With a tradition of more than 75 years disseminating and teaching French as a second language, the École de français de la Faculté de l’éducation permanente (FEP) offers a complete range of courses for beginner, intermediate and advanced students, as well as a newly created French assessment test centre. Here are six reasons to choose the École de français as your partner of choice for learning French as a second language.

1. Learn the language as well as the culture

Learning a second language is a dynamic action in which you fully engage, not only to understand its linguistic system, but also to apply this system to oral and written activities. Learning a second language also means understanding a world of cultural references and the identities of the people who speak it.

For Biba Fakhouri, Vice-Dean of the FEP and former director of the École de langues de la FEP, teaching French also means teaching Québec, Franco-Canadian and French-speaking cultural references. “This aspect is particularly present in all our courses at the École de français de la FEP and very explicit in our lesson plans. We place great importance on interculturality and our courses demonstrate our openness to the world, as approached through various levels of knowledge of the language,” she explains. “These intercultural skills help you to question yourself and compare your vision of the world to that of others. It also allows us to cultivate empathy, curiosity towards others and a desire to dialogue with them.”

2. The importance given to socio-professional integration

The École de langues de la FEP teaches general French oral and written skills, but also French for specific purposes, a particular expertise that distinguishes the school. “Whether it’s French in a general professional context, French for university studies or even French to work in a specific field, such as health, law or administration, our school offers courses that meet the needs of newcomers, Indigenous people or allophones in Canada,” continues Biba Fakhouri.

“I have often seen couples who are new arrivals take French courses and split their schedules so they can take care of their children on evenings and weekends. Our students all share the deep desire to integrate and find a job. They all have the courage and perseverance that this requires... but they are most proud when they find a job, go to parent-teacher meetings and continue their studies in French with a second, or even a third certificate after their French as a second language certificate!” shares Biba Fakhouri.

The École de français de la FEP has also set up a partnership with the OQLF to offer preparation workshops for professional order exams in a variety of fields (accounting, nursing, engineering, etc.).

3. Courses are tailor-made for public and private organizations

With a view to improving their employer brand and optimizing their performance, while attracting and retaining the best talent, more and more companies are offering their staff French courses. For many years, the École de français de la FEP has been their preferred partner with tailor-made courses focused specifically on their professional challenges and the particularities of their sector.

4. Quality teaching staff

École de français de la FEP teachers are all trained and experienced in teaching French as a second language. They approach their profession with great passion and professionalism. Better still, they all highlight their relationship with students.

“All our course evaluations show it – our teachers manage to build outstanding trust with all their students,” celebrates Biba Fakhouri.

5. Support and the student journey

It’s not always easy to learn a new language. When you add a full-time job or family constraints, it’s a real challenge. That’s why the École de français de la FEP has implemented a set of initiatives targeting student success.

“We do our best to provide a quality learning environment. For example, we offer free conversation workshops, training workshops in the use of learning technologies, tutoring and even help with homework. This is an integral part of our service offering,” explains the Vice-Dean.

In addition, the École de français has a team dedicated to welcoming students. In particular, this team helps them with administrative procedures, admission applications or even course registrations, which may seem difficult if you have not yet mastered French.

6. A brand new test centre

Studying at the École de français de la FEP also means benefiting from the services of a brand new test centre that offers international benchmark exams to measure the level of French knowledge and skills, not only for studying at the Université de Montréal or CEGEP (SRAM), but for immigrating to Canada, or obtaining Canadian citizenship.

Learn more about the course offerings: École de français de la FEP.