I got the news on Thursday, March 14 that my French oral test has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 27 at 8:00 am.
Less than two weeks was enough to make a study plan.
That was what I did and here are the details of that plan:
I will practice for at least 30 minutes with someone (yes)
Study Duolingo: first thing in the morning (yes)
50 terms to study/500 each day using an app called Quizlet (yes)
Listening to Inner French before falling asleep (yes)
Here was how I carried out my study plan, each encounter ran from 30 minutes to 2 hours or more.
Texts in red are clickable links to their LinkedIn profile.
On March 14, I attended a French Toastmasters Open House, it was an excellent experience. I connected with francophone Toastmaster Gabriel who gracefully accepted my invitation to meet and speak 👍👍👍
On March 15, I had a French class, and also practiced with my colleagues Eric and Jingxuan 😊😊😊
On March 16, I met with Gabriel at the library after work
On March 17, I invited Youssef - a fellow Ping-Pong player for a chat🏓🏓🏓
On March 18, I practiced with Vincent - my language exchange partner
On March 19, I had another after-work practice with Gabriel
On March 20, I was the only student in my French class 🍀🍀🍀
Thursday, March 21, a fine colleague Philippe offered his help👍👍👍 . I also attended the French Toastmasters meeting in the evening
Friday, March 22, I had French class from 10:30 to 11:45 with 3 students
Saturday, March 23, I had a coffee/light lunch with Gabriel. It was a pleasant session
Sunday, March 24, I conversed with a neighbor, followed by a crash class with Leo who is a recommended professor on Facebook and who believed my B level long before I achieved it 😉😉😉
On Monday, March 25, I practiced with Philippe again at work, then did language exchange with Vincent
On Tuesday, March 26, I had a one-hour private class with the French professor. I rehearsed for one last time after work with Gabriel
Wednesday, March 27, 8:00 am. The test. It lasted about 40 minutes and I was asked three opinion questions. That is a good sign as I was never asked any opinion questions in the past.
On April 5, the result came in and YES, I got a BIG FAT B, which I have been working towards since December 2020.
Canada has two official languages: English and French. This means many public sector jobs in federal departments, agencies, and Crown Corporations are bilingual imperative at the BBB level, requiring at least intermediate proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking.
I passed the reading and writing in December 2022 and the results are valid till 2027.
Based on the system, I have already tried 4 times for speaking.
In reality, I might have been tested 6 or 7 times in total (too many to remember 😊😊😊)
In the end, what matters is this:
I got the B and it is valid till March 27, 2029!
A special shout-out goes to Marie-Eve who suggested I ask for the test!
Many thanks go to Gabriel whose generosity and encouraging words are much appreciated!
An honorable mention goes to ChatGPT who listened to me and answered all my questions perfectly, she read out loud all the questions without any accent and made me realize MORE that learning French IS a lifelong journey...
Thank YOU ALL for being a BIG part of my journey!
I am grateful! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Image credit: Frank Leuderalbert