Hello, present and future language assistants!

Wow — I just came across this site while I was thinking about the good old days when I was an English language assistant at l’École secondaire Barthélemy-Joliette in Joliette, Quebec, back in 2003–04. I can’t believe it’s been over 10 years — wow! I hope today’s language assistants are enjoying the experience to the fullest. My best friend and I were both English language assistants in that same year, and we were so inspired to go into teaching that — well, I’m in my seventh year of teaching French as a second language in Ottawa, and I love it!

Time really flies, though. I hold many dear memories of some really great times. In fact, I still keep in touch with some of the teachers I worked with nearly 10 years ago — only this time I’m a teacher too!

In my second or third year here in Ottawa, I hosted a French language assistant as well, wanting to give back to a program I really believe in. So keep up the great work! And for folks who are wondering whether to take the leap? Yes! GO for it! Some of my best memories are from that year — the people I met, the places I visited, the many laughs and jokes, even some of the tough times! Merci! Thanks so much, CMEC, for this program!

Dear CMEC,

My name is Derek Cassidy. I am a monitor at École St-Noël in Thetford Mines. I know it’s obvious what the impact of Odyssey is on schools and communities, but I would like to share with you my Odyssey experience and recognize the impact of the program on me personally.

Being in the Odyssey program has introduced me to so many awesome people, and I have had the chance to get to know many of them very well. But aside from making new friends, I have also been introduced to the culture of Quebec; new friends have ultimately led to many road trips to different parts of the province of Quebec for festivals, concerts, and various types of gatherings.

To give you an idea of some of the adventures we have been on, the first month in Quebec, the crew from Thetford Mines went to the Poutine Festival in Drummondville, the Western Fest in St-Tite, and visited Tadoussac for a weekend. And many other trips and hangouts followed.

One of the biggest reasons I appreciate the opportunity to be involved in Odyssey is the improvement of my French skills. Before May 2009, I spoke little to no French. After taking a five-week course at Laval (similar to Explore) and spending my summer in Mont Tremblant, I had basic knowledge of the language but I was still around a lot of anglophones. Being in a smaller community with very little English has forced me to be more active in speaking and hearing French on a regular basis. I am definitely not fluent, but my comprehension of French has improved so much. I don’t have to ask people to repeat themselves ten times, or just nod and say “oui” when I don’t understand something.

As a Canadian, I believe it is important to have at least some knowledge of both official languages; but obviously, the more the better. It opens so many doors culturally, socially, and to many other areas of people’s lives, personally. When I was younger, I thought I would never speak another language, and I didn’t see the importance of knowing French. My last grade in French class was a 56%, which makes me laugh now. But if it weren’t for the Explore and Odyssey programs, I feel I wouldn’t be at the level I’m at now, or have had the same type of immersion into the language. Even for people who aren’t overly serious about learning the language, they have still been given the opportunity, through these programs, to be exposed to French in Canada and to the culture that has formed from that.

I would recommend Odyssey to anyone who would like to improve their French skills, share their knowledge of English, experience Quebec and its culture, and meet a lot of really great people while doing it.

Thanks,

Derek Cassidy

My name is Emir Topalovic and I am the language monitor in Donnacona. It is a smaller town of about 6,000 people with a lot of beautiful scenery and wonderful people. The secondary school is really the highlight and pride of this small community as it welcomes students from the surrounding regions and offers sporting activites and festivals throughout the year. Working in this school has been a wonderful experience as the teachers are very hospitable and ready to help in anyway possible while the students are very accepting and eager to learn and speak English.

My contact was in large part responsible for this great experience. She helped me adjust to the school and the community and she even let me stay in her apartment until I found a place to live. On the subject of accommodations, there are rooms and apartments available in the town, but the choice is limited so it is a good idea to search in advance. Overall, my experience here was great and I would recommend to anybody planning to do this program in Donnacona to brush up a little bit on their French before arriving here, as it will be of enormous help in terms of connecting with the students and the community.

