Can I succeed in an English university as a francophone? By sharing my experience at Mcgill by exploring all competencies, from writing to speaking, I will reassure you that you can do it.
Before applying to McGill University, I wasn’t sure if I would be, first, accepted and, second, if I could study in an English university as a francophone. I’ve had these insecurities while accepting the university’s offer and before attending my first days of class, but I can tell you this; you can do it, try and see yourself.
My Background
I’ve lived my entire life in Quebec (Canada) and did all my education in French. I went to a regular primary school, was in an international program (PEI or IB) in secondary school with some enriched English classes and did my CEGEP in French in the languages (English, Spanish and German) and management program.
Honestly, I wasn’t good at English in secondary school, but I liked it. In CEGEP, I was getting better but never near the bilingual level, so as you might imagine, my insecurities were high for university. Also, when you’re a Quebecker, you have no English test to pass for McGill, so no “reassuring confirmation” that you’re up to studying in English. My friend who got into McGill a year before told me I would be fine, but I couldn’t believe her, knowing she was way better at English than me.
Now, I can tell you that comparing yourself to others is one of your worst enemies; believe me. Stopping yourself from doing things because of comparisons is entirely ridiculous; try the things you wish to do and judgy yourself.
Beginning of Class (Listening/Understanding)
So, that’s precisely what I did; I accepted Desautels’ offer (Management faculty of McGill) and took all my courage to attend my classes. At first, I was insecure and had difficulty adapting to my international professors’ accents. Also, I had trouble understanding specific business concepts because my brain kept trying to translate these with notions I’d already learned in French. Then, it became easier because Desautels classes’ pace goes mostly fast, so the basics that I knew were all covered within a week and a half. After that, you acquire new knowledge in English, meaning you understand the concepts in English, so there is less translation confusion.
Exams and Assignments (Writing)
You can write both exams and assignments in French if you’re having some issues in English if that reassures you (it’s a TA that will probably grade your evaluation). But let me tell you this; you will deliver your evaluations in English because writing about specific subjects learned in English will quickly feel natural and more effortless. Your brain will come up with sentences and explanations in English from what you’d seen in class anyway because you won’t necessarily know the equivalent in French.
Remember that you can access many online resources to help you write the best essays (hello, Grammarly!). These tools will successfully rearrange your sentences and correct grammatical mistakes, making writing in a foreign language pleasant and more comfortable. Oh, and also! You can bring a dictionary to certain exams to reassure yourself. So, don’t worry too much about it 🙂
Readings (Reading)
You can’t escape the reading competency as you will have multiple weekly readings and textbooks, all written in English. If you’re having trouble with your readings, try watching tv shows and Youtube videos with English subtitles, reading books and newspapers in English and setting your technological devices in English. If you do so, combined with some English learning on apps like Duolingo, Drops, Memrise, Rosetta Stone or Babbel, your adaption to McGill will go smoothly.
For readings, yes, sometimes there are rich vocabulary words that I don’t even understand, but I look this up on the internet, and my problem is solved. Honestly, most of the time, the goal is to comprehend the overall content of a text, not all the words (as you probably already know, hihi), so you will be fine.
Oral Presentation and In-class Participation (Speaking)
Until this day, these are my worst fuckin nightmares as an introvert. I am doing okay with the oral presentation; I say what needs to be said, but no more. I don’t like participating in class because, yes, I am shy, but overall, I find this annoying. Of course, this is my personal opinion.
If you are afraid of your accent, don’t be. McGill is an international school, so many students have an accent, and nobody cares about it because everyone can understand each other. If someone tells you, “Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying,” it’s okay; repeat what you said and move on. A girl told me that sentence a couple of times, once with arrogance, which was upsetting. Yes, these people will cross your path sometimes; just don’t let this affect you; they might be narcissists. Laugh about it instead; auto-derision is the greatest weapon!
For presentations, write a text in advance, learn it by heart, record yourself to hear which words you should practice your pronunciation on, and there you go! As for participating in class, teachers often give you full marks if you do speak in class, but participating in small group discussions/activities or even responding to some online posts will give you great partial points.
Personally, now I am just trying to be the best version of myself; nobody cares about you. Don’t let fear stop you; otherwise, you won’t be able to accomplish various tasks that might eventually lead you to regret.
If, in the end, it doesn’t feel like the right place for you to study, for instance, then switch to another university, and that’s okay! Nobody has a perfect educational path; as long as you listen to yourself, that’s the most important. Be happy and get out of your comfort zone! We’ve got one life to live, so we should have as many experiences as possible 🙂
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Please let me know in the comments below about your own experience and if you have other questions about studying in English as a francophone! Good luck xx