Total immersion

by Kevin Machida, Ottawa, Ontario

From immersion programs to summer camps and employment exchanges between French and English Canada, there are many opportunities for Canada’s youth to learn and live in their second official language. Experiences like these are a valuable part of growing up in Canada, because they allow our youth to acquire important skills for when they enter the job market. 

Today, Katie Zeman is fully bilingual and working at the Library of Parliament in Ottawa. She grew up in northern British Columbia, with Anglophone parents, and only got her first taste of the French language in Grade 6. After that, though, she took advantage of as many opportunities as she could to experience Canada’s bilingual culture:

• Late immersion, Grades 6–12;
• Encounters with Canada, a one-week program in Ottawa that focuses on Canadian Studies;
• Interchange on Canadian Studies, a one-week bilingual conference that deals with a variety of Canadian topics;
• Forum for Young Canadians, a one-week conference and exchange opportunity in Ottawa that fosters leadership skills through the study of governance, democracy and citizenship.
  
  

While earning a bilingual degree in Canadian Studies at Campus Saint-Jean, the French-language campus of the University of Alberta, she continued to apply for summer jobs, like those listed below, that would allow her to work in both official languages:

• Québec/Alberta Student Employment Exchange Program – bilingual tour guide at the Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier (Québec City);
• Parliamentary Guide Program – bilingual tour guide at Parliament (Ottawa);
• Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP) – bilingual tour guide at Rideau Hall, the residence of the Governor General of Canada (Ottawa);
• Student Guide Program in France – bilingual tour guide at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
  
  

Her multitude of bilingual experiences both at school and in the job market has made it possible for her to always be surrounded by and to work equally in both official languages.