kind of education in English in Quebec at some point – which is highly unlikely), new adult immigrants who do not speak a word of French are sent in those centers so that they can learn the basics of the language… there, they can acquire some survival spoken French and get acquainted with the culture québécoise… Those  aiming at learning how to write are invited to under’go day or evening programs that are tailored to their specific needs in any school boards across the province.

New immigrants who do not have jobs attend those centers full time… those who do have jobs or go to university attend part time… These centers are not giving highly qualified training in French… actually it is not their reason for being either. They are not teaching immigrants to take SLE tests: they are teaching them how to survive in a French environment by providing them with useful vocabulary so that they can communicate in daily situations.

Times really changed… I do remember my retired Italian neighbours in Montreal: they had arrived in Canada right after the World War II… the lady was fluent in both French and English, their adult kids only spoke English and the man could not speak any other languages than Italian (I always wondered how he had managed all those years… actually he was relying on his wife for everyday interaction with the outside world)… She had been a nanny in a family in Wesmount for years and it was where she had learned French and English (the father was an Anglophone, the mother was a Francophone and the children were bilingual and attending French schools)… Okay… back to my story now…

Last week, I assessed a new student located in Montreal who needs to obtain levels CCC in order to qualify for the job position he applied for within the PSC… Corey, a middle age man, arrived in Canada two years ago with only his mother tongue and English as a second language in his pocket: he did not know one single word of French at the time. Since he had a night shift job in an IT call center, he spent only half of his days (and still does) in  a COFI combined with 16 weekly hours in his school board evening program (for the written part of his learning)… In late Spring I had Yong who had also spent some time in a COFI in order to learn French and, even if he did not get his B in oral interaction, he could communicate fairly well… actually I was quite impressed with his skills since the COFI do not teach French formally!… Of course his French was not polished enough for the PSC examiner and did not meet the absurd standards of the PPC tests… although he managed to get his B in reading and writing!

I really did not know what to expect prior to meeting with Corey… if Yong had missed the level B, how could he get a C?… I know so many people who are bilingual in my book and who cannot get it!… On the other hand, I know some who cannot even have a casual conversation about weather or order a pizza in French and who actually have a level C… Go figure!… I stopped wondering about such a dichotomy because I would only waste my time!… There are no answers to this strange phenomenon… only because there are no real objectives, except that candidates have to perform the way the PPC wants them to… and even so, sometimes, one examiner will prefer another dance!… It is why it is imperative to know more than one, just in case!…

On Wednesday, I spent one hour online with Corey and I simulated an interview in French (with the four components of the actual oral interaction test)… Of course he was all over the place, providing me with more information than I was actually seeking… In the middle of this babel, though, I was quite pleased with his easiness to speak… and his comprehension was excellent… therefore I decided that he could get his C!… Yet I will have to put him in the box and restrain his wish to talk too much!… I will have to constrict him so that he will stay within the speech limits permitted!… It will not be an easy task to confine him in the work area only and I will have to provide him with the jargon they are expecting him to use during the examination… but it is manageable!… He has an excellent foundation in French and all that is needed to do is to have him speak more formally (yet I will make sure that he will keep his natural way of expression)… using words such as processus, gestionnaire, gestion de projet, affectation, note de breffage (do not worry if you do not know this word, it does not exist outside the PSC), intérimaire, protocole d’entente, etc.

After our session, I thought that it would be a great idea to have civil servants under’going French training in one of the numerous COFI throughout Quebec (there must even be one located in Gatineau!)… I am surprised that the famous PSC technocrates have not thought of such an option yet: they do not know much about pedagogy, but they are supposed to know how to count… that would save the government lots of money indeed, because I am sure it would be much cheaper to send employees in a COFI than in any language schools around town (institutions that do not give top notch services anyways!)… The bright side of such training would be that, afterwards, those civil servants would be able to communicate in French… and, at the end, it would only take a few hours to prepare them for their dance in front of an examiner… If I ever doubted the kind of training the COFI are providing, now I am convinced that they do a great and useful job!