My life really took off because of the language-assistant program! After completing my bachelor’s degree in psychology at l‘Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, I wanted to take a break from my studies to learn English. That’s when I signed up for the Odyssey program. In August 1986, at the wheel of my Renault 5 loaded with my few possessions, I hit the 401 heading for Mississauga, where I had rented a room. I had been assigned to the Dufferin-Peel School Board to work at two schools in Mississauga and one in Bolton, in Grades 5 and 6 immersion classes. At the Bolton school, I worked on a play with the students. Not only did they have to learn their lines, they had to make the sets and costumes as well. We even made a video recording of the performance. My salary as a language assistant for the 1986–87 session was $8,000. I also did some babysitting after school. For me, it was manna from heaven!
I was lucky to have a brother living nearby in downtown Toronto, and I visited him regularly, taking advantage of these visits to discover the big city. As a native of Saint-Basile-de-Portneuf, a small village in western Quebec, Toronto was a huge city with endless possibilities. In addition to falling in love with Toronto, I met the man who would become my husband and the father of my two sons. I would never have guessed at the time that we would still be together after 25 years.
I got my first job because I was bilingual. Throughout my career in the Ontario Public Service, I was always working to promote francophone interests, and I’m proud of it. Paradoxically, learning English helped me discover and love my mother tongue and my culture even more. Both of my sons live in both languages, but they have always attended a French-language school.
This, in just a few lines, is a recap of a long career that began with the language-assistant program. Good luck!

I have been working as the Executive Director of the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner of the Ontario Government since January 2016.
Previously, I worked at the Ontario Trillium Foundation as the Vice-President, Community Investments, since April 1, 2014. The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is a governmental organization and Canada’s leading granting foundation.

At the OTF, my annual portfolio was approximately $80 million, invested in arts and culture, sports and recreation, social services, and environmental initiatives.
I also worked for the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), from May 2008 to March 2014 as Director of Administration and Official Languages. I was thrilled to accept the job because CMEC’s official-languages programs had played such an important role in my life.
In 1988, I moved to Toronto to improve my English and join my spouse at the time, a native of Toronto. We had met in Quebec City, and I soon learned that her knowledge of French was largely due to her participation (twice) in the Explore program — in 1982 in Quebec City, and in 1986 in Trois-Rivières. She enjoyed her experience so much that she became a teacher and has been teaching intensive Grade 8 French in Toronto since 1982. My children were born here and have grown up in French.
As for me, I had the opportunity to take part in the Accent program — the part-time language-assistant program — on two occasions, in 1984–85 in Burnaby, British Columbia, and in 1988–89 in Scarborough, a neighbourhood of Toronto. I learned a great deal about Canada and about myself during these two formative years. In fact, my future career combined my love of French and my proficiency in both official languages.
I was able to pursue my education in sociology and political science at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, at Laval University in Quebec City, and at the University of Toronto.
I worked for the Ontario government for 10 years at the Office of Francophone Affairs and at the Ministry of Finance. I left the public service in 1997 to become Director General of the Centre francophone de Toronto, a multiservice francophone centre in Toronto, and spent 10 years there, during which I was able to bring about a merger with the Centre médico-social communautaire and thereby broaden the range of French services available in Toronto.
At CMEC, I never ceased to be amazed by the success stories of those who entered the Explore and Odyssey programs, which enable thousands of Canadians every year to improve their skills in their second official language. At a recent training session for some 100 language assistants, I was astonished by the energy and contagious enthusiasm they had for sharing their culture and promoting their language. Your presence is highly valued by the school boards you work for and the youth you work with. I want to thank each and every one of you for being part of the wonderful and ever-evolving Odyssey experience.

I left the town of Sarnia, with its 80,000 inhabitants, for Halifax, a city four times as big, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. I never expected that people here would be so friendly; they all seem to know one another. What struck me was how polite they all everybody was here. You just have to step off the sidewalk, and drivers stop their cars to let you cross the road safely. It took me no time at all to feel right at home here, the only difference being that, here, all the restaurants serve seafood, and everyone is a sailing enthusiast!

I live with my boyfriend, who’s studying law at university. I’ve made new friends. You’re constantly surrounded by beautiful people here. No matter where you go, there are always opportunities to develop solid and meaningful relationships.

After completing my degree in international development, I wanted to earn some money before embarking on my master’s. I’m currently working at Shannon Park Elementary School, in Dartmouth. I have 3 classes every day, for a total of 15 classes a week. I play with the kids; we read; and we have activities involving vocabulary, computer, and phonetics.

I really like to work with children, especially if they have difficulties I can help them with. I was surprised at what I learned from being with them. I discovered that communication isn’t only about words. You can express so much through a gesture, your body language, or a look. And I discovered that I was able to speak in public!

