Second Language Training ( SLT )

[George Wallace]

.......... But then I see them freeze half to death when its 10 degrees outside, and I smile inside ;D

Having been there and done that, I would like to warn you that if you stay there too long, you too will be freezing at 10 degrees.    :nod:

 

[JB 11 11]

Too late my friend... 2 years in India then 3 here.... Im ruined! I WILL suffer when I get back to Canada :nod: LOL!

 

[rnkelly]

Sorry, can't agree with this at all. I'm working in a quasi NATO organisation now and come across alot of different nationalities. Most of them here at the unit speak a minimum of 2 languages, and most understand at least three or four. When I ask how they learned, the answer is always, they had to take it in school. Most must take English as a second language, and then they also have to learn at least one other (usually German or French, but it depends on the country).

My bad, I guess I was just comparing us to our American friends.

Damn it I wanted us to be special! Oh well

 

[dapaterson]

The girls aren't bad here in Quebec either.

A Townie I know would agree with you; his first posting was to Valcartier where, as he puts it, he gained a lifelong affection for the French tongue.

 

[observor 69]

A Townie I know would agree with you; his first posting was to Valcartier where, as he puts it, he gained a lifelong affection for the French tongue.

Nothing like having a live in instructor. 
I have a good friend from Ontario who was posted to Bagotville, married a local lady and now is a fluently bilingual  instructor in St.Jean.

 

[SkyHeff]

I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on how long summer SLT courses are for ROTP students and when they typically run?

It's come to our attention that we need to start thinking about summer courses, OJT, employment, etc. and that it's our responsibility to find it because my area has limited jobs. At this point in time, the only word I have is that if funding becomes available, I should expect to head back to St-Jean for SLT, but that is unknown at the moment.

I would like to know the length as I've heard 10 weeks, and if that is the case finding work to occupy the rest of the summer will need to be addressed.

Thanks.

 

[Corey Darling]

It`s a 10 week course. Can take leave before or after SLT, and find OJE for the remaining couple weeks.

Corey

 

[wannabe SF member]

I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on how long summer SLT courses are for ROTP students and when they typically run?

It's come to our attention that we need to start thinking about summer courses, OJT, employment, etc. and that it's our responsibility to find it because my area has limited jobs. At this point in time, the only word I have is that if funding becomes available, I should expect to head back to St-Jean for SLT, but that is unknown at the moment.

I would like to know the length as I've heard 10 weeks, and if that is the case finding work to occupy the rest of the summer will need to be addressed.

Thanks.

Are you speaking for other people than yourself?

 

[SkyHeff]

Are you speaking for other people than yourself?

I'd like to know personally, but there's 3 others in my class in the same boat. It's agreed my initial post was poorly worded.

It`s a 10 week course. Can take leave before or after SLT, and find OJE for the remaining couple weeks.

Merci pour l'illumination.

 

[reboog]

I know this is a question I can probably ask my CFRC, but I keep forgetting each time I go down there so maybe someone can help me out?

I understand that upon completion of BMOQ, officer candidates are expected to be functionally bilingual and will be sent to a 2nd language course if they lack the required language proficiency. My question is: Does this happen during the Common Army Phase and subsequent trades specializations, or do I take 2-9 months off to complete a separate, independent language course? If the latter, is it a full-time commitment?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

 

[MJP]

Doing 2nd language training (SLT) early in your career is only for some officer trades.  Most of them have no requirement for you to be functionally bilingual early in your career so the opportunity to do SLT would be offered later.  It would help if you could say what trade you are going into and someone will tell you if you need to or not.  It is usually a seperate standalone course you take however there are other self study options out there.

 

[reboog]

Doing 2nd language training (SLT) early in your career is only for some officer trades.  Most of them have no requirement for you to be functionally bilingual early in your career so the opportunity to do SLT would be offered later.  It would help if you could say what trade you are going into and someone will tell you if you need to or not.  It is usually a seperate standalone course you take however there are other self study options out there.

I applied for Engineering Officer, and the description on forces.ca says that there's a 2-9 month second language training requirement.

For the standalone course, would I be doing any military-type stuff at the same time, or just focusing on learning the language?

 

[Ayrsayle]

I'm curious about this as well - Learning French was one of the reasons (or advantages I saw) in joining as an officer.

 

[Bird_Gunner45]

As far as I know now, they stopped doing mandatory second language training right after BOTC in 06 just after I went through it.  I dont think engineers do it mandatorily now, but you would have to ask.  If you're lucky enough to get it, you'll do some ruck marches, maybe (1 a week max) and the rest of the time will be for learning the language. 

 

[Eastcoaster03]

Second language is also something I looked at as a positive. Would be useful in the future.

 

[reboog]

As far as I know now, they stopped doing mandatory second language training right after BOTC in 06 just after I went through it.  I dont think engineers do it mandatorily now, but you would have to ask.  If you're lucky enough to get it, you'll do some ruck marches, maybe (1 a week max) and the rest of the time will be for learning the language.

Excellent, I'll make sure to confirm it with my CFRC (hopefully I'll remember), but that sounds pretty awesome if it's true. I assume the French language training will be done at St Jean?

 

[sky777]

Excellent, I'll make sure to confirm it with my CFRC (hopefully I'll remember), but that sounds pretty awesome if it's true. I assume the French language training will be done at St Jean?

Yes,at St Jean

 

[Ayrsayle]

reading over another thread regarding married pilots and being exempt from SLT got me thinking - while some of the information has been covered in threads previous, I still had a few questions:

As a newly accepted DEO (Infantry) I had always hoped that I would have the opportunity for SLT through the Forces (quite the opposite of the original poster, I'd want to fight tooth and nail for the chance to learn French and am willing to sacrifice for the opportunity). the lack of this being part of my program was not brought up during my application process (shame on me also for not looking into it in detail). Is this a potential option if it was something I pursued with intent (or might have the opportunity to do later)? If not, are there any supports for individuals in the Forces who wish to further their second language training?supporting the financial costs of taking language classes from a civilian institution? My background in Latin was very interesting, but not particularly applicable for furthering my career in the Forces.

In short, I'm in the dark on what the options are and would love any feedback. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ayrsayle]

Didn't get much of a response on here regarding my earlier question - so I ended up going to talk to a recruiter again about what would be likely to happen.

General impression I got from him was that it would be viewed favourably (my interest and desire) - if I wanted to do it it would happen (either through a internet program, a 6 month, or a year-long SLT). However, if the military was paying for it, they would likely place me somewhere where the skills would be reenforced (IE, a French speaking area - Quebec most likely). This makes perfect sense - why pay me to take a course I will not utilize?

My Fiance's particular professional career (Sign Language Interpreter) however relies strongly on English - there is a different variant of Sign language for Quebec (essentially, she'd not only have to learn French, but another form of Sign language as well) - While I see the utility of using of my newly-trained language, would this likely tie me to the Quebec (Van Doos) in terms of regiment?

Still in the dark about these things, and would still love any insight that was out there.

 

[PuckChaser]

Year-long French course means you either go to a Bilingual unit, or French language only unit. I've started taking SLT by attending a 2 hour per day class, and it took me about 3 months to finish the first level. You can do up to NP 2 in this manner, which gives you a leg-up when asking for longer classroom courses. The internet program I used is also available for self-study, so you can work from home without having to go to the base language school for 2 hours a day. I'm not sure how the tutoring works with this system, I believe its centrally done wherever the program is based out of. Its not a perfect program, but if you have a little bit of French background it can do wonders.