“La danse est une cage où l’on apprend l’oiseau”

Claude Nougaro

Then, some time during the Summer, they had re-introduced something similar to paragraph C  (different versions of a sentence) yet it was easier to spot the correct answer…  At the beginning of August, Ellie confirmed that there were about five or seven questions of that type. Though she said there were no questions on the subjunctive (or any other verb forms)… only prepositions and vocabulary (read government jargon)… in other words, the test she took was filled with traps.

Last week, both Melody and Candice took the test on the very same day (at different locations) and they said it was a real nightmare! This time, there were no subjunctive (a couple of verbs here and there) and no prepositions… According to them, there were many questions about improving the original sentence (it looks like paragraph C is back!) and, apparently, the ones that were not directly like that were still like that… In other words, for the most part of the test, there were only sentences with minor differences and they had to choose the best one!… Even native French speakers would have a hard time to make the right choice!… Most of the time, it is a matter of personal choice since all of these words are synomyms with slight nuances.

How, in the name of God, can I prepare people for those tests when they keep changing?… Of course, there are test samples on Campus Direct but they are kind of obsolete… we have to work with samples of the written expression test that were around in 2001-2005… or… with the four samples of the 80 question version (which, by the way, has been replaced with the 65 question version in June 2008)… Do I have to remind the so-called panel of experts that their samples no longer reflect reality? Practicing with such tests is a waste of time at this point… and it gives a false feeling of confidence… for instance, Candice would rarely make more than a couple of mistakes on the practice tests but, on the actual test, she got a B missing the C by three answers… was she disappointed? Of course she was!… Who would not be?

I can teach grammar, accurate vocabulary, spelling and correct syntax… but I cannot teach interpretation!… or how to think like the panel of experts… Honestly, each time I come across the paragraph C of the 80 question version of the written expression test, I cannot find the best sentence!!!… Why?… Only because none of them follows the syntax rules of the French language… in my book, they all are crooked!… Therefore I have to guess which one these experts decided was the best one! If someone like Candice, who have a solid background in French (years of French immersion in grade school and high school), struggled with the test… just imagine how Anglophones with little or no background do!

What is the purpose of such tests?… are they meant to assess candidates’ knowledge or to eliminate them?… I am sorry, but questions of interpretation should never be found in tests that alledgedly assess people’s knowledge of a second language! It just does not make sense!

And let’s talk about fairness for a second… is it fair to change tests drastically from one month to another? People who took the test in April got higher levels and there were probably some of them who did not have half of the knowledge Candice has!… If she had taken the test at that time, she would have easily pulled out an E (exemption)… Bottom line, this whole SLE testing process is not valid!… The results do not reflect reality… I still do not understand why the government does not invest money (in the long run, they would actually save money, because they could get rid of their useless panel of experts!) and has all of the tests designed by real experts… we have two universities in Ottawa and, if the need is to have a French university do the work, there are a couple of excellent ones in Quebec… Yet I would not bank on this option!… and it is unfortunate… because, in the meantime, thousands of people are penalized… and it makes my job tough! I do work for my students’ interest, not for the government’s!…

Although Candice is disappointed with her results, she did receive a C in reading comprehension and a B in written expression, with only three answers away from an E and a C… given the nature and the content of the written expression test she took last week, she is an achiever and I am really proud of her!

Congratulations Candice!

“L’inconstance perd tout, en ne laissant mûrir aucune semence”

Henri-Frédéric Aniel

It is 2:40 pm and I just got a phone call from Melody… I had to update you on the latest news. Yesterday afternoon, I had a session with her and we worked on her upcoming oral interaction test… she had mentioned that she had gotten 33 on both exams: reading comprehension and written expression… and she thought it was weird! Then I told her that, if she had had a score of 33 on the reading comprehension test, it was impossible that she had received a B (I do not remember the exact lower score for that level, but it is not 33 for sure)… Anyways, when she got back home, she did check her results sheet… believe it or not, both results were for the same test: written expression! This morning she contacted them asking why she had not received her results for the reading comprehension exam… she said that she was nervous because there was still a possibility that she had missed the B… or, even worse, that they had lost her results and she would have to take the test a second time… Finally, they sent her results… she got her B, missing the C by only one point!!!… She pointed out that it was even more frustrating, knowing that she could have had a C after all!… Oh well… are they confused or not?…  I said it many times and I will say it again: “Reality is beyond fiction!”… It is so absurd that we have no other choices, but laugh!…