One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.
~ Frank Smith
As the director of a GTA French Camp, a past board member of Canadian Parents for French and having been actively involved in French Immersion program planning, people often ask me where my passion for bilingualism came from.
How it all started…
As the child of 14th generation French-Canadian parents, French was always near and dear to my heart. My mom is even a descendent of the pioneers who came over on Maisonneuve’s boat and founded Montreal! Both my parents come from a families of 14 siblings who were not raised with English in their life. Still now, few of my 71 cousins are fluent in English or use it in their daily life.
I was lucky that my father had a passion for language, having learned Latin at school. He grew up in a family of farmers in a small town Northeast of Montreal and was one of the few of his siblings who had some post-secondary education. Luckily, he ended up working in a company where several of his colleagues and customers were anglophones and so he started picking it up. He quickly recognize the power of bilingualism and pushed my three sisters and I to learn a second language. Sometimes he even spoke to us in English at home despite the fact that my mom’s English was very limited.
As I practiced speaking English, I started to become fascinated by other languages and I began learning Italian since I frequently traveled to Italy to compete in sports.
When the time came to go to university, McGill was my first choice as I was committed to becoming fully bilingual. That is still one of the best decisions I ever made.
Being bilingual changed my life…
I was offered career advancement opportunities at National Bank because I was the only one who could speak English fluently in the treasury department. This job is what led me to Ontario where I met my husband and settled down to establish a family. Beyond career opportunities, there were several other benefits that came from the incredible gift of learning and the exposure to other cultures.
Since being in Ontario, I have continued to be a very active advocate for bilingualism. My belief in bilingualism is far reaching and extends from my career into my home life. From early on, I knew I wanted to give my children the gift of bilingualism. But there was one big problem: there was a serious lack of opportunities for young children to socialize together in French.
I was determined to offer my children the gift of bilingualism, which is what led me to create Camp Tournesol. I knew that the key was for them to socialize with children their own age in French – and not just with mom.
I have seen firsthand how two children exposed to the exact same language opportunities do not master the same level of fluency. You might think that the child with the higher level of mastery has the “knack” for language while the other one doesn’t. But that’s not always true. There are other factors that are equally important like the desire to learn languages and the willingness to take risks. Some will learn languages enough to get by and are satisfied with that, while others are constantly looking for the proper sentence structure and the correct vocabulary.
Since 2001, Camp Tournesol has provided children the opportunity to be bilingual and thrive in our global reality. We are also proud to provide employment opportunities to as many francophone and French immersion students in Ontario as possible.
We continue to stay committed to providing children all over the GTA the opportunity to gain confidence and have fun in French.
Here’s to setting your child up for success in French!
Want to get in touch with Martine? Email her here: martine@camptournesol.ca
