French: bigger and better
The PLQ is to unveil their plan to protect French, while the government pledges millions to teach out‑of‑province students French at McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s.
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Kate
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Taylor C. Noakes 13:34 on 2026-06-16 Permalink
Does this mean all those int’l students are allowed back?
Kate 14:19 on 2026-06-16 Permalink
I don’t think so. But the ones allowed in may not get their degrees till they can pass a French test, even if it’s immaterial to their major, and even if they don’t have plans to remain in Quebec.
Taylor C. Noakes 14:28 on 2026-06-16 Permalink
The important thing here is that we’ve kneecapped major institutions and blocked foreigners from learning here. That will buy us good will and foreign investment.
Tim S. 14:34 on 2026-06-16 Permalink
I think the government’s motives are wrong, but I refuse to say that it’s a bad idea for university students to learn a second (additional) language. If these universities are smart, they’ll turn this into a competitive advantage.
bob 16:09 on 2026-06-16 Permalink
If there were a competitive advantage to learning a second language students would already be doing it – and they are, and that language is English.
Kate 17:41 on 2026-06-16 Permalink
Tim S., maybe, but French is not necessarily going to be the best second language for every specialty.
I could even make a case that it’s far too Eurocentric to make students who mostly speak English learn a second European language. Or, going by number of world speakers, Mandarin, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Japanese or one of the half dozen major languages of India would outdo French.
Tim S. 19:19 on 2026-06-16 Permalink
But teaching French is the specialty we can offer. Why not do what we’re good at?
Besides, the number of Francophone teams at the World Cup suggests that it’s still a language with an international reach.
CE 20:12 on 2026-06-16 Permalink
It’s not that usual for universities that offer courses in English to require that their students learn the language where they’re studying. And why shouldn’t they? If the students are going to be living where they’re studying, they’re going to need to learn the local language to be able to function.
I looked into doing a masters in Reykjavík. One of the requirements to get the degree (offered entirely in English) was that I gain a certain proficiency in Icelandic. Probably not the most useful language to learn but it would have been helpful while I lived there (and probably would have made it more likely that I might stay).