But, what I mostly understood is that I’m able to do so many things, if I put in the effort! My bilingualism, experience, and the skills I acquired will open a host of doors for me professionally. That’s the story of my odyssey.

Lorsque je suis arrivée à Whitehorse en Septembre 2010, j’étais âgée de 18 ans (j’étais donc mineure au Yukon) et je n’avais aucune expérience dans le monde de l’enseignement, ni même avec les enfants (excepté le gardiennage). Bien que je ne ressentais aucune nervosité, j’anticipais plusieurs choses et c’est en arrivant dans la salle minuscule qu’on appelle l’aéroport que j’ai réalisé ce que je venais de faire.

Dès le stage de formation à Québec, j’avais remarqué que j’étais parmi les plus jeunes moniteurs mais c’est vraiment en rencontrant le personnel de mon école que j’ai pu lire sur leurs visages que mes preuves restaient à faire. J’ai accepté le défi et je me suis vite liée d’amitié avec les membres du personnel que je considère comme de vrais modèles et aujourd’hui je réalise à quel point cette expérience a changé ma vie.

N’ayant jamais eu d’expérience de travail autre que des emplois d’étudiants à temps partiel, cette expérience m’a donné une grande confiance en moi et m’a permis de me connaître ainsi que de connaître mes intérêts et habiletés par rapport au métier d’enseignant.

De plus, je n’ai jamais regretté mon choix de destination. Il y a, au Yukon, une culture, une mentalité très différente du Québec, et ceci sans parler du paysage, de la faune et, disons-le, de la température! Le fait d’être dans la même ville que les autres moniteurs est aussi un avantage notable, nous avons pu échanger à propos de nos tâches respectives, se donner des idées d’activités, s’encourager, s’appuyer dans les moments plus difficiles et surtout, découvrir le Yukon et tout ce que ce territoire a à offrir avec les mêmes yeux éblouis.

Aujourd’hui, je suis étudiante au Baccalauréat en enseignement des langues secondes, j’ai vraiment découvert une possibilité de carrière à l’école d’immersion française de Whitehorse, le monde des langues secondes est fascinant.

Odyssée c’est l’expérience d’une vie. Certains diront que j’ai “perdu” une année en faisant l’expérience Odyssée entre mon cégep et mon université, moi je vous affirme que j’en ai gagné plus d’une en maturité et en expérience.

I had such an amazing experience at Odyssey that I ended up working as an English language assistant twice — once at Cégep de Sainte-Foy in 2006–07 and again at École secondaire de l’Aubier in 2007–08! I had just graduated from university in my hometown, Vancouver, and since I had never really travelled, I knew I wanted to live in a new city. I chose the Odyssey program to develop my teaching skills and explore my French-Canadian heritage. My father is from Bonaventure, Quebec, and I had never met his side of the family until I lived in Quebec.

I was proud that the program encouraged me to share my culture, heritage, city, and language with the students. What I had not expected was that my students, peers, and Quebec City itself would teach me so much about my own cultural heritage!

The program is structured (25 hours/week) so that you get lots of teaching experience, but you also have a lot of free time to explore the region you are living in. The Odyssey pan-Canadian training session at the beginning of the program gives you the teaching tools you need and helps you get to know the other assistants in the region!

If you’re interested in pursuing a teaching career, becoming bilingual, trying out a new city, or experiencing a whole new culture without leaving Canada, I highly recommend the Odyssey program to you.

J’ai vécu une très belle expérience, je me suis fait beaucoup d’amis et j’ai confirmé mon choix de carrière: l’éducation. Avec la grande flexibilité de l’école, j’ai pu travailler avec les niveaux de la maternelle jusqu’à la septième année. Les enseignants et les élèves ont grandement apprécié ma présence en classe. Cette expérience m’a convaincue de demeurer au Manitoba et d’étudier à l’Université de St-Boniface, dans le programme d’éducation. Ainsi, mon expérience dans le milieu de l’immersion française n’aura pas duré que 9 mois…

Enfin, je souhaite à toutes les personnes qui participeront au programme de se découvrir soi-même, faire preuve d’ouverture face à une autre culture et d’approfondir ses propres connaissances envers la langue française ou anglaise.

Bonne chance !